Friday, September 26, 2008
Human nature or is it just plain ignorant?
There are times that I have found that when it comes to doing what's best for me, I tend to have the distressing habit of doing the exact opposite or variations of the opposite. The only consolation is that I do not hold exclusivity to this "distressing" habit.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
It is time to focus on what's important...
For friends and family who know me, I'm generally not a big spender. And the last 2 years, I spent even less money per month. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I have become a vegetarian, abstain from drinking (or eating) anything with alcohol and also pubs or nightclubs. And in some rare occasions, that I do visit a pub, I would normally order a cup of coffee or green tea. Hence, my expenses have been dramatically reduced by at least 85%.
I also control my spendings in buying books, often taking my time to decide whether to make a purchase and usually would only purchase after the 2nd or 3rd visit to the book-store. True, the books are for my own self-improvement and allows me to learn more from the mistakes and experiences of others but, the most important factor in my making the purchase is whether I have the time to actually start reading and finishing the books. I already have over 800 books in my own library, and I am proud to say that I have actually finished almost 400 books already.
The reason for all this control of expenses is that I worry about providing for my family, costs of living is getting expensive: oil prices going up, price of rice going up, price of soya beans going up, price of vegetables going up... the price of everything is going up!
I shudder at the thought about our future. So, I must plant my seeds of content and happiness every day and nurture it to allow me to live a life that does not waste nor does not encourage me to compare with others. The "materialistic symbolism of wealth and success" is flawed as the perception is based solely on greed and pride (more on this later).
Therefore, it is time to focus on what's important!
It is definitely time to put on my Helmet, Armor, Arm-guards, Shin-Guards and Shield again. Sharpen my Swords. Charge into the battlefield. It is only in the course of battles fought and to be fought that a person can truly improve. To know that careful planning and execution involves the proper use of one's resources, the precision of timing, the importance of winning without fighting as well as cutting loses, strategic withdrawals and live to fight another day, and to be victorious in one hundred battles for one hundred battles, is to respect, acknowledge, understand and adapt to the "subtle" changes in our daily life. Such "subtle" changes are often detectable by being calm and observant. Yet, to many it is elusive and invisible. Often, these people are blinded by their pride, ignorance, laziness, greed and hatred.
This year, I have to come to terms with who I am, what I am and what I have achieved and what I can further achieve - Strive for a breakthrough beyond the level of mediocre, to be better than what I am now, to mature into a wise, humble and virtuous person! So that I do not disappoint in my role as a husband, father, son and brother in the land that I was born.
Therefore, it is time to focus on what's important!
I must make a daily effort to subdue my feelings of envious and not search for unnecessary materialistic needs or wants, nullify my anger so I can remain calm and observant as well as listen to my True Voice of own heart and that of my Teachers, Masters and Heaven, have strong moral-restraints over my lifestyle and persevere from procrastination or being lazy by consciously forcing myself to do what is right and what I have committed or promised, so all these becomes a part of me, a part of my lifestyle; it becomes who I am and what I stand for - to become a wise, humble and virtuous person, to strive for a breakthrough beyond the level of mediocre, to be better than what I am now.
I also control my spendings in buying books, often taking my time to decide whether to make a purchase and usually would only purchase after the 2nd or 3rd visit to the book-store. True, the books are for my own self-improvement and allows me to learn more from the mistakes and experiences of others but, the most important factor in my making the purchase is whether I have the time to actually start reading and finishing the books. I already have over 800 books in my own library, and I am proud to say that I have actually finished almost 400 books already.
The reason for all this control of expenses is that I worry about providing for my family, costs of living is getting expensive: oil prices going up, price of rice going up, price of soya beans going up, price of vegetables going up... the price of everything is going up!
I shudder at the thought about our future. So, I must plant my seeds of content and happiness every day and nurture it to allow me to live a life that does not waste nor does not encourage me to compare with others. The "materialistic symbolism of wealth and success" is flawed as the perception is based solely on greed and pride (more on this later).
