First of all, does such a place even exist? Literally, yes. I enjoyed the quietness of a hike into the only hill in Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill, where I could only hear the birds, the insects, the moving of the trees and their branches and leaves in the wind. At time when the air was still, I would only hear the birds, the insects, my footsteps and my breathings. I enjoyed also a stroll along the beach in the night where one hears the rhythmic breaking of the waves onto the shore and the whispering of the breeze. Even lying down in bed at night with the light off, one could enjoy the tranquility that the night brings.

Where is the quietest place on Earth for you? It may be in one’s room, it may be in the toilet and it may even be when one is driving. The places and situations whereby one will find quietness will differ from person to person; Different folks, different strokes. In so speaking, is there even a point to ask, “where is the quietest place on Earth?” It would result in differing views anyway. Yet, this one question can help one to find inner peace.

Science seems to put it in a way which most could agree on. Theoretically speaking, the quietest place will be like a vacuum, a space entirely devoid of matter; not even air. Since there is no air inside a vacuum, sound cannot travel or exist and that would make it the quietest place? On Earth? If there is no air to breathe, how can one survive? Does such a place like a vacuum even exist naturally on Earth to begin with?

Aristotle said before and later again by Galileo that “nature abhors a vacuum.” Aristotle explained this by saying that Nature doesn’t play the ‘vacuum’ game and that something must be put into the place of where the air was. Since a vacuum cannot occur naturally (not man-made) in Nature, there cannot be a quietest place on Earth. Right? Scientifically right! However, there is a quietest place on Earth for everyone and it is regardless of science, the places and situations one is in. Although achievable, not everyone can reach that place without effort. It requires one to be connected. To what? Where is this quietest place on Earth that everyone can achieve?

Before that, let us take a look at the picture on the right. The picture shows a bench on the beach under the shades of the tree. It seems that the sun is about to set or it has just risen in the sky. The sea is calm, peaceful and tranquil. Imagine yourself sitting on the bench now, listening to the gentle sound of the waves and the breezes brushing on your face. While you are experiencing that quietness, take deep and slow breaths. Feel every breath you take; feel the air going through your nostrils, through your airways, down your body and eventually into your abdomen. Then you breath out slowly; feeling all the stale air coming out of your mouth in the slow, long breath. It will definitely feel peaceful and calm.

In comparison with the above picture, this picture shown a person sitting on a breakwater and the stormy sea crashing onto the breakwater, threatening to devour the breakwater with the person. The distant sky shown a thunderstorm impending. Now, go through the same exercise as you did; imagining you are the person sitting on the breakwater. Do you feel the same peace and calmness? It would be a challenge for many to feel the same peacefulness and calmness as compared to the above picture.

It is always easier to feel peace and calmness when the external environment speaks that; as with the first picture. The challenge is to feel the same peace and calmness when the external environment speaks otherwise; as in the second picture. When one is able to experience the quietness and tranquility even in the second picture, one has found the quietest place on Earth - in the inner self. A ‘vacuum’ that one can create within oneself that will not be disturb by external forces and circumstances. This is the quietest place which is reachable to all and yet cannot be easily achieved. It requires one to be connected - to oneself and to the greater force above.

I have found the quietest place on Earth that is within myself. Where would be your quietest place on Earth? Is it also within you? Please feel free to share with us.

Yahoo! Personals 7 Day FREE Trial offer

Matchmaker.com - a site truly geared towards finding serious relationships.

Realisation is instant! It couldn’t be more true than that. In the previous post, I shared about the challenges my friend faced with her boyfriend. Without realising the different ways of showing care and what showing care means to different people, misunderstandings can occur easily. However, with just communication and listening, patience and tolerance, these misunderstanding can also be easily prevented. In the book Life by Design by Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman, it asked, “How do you show someone that you care?” Do you show it the way that you want others to show their cares to you? As the saying goes, “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you.” In so to speak, it seems ‘right’ that one should show care to others the way one want others to show care to one. Not exactly ‘right’ literally in this case.

I would not say it is a clear ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way. When one is talking about Human, one can never see what another see without putting oneself in the shoes of another. There is much wisdom in this. The truth is that people define the same experiences in different ways and they define different experiences in the same way. Have I managed to cause confusion in you?

Let us read a passage from the book Life by Design by Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman:

Justin and Casey were good friends with a little problem in problem solving. If either of them was upset, the other would consistently make it worse. Yet how was this possible? They were both trying to help! To understand why it wasn’t working for either of them, consider their two ways of defining how friends “should” treat upset friends. When Justin is upset, he thinks that a good friend “should” become interested and ask a lot of questions. When Casey is upset, he thinks that a good friend “should” leave him alone to work it out. What happens when they do unto one another? Casey leaves Justin alone and Justin feels abandoned. Justin pesters Casey with questions and Casey feels annoyed.

