Oxymoron In The Tropics

Ofttimes I feel a need for some quiet time. Just some time and space to myself. No thoughts of lists & deadlines, no worrying, no thinking... Amazingly, when I first tried doing this, it was very difficult for I had become so used to filling my mind with 'noise'. The noise of the world I live in... but after a while, it became easier. Some people learn to silence their minds through meditation. I do it by listening to prayer and music, such as the ones below... can't really achieve total silence, can I? Listening to prayers or music for a short while is like refreshing the mind... taking a step out of the crazy world I live in and going into a world of tranquility. Then after an hour or two, I feel ready to return to the craziness again. Sleepsong by Secret Garden The Promise by Secret Garden

When I was in university, I learned one unfailing strategy to get people to attend society activities. All we had to do was ensure that plenty of food was available. Simple fare like sandwiches and biscuits but plenty of it. In the first school I worked in, that same strategy worked like a charm. The boys were willing to paint endless walls, make innumerable posters and run unending miles as long as there was food and drink available. During sports season, I promised lunches and a guaranteed supply of cold drinks - this got me extreme loyalty and perseverance in sports events...LOL... I've since learned that for boys (& men too?), food is a most important starter. It's no wonder I was always broke in my first decade of teaching. Recently a friend commented that Malaysia was lucky to enjoy such harmony despite the many different races & religions. Bar the occasional lawsuit and Molotov cocktail. I noticed that he had been attending a number of events which natura...

I have noticed that most problems in relationships can be traced back to boundaries, whether unclear or unrealistic or whatever. Last week, a cousin had a quarrel (a major one!) with her parents and aunts (the uncles normally run for cover) because they disagreed with her choice of partner.  As someone on the outside looking in, I could not really tell what the real issues were but I could see that for the first time in her life, my cousin was rebelling against the established boundaries of her family expectations.  As these boundaries (rules and protocol) were the same throughout the families in the clan, the aunts jumped in to 'defend' family traditions.  One could say that the family was being too rigid... but at the same time, my cousin not only rebelled against family 'law' but she was also trying to buck social rules - hint : she could end up in Syariah court if she wasn't careful.   As far as I know, tradition has won .... although I suspect my young cousin...