Therefore, it is time to focus on what's important!
It is definitely time to put on my Helmet, Armor, Arm-guards, Shin-Guards and Shield again. Sharpen my Swords. Charge into the battlefield. It is only in the course of battles fought and to be fought that a person can truly improve. To know that careful planning and execution involves the proper use of one's resources, the precision of timing, the importance of winning without fighting as well as cutting loses, strategic withdrawals and live to fight another day, and to be victorious in one hundred battles for one hundred battles, is to respect, acknowledge, understand and adapt to the "subtle" changes in our daily life. Such "subtle" changes are often detectable by being calm and observant. Yet, to many it is elusive and invisible. Often, these people are blinded by their pride, ignorance, laziness, greed and hatred.
This year, I have to come to terms with who I am, what I am and what I have achieved and what I can further achieve - Strive for a breakthrough beyond the level of mediocre, to be better than what I am now, to mature into a wise, humble and virtuous person! So that I do not disappoint in my role as a husband, father, son and brother in the land that I was born.
Therefore, it is time to focus on what's important!
I must make a daily effort to subdue my feelings of envious and not search for unnecessary materialistic needs or wants, nullify my anger so I can remain calm and observant as well as listen to my True Voice of own heart and that of my Teachers, Masters and Heaven, have strong moral-restraints over my lifestyle and persevere from procrastination or being lazy by consciously forcing myself to do what is right and what I have committed or promised, so all these becomes a part of me, a part of my lifestyle; it becomes who I am and what I stand for - to become a wise, humble and virtuous person, to strive for a breakthrough beyond the level of mediocre, to be better than what I am now.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Completed 1st Game of 5 for 2008
Final Fantasy XII -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XII
You can read the details of this game there.
It took me about 100 hours of play-time (in about a month). This game sure has great animation scenes and strong story-line. As the game progress, it only reveals details and historical backgrounds of events that has unfolded, not told in the beginning of the story. As with most RPG games, it requires you to spend time interacting with NPC (Non-Playable-Character), and many side-quests, develop your Characters in order to defeat enemies in the form of monsters, evil characters and "Big Boss" characters that are a lot more difficult to vanquish, FF-XII is no different. What really stands out is the fantastic details in the back-ground art-work, the sound and story-line. No doubt, this is going to be a game to remember for a long time.
Interesting points to remember:
1. Revenge can be a strong motive and could easily lead you down a path of no return or self-destruction. Those who follow the path of revenge are usually those who have been hurt by others, may it be a close-friend or stranger.
2. Letting go of revenge and hatred can be difficult, yes. But not impossible. Often, it is important to remember and accept the fact that we are partially to blame to allow another person to hurt us or betray us. In fact, we should thank the person who has hurt us or betray us for 3 things. The first is that it allows us to know more about the person. The second is that we learn that trust is earned and not given and finally, we learn to be patient in assessing someone's true self, before we can allow someone to earn our trust. We then move on with life. Why should we live in torment and shame for being the victim? We move on. Life goes on.
3. Friendships are important and so is who we choose as friends (or allies).
4. Remaining calm and focus is key to victory. In other words, we must emotionally balanced or happy or content. To achieve this, we must constantly get enough sleep, exercise regularly to strengthen our immune-system, relieves stress and anxiety and finally learn to let go of unhappy events. Learn to apply #2. So you can remain calm and focus at all times, or at least most of your waking hours and sleeping hours.
In any case, we are reminded of the fact that life is interesting. The fact that games have been designed to simulate life is not a new one. However, no game ever designed have made me want to stay in it for a long time. Life has still much to offer me and much more to teach me, show me and most importantly, Life is something that needs to be shared with those close to me, my family and my friends. We must all learn to Embrace Life, Cherish Life and Live Life to the Fullest!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XII
You can read the details of this game there.
