Whatever your wishes to Santa may be, I hope that they do come true for you. I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

May you and your family experience peace, joy and harmony. May we also extend that peace, joy and harmony to people around us. With the thought of peace, loving kindness, compassion and understanding towards each other, we will be able to make our common dream comes true - that one day we are living in peace and harmony.

Differences divide while similarities bond us together. There was a saying which I chanced upon previously but I couldn’t recall the author of it now; it goes, “One day people will realise that there is only one race in this world - the human race.” Let us starts peace from within us.

Thank you Cathy for sharing the lyrics of Imagine by John Lennon with me in the previous post.

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Reach written by Diane Eve Warren, Gloria Estefan

Some dreams live on in time, forever
Those dreams, you want with all your heart
And I’ll do whatever it takes
Follow through with the promise I made
Put it all on the line
What I hoped for at last would be mine

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I’m gonna be stronger
Know that I’ve tried my very best
Put my spirit to the test
If I could reach

Some days are meant to be remembered
Those days we rise above the stars
So I’ll go the distance this time
Seeing more the higher I climb
That the more I believe
All the more that this dream will be mine

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I’m gonna be stronger
Know that I’ve tried my very best
I’d put my spirit to the test
If I could reach

If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I’m gonna be stronger
I’m gonna be so much stronger yes I am
I’ve tried my very best
I’d put my spirit to the test

Around June, I read a story about Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, who was staying alive for one thing – Disney-Pixar’s UP. Over the weekend while catching up with my friends, we were talking about it and I was quite surprised that all 7 of them have not read or heard about the story of Colby. Then again, it may not be a surprise, knowing how much more time I am spending online then them. Have you read about the story?

“From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie UP, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film,” according to a news report in Orange County Register.

A family friend started to make cold-call to Pixar and Disney to see if someone could help. She guessed a name and the automated telephone answering system transferred her to someone who could help her. The message was received by Pixar officials, who agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a copy of UP for a private screening.

Colby’s mother, said she had asked her daughter if she could hang on until the movie arrived.

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” she said her daughter replied.

The Pixar’s employee arrived with the DVD, stuffed animals of characters and other movie memorabilia.

According to Orange County Register, “Colby couldn’t see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film. At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.”

Colby died with her mom and dad nearby later that evening.

It was a sad but yet very heartwarming true story that could have happened somewhere near you. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by all the negativities happening around us and bringing us down. It is story like this that set everything in the right track and renew our beliefs in the goodness in people. The strength of Colby Curtin had touched my heart and I hope it will touch yours too.

Disney-Pixar’s UP is one movie that both kids and adults can enjoy. There was a little girl about 3-4 years old sitting right in front of me during the movie and she was clapping and cheering throughout the movie; it truly thrilled me to see how happy she was.

There were subtle messages in the movie which I thought was pretty thought provoking. Sometimes in life, we may have to put a stop to our dreams temporary so that we can help others achieve their dreams. And eventually our own dreams too will come true.

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Special thanks to Becki from Harmony in Motion for passing me the Loyal Friend and Visitor Award.

What does a renown house like the Fallingwater has anything to do with the meaning of life? To you and I, the connection may not be so direct. However, to Frank Lloyd Wright, could the meaning of his life be, ‘to create masterpieces like the Fallingwater.’ Or did he give his life meaning by creating masterpieces like the Fallingwater?

In Viktor E. Frankl’s book, ‘Man’s Search For Meaning,’ he said that a lot of people are going through life asking, ‘what is the meaning of life,’ when they should be giving their lives meaning by what they are doing everyday. Previously I was also constantly asking myself what is the meaning of life and it was like a dog chasing its own tail; I was going round and round in circle.

Then what I read in Viktor’s book made sense to me. When one is searching for the meaning of life, one is not in control of whatever life throws at one. However, when one gives his/her life meaning, one is in control of whatever he/she does. Then what meaning should one gives to his/her life?

In Bill Strickland’s book, ‘Make the Impossible Possible,’ he mentioned, “… a good life isn’t something you wait for, or chase after, or try to possess; it’s something you must create, moment by moment, on the foundation of your dreams.” What Bill said resonates with what Viktor had mentioned in his book isn’t it?

The connecting dots are then in the dreams that each individual holds. In so speaking, there is a need to know what are one’s dreams. Failing to know one’s dreams in life will make it impossible to live a fulfilled and happy life. Then how does one know his/her dreams? The question is, ‘what are we passionate about in life?’ Found out what we are passionate about and then build our dreams based on our passion.

Now, “What is the meaning are you giving to life?”

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Thanks to Vanilla Seven for giving me the Lemonade Award. Vanilla Seven is a blog about Design, Art, and Photography. The one that caught my attention most and kept me going back to this site is some of the awesome photos you can find in this blog. Do drop by to take a look; you won’t be disappointed.