A Tribute To My Dowager

Another milestone crossed ! Today's a day where the peeps closest and dearest to me celebrate my life. Thank you so very much for all your kind wishes, with some of you guys even making the effort to have wished me twice since TZ omitted to mention that last Friday's dinner was an early surprise. Being woken up from slumber countless times since midnight was for once, pleasant and forgiven. After all, not-so-little-Ant wants to feel loved too, right? ^_^

Today is supposedly a day whereby I spend more than usual; some quality time to myself, whether it involved a lil' pampering, or being away from the office to just simply sit in a quiet corner of a cafe to relax and perhaps contemplate a lil' more on life which would usually involve planning for another milestone.

I chose to be different this year.

Instead, today would be a day of prayers of a very special blessing of peace, love and appreciation to my own Mother, for my very own existance came via the fruits of labour and unconditional love of this truly amazing giver.

One of the toughest jobs in the world, is one which is done 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no vacations, no time-off and you never retire. This job is full of challenges, joy, tears and every possible emotion that a person can feel. It offers the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This job involves sleepless nights and long days. The skills and tasks for this job change daily. This job requires you to be able to adapt to many situation's at a moment's notice. Each day is a new adventure. You will do much and be thanked little. You will have moments where you receive great appreciation. Oh, by the way, you receive no wages for doing this job, matter of fact, doing this job will involve you spending much of your income. Now, some may ask, who in the world would want this job! There is only one who would, and that is a Mother.

Mother's are a special breed, who often receive little appreciation for what they do day in and day out. A mothers reward is in the hug around the neck, it's a special picture drawn that she can proudly hang on her fridge, it's an orchid plucked from her very own garden which is given in an act of love. It is a smile in the morning and a kiss at night. It is the soft sound of their baby breathing as they drift-off to sleep. It is the pride they feel as they watch their children grow up and do all of the right things. It is their unconditional love to forgive and support when their children falter along the growing up years. This is a short list of the many trials and tribulations and as well as rewards of being a Mother.

I would like to take this opportunity to send peace and love to all of the Mothers of the world. I would also like to take a moment to thank all of the Mother's who are foster Mom's, who open their homes and their hearts to so many children, like those wonderful ladies highlighted in a recent Raya documentary who are selflessly tending to kids in the orphanages.

A special mention to all the wonderful single-parents especially the Fathers who have taken to the motherly role of single-handedly providing for their children, tirelessly donning the apron of love towards the welfare with much toil.

A special blessing of love and peace to all of the women of this world who strongly desire to be a Mother, however are not able to, for I am sure that this celebration of Mothers day can be an emotional day.

For those who are currently in an unfortunate relationship with their Mothers, please do spare a little time to pray for a chance to mend/heal broken hearts and blessings for a brighter future.

Last but not least, I will never be able to give enough thanks to this wonderful, warm, funnily feisty but most of all, most loving woman who blessed me with so much!

I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH MOMMY DEAREST. May the rest of your days be of peace and surrounded with much love.

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.

It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down

remorselessly all that stands in its path.

~ Agatha Christie

"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO

Grumpy

The seven dwarfs go to the Vatican , and because they are the seven dwarfs, they are immediately ushered in to see the Pope.

Grumpy leads the pack.

"Grumpy,my son," says the Pope, "What can I do for you?"

Grumpy asks, "Excuse me your Excellency, but are there any dwarf nuns in Rome ?"

The Pope wrinkles his brow at the odd question, thinks for a moment and answers, "No, Grumpy, there are no dwarf nuns in Rome."

In the background, a few of the dwarfs start giggling.

Grumpy turns around and glares, silencing them.

Grumpy turns back, "Your Worship, are there any dwarf nuns in all of Europe?"

The Pope, puzzled now, again thinks for a moment and then answers, "No, Grumpy, there are no dwarf nuns in Europe."

This time, all of the other dwarfs burst into laughter.

