Having "Me" Time

A strange kind of peace seems to have transcended since the New Years.  Maybe it is because I am just getting a little older and a little calmer.   Or maybe it's because I have been enjoying the time truly having some much needed "me" time reading books and being alone with my thoughts.  I think being able to just stay home with uninterrupted time for a few hours on a weekend is indeed a time to cherish and value.  It allows one time to really prioritize and define what is indeed important in life. This year I thought about why we all like Christmas and New Years so much.  I always enjoyed it but never really gave much thought to why we can't spend the rest of our year thinking it's Christmas or New Years.  Wouldn't life be so much more pleasant? For me, I discovered that Christmas and New Years are a good time for one to re-tune and get back in touch with those most dear to us.   It's when we often go out to eat ...

Sometimes, happiness can be found in the littlest places.  You do not need much space to be happy as a friend of my discovered this past two months during the recent flooding in Bangkok.   Happiness is something that for different people comes from a number of reasons. Even though this flooding was disastrous it actually brought a little happiness to some people. Now, let me give you some background.  My friend is usually is a lady who is extremely house-proud and will spend most of her waking energy looking after the house, cleaning and putting things in order.  Yes, everything is top notch shining, bright and everything is set in its proper place.   Not an inch too far to the right or to the left.   She enjoys it and enjoys having a house that is always beautiful to look at.  No trash left lying around. No shoes or books left where they shouldn't be. Then the flood came.  Everything had to be moved to the second floor. Ev...

Have you ever had one of those moments when you want something, know you have it somewhere, just saw it the other day, but now that you need it, you can't find it? It's just not there?  I'm having one of those moments now.  It makes me wonder, if suddenly it is going to pop up out of the blue when I least expect it?  That is usually what happens to me. Days later, "Poof! Here it is! It was right before me all along, but it was hidden by something."  Now I wonder why it is not there when I first wanted it to be.  Why can't life be a little simpler? Maybe it's because we have to learn to really "see" things from another perspective before what we are looking for comes to us. Before we realize it was there all along. Sometimes, oftentimes, people spend their lives looking for love, happiness and peace.  They want a happier life, a more fulfilling life.  Some will go through extremes, move countries, build a business empire, maybe even climb mo...

Every year just before my birthday, I get into a frenzy and decide I have to make a resolution.  It's a relatively new phenomenon for me thats been happening ever since I hit my thirties. I suppose it's the sudden realization that I am no longer young.  Each passing year, means another year of my life has passed and there are fewer to look forward to. We grow up hearing abuout New Year Resolutions, but I wonder why can't we have Birthday Resolutions? It sounds so much more fun.   Each year just before our birthdays, we can all make resolutions.  Resolutions for ourselves. Resolutions that we want, whether it be taking better care of our health, or finishing that project we've been planning for years. You start off these resolutions at your own pace, your own time.  The focus is on you. Afterall, it's your birthday.   It's "Me" Time resolutions to remind us that these are goals we set for ourselves and sincerely want to get done....

The other day I had a chance to go to a temple unlike others in that the monk does not simply chant the buddhist prayers during the funeral, but instead he'll spend roughly half an hour teaching us some of the philosophies in plain language for all to understand.  I think it's great and I although the journey there was long and the journey back included wading through the flood and having my car at times turn into a boat, a lot of interesting thoughts remained in mind.  So much so I thought it'd be great to share a little of it here with you today.  It's about anger. Now we humans all have emotions. We feel happiness, sadness, fear, anger, jealousy and a zillion other feelings.  Sometimes we feel more than one at the same time and cannot quite distinguish which is which.   Sometimes they get the better of us and start influencing our actions. It's how we control those emotions though that make all the difference.   The monk's ex...