Symphony of Love's Blog - Symphony of Love

Attitude, Challenges in Life, Daily Blessings, Dealing with Adversity, Gratitude, Inspiration, Keeping the Faith, Life, Perseverance, Reflection

Life Isn’t Always Easy

October 17, 2010

“You cannot avoid pain, but you can chose to overcome it.” – Paulo Coelho

I believe most would agree with me that life isn’t always easy and some of you would agree that if it is easy, it wouldn’t be fun and exciting. I like the part that life isn’t always easy; in fact I will grow to love all the challenges that life throws at me eventually. It is human nature that at times I would still grumble a little. However, I am grateful for every challenges that had come my way and they provided me with the opportunity to better myself. There were times when I doubted myself and thought that I couldn’t do it. But time and again, I proved to myself that I could actually do it. When we focus on what we can do, the challenges will eventually work out.

How about you, were there times when you doubted your own ability to overcome challenges that came your way? Did you also focus on what you could do and eventually the challenges worked out? We may not be able to overcome every challenges always … at least not at the initial stage when we meet it.

But as the saying goes, “We will not be dealt with any challenges which are too big for us to handle.” I believe and trust in that. Challenges are but invisible steps which we must take towards our destination. Taking each step requires Faith as the step would only show itself when we have already taken it. Just as what Steve Job said in his first story about ‘connecting the dots,’ we wouldn’t know where we are heading until we look back and connect the dots. Thus, the truth of the matter is we wouldn’t know exactly where we are heading a lot of times and that is where we make mistakes along the way. Just keep the Faith and keep moving!

Life isn’t always easy and it is not supposed to be easy also but that is where all the excitements are! Quoting from Jim Rohn:

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.”

Life Isn’t Always Easy

Life can be unfair at times
When you must maintain Faith
And Never Let Go.

It is especially during the difficult times
That you must live your life
To its fullest potential.
Those are the times to Triumph
Over circumstances
With Hope and Courage.

Life isn’t always easy,
But if you keep Going and Persevere
To the very best of your Ability,
You will gain Strength to manage
The new Challenges ahead.

Each Goal that you reach
Is another important Step Forward.

Believe that there are
Bright and wonderful days
Ahead for you and you will find them.

– Mary A. Rothman

————————————-
Photo by VinnyPrime

Attitude, Choices in Life, Dream, Empowering Ourselves, Inspiration, Life, Other's point of view, Positive influence, Reflection

Empowering Ourselves!

October 7, 2010

A few days ago, a girl told me that she was feeling very sad that day. A friend whom she had always hung out with was caught in a gossiping session about her and one of the guys in the group was bad-mouthing her but this friend of hers not only did not stand up for her, but was still relating the whole incidence to her with much enthusiasm. Being quite easily affected by words of others, “… my heart literally sank to the bottomless pit…,” in her exact words. Fortunately, she had her guardian angels to look out for her that day; who managed to reverse the strong negative feeling she felt and made her feeling great again instantly. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if there was no one there with her. She is again ready to inspire the whole world. I called her the POWER LADY! I have always believe in her power to inspire the world! How can we empower ourselves?

How many of us had been through similar situation like this? How did you handle it? Were you as upset and disturbed too? I believe that most of us had been through similar situation at one point or another. As much as we do not want to, there will be times when the words of others will make us doubt ourselves; doubting if we can really achieve what we set in our mind to achieve, doubting if we are good enough, and to the extend of believing in what the others are saying.

The night when she was relating her experience with me, she asked me to share my feeling about the incidence she had that day. I told her, “I have just one thing to share with her.” I heard Abraham Lincoln speaking to me and I shared one of his many quotations with her. “I am not bothered by what others say about me as long as I know they do not speak the truth of me.”

Such simple truth and yet it could be hard to grasp at time. I have shared this quotation with family and friends who were caught in similar situation like the girl countless times. Every time I shared it, it also served as a gentle reminder to myself. We cannot always control what others are saying but we can always control or rather choose how we want to feel or react to what others are saying. They have the right to speak their mind but we have every reason to guard our mind against any negativity. The mind is our single most valuable asset. Empowering ourselves, especially our mind is very important.