Grumpy turns back and says, "Mr. Pope! Are there ANY dwarf nuns anywhere in the world?"

The Pope, really confused by the questions says, "I'm sorry, my son, there are no dwarf nuns anywhere in the world."

The other dwarfs collapse into a heap, rolling and laughing, pounding the floor, tears rolling down their cheeks, as they begin chanting ......

"GRUMPY SHAGGED A PENGUIN!"


Have a wonderful Raya week. Please remember to frown less, smile more! ^_^



"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO

The Act of Giving

This post was derived from a recent conversation on "giving" via the meeting of bloggers last Friday (thanks Twilight for bringing up the topic for discussion) plus my recent read of an article in the newspaper that some people who beg for money on the street will often bypass a person who is alone and instead ask for money from a selected "kind-faced" person who is with one or more people. The rationale for this is that the beggar had the belief that a person who is with someone else or is with a group of acquaintances, is more likely to give because they want to be perceived as charitable in front of who they are with by giving rather than look cheap or selfish for not giving. Now, I don't know to what extent this act is believable, however there is something about this that rings true and that is many people give not simply as a self-motivated kind act, not simply to share their abundance however they give because they get something out of it.

There are many times each day in which we have an opportunity to be charitable. We can give of our material wealth, such as to someone in need on the street, to a charity, etc. We give of our time to people who need our time, be that family, colleagues, charities or the person standing in line with us at Starbie.

We can give of our energy and our love.

In any given day, people are frequently giving of themselves. The real question is when you give, are you giving with or without conditions? When you give, is there a price tag attached to your gift, that is, do you expect something in return, or a real practise of loving kindness? Or when you give are you giving because of ulterior motives? Many people give with expectations, often the expectations are manipulative and self-serving.

Many people give because they want something, they may want someone to notice them, to like them more, and they may give to seduce someone into sex or into making some type of deal. A politican gives to attract votes, a businessman gives to advertise and thus enhance marketability of his products.

Some people give because they have come to believe that by giving they will pave their way to heaven, that they will somehow win favors with and be more loved by God and therefore gain entrée into what they perceive to be heaven in the afterlife. Some others give as they believe they will reap huge good karmic values banked-into their "soul/conciousness bank accounts". As you can see, this motivation of giving is still giving with expectations. There is still and expectation associated with the gift that we give, even though that expectation is an expectation of God or the law of karma.

Often times we become frustrated because we feel that our gift was not appreciated or because the gift was not reciprocated. It's to be noticed, to seek and divert attention to oneself "This is my birthday, so you must pay attention to me!". It's all about "ME, ME and more ME!" We have grown into a culture that expects reciprocation for the gifts we give. There are many people who when giving a gift of money, time, energy or love are tuned into their favorite radio station WIIFM (What's In It For Me). These WIIFM fans are often focusing on what they are going to reap out of giving a gift before they even give it.

When we give from our core being, when we give from love there are no expectations tied to the gift. Compassion and loving kindness don't require an audience to acknowledge that we gave of our self. Compassion and love does not expect returns. Love does not give of itself because we believe that it will gain us good karmic returns and favours with God. Love does not keep score of what it is giving or how much it is giving. Love does not give to be manipulative. Love does not give with conditions attached to the gift.

Giving is a natural trait of love and compassion that is the bottom line. When we truly give from the wonderful acts, it is as natural as breathing that is it becomes an unconscious part of how we live. Some may argue that it is not natural if the person is born with a mean-streak. But I sincerely believe we are all born of the same universal essence to love and wanting to be loved. To this sense, I truly believe cultivation of loving kindness and compassion can be cultivated, just as how a cucumbervine can be guided by sticks and fences.

Think today of the many gifts that you give, are they given freely without conditions and without underlying motives or are there price tags on your gifts, are there conditions on your gifts, are your gifts given to manipulate another's behavior? A good way to measure your attachment to the expectations that you have on giving of your gifts is to note the frustration that you feel when your gift is not appreciated or your gift is not reciprocated.

