Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Happiness


I would like to put my thoughts down on "Happiness" today. The essence that is going to follow is wisely shared by my yoga master yesterday evening.

Everyone without exception seeks happiness. Each individual has his or her ways to obtain happiness.


Happiness can come in the form for acquiring and possessing material things including cars, branded handbags and watches, jewelries.

Happiness too can appear in the form of gathering of money and having lots of it.

To many, plastic surgery to defy aging and pursuit of beauty is happiness.

Happiness can be a reflection of having a title to one's name.


Happiness to many is how others see, appreciate and admire them.


Most of these gratifications are instant, materialistic, temporary and can be lost in an instant.

If the above are what happiness are to these individuals, it is perfectly fine.

Let's imagine what happens to these individuals, if they lost all their money, jewelries, admiration, conferred salutations, cars and beauty in an instance. These people would lose their individualities and destroy their own self-esteem that so much depended on these things. All the possessions and pursuits are for the satisfaction of their
Egos. Once not there, they perceived that there is no longer any self-worth; there is no happiness left. To these individuals, there is no dependable support within themselves that they can fall back on once all those that they once treasured are no longer available to them. FEAR develops and destroys an individual.

Therefore,
self-centered-ness is critically important to each one of us. We can build in a structure that centers happiness within ourselves without depending on those earthly possessions and external reference checks. As long as we are able to feel happy and know happiness is us to call upon and is inside us and it can appears each time we call upon it, we are going to be a very happier group of persons. Whenever there is pain, suffering, lost, misunderstanding, guilt, sadness we can immediately go deep within ourselves to seek that reliable happiness that can mitigate those negative feelings and thoughts. Gratification can be instantaneous.

The practice of the yoga processes including
asanas, pranayama and meditation equips and lead ourselves to the attainment of happiness in ourselves . By being able to have that state of happiness, bliss and a positive fragrance glowing from within forms the foundation of being able to not FEARING.


Fear is defined as a false emotion appearing real. When we remove fear we get rid of the fear of death. We are then able to separate and detach our mind, body, and all properties we are aligned to externally.

Pursue
meditation. It is not a cult practice. It is not only meant for a select group of weird individuals. It is not a unholy or religious concept. Meditation is about strengthening our mind, building balance and a centered-ness within us. Without these strengths, our mind fluctuates wildly and harms our body in the form of stress, diseases and hallucinations. With all the health food, supplements and exercise we do, it would be really of no use if our mind is not stable and strong to provide the clarity and wellness that we seek when we either feel lost or requires inspiration.

Yes...take that first step to at least know what meditation is. That would be a start to bring a little magic into us. It has done wonders for my
BEING. Believe me.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Love Heals



This is something good that I wish to share.


Why Love Heals: How Friendships Keep You Healthy

By Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD
Getting Connected

There is an actual, physical chunk of brain that runs your emotions called the limbic brain. You can trace its development back a hundred million years. You can see it on an MRI. Every second you spend with other people, your limbic brain is tuning in to them, being changed by their moods, and changing theirs in turn. It's a constant, life-affirming limbic dance.

Experimental psychologists have known for decades that we share moods. If you don't believe me, just think of the people who make you feel better simply by walking into a room. These sorts of interactions feel so good (directly and unconsciously) that we would wither away without them. This is why you should never underrate the emotional side of your life.

Women are better than men at keeping the limbic dance going by working to ensure that families stay connected as the years go by and by building lasting friendships and deep connections from the many different aspects of their lives. High school and college friends, friends from work, friends from raising children together, from neighborhood committees, from shared vacations -- sure, some of these bonds and friendships fall away as part of the natural cycle of growing and changing, but most women find new friendships to replace them. Women who don't find close friendships, who have trouble keeping up connections, need to make an effort to change those patterns.

Hundreds of research studies confirm that isolation hurts us and connection heals us through the same physical mechanisms as exercise and healthy diet. Blood vessels are measurably more elastic, the heart's ability to respond to extraordinary demands is higher, cardiac inflammatory protein levels are lower, and blood pressure response to exercise is better in more connected people. Their stress-hormone blood profiles are also measurably healthier than those of isolated people.