You may ask me, “What if they are speaking the truth of me?” I would be glad if others point out my ‘blind spots.’ It would give me an opportunity to reflect upon them and to change if there is a need to. This gives us a chance to improve ourselves and to be a better being.

If there is just one thing I want to share today, it is the quotation of Abraham Lincoln above, “I am not bothered by what others say about me as long as I know they do not speak the truth of me.” And remember, “We are the master of our fate: We are the captain of our soul!“

————————————-
Photo by bjearwicke

Appreciation, Attitude, Daily Blessings, Gratitude, Reflection

Focusing on the Blessings

September 23, 2010

My journey today began with a cup of milk tea. It was a short trip home and I was on my way again. Although short, travelling back home was a much needed trip to reconnect with family and friends. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet up with most of them.

As I was writing this, on the coach towards the destination, my mind went back to the valuable lesson I had learnt from my trip home; how easily one could forget about the blessings and fell into a state surrounded by negativity.

Please allow me to explain. When I first got to Cheras, Malaysia, I felt that I have lost my pair of legs; I wasn’t able to get from one point to another without someone fetching me to and fro. You may question why? I was equally puzzled. There are practically no public transports for traveling from one place to another. Even if there is, the locals told me that one couldn’t rely on the punctuality of the buses and at time they may need to wait for up to half an hour between buses. It is almost three months now and I still have this handicap feeling.

This is totally different from Singapore; in Singapore, one can easily go from one place to another using either buses or the Mass Rapit Train (MRT for short). One would also see cabs on the road. Thus I can safely say there is no lack of public transport. I felt so bless; I love the feeling of independent and not having to trouble others for such little thing as going from one point to another. That is besides the point; I am not interested in comparing the two places.

What I am more keen to discuss is the negativity part: as I was waiting for the MRT to go home the other day, the MRT was sort of delay and the wait was slightly longer than expected. I started to ‘complain’ in my mind about how inefficient the system was. Luckily, almost instantly, I told myself, “There wasn’t even a public transport system from where I was coming from in the first place. Immediately everything fell into perspective and I was grateful for this one lesson.

How quickly one falls into a state of negativity – if one gives it the attention. We really need to guard our mind, which is a very valuable asset, from all kinds of negativity. Always choose what you want to focus on and the Universe will respond to your thoughts in the most interesting way.

I am grateful for the public system which allows me to be independent. You, too, could possibly do yourself a wonderful service if you choose to focus on the positive aspect in life and be grateful for what we already have.

Attitude, Be the Change, Bloggers Unite, Gratitude, Information, Inspiration, International Literacy Day, Reflection, Sharing

The Beautiful Gift of Literacy

September 6, 2010

“Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” – Oprah Winfrey

________________________________

Time truly flies; before we know it, a year has passed. Why did I sound so nostalgic today? Last year I blogged on the International Literacy Day which falls on September 8 of every year. It was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.

I was once a young child who took study for granted and would only want to play all days. And I grew up being a teenager who also took study for granted. However, I never hated studying and I studied hard for my examinations. Fortunately I did pretty well for my school and managed to graduate with a degree.

Looking back now, I enjoyed my study although I might not want to go through it again; I have always remembered the midnight run I had with friends around the campus during the exam period in University. A run after a day of study was always refreshing and welcome for us. I particularly enjoyed the night run as it was almost the coolest time of the day here in the hot and humid weather of Singapore.

I am very grateful and blessed to be given the opportunity to study without having to worry about everyday life back then; I just needed to focus on my study. This is very much the same condition that is given to children nowadays and yet they do not know how blessed they are to be given the opportunity to study. We couldn’t really blame them. I have walked the same path.

What I didn’t know then, “Some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 72.1 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.” And I believe that many more are working hard each day to ‘earn’ their time to study. You and I, we could have been part of the statistics above. However, if you are reading this right at this moment without difficulty, you are probably as blessed as I am. Just for this, it is very good enough reason to be grateful.

