Saturday, January 28, 2012

Haiku - Crimson and Silhouette

Haiku Heights - Crimson 




Crimson flames dancing
Surging through the Milky Way;
The sun, our life force















Haiku Wednesday - Silhouette




Black paint and canvas
Brush creates a silhouette;
Silent, dark, like night.











Also linking to Thursday Poet's Rally Week 61


Warm Regards
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Time and Karma


This week's prompt at GBE2 is on TIME
and  at the  Blogging for Fun is on KARMA

I combined the two into one post, as my thoughts on both prompts are inter-linked.



My thoughts on TIME

T  = take some time off to stop and smell the roses.

I   =  irreversible so make the best of each moment.

M = make memorable moments that will live forever.

E = evanescent yet eternal. So believing in karma and cause and effect and that our actions
       are accumulated across lifetimes, I need to use it wisely to always act in ways that are
       enriching for all.
     


My thoughts on KARMA

K = kindness will be repaid in many wonderful ways.

A = act altruistically and in a way that is beneficial to all because all actions have consequences.

R = the Universe rewards and reprimands. Detach from outcome (rewards and retribution)
       and let God take care of that.

M = thoughts manifest, make them magnificent - this is essence of the law of attraction and I also
        believe of Karma (cause and effect).

A = there are no accidents or chance events, we are all part of a collective consciousness.
       My actions affect all others and vice versa. The Upanishads (Hindu philosophical texts)
       sum this up well in these words:
"When a blade of grass is cut, the whole Universe quivers".

Warm Regards
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Linking to:

    

Friday, January 27, 2012

ABC Wednesday - Round 10 - B is for ,,,



And so here are some songs that have a bit of "blue"




Blue Eyes  by Elton John ... one of my favourites

Blue Eyes is classified as a ballad (poems that tell a story).
It was first released by Elton John in 1982.
It reached No. 8 in the UK, No.12 on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 and No.1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.


Youtube - Blue Eyes


Blue Moon - Bobby Vinton.  To keep to the "B" round, I chose Bobby Vinton's version.

Blue Moon was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934 and has become a standard ballad.
Several artists have recorded this song, including:
* Connee Boswell in 1935 for Brunswick Records
Belle Barker in 1935
* Billie Holiday in 1950
Bobby Vinton in 1963
Bob Dylan in 1970
* Tony Bennett in 1973
* Vazelina Bilopphaggers, a Norwegian band in 1983 as  Blå lys (Blue lights)
* Elkie Brooks in 1984
Beady Eye in 2011 to support Manchester City's new football kit.



Youtube - Blue Moon


And to add an instrumental, here is
The Blue Danube by Mantovani and his Orchestra

The Blue Danube is the common English title of  An der schönen blauen Donau (German for On the Beautiful Blue Danube).  It was composed by Johann Strauss II in 1866.
It's one of my favourite waltzes.


Youtube - Blue Danube

I'm also linking this post to The Writers Post for the topic "The Blues".  Not quite in keeping what the prompt had in mind but twisting the words a bit.

I hope your day is filled with blue skies and beautiful moments.

Best and Warm Regards
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All information taken from Wikipedia:   Blue Eyes Elton John   Blue Moon (Song)   Blue Danube Waltz

Check out other ABC Wednesday "B" entries here



Saturday, January 21, 2012

ABC Wednesday - Round 10 - A is for ...

I thought I would start round 10 with a music post.

So A is for ... "Always and Forever".

I love this awesome song - amazing lyrics and very appealing melody

The song was written by Rod Temperton and first recorded by Heatwave in 1976.

But I like Luther Vandross' version as he has a very alluring voice. His recording of this song earned him a Grammy Award nomination at the 1995 Grammy Awards.





I also like Diana Ross' version. Check it out on youtube  Diana Ross Always and Forever

Have an absolutely amazing day that brings some astounding adventures that will be remembered "Always and Forever".

Warm Regards
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Linking to:

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

BFF - A letter to myself at sixteen

Some months ago I wrote a post on this ... so will be re-cycling that post in letter format and adding some more.

Dear Suzy (at 16),

I am so excited to give you a little peek into your future. I won't spoil it by giving out the events of your life, but there are some things I do want you to know.

I know you wish you could be that pretty slim thing that turns heads instead of being constantly teased. Don't worry about what you look like, because you will turn a few heads. Also remember that beauty lies within and opinions of those that haven't figured that out are not worth stressing over.