Building a Community

Sadly, I see people in my medical practice who give up on connection, who stop living years before they die. These are women and men who feel so overwhelmed by the prospect of getting out and building new connections that they stop trying. Our society -- with its emphasis on the traditional family structure and the workplace as centers of social togetherness -- doesn't help matters. People who lack either of those have to work doubly hard. But the consequences of not making connections are so devastating that you cannot allow yourself to retreat into isolation. The stakes are too high. A study of more than 4,000 women and men in Alameda County, California, showed a direct link between the size of one's social circle and survival, with larger circles bringing ever-greater longevity. Women with fewer than six regular contacts outside the house had significantly higher rates of blocked coronary arteries, were more likely to be obese and have diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression, and were two and a half times more likely to die over the course of the study than those with an extensive social network.

Having either a good marriage or just one close friend cuts the risk of mortality by a third, and the benefit increases the more your circle broadens. It's reassuring to note that both quality and quantity count. Some people have a few close friends or family members, while others have a broad network of involvement with their community. Either works well, though it's best to have both.

Talk to any nurse about how much it matters for patients to have visitors in the hospital -- about the difference in outcome for those people who have a steady stream of visitors, a wall covered with get-well cards, flowers obscuring the monitors and tubing. But the thing is, you can't wait until trouble strikes to build your community. You have to work at it day after day, make the calls, make the effort, be the hospital visitor years before you need one yourself.

I'm lucky that no one in my own family has ever shied away from making these kinds of efforts. I couldn't imagine any other way until I became a doctor and saw the isolation in so many people's lives, particularly as they age. My mother and father each care deeply about building their passions and connections. They work hard at staying in touch with friends, and they're critically important people in their children's and grandchildren's lives. They have made living, caring, and connecting their jobs.

Optimism is an extraordinary limbic resource and is available to everyone because it's a learned skill. You can decide to be optimistic with remarkable success. Not Pollyanna optimistic, but glass-half-full optimistic, and it's worth the effort. Women who are optimistic about motherhood before pregnancy have a much lower risk of postpartum depression. Optimistic women have lower mortality rates from cancer and heart disease. It seems to help to approach illness with a positive, optimistic attitude, which may lower blood pressure and improve immune function. You recover from bypass surgery faster and better, you get out of bed sooner after back surgery, and you go back to work and regular exercise sooner. Anger doubles your risk of heart disease. But perceiving your work as satisfying cuts your risk of heart disease in half.

Finding Satisfaction in Life

Generations ago, extended families provided rich, lifelong limbic safety nets and connections to the group. In the days before TV, telephones, electric lights, and convenience stores, this wasn't a choice. There was nothing to do but be within a group. The great gift of traditional societies was that you were a necessary part of the community your whole life. Okinawans, a group of people living on an island off the coast of Japan, have the greatest documented longevity of any population on earth, and in their culture older people are integral parts of the community until they draw their last breath. At 90, or 100, they are respected for their life experience and are relevant to the group.

It seems as if that model is vanishing from the planet. But our society still has all those limbic connections -- you just have to find them and put them together for yourself. For those who are frantically busy with work, the office can be an important source of connection and gratification, which helps to explain why increasing numbers of Americans of both sexes are choosing to work past retirement. Sometimes this is for financial reasons, of course, but sometimes it's due to the increasing recognition that work has a value beyond the paycheck. Part of the value is simply in the structure -- in having a reason to get out of the house in the morning. Part of the value is in the social interactions that come automatically with most jobs. And part of it is the importance of still having a role in the tribe: a defined niche in the great social order.

There are other pathways to connectedness, too, such as spirituality. A search for meaning is too profound and personal for facile advice giving, but we do know that for limbic reasons alone you should be on the journey. The growing number of reasonably well-done studies on spirituality point to its importance in our lives for both mental and physical health. Many people who search for meaning in their lives and their experience via religion or spirituality survive loss, cancer, and heart disease better and have healthier immune chemistry and lower risks of stroke and Alzheimer's disease than those who do not.

People who report that faith is an important part of their lives have higher levels of life satisfaction and emotional well-being. You can decide for yourself how much of the positive effect stems from the increased social connections offered by organized religion and how much is from something ineffable, but the simple message is that it is important to look for the meaning in your life's experience.

Every single human being on the planet craves limbic connections. We just need to head out the door to build them. The tide of social atrophy -- of limbic decay -- is not that strong. It's just remorselessly steady. The ultimate message is swim against the tide, every day. If you work at it steadily, it is almost impossible to fail.


Let's give love in abundance and we can be absolutely sure that we will receive love many times over.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Missing And Not For Long

I am back!! Just to post this and will come back soon.

Be like this illuminated Teddy Bear. Cheerful as ever and still smiling much more. Never give up and let's spare a thought and kindness for all living creatures on this Earth especially, those displaced by all sorts of act done onto them by the human kind.

