being positive ...

Have you heard of the Positive Negative Syndrome (+- synd).

Well you gonna hear of this quite often here, because it happen to us always be it we ourselves or others around us. But before we go into it, people gets to be negative much more easier, rather than being positive. In fact it sometimes looks like or sounds like so ridiculous.

At Tesco, a few days back as I looking at a badminton racket, I said to another person who were also looking at one, "time to beat Lin Dan", as that was the day that we lost to China in the Thomas Cup 2010 semi-finals. This is what he said "Jangan harap lah bang" (don't hope for it).

Why does that kind of statement arises. Is it because we really think so, or we were so dissappointed, or we think we are as good as the rest.

As much as we would like to be in total positive thinking attitude, we just need to accept that due to certain reasons beyond our control, no matter how positive you are you can never do it. So what we should do is identify what we can really be the best at and ... DO OUR BEST.

Lets try to identify certain situation with regards to the statement below :-

I am sick - I am not well vs I am healthy - I don't feel so good.

Don't drive fast - Drive slow - Drive carefully.

Lets give it a thought for now.

Ideafactory ... revisited

Its been awhile since I took time to write on this issue. Happening around, be it personal, family, the country and or the world takes the best of the thought process and therefore time and again, other things seems to get the priority.

You are what you let yourself believe, and somehow that is always through. A friend of mind, Hj Ramli Wali likes to say this, "What ever you say or do, you always gets the original, as others around you gets the photocopy".

My beloved wife always remind me of this whenever I get into being upset with certain issues that makes me angry and "the not so nice words and face mimics follow through". She ought to know and has all the right to make that comments considering that she is the one who has to listen to it. Yesterday, Lia was not in a good mood due to a situation that upsets her very much, and being her fathers daughter, it shows on her face, and action and it definately is not pleasing, so I told her that in our family, only me can get angry, and the rest must always smile and be happy. Such and attitude ... eh.

Well, as human as much as I try, taking the easier way out ... we are only human.

Anyway back to the ideafactory, what can we churn out today ? Somethoughts that can get things moving for us specifically, but worthwhile for other as well. Well ... lets us SMILE today and everyday onwards, as they say Smile is free.

until then ... be happy its your choice.

Understanding

Another email from one of my dear Brother, lets enjoy this nice story :-



Burnt Biscuit

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. That evening, mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of dad.

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I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed. All dad did was reach for his biscuit, smiled at mom and asked 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 biscuit and ate every bite.

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

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Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!" You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others' faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. Because in the end, you are the master of your own life, to be happy or unhappy, to be positive or negative.

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We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship. Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own.

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So please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine...

Just a little kindness ...

Got this email from my Brother and I liked it, here I am sharing ...

An Excellent Read

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I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

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After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

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By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

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There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

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'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman.

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She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

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'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

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'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

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'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

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I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

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'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

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For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

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As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'

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We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

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Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up.. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

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I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

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'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

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'Nothing,' I said

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'You have to make a living,' she answered.

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'There are other passengers,' I responded.

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Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

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'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.

'Thank you.'

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I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

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I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

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On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

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We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

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But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

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PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

Step by Step ...

Saying this is the easiest part. As the saying goes,

"A journey of a thousand mile begins with the first step".

A Chinese proverb, if I am not mistaken. Well that sure was the easiest part. Now lets put the normal action plan, i.e DUIT. If you heard this orally, it sounds like DO IT, and some how NIKE has coined it as their catch phrase "Just Do it"

Whatever you do, you shall always stars with a DOA (prayers) and than USAHA (action), not once but continuously and consistently, which means ISTIQAMAH and finally TAWAKKAL (have faith).

If and on if, or better still or the best statement should be WHEN you as a person does the process, you shall reap what you sow. Now what actually you want so badly that you will take the first step of the journey since 11th November 1961 ? More than 48 years ago as the earth circle the sun.

What, Why, When, Who, Where & HOW ???

Which one comes first ???

I read this and I like it ... so enjoy

Would You Permit Me?

In a country where thinkers are assassinated, and writers
are considered infidels and books are burnt.
In societies that refuse the other, and force silence on mouths and thoughts forbidden, and to question is a sin,
I must beg your pardon, would you permit me?

Would you permit me to bring up my children as I want, and
not to dictate on me your whims and orders?

Would you permit me to teach my children that the religion
is first to God, and not for religious leaders or scholars
or people?

Would you permit me to teach my little one that religion is
about good manners, good behaviour, good conduct, honesty
and truthfulness, before I teach her with which foot to
enter the bathroom or with which hand she should eat?

Would you permit me to teach my daughter that God is about
love, and she can dialogue with Him and ask Him
anything she wants, far away from the teachings of anyone?

Would you permit me not to mention the torture of the grave
to my children, who do not know about death yet?

Would you permit me to teach my daughter the tenets of the
religion and its culture and manners, before I force on her
the 'Hijab' (the veil)?