It took me about 100 hours of play-time (in about a month). This game sure has great animation scenes and strong story-line. As the game progress, it only reveals details and historical backgrounds of events that has unfolded, not told in the beginning of the story. As with most RPG games, it requires you to spend time interacting with NPC (Non-Playable-Character), and many side-quests, develop your Characters in order to defeat enemies in the form of monsters, evil characters and "Big Boss" characters that are a lot more difficult to vanquish, FF-XII is no different. What really stands out is the fantastic details in the back-ground art-work, the sound and story-line. No doubt, this is going to be a game to remember for a long time.
Interesting points to remember:
1. Revenge can be a strong motive and could easily lead you down a path of no return or self-destruction. Those who follow the path of revenge are usually those who have been hurt by others, may it be a close-friend or stranger.
2. Letting go of revenge and hatred can be difficult, yes. But not impossible. Often, it is important to remember and accept the fact that we are partially to blame to allow another person to hurt us or betray us. In fact, we should thank the person who has hurt us or betray us for 3 things. The first is that it allows us to know more about the person. The second is that we learn that trust is earned and not given and finally, we learn to be patient in assessing someone's true self, before we can allow someone to earn our trust. We then move on with life. Why should we live in torment and shame for being the victim? We move on. Life goes on.
3. Friendships are important and so is who we choose as friends (or allies).
4. Remaining calm and focus is key to victory. In other words, we must emotionally balanced or happy or content. To achieve this, we must constantly get enough sleep, exercise regularly to strengthen our immune-system, relieves stress and anxiety and finally learn to let go of unhappy events. Learn to apply #2. So you can remain calm and focus at all times, or at least most of your waking hours and sleeping hours.
In any case, we are reminded of the fact that life is interesting. The fact that games have been designed to simulate life is not a new one. However, no game ever designed have made me want to stay in it for a long time. Life has still much to offer me and much more to teach me, show me and most importantly, Life is something that needs to be shared with those close to me, my family and my friends. We must all learn to Embrace Life, Cherish Life and Live Life to the Fullest!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
What is Martial Arts? Part 1 of 3
What is Martial Arts? Some called it Combat Arts or Martial Science.
In order to understand this, we must first understand it's purpose.
What is the purpose of Martial Arts?
The purpose of Martial Arts is to create pain and agony for the other person. Whoever calls it a form of self-defense, is only deceiving himself. It is scientific system with strong applications in Physics, Geometry, Psychology and Biology, an integration to form one single objective - maximize the amount of pain and agony within the shortest time possible, to such an effect, to knock someone unconscious to cripple someone by dislocation of joints or tearing of muscles, tendons and ligaments and to extreme situations, yes, death. Please do not misunderstand me, I am NOT encouraging others who are practicing or studying Martial Arts to go knock someone unconscious or cripple someone or to kill. What I am saying is that this is the sole-purpose of Martial Arts. Please, make no mistake about this, when you throw a punch at a heavy bag, you are practicing to throw a punch at a person - to cause pain and agony, to try and knock the person unconscious.
If you're studying Martial Arts to learn about self-defense, then you are studying the wrong subject. It would be better to learn not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.In order to understand this, we must first understand it's purpose.
What is the purpose of Martial Arts?
The purpose of Martial Arts is to create pain and agony for the other person. Whoever calls it a form of self-defense, is only deceiving himself. It is scientific system with strong applications in Physics, Geometry, Psychology and Biology, an integration to form one single objective - maximize the amount of pain and agony within the shortest time possible, to such an effect, to knock someone unconscious to cripple someone by dislocation of joints or tearing of muscles, tendons and ligaments and to extreme situations, yes, death. Please do not misunderstand me, I am NOT encouraging others who are practicing or studying Martial Arts to go knock someone unconscious or cripple someone or to kill. What I am saying is that this is the sole-purpose of Martial Arts. Please, make no mistake about this, when you throw a punch at a heavy bag, you are practicing to throw a punch at a person - to cause pain and agony, to try and knock the person unconscious.
But I digress, ........ the study of martial arts IS the study of inflicting injury and agony to your opponent, or to anyone whom you consider a threat or an enemy.
