In desiring friendship, first be a friend. In desiring a listening ear, first be a listening ear. In desiring time, first give your time. The principles of sowing and reaping is an irreversible universal law of nature and life. As surely as a farmer sows his seed in winter, he would surely reap a harvest in summer.
Read MoreIn the event of an emergency, pull out the life vest from under your seat and put it on yourself first before attending to a young child if you’re traveling with one. Yes, take care of yourself first, and only after you’ve done that do you care for a young child or someone else in need. Herein lies an important lesson: We got to first feed ourselves before we can feed others. We got to first prosper on the inside before we can bless someone else.
Read MoreIt dawned on me that nothing I do, no amount of success in my career, no amount of cash in my bank account matter as much as the joy you bring or the grace you extend to another human being. Success comes and go, but lives touched, remain alight for eternity.
Read MoreMarriage is hard work. It takes more than just passion, love, smiles, cuddles and snugs. It takes more than just effort, compromises and giving ins. It takes sacrifice, selflessness and humility. Growing up with little love, attention or money, I learnt to be selfish. Whatever little love that’s dished out to me, I take. Whatever little attention that’s given to me, I take. Whatever little money that’s made available to me, I take. I know little about giving. Because I was so starved of everything a child needs growing up, I brought my lack into adulthood and into my marriage.
Read MoreWhat if I could control my response to people and circumstances? What if I let no one or circumstance steal my joy? What if I let inner joy rule my life? Day 1 unfolds.
Read MoreIn this short, sweet and straightforward post, I share simple methods to eating well. There is no one-size-fits-all diet. If there is, we would all be looking the same, wouldn't we?
Read MoreWhat is the difference between a diet and a fast? Dieting means you restrict a certain type or category of food for the purpose of losing weight. Fasting means you refrain from eating for a specific window of time for the purpose of cultivating self control and food management. This is my story of intermittent fasting and the incredible benefits I've reaped from it.
Read MoreThis comes a little late especially when we’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, seasons during which we struggle to eat right and avoid putting on weight. Oh wait, there’s the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration in a few days’ time. Ah, the joy of communion, but oh, the temptation of all of our favorite food! Aarrgghhh… how do we celebrate joyfully without the guilt centering around food?
Read MoreOriginally from El Salvador, Alejandro (not his real name) came to the United States in 2012. He wasn’t vacationing - he had one mission and one mission only: to work hard, save every penny, and send money home to clear his deceased parents’ mortgage debts in El Salvador.
Read MoreI resolve to exercise kindness. Being kind means being patient, even when my drive is pushing me forward and raising my temperature against people who are blocking my way. I’m guaranteed to trip, but I resolve to get back up and do it over and over, despite the numerous attempts. I ain’t knocked down till I stay down.
Read MoreWhat is the root cause of my frugality and displeasure with possessing stuff? I realized that every time I question my personality and primary traits, I have to look past the surface symptoms and dig deeper to my roots, to my early days, to understand why I am the way I am.
Read MoreWhenever I walk pass his sushi counter, despite his intent focus at preparing the next fresh roll of sushi, he’d always look up, greet me and ask about my day. He is always cheerful; I’ve never once saw him without a smile. He thinks I’m a student because I’m always carrying a backpack.
Read MoreI can tell he’s doing his best to do what is right by the different that he’s juggling, though sometimes things are beyond his control. Sometimes he’s fazed by changes and unrealistic expectations. Through it all he’s solid like a rock, unlike the broken pieces of concrete he is scooping and disposing out of the window.
Read MoreI told him he has a nice look about him. He immediately blushed, and looked down as he did in this picture. The first thing he told me after I complimented him on his look? That he was 58 years old. I told him you look as young and fit as ever! He smiled and blushed even more.
Read MoreHe was sitting next to me, eyes closed and totally immersed in the music playing over the speakers in Starbucks. I love watching him so much I couldn't help but to preserve the moment, in this still image of course. By capturing this moment, whenever I look at it, I'd be as immersed as he was as we both enjoy the things we love - him, music; me, photography.
Read MoreInstead of envying, be. Be the best that you can be each day and every day. Live life fully and abundantly. Mastery is practice build over time.
Read MoreTiming is everything. You never know if you’re getting someone at the right time. No now doesn’t mean no forever. It just means not right now. Somebody else’s timing is outside of our control - we don’t know the circumstances surrounding that person’s life that is dictating their decision to do or not do something.
Read MorePerfection kills flow. It is more important to encourage flow than perfection or art. It is easier to trim down than to add on. My first draft for Crazy Cycling Chick was a chaotic mix of thoughts, reflections, observations, ideas and points. I dumped them all in one document. It was messy to read when I was done with my first draft. There were more scribbles and doodles than there were structured and meaningful sentence. It wasn’t a ready book. Lesson learnt: Open two documents - one to write in, one to journal in.
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I’ve always had an unease with people hanging out by themselves. My memories of childhood were those of me returning home from school to an empty home.
I smiled and waved to her to join us at our table. She smiled, shrugged as if to say, ‘Alright, what’s the harm?’ and brought her cake and tea over to our table.
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