And you know that weight you're constantly worried about? Worry no more, because you will lose a lot of weight and slim down heaps. And then when you've reached your ideal weight, you'll decide that actually you look better a little chubbier. Isn't that always the way? So don't stress about the weight. And all the times you wish you are sporty, don't despair. Someday, you will take up ten pin bowling for a while and then in your late forties (yes you heard me right), you'll take up karate  Trophies and medals won in both. Yay!

When things don't go well, don't think you are useless or failed at something just because you can't do it. You are not meant to do it. There are many successes waiting for you. Life is full of ups and downs. Just know that when it's down, it will eventually go up and balance out. Many exciting adventures await. Lots of travel overseas and someday you'll enjoy the wonderful world of  "blogging". Keep your interest in photography as someday you'll share some lovely photos on something called the "world wide web". Too hard to explain but look forward to it as it is so exciting.

At present you think that leadership is being the best at something and as there are others that are so much better at things than you are, you think that being a leader is simply not possible for you. But trust me when I say that leadership is not about being the best at something, it's about inspiring others to achieve beyond what they believe they can. And you will do that.

Don't be sad when some friends walk away. Over the years you will make some amazing friends. Just know that the friendships that are meant to endure, will endure. Also know that those that like and love you, just do. Those who don't, don't. It's their loss not yours.

And on a lighter note, when that cute guy asks you to dance, don't walk off the dance floor because you're shy. He's shy too and it took great courage on his part to ask you to dance.  So stay on the dance floor with him.

Lots of love
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(in 2012)


BFF - Blogging For Fun

Thursday, January 5, 2012

ABC Wednesday Y is for ....

You've got mail  - my favourite movie

Your song by Elton John - one of my favourite songs.

Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister - TV shows I've enjoyed watching

Yellowstone National Park - a place I want to visit.

Yonkers - a place I've visited many times.

Yangtse Kiang -  a river I would like to see.

Yul Brynner - an actor whose movies I enjoyed watching in particular The King and I  and The Magnificent Seven

Yoghurt cucumber raita - a food I love eating - yum

Yak - an animal I would like to see.

Yellow - a colour I think is very cheerful

Yoga - a practice I endeavour to do daily

Yeehaa - my Y post is done.



Wishing you all a Yin-Yang (balanced) day





Warm Regards
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

GBE2 - Work

I am so glad 2012 has arrived.  Work-wise 2011 had great achievements and some massive disappointments as well. And financially it was a tough year.

So for GBE2's topic on Work I am going to focus on the future ... my life's work, the work that won't be work but great pleasure.

The Dream
My dream is to work in the humanitarian aid arena - managing international global aid programmes focussing on children.

Aid for me is not just about financial aid though it certainly encompasses that, but "aiding" people have better lives - research, conservation, education, science - setting the foundations for future generations.

I have this vision of working for organisations like UNDP, UNESCO or UNICEF. I have no idea how I'll get there but just today I came across this quote via a post on facebook that I believe is a message for me, as it jumped out at me out of several messages:
"You don't have to understand, you just have to have faith" ~Serendipity
And so I simply have the faith that my vision will come true very soon.

Sabotage
Until April 2011, I truly enjoyed what I was doing and work has been mostly great pleasure - not easy, but still a great pleasure. Even the high stress projects that I managed were fun. However since early 2009 I felt some twinges of change ... that the time for a change in direction was near ... but what could that be and when?

Then in May 2011 I took up a new contract for a few months and the pleasure drained. It was a tough environment because of some people I worked with and then my project got cancelled and I found myself without a job - something I had never imagined or experienced in my 25 working years. It came as a shock. A bad time to be unemployed - the economy was so bad and jobs hard to come by.

In the end after trying for a few weeks, I just decided that after 25 years of slogging, perhaps the Universe was giving me a chance to simply enjoy life - chill - and to think of the future. Even though my finances are being drained, this is a necessary step in moving forward.

An aha moment
And then I had my big aha moment ... I need to change, move towards my dream now, rather than postponing that dream until I had reached financial abundance. My abundance would come from the dream not the "work" I was chasing now.

It's a major shift - it's like taking the road to the left - when the "work" I've been doing all along is actually the road on the right.

Is it scary to take this step?  Yes it is. And financially it is a backward step. But I know I have to take it. Because this is what my heart desires and this is what I believe I am meant to do. And this is what will bring me great joy.