I know that this is only my point of view on this subject. I am also very sure most people, especially those who are training in Martial Arts, would disagree with me. It is fine with me. As I have said, this is merely my point of view on this subject. You do not have to agree or disagree with me.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Who am I? Really, who am I... ???
Who am I really? How do I measure myself? Can I even be measured?
Interesting approach on how to find myself includes: measuring the fruits of my labor, in other words, my successes (and failures). Again, there is the what I do for a living, how I dress myself, what kind of food I eat (as in the common phrase, "You are what you eat.") Since I am a Vegetarian, would that make me a Vegetable? And if so, what type of Vegetable? Which again brings me back to square one : Who am I really?
I am still trying to find out...And my quest begins, not today. No. It began 10 years ago. Of course, I get side-tracked easily. I also allowed myself to over-commit to too many unnecessary tasks, jobs and things that make me lose focus of my quest from 10 years ago. Of course, the world of entertainment did not help either from DVDs and VCDs to Comic-books to Internet to Pubs and Nightclubs and the list goes on and on...
So as of June 4th 2006, I commit myself again to this quest to find out who I really am. Of course, I could not allowed myself to get side-tracked again. So I made a few vows to Heaven that I would (1) stop drinking anything with alcohol in it, (2) become a Vegetarian, (3) stay true, loyal and faithful to my Wife (in other words, no more nightclubs and/or fooling around with other women), (4) discussed everything with my family, only and only when we have reached an agreement, do execute any of my plans, that includes what business I am going to get involve in. Of course, the operations of it and decisions, there-after does not need any further discussions.
Today, I dare not say that I have made much progress. "I", essentially still eludes me??!!
Time and time again, I allowed myself to get side-tracked. Of course, I have stayed true to the 4 vows as best as I could (as I have broken (1) and (2) and (4), between one to three times in the last 2 years and it is with great determination and even greater disciplin that I stayed true to (3). Sure, there are always temptations but I realized that my Wife is the most beautiful woman in the world because of who she is and the great things she had done for me and my family, it is with great honor and great pride that I can say that my Wife is my one and only true Love), I have eliminated a lot of problems. However, I still allowed PS2 games, Instant Messaging such as MSN Chat and Skype to distract me. So again, I have to create rules and regulations to keep me from my Quest to find out who I really am.
1. 2 hours/day for PS2 Game
2. 3 hours/day for Physical Training, Meditating, Chanting and Reading (to be allocated accordingly)
3. 6 hours/day for my Job (To be done in the office and at home)
4. 4 hours/day for spending time with my family and friends (to be allocated accordingly)
5. 1 hour/day to send my son to school and also to have lunch.
that is 16 hours/day, which leaves 7 hours for sleeping and 1 hour for meals.
Goal:
1. Finish 5 games/year
2. Maintain 80kg to 83kg weight-range, 30 inch waist-line,etc, able to meditate for 30 mins, chant 30 mins in the morning daily and chant 30 mins in the evening daily, Read 50 books/year.
3. Use free time to read books to reach the goal of 50 books/year.
4. Use free time for my Job and read books.
5. To commit to this really takes a lot of effort.
Other activities I would like to start doing:
1. Cook a family dinner, if possible, make extra for friends or relatives. I find that over the past 10 years of my life, cooking has always been a pleasure of mine. It is true that I tend to rush a bit in my cooking but the times when I really put my heart into it, the results were spectacular!!! I have been praised many times for the times I really put my heart into it (even when times when I rushed it, heh-heh.)
2. Try to make more friends, if possible, 3 to 4 new friends per month as a start. This is to help me understand myself more and to learn more from others.
3. Have a family picnic by the Beach. (Any beach would do at this point, as I am not even sure which one is better than the other??!!)
I am really hoping to learn more about myself as I do these activities, while keeping true to my Vows and Rules and Regulations, which from now onwards, I call my Life's Principles.
Semper Fi.
