Books - Gateway to knowledge and wonderment

WHEN I was a little boy, I lived in a house that was fairly small. But since all the rest of the brother and sisters were hobbit-sized, the house looked big enough for all of us.
The years melted away and I soon entered my teenage years. Suddenly, I developed an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Since, television in my country Malaysia was still in its infancy, radio and books were the only two sources of information readily available.
My dad was not a reader, neither was my mum. The only things to read were the newspaper and an old set of Grolier encyclopedia and some children's fairy tale books. I recall really craving for more books of substance. My mind reached out and there was practically nothing.
I was frustrated. The years passed and I progressed to secondary school level. Things brightened up a little. There was a public library a couple miles away from my house. I quickly became a member because membership was free.
Every month, I borrowed four books. That was the maximum number the library allowed. I guess at that stage, I bit off more than I could chew. I picked books that were beyond my understand. I was that curious.
There were books on Chinese philosophy by ancient wisemen like Lao Tze, Mencius and Chuang Tze. I read some of these books but could only understand about 20 per cent of their contents. But I was contented with the little amount of knowledge I could absorb.
I recall one book entitled International Communism. It was so boring and dry that I almost choked on it. But being the stubborn person I was, I read it right till the last paper. If there was anything good about me, it was determination and perseverance.
The decades have passed. Now I have passed the half-century mark. My house is filled with books bought, some given and accumulated over the years from different towns, cities and countries.
I am beginning to realise that my house is running out of space for book storage. I am glad I have all these books. They have enabled me to journey to lands I have not step foot on. They opened my eyes and mind to wonders beyond my understanding.
Nevertheless, I am in awe because of the "windows" made available by books. I have read books that have made me cry. I have read books that have strengthened my resolve, warm my heart and brought joy to my soul.
Books truly are one of man's greatest creations and inventions. Now with the Internet, the world of knowledge has been dispensed with its borders. Now everyone and anyone can expand his mind and be educated - all within reach and all at the tip of his fingers.
Every child should develop an interest in reading. I still recall a saying:
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't ready them."
So read till the day it's time to leave this wonderful planet.

This one's for you, dad.

MY dad passed away about seven years ago. He was born in an era which was known as the Roaring 20s. By the time, he had just finished his education, the war in the Pacific had reached the shores of Malaya (now Malaysia).
My father survived the war but not before being shot at by a Japanese Zero fighter plane. It was obviously flown by a pilot who had plenty of free time in his hands. He spotted my father walking along a lonely street, tipped his wings and dove. Opened up his deadly guns and a rain of lethal bullets echoed in the street where my dad was walking.
Needless to say, my dad had the fright of his life and ran like Jessie Owens. He leapt across an impossibly wide monsoon drain and lived to tell the tale to his children. That incident was one of the highlights of his life.
The years that followed blended with the big band music that reverberated through the dancing halls of Penang, otherwise known as the Pearl of the Orient. My dad in his early adulthood had developed a passion for dancing and he was a fast learner.
His buddy at that time, a veteran of several night clubs, was a Malay guy nicknamed Tikus (or rat). He taught a couple of basic steps to my dad and my dad picked up the rest from other regulars at night clubs usually frequently by British residents who had returned to Malaya to run the rubber plantations and tin mines scattered all over Malaya.
In a few short years, my dad become quite nibble with his feet as he tangoed and waltzed through the cabarets and night clubs whenever finances permitted. That love for dancing never left him until the last couple of years in his life.
My dad died at the age of 74. He was a man of few hobbies. Nothing significant as I recalled. One of his hobbies, if you can call it a hobby, is mahjong. Basically, it is gambling.
The Chinese are very passionate about this game of tiles. This passion for mahjong also followed my father for the rest of his natural life.
One of the things that my father did which did rub off on me was collecting memorable phrases. When I was in my teens, I stumbled across an old notebook in my dad's drawer. I opened the pages and out sprung some of the lovely phrases ever written in English.
When I asked my dad about them, he told me that in his school years he met some interesting people who had an unusual command of the English language. Some of the things these friends had written so fascinated my father that he copied them for posterity.
Among the more memorable ones are:
Friendship cheers the faint and weary
Makes the timid spirit brave
Warns the erring, lights the dreary
Smooths the passage to the grave.

Another:
Sometimes in the crowded place, there comes the fleeting vision of a dear remembered face. It strikes some memory's golden strings and awakens the echoing music of the unforgotten things.