Covering the International Literacy Day this year has a greater meaning to me as I take this new journey. As Steve Job shared in his Stanford Commencement Speech about ‘connecting the dots,’ it is amazing how the dots are joining up for me. It seems as if the Universe is pointing me closer and closer to where I want to go.

What I will do today is to share this piece of information with children I am meeting in my new journey and hopefully with this new piece of information, it would inspire change in their perspective towards learning; to embrace this beautiful gift of literacy given to them. It is also my hope that they will go on to share this information with others along their way.

Attitude, Challenges in Life, Dealing with Adversity, Determination, Gratitude, Inspiration, Keeping the Faith, Life, Perseverance, Picture/Photos, Reflection, Simple Pleasures, Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot Camera Phone, Strength

Believing and Keep the Faith

August 24, 2010

A pleasant surprise. I remember the last time I saw a ladybird, I was around 9-10 years old. Yes, it has been that long. Those were the times when I got to see a lot of ladybirds on the plants along the fence of the school; my friend and I used to catch some of the ladybirds.

I saw this the other day while my associates and I were looking for some plants to add ‘colours’ to our plain looking office. I was elated to see the little ladybird and immediately took out my Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot camera phone to take a few shots; the few shots turned out pretty decent. It sure is good to have a camera with us always – we never know what surprises we will get in life.

Simple thing like this makes me happy. When we learn how to appreciate life, it is easy to be happy with everything and anything. Life’s goodness is in abundance all around us. I appreciate and am grateful for all these goodness; be it the blessings that came along the way or be it the challenges that came my way.

It has been challenging for the past few weeks with lots of brick walls to be cleared. Brick walls which seemed impossible to break down initially all came down eventually. Just as Randy Pausch said, “Brick walls are there for a reason…” They are there to test how much we wanted what we want. In his own words, “… The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” The good news is, the greater the brick wall, the bigger the opportunity for growth.

It was an amazing experience to see how each challenge eventually cleared and the limiting belief which I had of myself broke down. It was as if the Universe conspired to make things happened; all issues were ironed out with the assistance of family, friends etc around us. A simple realisation, “When we truly believe and hold the faith strongly that all will work out great, the Universe will respond in the most magical way.” This is the law of attraction.

However, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that all we need to do are to believe and have the faith that all will go well. We need to take action to make things happen too!

Last but not least, to share with you sometimes Steve Job said in his Stanford Commencement Speech, “Sometimes life hits you on the head with bricks, don’t lose faith!“

Attitude, Challenges in Life, Dealing with Adversity, Gratitude, Inspiration, Learning from Failure, Life, Perseverance, Reflection

Beginning a New Journey

August 9, 2010

Are you wondering if I am still alive? Fortunately and I am grateful that I am still very much alive and kicking. Life has been pretty hectic for me at the moment but rest assure that I will still find time to smell the flowers and enjoy the simple goodness in life; I am still marveling at the mountains around me. By looking at the picture on the right, you might have guessed that I am on a ‘journey’ right now; not exactly a trip but embarking on a new project or new phase in my life … a challenging one especially with a lot of first times for me.

My journey started on Tuesday, 3 August 2010 when I left home at around 3pm with a simple backpack (with clothes and personal stuffs that are supposed to last me at least 3 months) and a laptop. Just before leaving the house, it started to drizzle all of the sudden, typical weather of Singapore where the rain could
come and go as it pleases. The drizzled lasted for a mere 10 minutes and I started my 7 minutes walk to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. It was mentally a long walk to the station with the weight of the backpack weighing down on me. The hotness and humid of the weather were making it much worse
and by the time I was at the station, I was already sweating like a pig. Guess what? The train chose the ‘right’ time to be late; I waited for more than 15 minutes and continued to sweat like a pig. Eventually the train came and that ended one part of the journey.

The next part of the journey consisted of a 5 hours coach ride to Kuala Lumpur. I was a little anxious since it was my first coach ride to Malaysia and there were a lot of uncertainties. I was there much earlier and waiting, alone, for the coach to arrive did not make the waiting any easier. And yet there was this element of excitement of the ride ahead; I was looking forward to the long ride. It turned out to be a pleasant ride; I made a new friend on the coach and I managed to catch the Blind Side which I thought was a pretty good movie. A lot of times we just have to take the journey. Worrying is normal but futile. We might as well enjoy it since we have to do it. It may not be as bad as what we are thinking.