Interesting approach on how to find myself includes: measuring the fruits of my labor, in other words, my successes (and failures). Again, there is the what I do for a living, how I dress myself, what kind of food I eat (as in the common phrase, "You are what you eat.") Since I am a Vegetarian, would that make me a Vegetable? And if so, what type of Vegetable? Which again brings me back to square one : Who am I really?
I am still trying to find out...And my quest begins, not today. No. It began 10 years ago. Of course, I get side-tracked easily. I also allowed myself to over-commit to too many unnecessary tasks, jobs and things that make me lose focus of my quest from 10 years ago. Of course, the world of entertainment did not help either from DVDs and VCDs to Comic-books to Internet to Pubs and Nightclubs and the list goes on and on...
So as of June 4th 2006, I commit myself again to this quest to find out who I really am. Of course, I could not allowed myself to get side-tracked again. So I made a few vows to Heaven that I would (1) stop drinking anything with alcohol in it, (2) become a Vegetarian, (3) stay true, loyal and faithful to my Wife (in other words, no more nightclubs and/or fooling around with other women), (4) discussed everything with my family, only and only when we have reached an agreement, do execute any of my plans, that includes what business I am going to get involve in. Of course, the operations of it and decisions, there-after does not need any further discussions.
Today, I dare not say that I have made much progress. "I", essentially still eludes me??!!
Time and time again, I allowed myself to get side-tracked. Of course, I have stayed true to the 4 vows as best as I could (as I have broken (1) and (2) and (4), between one to three times in the last 2 years and it is with great determination and even greater disciplin that I stayed true to (3). Sure, there are always temptations but I realized that my Wife is the most beautiful woman in the world because of who she is and the great things she had done for me and my family, it is with great honor and great pride that I can say that my Wife is my one and only true Love), I have eliminated a lot of problems. However, I still allowed PS2 games, Instant Messaging such as MSN Chat and Skype to distract me. So again, I have to create rules and regulations to keep me from my Quest to find out who I really am.
1. 2 hours/day for PS2 Game
2. 3 hours/day for Physical Training, Meditating, Chanting and Reading (to be allocated accordingly)
3. 6 hours/day for my Job (To be done in the office and at home)
4. 4 hours/day for spending time with my family and friends (to be allocated accordingly)
5. 1 hour/day to send my son to school and also to have lunch.
that is 16 hours/day, which leaves 7 hours for sleeping and 1 hour for meals.
Goal:
1. Finish 5 games/year
2. Maintain 80kg to 83kg weight-range, 30 inch waist-line,etc, able to meditate for 30 mins, chant 30 mins in the morning daily and chant 30 mins in the evening daily, Read 50 books/year.
3. Use free time to read books to reach the goal of 50 books/year.
4. Use free time for my Job and read books.
5. To commit to this really takes a lot of effort.
Other activities I would like to start doing:
1. Cook a family dinner, if possible, make extra for friends or relatives. I find that over the past 10 years of my life, cooking has always been a pleasure of mine. It is true that I tend to rush a bit in my cooking but the times when I really put my heart into it, the results were spectacular!!! I have been praised many times for the times I really put my heart into it (even when times when I rushed it, heh-heh.)
2. Try to make more friends, if possible, 3 to 4 new friends per month as a start. This is to help me understand myself more and to learn more from others.
3. Have a family picnic by the Beach. (Any beach would do at this point, as I am not even sure which one is better than the other??!!)
I am really hoping to learn more about myself as I do these activities, while keeping true to my Vows and Rules and Regulations, which from now onwards, I call my Life's Principles.
Semper Fi.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
I am back... (again)
I am back again.
This time hopefully I can stay for a longer time to share more of my points of views and journey.
This time hopefully I can stay for a longer time to share more of my points of views and journey.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Need time to think ...
I am going to be taking a few days off to think about my life and do some personal stuff.
So I would not be answering my e-Mails and/or replying my sms.
Until then....
So I would not be answering my e-Mails and/or replying my sms.
Until then....
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