I too caught the English language "bug" and engraved it in the walls of my mind. And there the sayings stayed there until such times when I needed them.
My dad also had another passion. He loved clothes, especially new ones. Whenever he had money, he would make a beeline for the clothing shops. He bought them even if he didn't need them. Trousers, shirts, shoes, anything that will spruce up his image.
He bought them, brought them home and immediately put them on. He also had lots of perfume. He loved them all. He loved fragrances. The stronger the better. As a result, our house would always be enveloped by fragrances whenever he walked across the house to leave for an appointment.
His other hobby is being a very serious punter of most kinds of lotteries. After about 50 years, he developed a radar-like sense for winning numbers. I don't know if he was just lucky or psychic but he struck prizes rather frequently in his later years. So most of the time, he was quite cheerful, understandably so, because his wallet was constantly bulging with cash.
Even though my father wasn't highly educated like other people's fathers, his taste for music was world class. One of his favourite LPs was this sad-looking album which had only piano tunes.
The musical pieces were slow and tended to lull listeners to sleep. My dad loved the LP to bits. He used to sit in the dark in his sarong with a cigarette on his lips, eyes half-closed and slipped into dreamland with only the piano music in the background.
Now that I am much older, I am beginning to understand my dad's love for music. Some of his music choices have also left a deep impression on me. For example, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves, Pat Boone, Petty Como, Frank Sinatra and Chubby Checker.
I guess in this particular area, I am a bit like my dad. My dad lived life to the fullest he know how.
I have wanting to say all this in writing for my dad for a long time. Now, I have the time and the space. So this is for you, dad. Life is never final. The journey continues.

Call your mom or dad, for heaven's sake

MANY adults never really miss their parents until they passed away suddenly. This happens when you are living far away from them and you hardly phone home.
When your mom and dad are no longer on earth, you sometimes think of them and wish you had been a better son or daughter. There will come a time when you miss their company.
There may even be times when you reflect on those early years when you were still a kid and they worry about you incessantly. Now that you are a working adult and perhaps even a parent yourself, you suddenly realise how you had been a better child to them.
So my timely advice to the reader is: please phone home. Surprise your mom or dad, or both with your cheeful disposition. And tell them, you are coming home for a while, just for the fun of it.
I have now a significant number of decades to my name and in some ways I miss my parents. I lived for many years away from home after I graduated from the university. I went to the city to work and stay.
I hardly called home and I thought my parents wouldn't really miss me since there are five siblings in the family.
By the time, I realised that I should have done this or that, my mom had suffered a massive stroke and she was no longer her usual self. She could hardly recognise me. Her cheerfulness had faded with the memories she lost.
One night I cried in silence for all the times I had not been with her when she was at our old home; for all the times I had not called home; for all the times when I had not cheered her up; for all the times when she had complained about something and I had not listened attentively and for all the times when I should have shown her I loved her as a son should.
So now I am passing on an advice which I didn't adopt and practise. I do this in the hope that someone will hear me and lift the spirits of their mom and dad.
One day, if you are fortunate enough you will be a dad or a mom. You may be lucky enough to have children. And if you are really nice to them or have brought them up well, they will call you constantly and showered you with their love in so many ways.
This is why God created children and make these children parents later on in life so that life's lessons will be beautifully learnt and cherished.
And so the link between heaven and earth will remain strong forevermore.

Bill Moran - the Father of modern damascus steel

Picture: Bill Moran is on the left.


ANY knife collector who's worth the price of his blades should know a little about Bill Moran. He's the icon of the modern knife industry, especially in America. Moran is in his late 70s.
But he has left an indelible mark on quality custom knives. A long time ago, when Moran was starting out on his knifemaking career, his knives were sold at a tiny fraction of what they are worth today.
Bill has been reported to have said: "My knives are too expensive even for me to use now."
Bill started making knives about 60 years ago when he was 14 years old. He didn't turn professional until 45 years ago (1960). Like a lot of knifemakers, he grew up in a farm where his dad was a dairy farmer.
Bill wanted to make knives the old-fashioned way - through forging. That means fire and steel and that involves a lot of hammering.
Good knives and heat treatment go very much hand in hand. In the old days when Bill was just a boy, there was no one to teach him. So he went through the trial-and-error process.
Admittedly, Bill made a large number of mistakes. That's why he's gotten pretty good at it. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, also went down the same road. Edison made thousands of mistakes. Each one was a valuable lesson. Moran adopted the same principle.
For someone who spends six to seven hours facing heat in the forge, Bill has become very familiar with all things steel. In 1973, Moran revealed to the knifemaking community his new discovery - damascus steel.
Needless to say, everybody was impressed and wanted to know how he did it. Moran gave credit to Hanford Miller as the first person who taught him about damascus.
Moran's virtuosity with damascus soon revived interest in art knives. Some of those pretty knives which you may have seen with silver inlay in their handles were probably inspired by earlier blades made by Moran or his admirers or imitators.
Moran said he makes about four to five damascus patterns. The twist pattern cuts the best, says Moran. And we all take that as Gospel truth because Moran's statement on damascus cannot be challenged, unless you have spent the same number of hours in the forge like he did. Unfortunately for all of us, Moran has decades of headstart ahead of us.
For someone whose early knives were practically not wanted by anyone, Moran has come a very long way. What he didn't foresaw was collectors' interest in his knives. Today, anything that has Bill Moran's mark on them are treasured as investments of the sterling kind.
Moran is also a co-founder of the bladesmith school in Washington, Arkansas. His personal ideals of creating a top-notch school for those who are interested in the fien art of knifemaking were not lost on the directors of the Pioneer Washington Foundation.

Why do you want to be a university graduate?

EVERY mother and father hope for their child or children to reach the highest in education. That would mean at the very least, a university education. God knows studying at the university isn't exactly cheap these days.
Students who come from a less than financially secure background need to do part time jobs or try their very best to obtain a scholarship or part scholarship so that they could fulfil their dreams.
University degree ensures that you are at least employable in the eyes of a number of corporations and companies. There will of course be a handful who were pursue knowledge up to PhD level. Good for them.
For the rest of us mortals, we are quite satisfied with our first degree. No need to remind me that Steven Jobs (Apple founder) and Bill Gates are college dropouts. They are more exceptions than the rule.
A university education guarantees that you have set a fine example for your children in future. You have paved the way for them to emulate your example.
You also have pleased your parents. They would want to boast to their friends and relatives that you have done good, thereby making them share in your glory, too.
If you are still single, and later when you get married and have children, you will know what I mean. Being in university and staying the course until graduation means that you have the foresight and determination to do something with yourself.
It also gives your dad a sense of purpose. It will show your mum how much you love her because you are doing your best to make her proud of you. That's the very least you can do. Afterall, she had washed your clothes and fed you for more than two decades and will continue to love you till she dies. Now, isn't that the best deal you have ever had?
Being a graduate also means you will develop some common sense along the way and be a good citizen and a fine gentleman or lady. That, you will one day, maybe, have the opportunity to help others achieve the kind of dreams you have achieved.
In university, you will learn to be broad-minded. You will find out that you know very little despite the number of books you have read and the countless number of hours you have studied.
With God's help, you may learn some humility. It will dawn on you that you are one of the lucky blokes on earth who has the opportunity to study thus far, while millions of others in the same age as you toiling away at meaningless jobs and living a life of quiet desperation.
There is a divine purpose for you to be a university graduate. It is usually to help others do as well as you, or even better. If you have done that well, then your time on earth is not wasted. Flowers will grow on the ground that you have walked on.
So if you have made up your mind to be a university undergraduate, go so with your heart full of joy and your mind a sense of purpose.
It doesn't mean of course that being a graduate that you have all the answers to the world's ills. Not so. It just means you are one of the chosen ones. Nothing happens by accident in life.
Set lofty ideals for yourself. Spread the good word to others that university education not only opens doors but windows to the world of knowledge.
Don't forget however that having an education doesn't mean you are a genius. It's always better to be wise. And wisdom comes from experience and spiritual enlightenment.
Go ahead, you young man and you too young lady. Strive to be best in your educational endeavour. Make something of yourself. This is a cliche, I know but it is so true that the phrase has survived the ages.
Make a fine example of yourself, so that when it's time for you to leave this world, others will sing praises that they have met you and can truly call you a good friend. Loved ones will talk positively about your great contributions to generations who will come after you and to those who will bear your name.

Winston Spencer Churchill

CHURCHILL is one of those kind of characters who emerged in the pages of history about one every two hundred years. His life is as interesting as any good Hollywood movie.
Churchill himself believed he had a date with destiny and he felt it very strongly when he was called upon to be Britain's Prime Minister when Britain declared war on Germany at the beginning of the World War II.
His early years in South Africa prepared him for a more demanding role in life about 30 years later. Churchill was incarcerated and then he escaped, the subject of which was chronicled into a book which became a best seller in Churchill's lifetime.
The Man of Half Century (Time magazine) has been described as the Last Lion of the British Empire. He has also been described as the man who marshalled the English language and led it to war.
Today, we know of Churchill's exploits in World War II and the stirring speeches he made that roused the entire English nation and fought like a lion with all its ferocity.
Churchill's stirring words at the height of the war still strikes a chord in me today: "Britain will fight on for years, and if necessary, alone!"
I have yet to read Churchill's famous six volumes on World War II. It is a master piece on the war. Only Churchill could have written it the way he saw it.
My Early Years was Churchill's book which initially triggered my interest in the great statesman. I am glad I came across Churchill because in some ways, his words and his speeches have brought positive changes to my life.
Everyman must have a role model. I have several. Churchill just happened to be one of my finest role models. Churchill's bulldog tenacity and his determination have been guideposts for much of my adult life.
Till today, Britons still recognised that Churchill had been one of their finest Prime Ministers in the English history.

The Force of Star Wars

ABOUT 25 years ago, when I was a little boy, there was this movie which everyone was raving about. It was making huge waves in America and soon across the world. Star Wars has since become an institution.
People have used the title of the movie and applied it on everything they can think of, like Car Wars, Company Wars, Sex Wars, Hair Wars, Money Wars, etc.
Next month, if I am not mistaken, the last instalment of a three-part prequel will be screen. It is Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
For those of us who are faithful followers of Star Wars and other members who prided themselves as earth-bound Jedis, this movie marks an end to a lifelong quest in relentless entertainment.
We have seen how Darth Vader was destroyed and now we have flashbacks to see how Anakin became the most dreaded warlord on the other side of the universe.
It is hard to imagine that a movie can be broken up into six parts and stretches over a quarter of a century. Even Lord of the Rings can't top that.
Star Wars has sparked the imagination of a generation of people across the globe. And what a movie it is.
According to the Hollywod grapevine, this sixth instalment of Star Wars is the most interest and the darkest. It is violent, too. But the Force will prevail as usual and we all are thankful for that.
Sometimes when my imagination goes on an overdrive, my fingers wriggle in search of a light sabre. What grown-up kid wouldn't give to possess a light sabre. It is the stuff dreams are made of.
The movie has turned its creator George Lucas into a billionaire and his good pal Steven Spielberg into a Hollywood icon. See what imagination can do for the world and two boys who happened to share the same dream.
I am happy there are people like George and Steven around. They serve to remind us that ordinary blokes can do the impossible if the passion in their hearts are strong and unshakeable.
May the Force Be With All of Us!!

Be nice - it costs nothing

Many people go through life trying their best to outdo others. In the course of doing so, they become nasty and mean without realising so until one day they find themselves sitting all alone at home and wondering why nobody ever calls them, not even their relatives.
There was a time in my life when I came very close to being a person like that. One day, I got lucky because somebody took me aside and gave me a major ticking-off. I was so psychologically traumatised that I was jolted out of my dysfunctional mindset.
From then on, I began to review my priorities. It didn't take me long to realise that I have been a bit of a pain-in-the-neck. Then, I found out that I am just a normal bloke who would prefer others to like me, just like millions of others around the globe.
Not long afterwards, I read with great fascination Dale Carnegie's book entitle How to Win and Influence People. It was such a great book. It was filled with nuggets of wisdom. I guess I was "ripe" for a "conversion". It was one of those life-altering experiences.
Like Paul travelling on the road to Damascus during biblical times, I was struck down and then I saw the light.
Of course, I have not attained sainthood but it was exhilirating to understand at last what life was all about and it costs nothing to flash at smile at strangers and friends.
That was decades ago. These days, I try my utmost to do random acts of kindness and promptly forget about them. Waiting to get credit for so-called good deeds only negate the very actions perpectuated. The idea is just to do it and then carry on with life.
So be nice. Be sincere about it. When you deliberately act like a nice person and you keep at it, soon enough it grows on you and your personality changes. Before long, you become what you have mentally commanded yourself to do.
You will be surprised at the reactions you will receive. People tend to reciprocate such acts of kindness, and they in turn will attempt to emulate you.
There was a movie called Pay It Forward some years ago. It had a theme similar to what I have been saying. It started a chain reaction and it went on and on. What a wonderful theory that translated into something very real on the practical level.
Be nice, I can't repeat that line often enough. Don't try to be nice. Just be nice. It is a quality that is in all of us. Why do you think there is so much untapped goodness in this world and in all people.
When you have nothing more to lose, be nice, for no reason at all; without a thought of receiving something back. Some people will be shocked but when they get over it, they will try it themselves and the process continues.
And it's all because of you. One man can make all the difference. There was a man like that two thousand years ago. They call him Jesus.

Chuckling at adversity

Ever heard of this phrase, "I snigger at misery, chuckle at adversity and laugh in the face of sorrow". A long time ago, I cam across this line and thought it was pretty funny.
After I had composed myself, I realised how wise it was, so I kept it close to my heart. These days when I am in any situation that mirrors the above, I recall the wise counsel of that line and pick myself up.

Blessed are those indeed who see the common thread that links happiness to joy to anxiety to sorrow to pain and to peace of mind. If you can see that these are the faces of a common entity then you would have conquered the ills that have plagued man since the dawn of time.
Treat all these imposters as the same and they will have little or no effect on you. Imagine, if you are suddenly laid off by your employer and on your way home your car suffered a puncture. Just when you pull out the cell phone to call the AAM, the cell phone battery dies on you. When you reach home, you discover that your house has been burgled and hours later your son tells you that he has done badly in his exam. Later, your wife scolds you for no reason at all.
Would you laugh then? Crazy, isn't it? But there's no better time than then to laugh and snigger at the "mad" things that come like an avalanche at you. The person who can chuckle at all these happenings which take place on the same day is a leader among leaders.
And yet anybody can achieve that state of mind. All you need to tell yourself is the thing is only important to you if you attach importance to it. See it in the wide scheme of things.
Fifty years from now or maybe even sooner when Death pays you a visit, all the impermanent things on Earth will be insignificant all of a sudden. Only those who live after you will place any importance to material items. As for you, you will be too busy looking forward to your "new" life elsewhere.
Therefore, learn to laugh at misery and poke fun at sorrow. They can only make you feel blue if you allow them.
Develop the mindset of treating seemingly difficult challenges as imposters. See the lighter side of life. Put on a funny DVD and laugh with all sincerity and watch your troubles melt away.

When is it a good time to retire?

ACTUALLY, never. Man was not made for inertia. I reckon when we talk of retirement, we think of leaving our jobs and live on our pensions, go fishing, read books and travel around the world indefinitely.
Retirement in the real sense of the word, in reality, is bad for us. I have a number of friends who retired and then promptly died soon afterwards. You could say they have given up on life. They saw the pointlessness of a continued existence.
When a person makes up his mind to die, his body obeys accordingly. We can "programme" our bodies to do whatever we want them to do.
Therefore, my friends, don't ever retire. It is bad for longevity. We are created to live out every minute of our life - be it long or short. Every second that is given to us must, hopefully, be put to fruitful use.
In other words, somebody somewhere has benefited from their association with us. We will indeed have made this neighbourhood, this community, this society and eventually this world a better place with your presence.
Retirement is for those who have failed to live up to their potential. Do something that makes you happy. Engage in some activity so as to while the time away. Your work must make the day seem short. The hours become mere minutes to you in the course of your work.
If it is the kind of work that you enjoy, then it will cease to be work. It will be a joy. It will be happiness. Such a state of mind will be reflected in your face, in your very being. You will begin to treat others as you yourself want to be treated.
Your happiness will soon become infectious. You will laugh more. You will dance. You will sing. You will touch heaven while your feet are firmly planted on earth.
Don't retire from life. Be active till it's time to slow down but continue to do the things you love. It may be painting, it may be tending to your garden, it may even be writing things of no particular importance. Do it all and do it with joy in your heart.
You know who are those who have really retired? The people in the cemetery. Don't be like them before your time. You are made for living. So live it up!!!

God looks at me and smiles

IT IS common knowledge that most people will admit to never FEELING God's presence their entire life. Yes, people of all creeds and religions pray all the time. They usually pray when their needs are most urgent.
Mothers prayer that their children will enjoy trouble-free lives. A mother prays most earnestly when her child is gravely ill.
But if you ask them, "do you at any time think or feel that God is near?" They will most probably answer: "God has no time for people like me. I feel I am tested all the time."
How wrong they all are. God, the Almighty, the Old Man Upstairs, the Big Man, The One in Heaven, whatever you want to call him, is always with us. He's nearer than you think, and he's there with you in your every breathing moment.
How do I know? I know because every morning when I am riding my bike to work, I see the sunshine across my path. I feel the cool breeze on my cheeks. It is God smiling at me, like the sunshine. The rushing breeze is like his breath.
Whenever, I hear a beautiful song whose lyrics make me cry with joy or nostalgia, I know it is God who has inspired the songwriter to pen those words. He knows for many of us, the words in songs will remind of all that's good, soothe our tired souls and bodies, rejuvenate our minds, gladden our hearts and remind us that life is beautiful all the time.
Your children are little reminders by God that you have many chances to correct your ways. Even if you are a scoundrel, you would not want your offspring to follow your footsteps. The mere act of wanting your child to do better and be better than you is an act of paying homage to God.
Your loved ones are his constant assurances to you than you are not alone in your hour of sorrow or moments of joy. He shares them with you through them.
Life is for enjoying. Live life to the fullest. God says all these to us through the beautiful sceneries he played before our eyes. He makes you appreciate the wonders of his creation. The beautiful things in life or in the landscape are his whispers in your ear that you owe it to yourself to be happy.
And when you believe he's not around to lend you a hand, he sends a friend to you to lend you money, or even a shoulder to cry on. Everyone who helps you, anyone who crosses your path and helps you in a positive way are his messengers.
He sends angels to help you to your feet - that's why he gives you strong legs. He gives you the ability to make others smile and laugh because he wants you to share all that he has given you.
The Laws of Heaven dictate that in order to have more of what you want, you must first give them all or share your gifts and treasures with all concerned. For example, to receive love, you must first give it all, unconditionally. If you want happiness for yourself, you must make others happy.
I see God winking at me in the evening with the setting sun. I see God greeting me in the morning with the first rays of the rising sun. I see God pulling my legs when raindrops fall on my head on a bright sunny day.
I feel his presence every second of every minute in every hour because I feel the spark of his being in my soul. He is part of me, just as he is part of you.
The next time, you see a beautiful child smile at you, rest assured that it's just God smiling at you. Chin up, he says. Life is great, see it in the eyes of the beautiful child and be awashed with love in the smile of the innocent, for that is what heaven and God are all about.

Pick yourself up NOW!!!

For too long now, you have been whining and wallowing in self-pity. It's time to dry those tears and get on with your life.

Everyone cries now and then. And there may be very good reasons for doing so. But tears while they may be therapeutic at times do not solve problems.

The idea is to make up your mind to keep on trudging and plodding along as long as there is breath in our lungs.
Life is short. Everyone knows that but how many of us really, really take heed of that cliche. If you are now in your 30s, wasn't it that long ago when you were in your teens?
So what has happened to those glorious ambitions of yours? Have you started learning those three foreign languages which you so wanted?

Some people (there are very few of them) just get up and do it, once they know what they want. Several years down the road when you bump into them again, that look of shock will register on your face. Hell! This guy actually went ahead and did it, you would tell yourself silently. Admiration then becomes you.

You too can do it - whatever you set your mind to it. I have done it - repeatedly. Of course, I didn't set goals that were unrealistic. I know most of those things which I believe I can do - I have done.

People talk about going to the real Moulin Rouge (top notch night club in Paris). Well, I have been there, seen it, done it. I am not bragging. It is not something spectacular. It's quite do-able.

I have also been inside the Monte Carlo Casino. Didn't win anything but the memories of being inside that fabulous place are priceless. The memories are as fresh today as they were on that night I walked into the casino.

Travel Europe? Done that, too. Across the continent? Yep. Absolutely magnificent. Anyone can do it. Travel and learn. Cherish every moment.

I love those lines from the Sound of Music - a song sung by the Mother Superior to Maria.
"Climb every mountain, cross every stream, follow every byway, till you find your dream."

It is God's greatest gift to us all. You have the freedom of choice. Make up your mind about being adventurous, going ahead and do it all and do it well. Don't let the losers or whiners wear you down.

Pessimists love company. Don't tally too long in their company. You are a lion, not a sheep. Behave like a lion, move like a tiger and fly like an eagle.

BE THE GREATEST VERSION OF THE GRANDEST VISION OF YOURSELF - and you have fulfilled your mission on earth.

Mother Nature Strikes Back

There have been some very disturbing climatic phenomena over the past 10 years. What is alarming now is that the weather is moving to the extreme level.

Blizzards in parts of Europe; tornados and hurricanes in North America; tsunami in south Asia, earthquakes in the Pacific; and the ice is melting at the Artic. What do all these portend?

You really don't need to have the IQ of a rocket scientist to realise that our Earth is on the brink of some major natural catastrophe. Without being an alarmist, I shall take the risk of predicting that another tsunami is well on the way, except that nobody knows where it is going to happen and how it is going to take place.

But it will take place and it will be soon - perhaps some time this year or even next month. The strange thing is that scientists seem to be pretty cool about the whole thing.

Mother Nature is obviously trying to tell us something. Clearly, man has been abusing the soil, the land and the air he breathes in. All of us who have studied geography or even a bit of biology to know that nothing stays the same after a living organism has been abused, misused and blatantly trampled upon.

Well, visualise the entire scenario on a global basis and you will know that Mother Earth has had enough of all that abuse.

What will be the dire consequences in the event of Mother Earth losing her temper? Nothing much by her standards but by man's standards, it means floods for all the low-lying regions around the world, severe tremors for some countries and irreparable structural damage in a number of others.

A very rough and conservative estimate of human casualties in a series of earthquakes measuring more than 8.9 on the open-ended Richter Scale would be about 3 to 5 million.

In a worst case scenario, we are talking about one billion. Hundreds of millions of years ago, Mother Earth also underwent some traumatic changes. The result was the disappearance of dinosaurs and other animals that simply couldn't fit in the new environment.

I believe we are rapidly careening down that road. Will our science and intelligence help us to avert or avoid such a major disaster? I am afraid not. Humans have the propensity of revisiting the mistakes of their past.

And what is the solution, if there is one? Yes, there is. Pray and lots of prayers.
Prayers are the final frontier for us. Without sounding like a lunatic, I would like to suggest that we get in touch with our inner self. Our inner self is spiritual in essence.

Being in touch with our core can alter the course of things. Mother Earth only opens to that which is powerful enough to reach her. God knows it but we humans don't because most of the time, we are into selective hearing.

This time in the epoch of earth-changing phenomena, I think a lot of people will heed this advice. I only hope it won't bee too late.

Of course, there will be those who will party on. But for the rest of us who are on a constant quest to seek that divine spark, we will find it.

Love and prayers are a powerful combination. Try them when you have nothing more to lose. Soon, it will come to that.

Crazy over Digital Cameras

Recently, I fell head over heels in love with digital cameras. I have been lugging one around for about two years. It is the Panasonic LC20. It has two million megapixels.

For most instances, it is sufficient but like all digital camera lovers, it has become "inadequate". My needs have overgrown my digital camera's capability. Rigth now, I am eyeing the Panasonic FZ20.

Its digital zoom is 12X. What is so amazing is its built-in OIS or Optical Image Stabiliser. In other words, if I zoom in one an object 300 metres away, I can freeze it in an instant and print it in the camera's memory banks. What a mechanical wonder.

Right now, it is about Ringgit $2250. It is not exactly expensive but I am hard put to cough up the money because I have better and more urgent use of those funds. But still, I feel the need to possess one of these Panasonic wonders - this model just captures my imagination.

For a better part of these 24 months, I have been taking pictures locally and abroad. I have learnt so many things. The era of negatives and film is practically over. Step aside, you lowly negatives. Digital is the way to go.

Digital cameras enable one to send pictures over great distances in a jiffy. The Internet has made it possible for anyone to send pictures of happenings across vast stretches of waters.

This is one of the greatest inventions in photography over the last 100 years. I am glad I was born in this period when digital photography has made all our lives so much more pleasurable.

I have long loved photography. I have taken two photography courses during my university days. Those courses have benefited me immensely. Photography has opened my eyes to new ways of looking at things, objects, scenery and people.

For too long, ordinary human beings have taken their eyes for granted. Now through the camera, we are learning a new way of looking at things. And through digital photography, we are able to translate our imagination into pictures for others to appreciate and to view and love.

Three cheers for digital photography and the technology that goes with it. Hallelujah! Keep a sharp lookout - always!!!!!

Do you do the work you love?

Not many people on earth really enjoy the work they do. The majority do it because they have to put food on the table. It is reality.

However, there are a select few who break out of this mould to do only those things they love. These are the ground-breakers, so to speak. They dare to risk. They dare to be different.

When work becomes a chore, it slips into a life of quiet desperation. When you love the work you do, life becomes a holiday. So now and then, you need to ask yourself, am I bringing meaning to my life?

Some people learn to love the work they do, even if in the beginning they had no special feelings for it. This feeling can be cultivated.

The other question you need to ask yourself is: am I fulfilling my destiny on earth by NOT doing the things I love. If your life comes to an end tomorrow, then what is the purpose of your life thus far?

We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Therefore, we must try to live the greatest version of the grandest vision of ourselves!! It is our duty. It is our spiritual responsibility.

Too many people think too little of themselves to venture around the furthest corner because they are afraid of what they might find. I say, banish such thoughts. Grab life by the jugular and hang on for your very dear life. Walk on the wild side, once a while and experience what you were born to experience. And that is, life at its most thrilling, most exciting and most tasteful.

So my dear readers, take a chance, you owe it to yourself and your children. You must let them know that if you are able, they are able. Now go ahead and taste the nectar of life!

The Folly of Trying to be Clever

EVERYONE at one time or another wants to be acknowledged as being clever. It is a human trait. The need to look smart and the desire to be on the receiving end of compliments can be overwhelming at times.

So where's the catch? Trying to be clever is dangerous and unnecessary because all of us are unique in our own way. If you are proclaimed as "clever" by your boss in your work place, there is a chance that others may not like it. It is called envy. On a darker side, it is called jealousy.

It's not your fault, of course but human nature is not so tolerant of smart alecs. Being praised once too often can lead to an unjustified impression of one's good-self. It is an easy passage to vanity and you may walk unwittingly into the pitfall of arrogance.

Sometimes, efforts at trying to be clever can be at the expense of others. For obvious reasons, this should never be done. Nevertheless the human ego tends to overlook such "trivia" (not to others though).

Most bosses or even members of your own family are not so obstuse that they are not aware of your attention-grabbing antics. If it happens once, they may think it's cute on your part. More than twice, it will rub them the wrong way. Nerves can be raw and sore after numerous blatant display of such acts.

False modesty does not cut it, too. The best thing to do is always to downplay your intelligence (if you have lots of it). Do it sincerely. That shouldn't be too hard. Actually, the more you know, the more you find out you don't know. It's not Socrates' philosophy. It's common sense.

So be yourself. Everyone is clever on different occasions and at different times of their lives. On that note, I shall leave you with this wonderful phrase.

THERE'S THE WISDOM OF THE FOOLISH
THE GRACEFULNESS OF THE SLOW
THE SUBTLETY OF STUPIDITY
AND THE ADVANTAGE OF LYING LOW

I take no credit for those lines. They were the creation of one of my favourite philosophers, Lin Yu-tang.

Be Happy Always Without Really Trying

A lot of people think it is a dreadful chore to be happy. Talking to them, you would think that these people would be much happier if they are sad. A contradiction in terms but for some morbid reason, this scenario applies for such folks.

For the rest of us ordinary mortals, being happy is matter of luck. NOT TRUE. You can be happy at any time and any day of the week or month. Heck, you can be happy as long as you live.

Here's how to do it:

1. When you wake up tomorrow morning (actually you can do it immediately but tomorrow morning sounds so much more dramatic), mentally order yourself: "I will be happy today no matter what happens to me.
2. Be happy for no reason at all. There's really no need to find a reason. Just be happy that you are alive, that you are not suffering from any serious illness.
3. Tell yourself that you are lucky you are not born in a country torn apart by strife, plagued by famine or in the path of an oncoming tsunami!
4. Be grateful that your friends like you. Be glad you don't have that many enemies like Saddam Hussein.
5. Remind yourself constantly that happiness is jus a matter of choice. The state of perpectual happiness in innate. It exists within your heart, in your soul. The key to freeing that happiness factor is to tell it to come out and take over your very being.
6. Really help others to succeed. Take no credit for it. Believe it or not, your happiness rests on the joy that others feel BECAUSE of you.
7. Say kind words to others even if they don't deserve it. Find something genuinely nice to say. Look for qualities in others to praise.
8. Give money to that vagabond on the street. The amount doesn't really matter. Even if that tramp doesn't deserve it, give it to him.
9. Call up relatives and tell them you miss them and mean it.
10. Surprise old friends with small gifts and expect nothing in return.

P.S. Baby, if you can do all that and not feel as if you have been cheated or violated, you are on your way to that wonderful road called HAPPINESS.

How to go to sleep like a baby!

Many, many people around the world experience difficulties falling asleep. It is actually not that hard. Here are a few tips:

1. Leave all your worries outside your bedroom door.
2. Wear loose clothing in bed
3. Make sure the sleeping quarters is well ventilated, neither too cold nor too hot.
4. Lie on your back, take a couple of deep breaths and exhale slowly. Please enjoy doing it. If you feel comfortable with seven deep breaths, do so.
5. Think happy thoughts. Imagine happy scenes of your life. I mean really revel in them.
6. Don't worry about not sleeping fast enough. The idea is to relax, regardless
7. Don't harbour murderous thoughts of your enemy while lying in bed.
8. Think of a bright, blue, cloudless sky. Imagine your body floating up to the blue yonder. Now, imagine your body merging with the sky and it is dissipating into the blueness. You are becoming one with the sky. Floating, expanding, totally relaxed.
9. Think of your loved ones. How happy they are because of you. How happy you are because of them.
10. Pray for everybody you know, everybody you love and everybody you hate.

The greatest miracle of the 21st century

You will be glad to know that that kid from Kracow, Poland, has pulled off the greatest miracle of the 21st century and he has done it by dying in the flood of lights from the media.

Right now, even as I speak the TV networks, from terrain to outer space, are broadcasting Christianity across the world. And hundreds of millions of people, regardless of their religious beliefs are watching it.

The message of Christ has never been so strong and so clear. The Church of Rome has thus been brought into the living rooms of all who can see. The hymns usually confined to the Italian churches are now heard from corridor to bedrooms.

The cross, banned in some countries, denounced by the fearful, is seen in its brightest glory - a symbol of the the message laid down two millennia ago by a carpentar from Nazareth.

Tele-evangelising has never been used in such a proactive and positive way. It is as if heaven has opened all its doors to people of all colours, young and old, sinful and saintly.

This indeed is the miracle of the ages. Pope John Paul II has done it again. Good for him. He's probably having a good laugh in heaven. I bet Jesus is smiling, too!!

Pope John Paul II - Vicar of Christ

This one is for the Lord's number one servant until recently. I am glad Karol of Kracow, Poland's mission on earth is over. He has done so much in his 26 years as the supreme head of the Catholic Church.

It had been a long journey for him - from Poland to Rome. The legacies he left behind are many. Since his passing a few days ago, people, not just Christians, remember him in so many kind ways.

His hundred over visits to places across the globe; his words of encouragement, his prayers for the poor and the needy; his concern for all regardless of their creeds and colour, and his relentless passion for peace on earth.

Pope John Paull II's entry into Rome broke all kinds of records, among which was the fact that for the first time in about 455 years, the Catholic Church had a Polish Pope. The centuries that went before had only seen Italian popes. So it was a breakthrough of some kind.

The holy father was also remembered for his devotion to the Mother of Immaculate Conception. He credited his survival from an assassin's bullet to her intervention. He made no secret of it and for decades, had proclaimed her love and concern for everyone on earth and how we can show our love for others and in turn for God.

The idea was to save us a lot of pain in the future which she said was coming if the future is not altered by our prayers, sacrifices and concern for others.

The fall of Communism was credited to the tireless efforts of Pope John Paul II. I recall that there were two consecutive years when he proclaimed that those years be devoted to the Holy Mother. In doing so, he urged Catholics the world over to pray the Rosary constantly, continuously and fervently.

Russia today is testimony to the power of prayer, to the promise made by the Virgin Mary and to God's major domo Pope John Paul.

Even as I pen these words, I can hear the singing of Latin verses over TV. The sounds of the Church are coming from the Vatican as preparations are being made to bury the late pontiff and also for the election of a new pope.

The Catholic Church has been at the crossroads for years over several controversial, burning issues. Among them are celibacy of priests, ordination of women priests, birth control and errant priests who have been found guilty of child abuse offences.

Pope John Paul II had wrestled with these issues in the last years of his life. He had done much but the work is not over and is left for his successor.

Leaders of the world from Russia to Palestine have acknowledged the sincerity and holiness of the pope. None has any unkind words for him. Non-Christians have confessed to loving him for his passion for peace. US President George W. Bush has not hid his admiration for the pope. Gerhard Schroeder of Germany, Tony Blair of Britain and John Howard of Australia have all spoken well of him.

But the most important is the respect that youths all over the world have for the head of the Catholic Church. During his reign, the Pope travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to be with the youths. When he met them, he urged them to realise their potential for good. Obviously, his advice has worked on many of them.

Today, tomorrow and years ahead, we will all remember Pope John Paul II as a man who had made the difference. It may be a cliche but one man can make all the difference. The Pope had done it and he showed us all it is not that difficult.

Already, some people are calling him Pope John Paul the Great. In the history of the Catholic Church, there is only one other Pope who has been bestowed that title.

I am sure even now as I write, Pope John Paul II is praying and interceding for us all in heaven. He had walked in the way of the light and peace. May we all follow the path that he had blazed for us.