Another good measure of our motivation towards the act of giving could also be derived from the intensity of our action to being charitable. The mere momentary motivation or thought to end the persons suffering without the thought of monetary values attached to it; is by far the most humane act of charity. I always remembered the tale of the lil' boy at Christmas who offered his only penny to charity despite facing the risk of starvation as the most charitable act as opposed to a richman's dropping of a handful of notes into the charity box, which is only a mere drop in the ocean of his material wealth. Many of my friends have deterred me from giving with the reason being "this beggar is part of a syndicate that reaps huge amounts of monies by taking advantage of peoples' compassion". My reply to my friends would just be a simple "charity knows no boundries". Logically, wouldn't we wish that the beggar would collect enough for the day to receive better treatment by whoever is manipulating them?

To sum up, giving of our gifts is one of the most beautiful things we can do. Quoting my idol Mother Teresa "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." I encourage each and everyone of us to give. Please do inculcate the joy of being charitable. Charity with conditions is still acceptable, if done with the correct motivation of not being hurt or hurting others. I encourage that you give from love and compassion, and as of today you become more aware of why you are giving for it is never about the gift as much as it is about the intention behind the gift. May you find that the only intention behind your gifts is love.



"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
Every Blessing XOXO

A Layman's Medical Terms

Another teaser compilation that had me in stitches. Please share-on ya!

* Artery............. The study of paintings.

* Benign ............ What you be after you be eight.

* Bacteria........... Back door to cafeteria.

* Barium............. What doctors do when patients die.

* Cesarean Section... A neighbourhood in Rome.

* Catscan............ Searching for Kitty.

* Cauterize.......... Made eye contact with her.

* Colic.............. A sheep dog.

* Coma............... A punctuation mark.

* Dilate............. To live long.

* Enema.............. Not a friend.

* Fester............. Quicker than someone else.

* Fibula............. A small lie.

* Genital............ Non-Jewish person.

* Impotent........... Distinguished, well known.

* Labour Pain........ Getting hurt at work.

* Medical Staff...... A Doctor’s cane.

* Morbid............. A higher offer than I bid.

* Nitrates........... Cheaper than day rates.

* Node............... I knew it.

* Outpatient......... A person who has fainted.

* Pap Smear.......... A fatherhood test.

* Pelvis............. Second cousin to Elvis.

* Post Operative..... A letter carrier.

* Recovery Room...... Place to do upholstery.

* Rectum............. Darn near killed him.

* Secretion.......... Hiding something

* Seizure............ Roman emperor.

* Tablet............. A small table.

* Terminal Illness... Getting sick at the airport.

* Tumour............. More than one.

* Urine.............. Opposite of you’re out

* Varicose........... Near by

Have a loving weekend, my wonderful readers! ^_^


"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
Every Blessing XOXO

Confessions Of A Delusional Narcissist #2

I love myself.

No, really, I do.

Sometimes I sit alone thinking, how are we to love others if we do not even learn to love ourselves unconditionally? Well, we certainly can't go around pleasing everybody; I'm no Bodhisattva after all. To further elaborate on my narcissism .....  I often like to scrunch up really tightly in foetal position, pull my knees to my chest and nuzzle my nose, mouth and chin between my fabulous man-breasts. I mean, presumably this form of masturbation is entirely normal, right? Is self-love like the love between lovers or is it meant to be more like familial love? Whatever! (Gosh I'm so in-love with this word now, thanks to you Nicole ) Why would one hand be idle when the other is in hyped up-repetitive-motion? And who could resist that soft, frangipani sweet-smelling, cozy, breathless moment of self-gratification? And why do people have to read this now and visualize being a witness to my selflessly-narcissistic act? I know. I'm unashamedly telling you about it now, just as I did to some of you this morning. But that's hardly the same.

Do you honestly feel you could love yourself more?

Have a wonderful Sunday, I know I will! *winks*

"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO

Always a Busy Bee?