Would you permit me to tell my young son that hurting
people and degrading them because of their nationality,
colour or religion, is considered a big sin by God?

Would you permit me to tell my daughter to revising her
homework and paying attention to her learning is considered by God as more useful and important than learning by heart Ayahs from the Quran without knowing their meaning?

Would you permit me to teach my son that following the footsteps of the
Honourable Prophet begins with his honesty, loyalty and truthfulness, before his beard or how short his thobe (long shirt/dress) is?

Would you permit me to tell my daughter that her Christian friend is not an infidel, and ask her not to cry fearing her friend will go to Hell?

Would you permit me to argue, that God did not authorize
anyone on earth after the Prophet to speak in his name nor
did he vest any powers in anyone to issue 'deeds of
forgiveness' to people?

Would you permit me to say, that God has forbidden killing
the human spirit, and who kills wrongly a human being is as if he killed all human kind, and no Moslem has the right to frighten another Moslem?

Would you permit me to teach my children that God is greater, more just, and more merciful than all the (religious) scholars on earth combined?
And that his standards are different from the standards of those trading
the religion, and that his accountability is kinder and more merciful?

Would you permit me?

Nizar Kabbani
Syrian Diplomat, Poet, Writer

Being Helpful can be troublesome

today, people over react, government sometimes act quite fast as well ...


State to mom: Stop baby-sitting neighbors' kids

Lisa Snyder, left, watches kids play at their bus stop, which is also her AP – Lisa Snyder, left, watches kids play at their bus stop, which is also her driveway, Friday, Sept. 25, …
By JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer James Prichard, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 29, 7:23 pm ET

IRVING TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood's children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.

Regulators who oversee child care, however, don't see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she'd be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.

"I was freaked out. I was blown away," she said. "I got on the phone immediately, called my husband, then I called all the girls" — that is, the mothers whose kids she watches — "every one of them."

Snyder's predicament has led to a debate in Michigan about whether a law that says no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers needs to be changed. It also has irked parents who say they depend on such friendly offers to help them balance work and family.

On Tuesday, agency Director Ismael Ahmed said good neighbors should be allowed to help each other ensure their children are safe. Gov. Jennifer Granholm instructed Ahmed to work with the state Legislature to change the law, he said.

"Being a good neighbor means helping your neighbors who are in need," Ahmed said in a written statement. "This could be as simple as providing a cup of sugar, monitoring their house while they're on vacation or making sure their children are safe while they wait for the school bus."

Snyder learned that the agency was responding to a neighbor's complaint.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the agency was following standard procedure in its response. "But we feel this (law) really gets in the way of common sense," Boyd said.

"We want to protect kids, but the law needs to be reasonable," she said. "When the governor learned of this, she acted quickly and called the director personally to ask him to intervene."

State Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, said he was working to draft legislation that would exempt situations like Snyder's from coverage under Michigan's current day care regulations.

The bill will make it clear that people who aren't in business as day care providers don't need to be licensed, Calley said.

"These are just kids that wait for the bus every morning," he said. "This is not a day care."

Snyder, 35, lives in a rural subdivision in Barry County's Irving Township about 25 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. Her tidy, comfortable three-bedroom home is a designated school bus stop. The three neighbor children she watched — plus Snyder's first-grader, Grace — attend school about six miles away in Middleville.

Snyder said she started watching the other children this school year to help her friends; they often baby-sit for each other during evenings and weekends.

After receiving the state agency's letter, she said she called the agency and tried to explain that she wasn't running a day care center or accepting money from her friends.

Under state law, no one may care for unrelated children in their home for more than four weeks each calendar year unless they are licensed day-care providers. Snyder said she stopped watching the other children immediately after receiving the letter, which was well within the four-week period.

"I've lived in this community for 35 years and everyone I know has done some form of this," said Francie Brummel, 42, who would drop off her second-grade son, Colson, before heading to her job as deputy treasurer of the nearby city of Hastings.

Other moms say they regularly deal with similar situations.

Amy Cowan, 34, of Grosse Pointe Farms, a Detroit suburb, said she often takes turns with her sister, neighbor and friend watching each other's children.

"The worst part of this whole thing, with the state of the economy ... two parents have to work," said Cowan, a corporate sales representative with a 5-year-old son and 11-month-old daughter. "When you throw in the fact that the state is getting involved, it gives women a hard time for going back to work.

"I applaud the lady who takes in her neighbors' kids while they're waiting for the bus. She's enabling her peers to go to work and get a paycheck. The state should be thankful for that."

Amy Maciaszek, 42, of McHenry, Ill., who works in direct sales, said she believes the state agency was "trying to be overprotective."

"I think it does take a village and that's the best way," said Maciaszek, who has a 6-year-old boy and twin 3-year-old daughters. "Unfortunately you do have to be careful about that. These mothers are trying to do the right thing."