We make a life by what we give

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give”. Sir Winston Churchill.

At the age of three and a half years old, Ryan has lived out the above quotation.

We were travelling back from Johore Bahru to Kuala Lumpur (about a year and a half ago) and as usual Grandma and Grandson had their usual tete a tete. We were on the topic of India and I reminded him of how he wanted to pack me a cup and spoon (he thinks India is a very poor country) to take to India during my last trip. I told him that during the winter months, which can be very cold, some of the children do not even have clothes to wear …

Grandma : Ryan, do you know that during winter which is very cold, some of the children have no clothes to wear?

Ryan (frowning with his eyebrows pulled together) : Poor thing. Popo, I have a solution!

At this point I thought he would suggest that I take some of his clothes to India to distribute to the children but what came out from him left Mummy and Grandma with opened mouth.

Ryan : I will give them some of my Ang pow (chinese new year money) money. You bring the money to India and give to them. Ask them to use it to buy clothes.

(This is the exact conversation I had with Ryan.  No change of words at all)

Later that night, he knocked on my room door, handed me the money with a big grin. He is like his mummy, ever thoughtful, ever generous, adorable and most lovable. “Everybody Loves Ryan

The Law Of Attraction

I am a firm believer and practitioner of The Law Of Attraction & Abundance. I guess because of that, times have never been hard on me. There had been times when things did not go the way it should but, soon enough, with positive thoughts jumbled with joys and happiness, I have experienced many a pleasant surprise with the turn outs of events. When a road seemed to be a dead end, another path emerged. When some friends let you down terribly, another group carried you through. When one door closed, two doors opened.

 

What happened over the past two months had been the Law Of Attraction at its best. I give thanks to all that is happening. It is in giving that we receive, it is in forgiving that we find happiness.

 

For those who have the book “The Secret”, read it and put it into practise. For those who have yet to own the book, go get it, read it and put it into practise. It is also available in VCD. Another book to go for is “The Law Of Attraction” and a good DVD is “Abraham”. Abraham is a group of entities that channels through Esther Hicks. Enjoy!

Our parents - their sacrifices

Received this email from a friend which I would like to share with all

A simple man tells how his booking an air ticket for his father, his first flight, brought emotions and made him realize how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.

My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on MAS.

The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.

As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.

When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life.

As a child how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we asked for football, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they had satisfied all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes?

Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?

Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks,toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young, it is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.

Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.

Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care need to be given to our parents and elders.

Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren too. They have wishes, too. Take care of our parents

Round the corner

We always make the mistake of not visiting or dropping by to say hellos until it becomes a tad too late. I suppose it is time to make a run to Calgary to connect with friends again. I would need to look up for apartments to rent in Calgary as it would be more convenient to staying in hotels.

It will be a trip much looked forward to as six of my friends from India are now in Canada. Apart from being my guide there will be lots of catching up too.

Will need to do a fair bit of homework here. Need to buy new sets of winter clothings as the old ones were all left in Yushu last year. And not forgetting foodstuff, gifts, toiletries, personal items etc. This will keep me busy for the next few weeks but I am not complaining. I am actually looking forward to it. Calgary here I come!

Children of today

When I walk back in time to my memorable days at Convent Bukit Nanas and subsequently Convent JB, our days seemed seamless.  No tuition classes (at least for me), no great expectations from parents and we own the time of the day. 

Then came my daughter’s era.  Tuition was in fashion. School activities were aplenty. People no longer enquired if you passed your exams.  Instead it was replaced with how many A’s you scored.

Now I see children of today living the dreams of parents.  A’s are no longer the criterion.  Scoring full A’s with the maximum number of subjects allowed becomes the chase.

I am not sure if I will be able to live to see yet another shift when my grandson goes to school.

Colleges are sprouting everywhere and many have even acquired University status.  There is no shortage as to what one wishes to study. There are even preparatory courses that puts you in stead.  And with this present age and time, studying is made easier without you even having to leave home.

I can’t say if all this will make a better you.  If given the choice I would personally like to turn back the clock to where I go to school in the morning, back home for a nap in the afternoon and a round of badminton in the evening before settling down to grind through the day’s homework and to do the obligatory crunching of the books. 

My hope is that I will like to have more “people” grandchildren rather than the “machine made” children.  Children who will have time to stop and smell the flowers!

Be yourself

So many people try to hide their pains, pretending that if they dont talk about their worries and fears, then they dont really exist. There are people who smile on the outside, making light and carefree conversations to prevent their intimate emotions from being exposed. Their personal doubts and insecurities travel uninvited across their minds, haunting them in the day and tormenting them in the night. Let your self-doubts vanish into the shadows; show your true spirit to everyone you meet. All people must travel through life not as one alone, but as a caravan of people who will each experience their own set of circumstances. It is important not to judge yourself critically but to understand yourself. Not to restrict your emotions but to express them. Not to limit yourself but to search out every new horizon. There are too many people trying to be somebody else. Let’s just be who we are and feel good about what we are

Baked mushrooms

10 white button mushrooms (choose the large ones)
2 slices ham
Mayonnaise
Mozarella cheese
Pepper n salt
Dash of garlic (chopped)

1. Pull out mushrooms' stems and cut off tip. Chop them into bits. To make more room within the mushroom scrape the side of the mushroom and also chop them into bits together with the stem

2. Chop up ham

3. Fry garlic and when it browns, add in chopped mushroom. Add in pepper and salt. Add in ham and fry for about a minute or two

4. Scoop them into the hollows of the mushroom

5. Add a small teaspoon of mayonnaise on top, then top it with mozarella cheese

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 200 degrees (preheat over for 10 minutes)

I differed a little from this original recipe. Instead of ham, I substitued it with egg
Fry garlic, add in mushroom chopped stems. Add pepper and salt. Add in an egg and stir fry it together with the mushroom stem till egg browns a little. Scoop into mushroom hollows, topped wtih mayonnaise and mozarella cheese and bake.
Try it, it's really yummylicious. Got this recipe on TV when I was back in JB a couple of weeks back