Cheese & _______

The end of 2012 is near. A recap of what humanity have achieved this year. I don't think Gangnam man should be in there though. What do you think?

Poet Charles Bukowski wrote:  For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered.  But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries.  We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum.  I am my own God.  We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.  We are here to read these words from all these wise men and women who will tell us that we are here for different reasons and the same reason.

When things aren't adding up in your life, start subtracting.  When life seems stagnant and nothing is moving, people tried hard to add up activities in their daily schedule but to no avail. Sounds like you? Well, maybe some do enjoy being stagnant but I feel guilty about it. I hate changes but I need to live with some kinda changes. The best way? Why don't I substract some useless things in my life? Or stuff that I have too much but I don't need it that much?

Quote from Carl Sagan that puts earth and the universe into perspective: "The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in...

1. Life is all about CHOICES. You and you alone are responsible for your thoughts, your emotions, your attitudes and actions. Every choice you make has consequences, whether you like it or not. 2. Getting drunk or stoned is for wimps who can't or won't deal head-on and upfront with reality. There's no acceptable substitute for going through life with your head up, your eyes open, and your brain firmly in gear. 3. Learn everything you can, about whatever subject comes your way. 4. Start saving money early. Treat your credit card with the same wariness you'd give to a starving grizzly bear. 5. Pick your battles carefully. Sometimes, you have no choice but to fight. Other times, fighting's not worth the hassle. 6. Lighten up and laugh. Nobody likes downers, whiners and drama queens. If you really must wallow in self-pity, do it quietly and and get over it. 7. Learn the difference between life's inevitable suffering, and the dumb ass crap you inflict on ...

As I watched my grandma lying on the bed, I could not help but imagining myself in her position. She wasn’t exactly helpless; in fact, I thought she was really strong for a 90+ year old. She did not step into the hospital even though she had a stroke! Her self-recovery is way too speedy, I think. Acupuncture really works, perhaps. I wonder about what’s going on her head everyday. What does she live for? Would she prefer living or dying? I’m sure she’s tired of living and of not having the luxury to move about freely, to see clearly and to hear. At that age, with that kind of circumstances, what do you live for anymore? Isn’t life going to be depressing at that age? As I was in my head, I heard a question, coming from within myself. Perhaps, if I can answer what I want to be and what I want to do when I’m at that age that would probably solve my ultimate life question; what is my purpose in life? It is very simple, really. I want to be writing a book – if I still have the capabil...

There is a tag-line I fiercely believe in, "Live Dangerously" and I thought it is kinda heroic in a way. It seems like in this generation, everyone craves to live dangerously, breaking out of the 'typical' in life, forsaking money, abandoning a stable job, pursuing dreams/vision, climbing the highest mountain, fighting for a cause - worth or not worth fighting for. In fact, a friend who knows me well told me that I was living dangerously (or rather recklessly), resulting with all the troubles in my life. Yes, resulting with troubles . But today, I stumble upon a better tag-line. It's actually from a book title -Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously. (A book by Kent Annanfe) I think Kent nailed it. Perhaps this is the correct quote. Living fully - Not only living in the now but living in all past, present and future.  Grasping every moment, finding meaning in it. Loving Dangerously - risking y...

Assuming that the soul is not a thing, science is unlikely to prove its existence anytime soon. Yet the experience inspiring the word is entirely real. We speak of "the life of the mind", consciousness, psyche, the spirit.. "she's a free spirit".. And though people die their essence lives on - in words, deeds, qualities they gave to the people who knew and loved them.. There is something - a "soul-print" that connects us instantly to who and what they were. In terms of the broader context.. We know that life seems infinitely variable, and have begun to understand it in terms of systems, a vast web of inter-connectivity. Life is creative. It solves problems. It adapts. *Something is calling forth a higher degree of order. I believe this something, this larger whole, is the mystery that which we call the soul belongs to. by Francesca

Dreams to do with Death is very disturbing. I cried in the dream and also 'physically cried' and usually wake up with swollen eyes and a massive headache. Now I am exhausted. Ha! I think so far, (add this one) I have Four death dreams - One, I wasn't really impacted, non-emotional- I didn't cry, I was quite emotionless because I haven't talked or seen that person for many years and she probably spoken only two or three lines to me, so I wasn't that concerned. But I was concerned - as in why in the world I dreamed about her death? Well, the mystery of dreams. The first Death dream - I totally freaked out. I dreamed about a death of my family member- someone I love dearly. I did not see the dying process. It was more like a few officers brought me to a private room and then show some documentations and then break the bad news to me. I fell off the chair immediately and urgh, devastated. I don't want to be reminded of those feelings. I was so glad that it w...