How do I know these things?

Planting seeds
I believe deep down we just know, but the Universe also sends us clues and quietly directs our path - plants seeds in our brain.
"Because a vision softly creeping, left it's seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains" - The Sounds of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel)
So here is the story of the vision that was planted in my brain ...

Family
My paternal grandmother was an amazing lady. She dedicated her life to helping underprivileged women and children. This was her life's work. She even won an award for that in her later years and one of the projects she initiated was endorsed by UNICEF.  She wasn't financially rich and she lived a very simple life but people were her greatest love and helping them gave her the greatest joy.

I truly believe that there was a reason why she was my grandmother ... at some point, I would carry on her work.

School
During my school days I belonged to a club and every Saturday we would visit orphanages, old people homes etc to help them out. I loved visiting the Orphanage - I loved the children - being with them gave me so much joy and they in turn gave out so much love. And then after leaving school, I forgot all about them.

Strengths
About 15 years ago, I was sent on a leadership and management course. The subject we were discussing was strengths and how these add to achievement and our joy in our work. The facilitator was randomly talking about each attendee (we were 8 of us). When my turn came, he simply said "Your life's work will be in the humanitarian aid arena - you are just made for working there because compassion is your greatest strength".

I did not know, but apparently I was nodding and I had the biggest smile on my face. And then I forgot all about that.

A Life Map
A few years later I put my name down to do another company sponsored course on "Life". It had nothing to do with work but about what we wanted from life. It's the best course I ever did. The first thing we were asked to do was to write down 1 thing we truly wanted to do but had never got down to doing. We were given 1/2 a minute - the idea was not to think too hard. Mine was - Sponsor a child through World Vision. The entire course took me on a journey to my current dream.

The last words the facilitator said to us was "You have created a life map. Make your dream come true". That was 10 years ago. And then I forgot all about that and went back to doing the "work" that I was doing.

Passion
About 5 years ago I was sent on another company run leadership and management course. We had many scenario games to play and one of them was where 2 groups were bidding for some medicinal plants from a country. 1 group was an organisation prepared to pay big sums of money for it, the other was asking for it free of charge to aid underprivileged people - the scenario was given to us after the groups were created. Well, I ended up with the  "please, free of charge" group.

And then as we were ready to state our case, another set of rules were provided - only the women were allowed to speak and confer - hey, I was the only woman in my group - the other had 4. So I was pretty much on my own. I didn't expect to win, but I was going to give it my all. Guess what  ... my group won.

The feedback was that I was so passionate about aiding the people and that they felt it was so real and I was so convincing.  And then I forgot all about that and went back to my "work".

Think about it
In 2010 I went back to my hometown for a visit. And I got talking to my cousin about the children I currently sponsor through World Vision (I have 5) and that I am also a UNICEF global parent and how much I enjoy doing that and how much joy that brings me. And she told me to consider working in that arena.

Do it
I am sure none of these were "chance" incidents.  If you believe in "Synchrodestiny", nicely summed up as
"Coincidences are not accidents but signals from the Universe which can guide us toward our true destiny"  by Deepak Chopra
then you will agree that the Universe has truly left many clues and has now nudged me onto that path by sabotaging my quest for "work" as I know it.

And so I believe that the time to convert a dream into reality is here ... 2012 is my year for dreams come true.


And I hope that 2012 will be your year of dreams come true too.

Enjoy the "Sounds of Silence" - don't know what Simon and Garfunkel thought about when they wrote and sang this song, but I thought it was apt for my post.




Warm Regards
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Monday, January 2, 2012

Music Monday - A Time For Us

I thought I would start the New Year with a song that symbolises love and hope and is also one of my favourites.

So here is "A Time For Us" the theme song of the 1968 Romeo and Juliet movie.

The movie was shown during my University days in the late 1970s. My friend and I watched this movie several times at the 11.00am matinee showing on Saturday. Leonard Whiting was heavenly respite after a boring University class.





And if you enjoy instrumental music, here is Andre Rieu's version.




Wish you all a magical 2012 ... a year when dreams flourish ... a time of shining hope and love.

Warm Regards
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Lyrics
A time for us, some day there'll be
When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free
A time when dreams so long denied can flourish
As we unveil the love we now must hide

A time for us, at last to see
A life worthwhile for you and me

And with our love, through tears and thorns
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
A time for us, some day there'll be a new world
A world of shining hope for you and me
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