How busy are you? When greeting peeps and asking how they are doing they often express how busy their life is. As a matter of fact many peeps whom I speak with tell me that their days are so busy that they often feel overwhelmed, like how the situations my 2 dear blogger friends KeenYee and Twilight are currently faced with. Most of us do live in a busy world and lead busy lives. As a society we have become so accustomed to being busy that many of us don't know what to do with ourselves when we do find times in our life when we are not busy bees.

When we find ourselves in a situation where we have the opportunity to not be "busy" whether that be by choice or is forced upon us by life circumstances we may find ourselves feeling anxious or guilty because we are not busy doing something. The irony of this is that when we are busy and running around all day like a crazy wuzzy person, we often lament about how wonderful it would be to have some downtime where we could actually relax; yet when we do get that downtime, quite often we do not know how to enjoy it. Often times we fill our downtime with so much “busy” stuff that we look forward to going back to are work a day routine because we feel as though we need a vacation from our vacation!

It is amazing isn't it that even when we have down time in our life that we are often compelled to fill that time up with more "busy"! It really is utter madness when you think about it.

When is the last time that you were able to sit still for more than a few minutes where you didn't feel that you had to fill that time up with something? Where you didn't feel anxious about doing nothing, where your mind was not flooded with guilt as a list of all of the things that need to be done scrolled through your thoughts? I'm guilty of doing that especially on those supposedly "relaxed" times at those Curve or Pavillion cafes enjoying my usual black gold con panna fixes.

Let's face it, there is never going to be enough physical time to accomplish all the things on your lives "to do" list. We need to first accept that as a fact. We must then allow ourselves to be able to put aside some time to do "nothing" and most importantly we must give ourselves permission to do nothing and do nothing without guilt. What does doing nothing entail? Doing nothing, could be just sitting and watching the world go by, sitting on the lawns of KLCC's park or some other parks, tilting back your head, close your eyes and take in the warmth of the sun or the sensation of a cool after-rain breeze. It could be as simple as allowing yourself to hear the sounds of nature on a quiet evening. Doing nothing could be simply gazing into a lovers eyes and getting lost in their soul. Gosh, how i'm  missin' that.

The times when I am doing nothing are some of the most wonderful moments of my journey, often times when I am doing nothing I discover wonderful things about myself and the universe in which we live. For me, these moments of nothingness are moments of great discovery and channels of creativity. I find that in the moments of nothingness that I often without effort, without any force resolve issues that are happening in my life or experience incredible sparks of creativity.

But often, I felt that peeps use the term "I'm busy" to either project how important they are or just a lame excuse to get out from a possible non-beneficial situation. I generally noted that many peeps fill their lives with "busy" because they are simply not comfortable with themselves and the busy is a way to avoid facing that which they are not comfortable with. Being in moments of nothingness for peeps who are using being busy to avoid their self or to avoid their relationships with others or to avoid something internal can be very anxious times. As in any other aspect of tuning into our authentic self we must be willing to work through that which at first may feel uncomfortable for we must often work through that which is uncomfortable to come out on the other side where great self discoveries reside.

Remember that beyond that which you fear you may discover about yourself is a glorious and joyful authentic self which is pure love which originates from source. Trust in yourself and work through that which may feel uncomfortable for the rewards are truly beyond that which you could imagine.

Take time today or the coming weekend for periods of nothingness. Embrace nothingness! I know I will ..... as the weekend approaches. ^_^

"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing" – Lao Tzu





"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO

Jan 31st ,32nd and also 33rd?

Ever-remembered those school days where some of our classmates stood out at such an early age of being sneaky "kaki lincah" and ahead of the rest when it came to mischievious pranks and ingenious tricks? Well, please read on and hope you'll enjoy (as much as i did, kudos to the compiler!) this compilation of school notes/letters sent to teachers (must be from the US, since the word "marine" was quoted) by some kiddies playing truant:-

My son is under a doctor's care and should not take P.E. today. Please execute him.


Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick and I had her shot.


Dear School: Please ekscuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31,32, and also 33.

Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating.

Please excuse Roland from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.

John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.

Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.

Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.


Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels.


Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.

Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust.


Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.


Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.

Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend her funeral.

My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the Marines.

Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.

Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps.

Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover.


Please excuse Burma, she has been sick and under the doctor.





"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO

Awakening

It was an unusual Tuesday morning for me, prolly because of the intense schedule during the long Merdeka weekend. I woke up to my alarm, head feeling oozy drowsy and my body wanting to sprout roots to remain in bed and sleep for a couple more hours. As I sat on my bed this morning, my head felt heavy and a little foggy as I began my day. This is unusual for me because I normally awaken before my alarm goes off and I feel refreshed and ready to go start the day, however for whatever reason that did not happen today. This morning I was very aware of my form, this physical and temporary vessel which my soul calls home for now seems to not be ready to make this day happen. I was consciously changing my breathing, taking deep conscious breaths to oxygenate my brain and help to get everything flowing at an optimum level. As I breathed deeply I remembered beginning to feel lighter and more prepared for what the day may bring.

In many ways it would have been so much easier if I chose this morning to roll-over and go back to sleep for a few hours, to return to the illusions of my dreams, to foetal-wrap myself  (though the feat seems harder these days with that burgeoning tummy :(  ) under my blanket like a coiled-python, sink into my bed and forget about all that lay before me today. Yes, it would have been so much easier to close my eyes and return to my slumber.

It is very easy to understand why so many people choose not to awaken from the slumber that they are in. When we awaken, we are much more aware of everything and with this awareness, with this consciousness we are much more vulnerable to what comes our way. When we awaken and open ourselves up to living in love, we also open ourselves up to that which may be perceived as hurtful and painful.

Awakening from our slumber and choosing to live an awakened life can at first seem scary and uncomfortable as well as blissful and authentic. It is no surprise that many people who are jolted awake by some event in their life choose to fall back into the comfort of their slumber shortly after they have awakened. The world with its myriad intricacies certainly makes living our lives scary.

When we awaken there is a process and learning that we go through and during the initial part of the process we will feel everything more intensely than before. We will feel joy and pleasure more intensely, we will experience levels of ecstasy that we never felt before, we will also feel the other end of the spectrum and we will experience sadness and hurt in a more intense way then we ever felt before. For many people the intensity of how they begin to experience the highs and lows of daily life will be unsettling, some will become unsure of the change in experiences they are having and will choose to retreat back to that which they know and they will return to their slumber, their living death.

People who return to their slumber do not understand that the experience of intensity that they are feeling is part of the process and as we journey through our process we will learn and gain a deeper understanding of what is happening. In this learning one will come to know that the intense feeling of bliss will remain and grow, while the intense feelings of sadness or pain will diminish because as we fully awaken we come to understand that all is good, meaning that we will recognize that everything is perfect as it is. I call it faultless imperfection. One will come to see that there are no accidents, that everything has a purpose and that there is no distinction between what is a good or a bad experience. Once one comes to the understanding that there is no good nor bad, that our journey turns into a great and blissful experience we embrace the awakened state, we even come to the point where we cannot imagine why anyone would want to remain in a living slumber.

Awaken, see all that you have not seen, taste all that you have not tasted, hear all that you have been deaf to and smell the wonders that you have missed enjoying. Awaken and begin to experience your journey, your daily life beyond the five physical senses. Some call it our sixth sense. Awaken and tune into your other senses like intuition, etc.

Awaken and you will be amazed at what you have been missing.

Just like I had to work this morning to awaken my form we must also make a conscious effort to awaken our spirit and to remain in an awakened state and understand that when we become awakened it is not as if we have a magic switch that will make our journey instantly blissful, however if we are willing to go through the process and remain open to learning that we will come to experience a life that is love and love my friend is immensely blissful!




"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
XOXO