Quote of the day (QOTD)

“… personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.” J.K. Rowling

Quote of the day (QOTD)

“I don't have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect and beautiful journey of my life. It's a trip more wonderful than I could have imagined.”
— Kerry Washington

Don't we all need this reminder?

Quote of the day (QOTD)

"Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by."
– Carl Sandburg

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This space is neglected because my mum underwent back operation and I am back in SG to help care for her. I will return in 2 weeks time and regular programming will resume.

The Remains of the Day

Don't keep looking back all the time, you're bound to get depressed....We've all got to put our feet up at some point. Look at me. I've been happy as a lark since the day I retired. All right, so neither of us are exactly in our first flush of youth, but you've got to keep looking forward....You've got to enjoy yourself. The evening's the best part of the day. You've done your day's work. Now you can put your feet up and enjoy it....

This para struck me quite a bit. Personally I'd consider the early morning as the best part of the day. Main reason is the fact that I have the chance to restart the day. A new day is a fresh start, an opportunity to experience and discover new things as well as to make amends for mistakes of the past. Anyway, I find the above para making a lot of sense; about why the evening's the best part of the day. After a hard day of work, the evening is the time to chill and appreciate what has happened. A time to sit back, relax and be grateful. To truly enjoy the evening of one's day or life, I assume one must live in the present and live life to the full. I'd imagine that the evening can be depressing if one feels that one hasn't achieved much or there are still unfinished tasks. This is a great reminder for myself that with each passing day, I'm getting closer to the evening of my day. I must cherish the present, look forward to the future and stop spending too much time looking back.

Another lovely para:
After all, there's no turning back the clock now. One can't be forever dwelling on what might have been. One should realized one has as good as most, perhaps better, and be grateful.

Indeed.

Quote of the day (QOTD)

Time spent attempting to change others affords little time for personal change. --Georgette Vickstrom

One of the challenges I struggled a lot in my early years of marriage is that of changing my husband.  Not only do I expect myself to grow and change, I wanted him to do the same. Yes, I fell into the trap magnificently. Needless to say it was a losing and painful battle. I learn it the hard way that I need to let him (and others) be who they are, regardless of who I want them to be. Acceptance of the others is the best gift we can offer to those we love.

Picture of the Week (POTW)

Picture taken at Half Moon Bay, CA (May 10)

I always have a thing for birds that are flying so freely in the sky. Somehow when I look at them, I feel happy and free.

"That little bird has chosen his shelter. Above it are the stars and the deep heaven of worlds. Yet he is rocking himself to sleep without caring for tomorrow's lodging, calmly clinging to his little twig, and leaving God to think for him." - Martin Luther

P.S. I'm not sure who is still reading since it's been a while since I updated it. It is my desire to do a better job and if you're reading this thank you for not giving up on me :)

Quote of the day (QOTD)

"Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different."
– Katherine Mansfield

Quote of the day (QOTD)

"To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult."
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Quote of the day (QOTD)

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of good luck.
--H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Responding with affection

Listen to Marianne Williamson on this here.

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

John C. Maxwell

Quote of the day (QOTD)

We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies."
– Etty Hillesum

Quote of the day (QOTD)

“Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has.”