Funny LostCherry Images
www.postpalace.com

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Choices


"Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways".


Stephen Vincent Benét

I wrote about choices on January 29, 2007. This is yet another inspiring story about choices. An extract from the passage is -


Each morning I woke up and say to myself, "Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

The rest of the story begins here...

Positive Thinking

by: Unknown


Read this, and let it really sink in... Then, choose how you start your day tomorrow...


Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'

I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.


* Positive thinking the the first step towards a happy life.
* Attitude is everything

If everyone applies just these, the whole world will live in happiness.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Time


How time flies. It has been more than 10 days since I wrote. Time to come back.

"
Time" is an appropriate subject today. All of us are given time in equal measures. Each of us has our own meaning of "Time". To some of us, "time" is "stress and pressure". When we ran out of time, we begin to tear our hair out. "Time" to some means "money". To others, time is "getting old". There are many who would like to challenge "time" and hope to stay young.

To me, "time" is about
"sharing". Time is about not being alone and be selfish. Time is "sharing" mine and when I receiving in return is a smile that said it all.

There are many individuals whom "time" has is so precious. They are just living from moment-to-moment. Nothing to eat. Malnutrition, famine, droughts. Disease infesting condition. Aids, Ebola, Malaria.

There are also many people who live lavishly, eat excessive, spend extravagantly, waste sinfully.

How sad and unfair indeed that such a huge gap exist. The world system is never and can never ever be fair. There are governments and institutions that stock pile, burn and destroy feeds in the name of price control and economy.

When will countries and individuals come together to make this world a better one. I guessed not. Human beings are greedy by nature. Efforts of minority are always overwhelming by the majority. However, that doesn't mean that the few of us can do anything. Just a little goes a long long way. "Time" is one commodity that we can certainly part and share so that we can add to the goodness of the minority and help those in need of that little help that can be offered.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Hungry Children In Africa


Video clips and news have been added to the blog. Do check it out. Spread the news around so that more can be aware of the seriousness of hunger and how it is causing massive deprivation, malnutrition and diseases in Africa.

Do also check this website on poverty and hunger.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day


There are many in a romantic mood today. There are many too who are being loved and cared for. Today may be a very special day for many. To some of us, we expect a gift. However, for millions, it will be especially long and sad. No gifts. Alone. Unloved, uncared for, pinning for their loved ones and trying to get through today as best as they can possibly could.

Today is a day to remember the deprived ones - babies, infants and children, all over the world. Many are separated and left alone by wars, too many left dying with malnutrition and diseases...unattended to and searching for a chance to survive and to live. Many were just unlucky to be in parts of the world where, like it or not, wars, famine, drought, disasters and man-inflicted circumstances have dealt tragic blows to these children of our world's future. Just imagine how tough living is for these individuals. Living hands-to-mouth every segment of each passing day.

Let's take this day to do something for these babies, infants and children of all ages from various parts of the world. Let's offer hope, love and care in whichever way possible. Those of us who are able to read this are in a tremendously fortunate situation. Take a moment to spare a thought and provide a helping hand. These gestures that would make our world a better and more meaningful one for our children and all who share this mother earth; giving a beam of ray of light in pitch darkness during every moment of their lives and struggles. All they need is a chance to begin to live.

"If it is to be, it is up to me".

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. May there be abundant love all around.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

An Angel Has Flown






I read Amy Hathaway's diary and her poem this morning. It was so moving and touching. I recommend that you do visit her at her link www.foreverangels.org and read all about the fabulous work Amy and Ben Hathaway are both doing. Just imagine the amount of tribulations Amy, Ben, their team, the babies and children have to go through daily and yet they persevere, and take the challenges with high spirit and selfless dedication. Excellent and admirable work, Amy, Ben and all at Forever Angels Baby Home, Mwanza, Tanzania.

Nyanda...I am sure being amongst the angels is where you belong and is a more restful and peaceful place

postscript: photographs (top two) - Ben and Amy with the babies at the Home affording smiles all round even from a tiring day. Bottom photograph - Nyanda John



Amy Hathway's Diary

Thursday, February 01, 2007 - To Nyanda - January 11th 2007 - Febrary 1st 2007

MY TINY ANGEL - With love from Amy

For much too short a moment,
An angel came to me;
With tiny wings and halo,
But now he is set free.

My Baby Angel has now gone,
His time with us so small,
And yet this child so innocent,
Brought such love to us all.

My Angel came for reasons,
I just do not understand;
But left again so suddenly,
Now no longer in my hands.