Nobody gets what he or she wants and everybody gets more upset. Yet their problem could be easily solved if only they knew each other’s complex of equivalents for friendship when either is upset. Then Casey would know to ask Justin questions and Justin would know to leave Casey alone.

An overlooked in each other difference in definition of friendship when either is upset leads to misunderstandings. Realisation is instant; one needs to be able to show care in a way that another person can understand. This same rule can be applied to other aspects of one’s life. Communication is important and even more important is to be able to understand from another’s perspective.

Clarins, give the gift of beauty year round. Free Shipping and samples for purchases $75 and above! Clarins USA Official Store

Alright, enough of my eventful days! The other day I was chatting with a friend on MSN and she was sharing with me something about her relationship; she was feeling a little confused and lost at this moment. There are basically three issues from what I gathered from her.

First, it is the challenge of language. Although both share some common languages, both can communicate, with limitations in the common languages only; My friend understands some Cantonese only and her boyfriend understands some of her Mandarin only. English is out too as it is not the main language that both use to communicate usually. This resulted in numerous arguments from usually small misunderstandings - the messages were not spoken as intended. What seems like a big issue could have been easily resolved by learning to be more proficient in their common languages.

I had a similar experience before with a girl. Both of us did not speak each other language. Our common language is English only. The challenge was in the different ways we speak English; Sometimes she might mean one thing but the way I received her message, it might mean another thing. I tried to work around the issue by learning her language and while doing that, I was careful in our communication to make sure that we received the true meanings of each other messages and not what we perceived the messages to be. Well, it might seem like a lot of trouble and effort. Isn’t that what relationship is about? I have always believe that we have to put in the effort and time to make relationships work; regardless of whether the relationship is between you and your partner, or between you and your family or friends or co-workers.

The second issue was distance. Long distance relationship is always a challenge to most people and most wouldn’t even want to start one to begin with. There is a need to put in time and effort even when both of you are physically in the same location. The time spends in the long distance relationship should be about the same but the effort should be magnified many times. In additional to the time and effort, there needs to be a greater amount of trust.

The third issue, which is also what I deem to be very important is complex of equivalents. Big term right? Hehe. That was what I read from a book, Life by Design by Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman. What happened was that when my friend was unhappy, her boyfriend did not show any care and concern but just left her alone. Some of us would have stood up and said, “how can he do that?” And some would have said he did the right thing. So what is right and what is wrong? The truth is, both are right in their ways in handling the ‘unhappy incidence.’

The point is that both see things differently or rather carry out different action on the ‘unhappy incidence.’ From my friend’s point of view, when she is unhappy, she expects her boyfriend to show care and concern and to ask her questions. However, to her boyfriend, when he is unhappy, maybe he likes to be left alone to sort it out. That is why I said both are right in their ways in handling the ‘unhappy incidence.’ Have you been through similar situations where you had shown concern but thing got worse? This could probably be the reason why. The good thing is it can be easily resolved through communication and yet it can be challenging to some to try to sit down and put things across.

A lot of time, things can be so simple and easy to resolve through proper communication and understanding. And proper communication and understanding take time and effort. This is the same for any relationship. Through proper communication, one will be able to gain better understanding of another and through better understanding, one will become more tolerance of another - which eventually leads to an even more fulfilling and enjoyable relationship.

亲爱的宝贝，如果你能活着，一定要记住我爱你。(My Dear Baby, if you can live through this, you must remember that I love you.) Those were the exact last words that a mother left, in a sms message, for her baby. A short message that brought tears of sadness and joy to many. I saw a message in a friend’s MSN that said, “Beautiful anchorwoman reporting not so beautiful news.” I believe that she and many others were affected by the devastating news, in Myanmar (Burma) and Sichuan - China, that were being reported everyday. There are numerous sad news reported of the quake in Sichuan - China and of the cyclone in Myanmar (Burma) and just as many inspiring and happy news reported. This is one story which touched me deeply and one which I would like to share with you.

It is hard to imagine how a human being so fragile in one moment and yet stronger than steel in another. How could one possibly withstand the weight many times that of oneself? When the evacuation team found her body, she was on her knees with hands flat on the ground, holding up her body. It was almost as if she was bowing ceremoniously, but her body was crushed and deformed by the building. A story of love that transcends the physical being. This is one story of the quake in Sichuan - China that will continue to live in one’s heart and will always remind one to treasure those around one; one will never know when these people may be taken away from one’s life.

“Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.” — David Grayson

My Dear Baby, If You Can Live Through This, You Must Remember That I Love You

When the rescuers found her, she was already dead, crushed by the collapsed building. They could see her through the debris, on her knees with hands flat on the ground, holding up her body. It was almost as if she was bowing ceremoniously, but her body was misshapen, crushed by the building. Rescuers reached a hand in to check that she was dead, shouting and using a stick to lightly knock on the bricks, waiting for a reply or some sign of life from her that never came. When the group turned their attention towards the next pile of debris, the team leader suddenly rushed back, shouting, “Over here, hurry!” He once again stopped in front of her body, trying his best to reach a hand in to feel the ground sheltered by her torso, shouting, “There’s someone here, a child, still alive!”

