29.9.11

Thankfulness

I'm thankful that I can wake up in the morning and be able to get out of bed, thankful that I can still see ('cos I've got glaucoma), thankful that I can still move ('cos my mother-in-law can't)...

I'm thankful for my job, it's just across the road, near and convenient, it's simple yet challenging in its own right, stimulating and creative, and it pays a decent income (good enough for me).

I'm thankful for my spouse, he's great, ever so loving and kind to me and our kids.

I'm thankful for my kids, both fully grown (by the grace and mercy of God) in body, mind and spirit. They are my ever source of contention and joy.

I'm thankful for my foster mom, for her salvation and her help in my life.

I'm thankful for my mother-in-law for being the ever understanding elder, even now, despite her illness.

I'm thankful for each new day, all the time left in the days of my live, may I cherish them all and not take a single day for granted...

7.9.11

How Long Have You REALLY Lived?

Surveys have been done on this, adding up the amount of time an average guy spends in his lifetime studying, working, watching TV, waiting in queue, waiting at the traffic light, eating, sleeping etc. and finding out actually how much time he's really awake and living meaningfully.

Recently I find myself mulling over the same thing over and over again, so much so that I'm plagued by those thoughts even in my dreams. It's about things that had happened in the past.

Then it dawns on me how much time I've spent (wasted) living in the past instead of cherishing the present. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Yes, like the determined orang utan in the picture, I shall live in the present from now on!