Riding Life

Give a man a horse he can ride,
give a man a boat he can sail;
and his rank and wealth,
his strength and health
on sea nor shore shall fail.

- James Thomson

You'll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

(R. Rogers/O. Hammerstein II)

Dedicated to my dear friend K.A.S.
On this very special day of hers

May today and everyday
be filled with love and hope
for everyone in her family

Happy Birthday A.S.! :)

Keep Walking

If you're walking down the right path, and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.  - Barack Obama

The Donkey

One day, a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.

The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.

With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. 

The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.

Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

活在當下。

有個小和尚，每天早上負責清掃寺廟院子裡的落葉。

清晨起床掃落葉，實在是一件苦差事， 尤其是在秋冬之際， 每一次起風時， 樹葉總隨風飛舞落下， 到處都是。

小和尚每天早上都需要花費許多時間， 才能清掃完樹葉， 這讓小和尚頭痛不已。 他一直想要找個好辦法讓自己輕鬆些。

有一天， 這個小和尚想出了一個好辦法， 於是隔天他起了個大早， 使勁地摇樹， 這樣他就可以把今天跟明天的落葉一次掃乾淨了， 一整天小和尚都非常開心。

弟二天， 小和尚到院子裡一看， 他不禁愣住了。 院子裡如往日一樣， 落葉滿地。

老師的悄悄話：

無論你今天怎麼用力摇樹， 明天的落葉還是會飄下來。

世上有很多事是無法提前的， 唯有認真的活在當下， 才是最真實的人生態度。

明天如果有煩惱， 你今天也許無法解決。 每一天都有每一天的人生功課要交， 努力做好今天的功課再說吧！

Above article is extracted from book by 劉志遠。

Quotable Quote

One half of knowing what you want ..

.. is knowing what you must give up before you get it.

~ Sidney Howard

Quotable Quote

How am I going to live today
in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?

~ Anthony Robbins

Door of Opportunities

Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping stones to greater experience.

When one door closes, another always opens.

Words of Inspiration

Inspirational words to tide us through trying times. Here is a collection of 10 motivational quotes to share with you. If you have any interesting ones, do share with us too.

1. "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King Jr.

2. "To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it." - Mother Teresa

3. "Through perseverance, many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure." - Benjamin Disraeli

4. "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

5. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. "If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place." - Nora Roberts

7. "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

8. "The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King Jr.

9. "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." - Calvin Coolidge

10. "Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - John F. Kennedy

Here are two more that I find interesting: one from a children's story book, and another from a film - both works of classics.

(i) One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." - Lewis Carroll

(ii) We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. - Professor Keating/Robin Williams in 'Dead Poet's Society'