6. Respect Begets Respect

Lately, the on line news has been about this group of people throwing verbal threats in response to a perceived idea that their existence has been threatened and at the same time demanding to be given respect. Actually I am tired of hearing and reading about the same news about the same group of people who have nothing else better to do than invoking hatred based on racism and religion. Those same people also have been provoking the others by name-calling and mockery, and the more extreme ones  have gone to the extreme of destroying other people's places of worship.

Living in a multiracial is very trying indeed. The many races, different cultures and languages in a multiracial country can be the very things that can cause national discord. However, if each and everyone of us works at understanding the other person's culture and even religion, perhaps we can make the country and the world a more harmonious place to live. In fact, we have been living together peacefully, harmoniously since decades ago until lately, when a group of racists pulled out the racists card and demanded respect and treatment that is fit only for the aristocrats with their claim of being the supreme race!

How can anyone scream and shout, carry posters and slogans demanding to be respected! Respect is given freely, yet cannot be bought with money. Respect is earned by humility and respect for others.

Respect begets respect. Just that, and no other way.....

5. Home Is Where The Heart Is

When my other half asked me if I would join him abroad while he was on his overseas assignments from Shell Company many years ago, I was at loss for words. In my mind, thoughts were racing - Does this mean that I have to resign from my job? Leave my well-paying job and a promising career with one of the most prestigious companies in my beloved country? What will I be doing as a home-maker in another country where I have no friends, no relations and so on? What about my extended families? What about the beautiful house that we had built with our hard earned savings and lots of love and memories in it? These were some of the questions in my mind. 

On the other hand, I was worried about letting my other half taking care of himself alone for a long time away from home. I was in a dilemma, but I had to make my decision as fast as possible. After careful consideration, weighing the pros and cons of being with him as well as not being with him, I decided that I would accompany him on his overseas job postings, but I was still unsure - would I feel at home in the new place, in another country? In Japan?

Looking back, of course I feel at home - any where, for that matter, because....

Now, 10 years have passed and we are still living, working away from home. This place is now the second country we have moved to and which becomes our second home - a home I've grown to love a lot. And yes! contrary to my earlier thoughts and fear, I survived. Thanks to God Almighty, to whom I have grown much closer. 

4. Can't Help Falling In Love

As I scrolled down the news feed of my Facebook, I came across a posting from my dearest friend, Sylvia. It's a YouTube video clip of a cover of Elvis Presley's song, "Can't Help Falling In Love" by this sweet girl, Juliana. She sang it so beautifully that I just have to share her clip here.

The song has always been one of my favourites and each time I hear it, it takes me back to the first time my other half sang it to me long ago as he strummed his acoustic guitar at the little garden of our the campus where we studied and first met.

3. Choice....And A Pledge To Myself

Waking up after my 8 hours of sleep and checking my blood glucose for the first time today, I know that I have no other choice but to be in complete control of my day to day choice of food, activities and thoughts. 

As a result of my extensive researches and readings on human metabolic disorders, I know what kind of food is good for me and what kind of food that I must avoid. Temptation is great and the tendency to have my 'cheat days' is strong, but there is this little voice that keeps telling me that I am the result of what I have decided. So today I pledge to myself that I must be KIND to me, because my health and well being is my own responsibility. 

By the way, my blood glucose reading for today is 100 mg/dl, after eating a bowl of noodle soup an hour before I slept.

2. Friendship - Making friends as we go along...

Life is indeed a journey, and as we go along we made friends here and there. Some would remain our friends for a long time, others just briefly. Some become true friends who stood by our side not only in times of our joy and abundance, but in our times of sorrow and hardship.

For me, I have only a few friends whom I can call my true friends. They need not be near me all the time, nor be in touch with me everyday, but they have always been there when they know that I need a shoulder to lean on or someone to chat with. They also accept me just as I am. As Henry David Thoreau once said about friendship : 

• "Friends... they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams." 

Nowadays, with the existence of social media means to communicate, we also come across people who request our friendship. Some of these new found friends become really good friends, others are merely interested to look inside our life's "fish bowl", and in some cases, to find topics for their daily gossips. With the existence of the various social media means to establish social networks, 'stranger' is a word of yesterday. And, as the famous poet, William Butler Yeats said,

• "There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met."

1. I Am A Believer

Let me begin by introducing myself - I am a believer in The Almighty God and His Son, our Redeemer Christ. I was born into a Christian family, but I must confess that I am not a staunch Christian if that is defined by the frequency of attending Sunday church services. Nevertheless, I have daily conversation with my God in the privacy of my home or thoughts.

To kick off, here is one of my favourite verses from the Bible, John Chapter 3 Verse 16: