Change is inevitable...

Moving on is always viewed with such trepidation but we all know it's inevitable so why do we resist? Is it that we are afraid to face new things or is it that we have become so accustomed to the way we are that we cannot phantom anything different? When we look at our lives are we doing all we can? Is there not room for improvement? Are we finished composing the sonnet of our lives? Are we finished painting our master-piece? Can we do with one more stroke of the brush/pen? Why do we choose to settle?
We often hear people refer to not wanting to come out of their comfort zone but what defines our comfort zone?  Is our comfort zone our limiting factor? How do we break the cycle of complacency?

Are we fully engaged?

Are we fully engaged or are we just occupied? Are we living or existing? Are we productive or reactive? Are we willing to work or do we feel the world owes us? How many of us are living in a delusion of our own making? Where did this sense of entitlement that is pre-dominant in our youths come from?

Life - where is it leading?

Life - where is it leading? Are you leading your own destiny or following some-one else? Our future begins with us acknowledging our presence and being able to recognize the imperfections and how we have contributed to our own inner chaos. Our uncertainties and negativism creates opportunities for failure - but is it possible to be happy and care free when we are unsure of what lies ahead?
The answer to that is not as simple as we would think - first impulse is to say no - but is it realistic to live life waiting for the other shoe to drop? The operative words are 'live' and 'life' - to live means to experience 'life' - the world we live in is not nor will it ever be a perfect world but if we choose to live rather than exist in it we will embrace all that comes at us. The good, the bad, the ugly and the unforgettable. Our lives will never be the way we want it to be - but the key is knowing that it's ok if it's not. Living is about hope and as long as there is hope there's the opportunity to make tomorrow a better day by being grateful for today.

Taiwan: a memorable experience

It's funny the things you remember... climbing the hill, blowing in the wind in front of the engineering building, going to bed fully dressed (gloves and scarfs included), taking the heater into the bathroom so u can take a shower, Starbucks' chocolate chip muffin, granny's shipai @NCU in Jhongli, kevin's Long Island Ice Teas, friends, climbing the hill after a night at Hips, going to the club with a knapsack, breakfast at Macdonalds, going to bed at 8am, hanging out with friends, going out in Typhoons, staying in during earthquakes, hanging out with friends
and the things you miss ... climbing the hill, HIPS, 7-11, Starbucks, kevin's Long Island Ice Tea, SEARCH, hanging out with friends, AC public transportation, night-markets, shipai, Coldstone Ice-cream, hanging out with friends.
Thnxs to all who made it such a memorable experience!

For everything there is a season

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sow; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war; and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1- 8

2009! New Beginnings, Endless Possibilities!

"Another fresh new year is here ...
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest ...
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to write some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs."

William Artur Ward

Happy New Year!

2008 - Final Hours

I left my dorm at 3:30 to catch the bus to Tapei, we had planned to meet at Keelung bus tation in Tapei at 6pm. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would have been such a challenge; waited 2 1/2 hours in line before even getting on the bus. 6 pm was no longer a possibility! A journey that normal takes an hour took 2 1/2 hours. That was the time allotted for everything on the 31st for me. Reached Tapei got on the MRT was lucky, the train that came was empty, got off the train and spent the next guess how much time lost in the crowd trying to find my friends! We found each other at 11:50 pm, dinner in a cartoon box is just not what it's cut out to be but time spend with friends make it all right! Toasted the New Year with rum popo and watched the fireworks. Fireworks was plinky to say the least, 2009 was here! The fireworks lasted approximately 3 minutes and cannot be compared to the fireworks of last year! The disapointment of the crowd was evident by the fact that it took almost two minutes before any one even got off the cold pavement; we were all waiting .... but it never came. 2009 was officially here but without the bang we were expected. All disappointment happens for a reason, and from every disapointment comes hope in the words of Martin Luther King " We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose finite hope." 2009! New Beginnings Endless Possibilities!