Life 04 (Aug 09 - Sep 09)

[Cherry]

Burnt Toast

Embracing Imperfection

"When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.'

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if He really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, 'Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired.
And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!' You know, life is full of imperfect things...... and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook.'

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting
relationship.

We could extend this to any relationship in fact – as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!! "

[kennynah]

in our simple dialect, it simply means, we must be able to "loon" each other... must be able to "tahan".... must be able to "tong" through hardships together...

in short... eh LOON, eh TAHAN, eh TONG.....and then.... will be SONG

[Cherry]

kennynah wrote:

in our simple dialect, it simply means, we must be able to "loon" each other... must be able to "tahan".... must be able to "tong" through hardships together...

in short... eh LOON, eh TAHAN, eh TONG.....and then.... will be SONG

Ken

May I add, "Syeo kiam cheh."

'Owe each other debt from the previous life so got to pay back to each other in this life.'

[kennynah]

hahahaha..... u so cute....

[Cherry]

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year-old grandson.
The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth..

The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

[winston]

How do we keep cool when our mind is restless and unable to decide upon anything?

No effect can take place without a cause. You do certainly know the cause of your present condition. Given the scenario, when you experience a mental pain, chant some prayers for a while sitting in a lonely place. Or sing Devotional Songs loudly in a raised voice. Or if that is not possible, spread the bed and sleep for some time. Thereafter your worries will disappear and you'll find solutions.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Live with “what is”

Is it possible to live a life without any pattern, without any goal, without any idea of the future, a life without conflict? It is only possible when one lives completely with “what is”. With “what is” means with that which is actually taking place. Live with it; do not try to transform it, do not try to go beyond it, do not try to control it, do not try to escape from it, just look at it, live with it.

If you are envious, or greedy, jealous, or you have problems, sex, fear, whatever they are, live with them without any movement of thought that wants to move away from them. Which means what? One is not wasting one’s energy in control, in suppression, in conflict, in resistance, in escape.

All that energy was being wasted; now one has gathered it up. Because one sees the absurdity of it, the falseness of it, the unreality of it, one has now the energy to live with “what is”.

The Wholeness of Life, p148

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What should one eliminate in oneself?

It is not good to spend time in conversations which are fault finding and abusive in nature. These are natural and common with many people. Knowing this, those who aspire to become true devotees should search only for bases on which they should build their joy.

All the available time should be used for holy purposes, it should not be wasted. You have nothing to do with the good and the bad in the others. Instead of wasting the time, it should be utilized to discard the bad and develop the good in you.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What's True For You?

Your belief about something makes it so more than the attribute of the thing itself. In other words, if you believe a black cat crossing your path means bad luck, you'll have bad luck if a black cat crosses your path. If you believe it's good luck, you'll have good luck. The result has more to do with your belief than the actual act itself.

The same is true for everything, an act, an object, a person, etc. Beliefs hold tremendous power to create your experience. Whatever you believe, the Universe will deliver insurmountable evidence to support that belief.

It is the reason why there is not one single absolute conclusive piece of evidence for anything that stands the test of time. At any given time, a particular food may be proven to be healthy and beneficial and countless people benefit by it. A few years later, it's proven to be unhealthy or dangerous and countless people suffer by it. Then a few years after that, the food is then again proven to be good for you and countless people benefit by it again. Yet, the food itself has not changed, only our belief in it has. We tend to believe what the "experts" tell us and our beliefs fluctuate based on the latest study.

Take a look at your beliefs and watch how they affect you, watch how you keep running into evidence that proves your beliefs valid. If you're fortunate enough to know someone with an opposing belief, watch how they keep running into evidence that proves their beliefs valid.

But how could that be? How could the Universe deliver evidence to satisfy both beliefs? How could both beliefs be true if they are opposing?

It's not about what is true, it's about what is true for you.

What is true for you is what is true in your experience. Your reality is defined by what you believe to be true.
Source: www.FollowYourSoul.com

[Poles]

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Click to view video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fHa6FBO1OY

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year-old grandson.
The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth..

The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.