I’m a very visual person, and my heart will go into a happy dance whenever I come across anything pretty. My eyes do a big morning stretch and my lips part to welcome the aesthetic molecules into my body. I would have done a “Happy Feet” right there and then if I were alone. So, this passion for beauty is so deep and huge that unconsciously, it has also set me up against myself.
You see, the pursuit of something you are crazy about is never ending. For me, it is beauty. Not just physical beauty of a person, but anything that looks pretty and eye-catching. Arts, nature, words, shapes, sounds, love.
I was just getting myself comfortable in my seat and ready to work when the three panels of door burst open. Out rushed an entire herd of children, dashing and running in all directions like a gush of water released from a dam, instantly flooding every inch of the piazza before me. Laughter, voices and screams swallowed up every molecule of serenity and quietness in the air just one second before. A bunch of them—not surprisingly, boys—chased after one another, and some even rolled on the granite stone paving, kicking their legs into the air, hands pressing down their tummies as they giggled and snorted.
I was in Iowa, attending one of the hourly talks held from 11a.m to noon, and one female instructor struck me as particularly memorable.
Her beauty had nothing to do with it, really, though I found myself wondering how she tied her hair into a cutesy bun, admiring her choice of stylish clothes, and mesmerised by her red lips that brought out her fair and lovely complexion. Those red lips. They were the ones that spoke so passionately of many poems, so many sounds within words, music within sentences that she could feel fully with her heart.
When you look at this photo, what do you see? If you see the word FROWN first, then you’re like me! What does this say? I’m no psychologist, just that my mind tends to make some relations and so-called “insights” into things that I observe and take meaning from. In this case, I feel that if you’re like me who first notices the FROWN, could it be that we’re the group who see the cup as half-empty instead of half-full. In other words, are we more pessimistic than optimistic?
I was dining at Sushi Tei the other day with my sister and a friend. The food was satisfying, as usual, and I was glad that the standards have remained. When it was time for dessert, we ordered a serving of salt ice-cream to share among us.
When someone from the Health Promotion Board approached me to do something with them on positive thinking, I said yes without a second thought. I’m honoured, I thought. In my mind I figured it’d be some talks on keeping yourself happy and positive, but I was so wrong. They could never been more creative. Positive thinking and positive actions are their focus this year in the lead up to World Mental Health Day (WMHD) in October. Haven’t I been talking so much about minding our thoughts? That what we think will affect how we feel and what is eventually translated to real actions? This is exactly what HPB’s message is to all of us this year, and the messenger is not a person, not words, but art. Yes, art.
Ole, ole, ole, ole… ole… ole.
Alright, it’s the football season again with the kick off of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, probably happening right now as I’m writing this post. I’m no football fan, though I’ve managed to watch one match in each of the world cup for the past decade. Yes, I catch the one final match that will determine who reins the football field for the next four years.
An Australian friend made a most innocent remark when he saw the grill gate, or rather, all the grill gates, at the entrance of all the flats. “Why are there gaps in all these gates?” he asked my sister.
I was dumbfounded for about three seconds when my sister told me about this, before I laughed in comprehension. The gates in Australia are all netted with a mesh to prevent insects, especially abundant during summer time, from flying in. So he found it interesting that the gates all come with such gaping holes in between each grill, and each household sporting a different design!
When Mitch Albom said someone told him he finished reading his book while queuing for his autograph, I smiled.
I knew then that I would use at least ten times longer.
That person Mitch spoke of took two hours. I took about a week.
Over the past week, I certainly broke the most important rule of speed reading. I read each and every word in the page out aloud in my mind. Yes, I wanted to slowly savour the goodness in every word, between every sentence, and across every page.
Would Mitch laugh or sulk if he knew I had conveniently stolen his best-selling book title as the idea for the title of a blog in this humble little space? Judging by how friendly and warm he was by our very brief meeting, I doubt he would be upset.
Mitch Albom happily signing his name away!
Yes, I finally met up with this international best-selling author of Tuesdays With Morrie (now you know where my blog title came from!), 5 People You Meet In Heaven, For One More Day and the latest addition to his family of inspirational books – Have A Little Faith.