The rescuers worked to move the debris carefully, finding her child sheltered beneath her torso. A baby, about four months old, wrapped in a red blanket stitched with yellow flowers. Sheltered by his mother’s body, he was unscathed. They carried him out from the debris, sound asleep, his sleeping face warming the hearts of everyone at the scene in the face of death.

A doctor rushed over, undoing the blanket to check for signs of injury on the baby. He found a handphone stuffed under the blanket, and instinctively glanced at the screen. There was a message on the screen, “My darling child, if you live through this, please remember that I love you.” Despite having seen death countless times, tears rolled down the doctor’s face. The handphone was passed around, evoking tears from everyone at the scene.

Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers usually place an American flag upon each grave site located in a National Cemetery. (Read more at Wikipedia)

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Meet men at Yahoo! Personals

I am going to share with you an inspiring poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It was said by Rudyard Kipling in his autobiography “Something of Myself” (1937) that this poem “If” was inspired by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, who in 1895 led about 500 of his countrymen in a failed raid against the Boers in Southern Africa. It was subsequently called the Jameson Raid. “This defeat increased the tensions that ultimately led to the Second Boer War. The British press, however, portrayed Jameson as a hero in the middle of the disaster, and the actual defeat as a British victory.” (according to Wikisource)

Although Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “If” in 1895, this poem has stood the test of time and its wisdom referred to countless times. Kipling’s poem “If” not only serve as an inspiring read, it may also serve as maxims for life - guidelines for one’s integrity, characters and determination at all time. The lines “If you can meet with triumph and disaster / And treat those two imposters just the same” are inscribed above the entryway to Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London.

Meet men at Yahoo! Personals

This is one of my favorite quotations to share with friends. Eleanor Roosevelt sure was wise when she said that. The wisdom in the quotation itself is timeless and enlightening. I remembered reading a story of a lady, by the name of Rose, who went to college at 87 years old. When asked what motivate her to be in the college at this age, she said, “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!”

I would like to share with you part of the story that is especially inspiring:

“We do not stop playing, because we are old; We grow old because we stop playing.”

“There are only few secrets to always staying young, being happy and achieving success.”

“You have to laugh and find humor every day.”

“You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are already dead and don’t even noticed about it!”

“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.”

“If you are 19 years old and lying on bed for one full year without doing at least one productive thing, you will turn 20 years old. If I am 87 years old and lying on bed for a year and never do anything, I will turn 88.”

“Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.”

“Have no regrets.”

“The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”

That is certainly very true. We are growing older everyday but the question is, “are we also growing up - as we grow older?”

An amazing story about an email gone wrong, contributed by John Beahan:

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. The was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife.

However. he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and, without realising his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral.

He was a minister who had a heart attack and died. The widow decided to check her email, expecting messages from relatives and friends.

After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow’s son rushed into the room and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I’ve Arrived
Date: October 16, 2004

I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!

This will not only make it even harder to get to the worst-affect area but will also add on to the agony of the survivors.

“They are already weak,” said Pitt, the U.N. spokeswoman. A new storm will impact “people’s ability to survive and cope with what happened to them … this is terrible.”

Although the news of a second cyclone was not broadcast by Myanmar’s state-controlled media, Yangon residents picked up the news on foreign broadcasts and on the Internet.

“I prayed to the Lord Buddha, ‘please save us from another cyclone. Not just me but all of Myanmar,’” said Min Min, a rickshaw driver, whose house was destroyed in Cyclone Nargis. Min Min, his wife and three children now live on their wrecked premises under plastic sheets.

“Another cyclone will be a disaster because our relief center is already overcrowded. I am very worried,” said Tun Zaw, 68, another Yangon resident who is living in a government relief center.

The most frustrating thing is that soldiers have barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in the hardest-hit areas, but gave access to an International Red Cross representative who returned to Yangon on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

According to the agency’s country head, Bridget Gardner, the damages were extensive and large but also selflessness as survivors joined in the rescue efforts.

“People who have come here having lost their homes in rural areas have volunteered to work as first aiders. They are humanitarian heroes,” said Gardner.

Gardner’s team visited five locations in the Irrawaddy delta. In one of them, they saw 10,000 people living without shelter as rain tumbled from the sky.

“The town of Labutta is unrecognizable. I have been here before and now with the extent of the damage and the crowds of displaced people, it’s a different place,” Gardner was quoted as saying in a statement by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In Labutta and elsewhere she said volunteers were giving medical aid to hundreds of people a day even though “they have no homes to go back to when they finish.”It is truly an act of selflessness from the survivors.

Let us join our hands in prayer for the people of Myanmar and China in this difficult time and wish goodness upon them. Regardless of what religion you believe in, do include the people of Myanmar and China in your prayer everyday.