All the rides were just the side dishes. The real journey has started for me. Till this point of time, I have met a few challenges … some losses and confusions amidst the journey. However, I kept telling myself … this is the greatest opportunity for me to grow. As I pass each challenge, I am a better person. As Carl Jung said, "The greatest and most important problems of life are all fundamentally insoluble. They can never be solved but only outgrown." It might seem unsolvable initially, but as we calm our mind and focus on seeking the solution and have faith, the clouds eventually disperse.

As I proceed in this challenging journey ahead, I am also excited and happy of the person I am becoming.

Wherever you are now, I wish for goodness in all areas of your life and you have nothing to fear!

————————————–
photo by Protect

Cervical Cancer, Gratitude, Health, Information, Inspiration, Life, Pap Smears, Prevention Better than Cure, Sharing, Singapore, Women

Empowering Women Over Cervical Cancer

July 28, 2010

Cervical Cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting Singapore women. On first thought being guys, we may be thinking that it certainly has nothing to do with us. However, if we look beyond ourselves, we would realise how cervical cancer is affecting the lives of important and special women in our life and that indirectly affect us too. Thus as a guy, we can empower the important and special women in our life with information that could one day save their life.

According to Power Over Cervical Cancer (POCC), “Cervical Cancer is the 2nd most common female cancer worldwide with 500,000 women diagnosed every year!” In Singapore, about 200 women are detected with cervical cancer and about 100 die from the disease every year, according to Health Promotion Board of Singapore. According to the American Cancer Society estimates for cervical cancer in the United States for 2010, “there would be about 12,200 new cases of invasive cervical and about 4,210 will die from cervical cancer.” It can happen to any women around us!

I believe each and everyone of us can play a vital role in bringing down the numbers by sharing information of cervical cancer with family, friends, associates, colleagues and, as in my case, to strangers as what I am doing through this post.

Cervical cancer is caused by several types of a virus called human papillomaviruses (HPV), which is normally spread through sexual activity. “Most women bodies are able to fight HPV infection. But sometimes the virus leads to cancer,” according to National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH also states, “Cervical cancer may not cause any symptoms at first, but later, you may have pelvic pain or bleeding from the vagina.” According to the HPB of Singapore, signs or symptoms of cervical cancer may include:

Unusual or foul-smelling discharge from the vagina

Blood spots or light bleeding when you are not having your period or after menopause

Bleeding or pain during sex

And HPB of Singapore also mentioned that it is possible to have cervical cancer even if you do not experience any of these signs or symptoms.

Who are at risk? According to the HPB FAQ section for cervical cancer,

All women aged between 25 and 69 who:

Ever had sex

Had multiple sexual partners

Had sexually transmitted infections (STI) e.g. genital warts, genital herpes and HPV infection

Smoke

As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure!” A woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer can be reduced by having regular pap smears/tests which is an early detection screening program. According to the American Cancer Society,

“Cervical cancer was once one of the most common causes of cancer death for American women. Then, between 1955 and 1992, the cervical cancer death rate declined by almost 70%. The main reason for this change was the increased use of the Pap test. This screening procedure can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops. It can also find cervical cancer early — in its most curable stage.“

Although HPB of Singapore states in their FAQ section that pap smears should be done every 3 years, two of the most important women in my life, my mother and sister, are having their pap smears done almost on a yearly basis. Are the important women in your life having their pap smears done regularly already? Have you done yours?

Regardless of where you are in the world, together, we can empower the important and special women in our life over cervical cancer! Just simply by sharing information on cervical cancer, We Have the Power to Save Lives! You can find out more on how to reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer from the website of POCC.

————————————-
Power Over Cervical Cancer is a campaign that aims to make Singapore the country with the lowest incidence of Cervical Cancer and they need your help to spread the word. Pledge your support for this cause and protect those you care about by telling them about Cervical Cancer. Together, we have POWER Over Cervical Cancer. Click the button below to begin!