His journey brief, though filled with love,
Was hard and full of strife,
I love you Nyanda and wished for you,
A long and happy life.

I now close my eyes and picture you,
I imagine your tiny face,
I hope that now, you are at peace
And have flown to a better place,

So, rest now my tiny angel,
Your time with us is through;
You will be in my heart forever,
And I'll always love you.
Posted @ 10:43 PM

- A Sad Day

Today has been a sad day. Baby Nyanda died in hospital this morning.

I would like to say it was because he was very sick - but he wasn't. I visited him just yesterday evening and he was doing fine. He did have malaria and his hand looked sore where his drip had tissued - but he was doing well and I expected him to be discharged today.

I got a phone call from the Doctor at 7.30am this morning to say that Nyanda had vomited and aspirated (choked). He died because no one heard him and so didn't help.

Last night there was only one nurse on duty on Neonatal Unit - caring for almost 30 babies - most of whom were much more sick than Nyanda. It is not the nurses fault - but the Management of the Hospital.

Our little boy died unnecessarily.

I am angry and sad and have had a very busy day so haven't even really had time to think about it all.

The Doctor has asked me to write an Official Letter of Complaint to the Hospital - which I will do - but I don't expect it will do much good.

It takes a miracle to change things here - I went to the hospital this morning to see Nyanda and to speak to the Doctors - there were 3 nurses on duty - and not one of them was in the actual room with the babies. They all sit at desks paper shuffling at best, or at worst, just chatting.

Our baby died last night and they were still not doing any 'nursing'.

The whole process was awful at the hospital. Nyanda had been wrapped up when we arrived - but he was just plonked on a metal table in the sluice room. We asked for 5 minutes alone with him - but that was too much to ask for and after a lot of huffing and puffing we were finally allowed to take him to the linen cupboard!

We had to wait for him to be taken to the mortuary and then I wasn't allowed to carry him - but he was literally dropped into a metal trolley and carted off.....stopping at ICU on the way to collect another baby who died in the night!

Poor Nyanda would have been better off at Forever Angels receiving no medical care than in the Neonatal Unit. I just wish I had known. I think we have learned a valuable lesson about the hospital - but when we have sick children - we have very little choice. This is the best hospital in the City.

I am going to try to find his relatives / neighbours in the village tomorrow with Social Welfare and then once we know their wishes, we can make plans. Sometimes the family want to arrange the burial themselves, often they leave it to the Baby Home.

Whatever their decision, we are having a Service on Monday at the Baby Home for Nyanda. He was only with us a short time - but Forever Angels is like a family and these children are loved from the minute they come to us. We are all devastated to lose Nyanda and angry at the circumstances....but this only reinforces my entry the other day about the desperate need for more funding for nurses at the hospital - and UK trained Neonatal nurses to come out here to help and to train.

Sometimes what we do here is never going to be enough.

Nyanda will be truly missed by us all - our first precious angel has flown.

* * * * * * * * * * *
It seems strange to add 'good news' to the end of this entry - but after the sadness of this morning - there was some light in the afternoon. I spent the afternoon collecting a set of 10 day old twins - one boy and one girl. Their mother died just after giving birth and the Father is unable to cope. They seem well and alert , but have diaoreal infections and some skin lesions which we will get checked out by a Doctor tomorrow.

For twins they are quite a good size....but maybe I am just used to very small babies now? Seba is 1.92kg and Omali is 2.54kg.

Please have all my staff and babies in your thoughts on this sad day.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Choices


An Australian friend of mine, Sharon Doodewaard, shared this moving story with me this morning. I thought the message holds an enormous amount of meaning. I am sure you will be touched by it too. It is warming to the heart. Just take the next couple of minutes to read this.

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

Two Choices

What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: "
Would you have made the same choice?"

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father o f one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "
When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "
I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "
Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "
We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the g
ame and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "
Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "
Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "
Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "
Run to third! Shay, run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "
Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

"
That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second tho
ught, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about sharing this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who you would like to share this believes that
we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

You now have two choices: Either

1. Forget this message; or

2. Share this message and warm as many hearts as possible.

May your day, be a Shay Day.

e-oo took the second choice.

Friday, January 26, 2007

"I love you so"


Just sitting down and thinking of Valentine's Day. It's going to be another year. Yes, another year indeed. What has the past 350 odd days being like? How much have love and romance played a significant part in those days passed? For many, a little portion has meant an appreciate whole lot. To some, they might not have enough of love and romance. Yet to many unfortunate and lonely ones, they have not even received an ounce of love at all.

However, the most important question is not how much love one has received. It's how much have we given? And without expectation of any love being returned.

Think of our mums and dads. The love they have given can't be bought and at times with deep sacrifice and selflessly. Their love are absolutely priceless. However, when they gave us their love, they didn't expect any in return and money in return. Their love are unconditional. We really should reciprocate; return our love with even greater measures, and most of all, with utmost respect and filial piety.

It is unfortunate that there are many peopel who differ in their actions. Valentine's Day is a time of the year to ponder and act. A good time to be reminded and to remember that one's existence is owed to one's parents. No matter at which or what position one's life is currently at, this is always the time to reflect and show gratitude and ask forgiveness.

Valentine's Day is the time to say "I love you so" and "I am so sorry, forgive me".

Monday, January 22, 2007

Why Teddy Bears?


Teddy bears hold a special place in our hearts while we were going up. Even when some of us might not personally owned one in our growing years, perhaps, a brother, sister or friend had one. These teddy bears provided much consolation, much love, much comfort, much joy, much fulfillment. Teddy bears even shared many hidden secrets and tears with their faithful owners. Indeed teddy bears meant a whole world to many of us. Even today, no matter we are grown-ups or have past half a century in our lives, teddy bears might still be next to our bedsides, share our beds, in our cars. Who says we never bring our favorite teddy bears on vacations?


Teddy bears will continue to give us pleasures and companionship. It is amazing how much teddy bears bring about hope, magic and create miracles. Long-live Teddy Bears!!

Friday, January 19, 2007

100teddybear website almost done!!




I have been absent for a few days. I have a good reason. I was trying to finishing off the 100teddybear.com website. It is now finally done!! Maybe just a little debugging to do, Meta Tags, building links, continuous SEO tracking and some other areas as I go through the learning curve. Oh..I need to build up the list of orphans and orphanage homes.

Please visit and check it out. It is almost 1 am in the morning. Time to go and take a rest. I will share more in the coming days.

Friday, January 12, 2007

e-oo



e-oo

Yes..that's my name.

I am fun, lovable and cuddly. My eyes are beady and blush. Hmmm ... my nose is embroidered in a 'love'-shape. I carry this very naive, curious, youthful outlook. My personality is always filled with wonderment and curious about the on-goings surrounding me. I have a tremendous thirst to fulfill curiosity. My clothes has running stitches all over. My clothes are all hand-made.


More about me in days to come. Come by to visit me regularly. Love to see you. Remember my name is e-oo.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Teddy Bears ... Doing Something For Children


2007 is another beginning. Tomorrow; going right into the 11th. day of the new year, there is a sense of a few substantial projects that I have neither done nor achieved. One of the best decisions in 2006 that I made was to get myself started on the path to understand the world of internet. I had that desire for several years but did not start on any action plan. In November last year, I decided to embark towards that goal of acquiring more knowledge towards that field. I attended a workshop and the rest is history.

Since then, I have by each passing day, learned and understand the world of internet marketing, blogs, SEO, keywords and so many new terms and jargons. I even invested in a new Mac to prepare myself for all the memorable and exciting moments to come. I must say that the journey since November has been a wonderful ride and experience. Most important of all, I have 2 positive outcomes.

I met some new friends.

Secondly, I have certainly drove myself down the path of setting up a website that I am going launch in a few more days. And I wish the world at large would participate with me as well.

www.100teddybear.com

Yes!! Indeed this is literally a website for teddy bears. Hand-made, no two exactly alike, teddy bears. This is going to be a website with a mission. Teddy bears are going to be mascots for the website. They are going to stand for creating moments and magic for children. Those children needing care, attention, love, food and most of all, to be given a simple chance to survive. As a start, 100teddybear.com is dedicated to granting wishes of web page-listed orphaned children without the grace and fortune of ever receiving the joy of having teddy bears in their lives. 100teddybear.com can make it possible for visitors to the website to provide teddy bears for many of such children. I only wish the website could have made it for last Christmas!! Well, Valentine's Day is approaching.

There are many children who do not even have much of a chance to survive when they come to this world. 20% of sales revenue from the website will be specially dedicated to provide food and medicines for the cause of such hungry children in parts of the world where this contribution would matter most. One day I am sure the website will be able to give more than this 20%, and play a much large role than it is capable of at this infancy stage.

2007 is the start of
Mission : Teddy Bear. It is not going to just end here.

2007 is going to be a fantastic year. A year, and surely many more to come, that I desire to see hopeful beginnings for children needing care. And 100teddybear.com is fortunate to plan to play a capable part in it.