Word Magic

During my trip, I was reading this book 'The Unmistakable Touch of Grace' where the author talks about word magic. It is a prophetic game whereby the visitor holds a question in mind while several colored spheres circle around the page to the sound of calming music. Then, when ready, the visitor clicks on a sphere to reveal a word that represents the answer. It is all in the name of fun. This is the website: www.innerworldmedia.com. Click on word magic on the navigation bar. For some bizzare reason, I keep on getting the word perseverance. Now, the chances of getting the same word over and over again is pretty slim because there are more than seventy-five words available to be assigned to a sphere at any given moment and the words were assigned at random with each visit. So, isnt it weird that I'm given the same word every time I click on the spheres?And for all you curious souls out there, my question was obviously related to pregnancy.Looks like we have to keep on trying. Lets PERSEVERE!

Back from a magical trip

We returned from our trip yesterday. We had such a fabulous time in Shanghai. It was a challenging trip in its own way. Foreigners are called 'aliens' there. Not being able to communicate fluently in Mandarin was not a handicap to us as we imagined. I felt a sense of accomplishment everytime we ventured out to a strange new place all by ourselves and not being able to speak the language made it even more fun and thrilling. Soaking in the atmosphere of the colorful chinese culture was truly enchanting . Being a vegetarian, it was challenging as usual to find meat free dishes, especially in a foreign land where you have no clue what is kind to your stomach and what is not but that did not stop us from being adventurous nevertheless. I loved exploring Shanghai and stumbling upon its various delicious street food. I immensely enjoyed letting the vendors know that I'm a vegetarian and yes I have to emphasise that I dont eat meat, otherwise they would just slide in a few pieces of seafood here and there. I had a ball everytime I said "wo chi su. bu you rou" literally translated to "I eat only vegetables. No meat". I got addicted to this deliciously sinful street food called jian bing big time. It is a little slice of heaven that consists of a very thin batter poured onto a hot round flat griddle (think crepes) and with added elements of egg, green onions, cilantro, some hot sauce and then all wrapped around some crispy fried dough. I got high everytime I ate it. Kinda experiencing cold turkey back home now.

Enough about food. I want to stop drooling. How were the people you may ask? Especially those of you who sensed a slight apprehensiveness in my last post? Well, they were...FANTASTIC. Differences in language, culture, skin colour, food were never an issue to us nor them. There is this one particular chap who has left an everlasting impeccable impression on us. He was one of the waiters we came across in this historical vegetarian restaurant. Why historical? Well, it is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in China. It was founded in 1875 by the Qing Dynasty Emperor Xuantong.

From the moment we stepped into the restaurant, I fell in love with his energy and exuberance. His smile and mannerisms were so endearing. Infact, he was so infectious that everytime he came to our table to chat with us or serve us, we would be burst out into laughters. Strangely enough, we even bumped into him once again while strolling through the night streets. Guess what we all did. Yes, we all burst out into laughters again....middle of the street. The Chinese would have thought we were nuts or something. Or maybe it was just us being high on jianbing. Seriously, its souls like him who make our trip simply enchanting and memorable.

All in all, we love Shanghai and whatever it had to offer us....not to mention the addictive mouth-watering jianbing and that infectious waiter :).

p.s: when we have a child, i think we would name him/her jianbing.

Off To Shangai

I would not be posting regularly for the next 8 days or so. We are flying off to Shangai, China this weekend. Heard from a couple of friends that Shangai is not that friendly towards foreigners. Oh well, as usual, we will check it out for ourselves before jumping into any conclusion. More often that not, what we hear and what we experience are poles apart. We do not wish to be carried away by any preconceived notions just prior to our trip. I'm sure we will have a blast with the Chinese. Will keep you posted once I'm back. Till then, you stay safe. Take care everyone :)

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference


--Robert Frost

If we could shrink the earth's population....

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 would be Africans

52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
All 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
(ONE)1 would be near death;
(ONE)1 would be near birth;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;
(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer.

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

And, therefore . . .

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all. As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!

Let Go and Be Vulnerable

Being vulnerable doesn't have to be threatening. Just have the courage to be sincere, open and honest. This opens the door to deeper communication all around. It creates self-empowerment and the kind of connections with others we all want in life. Speaking from the heart frees us from the secrets that burden us. These secrets are what make us sick or fearful. Speaking truth helps you get clarity on your real heart directives.

-- Sara Paddison

The Butterfly's Struggle

What do butterflies have in common with the human spirit? Meet Maggie, a middle aged wife and mother, who was about to find out.

Maggie wasn’t rich like a millionaire or poor in a manner of being homeless. She was living an average comfortable life. It was made even better when a beautiful baby girl came her way. She and her husband made sure their daughter had her needs met and they were still able to take a yearly vacation by the beach.

Maggie was a partner in her husband’s business. They both had a different set of duties which kept everything in balance. One day a devastating blow came to her husband’s business, and over a three year period the business dropped out of site. Her husband had to totally reinvent himself and was yearning to fulfill a dream with a new vocation. She was happy for him and supported him fully, but still the money was not coming in.

Maggie began to feel guilty that she wasn’t contributing with any kind of income. It had been a long time since she had worked outside the home and had to work for someone else. Needless to say she was scared but still had faith that everything would be okay. She began job hunting and found filling out applications somewhat difficult, especially the part asking for job references. Keep in mind that she was self-employed with her husband for almost 20 years.

It felt as though that didn’t count for anything as she was never called for an interview.
At the time she was job hunting her mom became more ill than she had been and ended up in the hospital for a week. Once Maggie’s mom returned home she became her mom’s helper one day a week. She did the shopping, changed sheets, vacuumed and did other things that her mother was not able to do anymore. Of course her mom would pay her for her time and labor but she still felt she needed to find another source of income.

One of the first applications she had filled out finally came through. She passed the interview with flying colors and was told she was “exactly” what they were looking for. Although it was only part time it was exactly what she wanted. It was important for her to be home when her daughter arrived home from school. She was told they would be in touch when the schedule was ready. Knowing she had the job made her feel contented and productive again.

Within a few weeks though, she received an e-mail saying that the company had changed the job into a full time position and she was not qualified. Maggie was devastated. She felt betrayed and felt she had been lied to. That evening she was alone as her husband and daughter had gone out for the night. She welcomed the aloneness and wanted to drown her sorrows in a hot tub of bubbles.

As she knew she would, she began to cry, softly at first just from the sheer pain of being rejected. Three long years of struggle had finally caught up with her. Then she became angry; angry at everything from the circumstances that got her there, to God himself. She cried harder and yelled, “What do you want me to do?” She really felt that God had abandoned her.

When she was able to cry no more, she became exhausted and gave up. It was at that moment that a silent idea came to her to offer other elderly people home care assistance.
Using another talent for computers she printed off some flyers and cards and distributed them to her church, grocery stores and even placed a small ad in the newspaper. Within a week she had procured two new clients.

Now, even though she’s not a CEO of a major company or a power player she feels happy and productive again. So, had God really abandoned her? Let’s look at nature for the lessons and the answer.

Before a butterfly can emerge out of it’s chrysalis it has to go through a lot of struggling. Yes, struggling. Each time it lunges out to escape, acids are being removed from its wings. If someone were to come along and break the chrysalis open for it then the butterfly would die from those acids. In essence the struggle is necessary for the butterfly to survive. Then in the stillness, when the struggle is over, the butterfly can come out and share its beauty with the world.
We as humans are not any different. There are times that we need to struggle, to rid ourselves of the acids that make up sadness, fear, and anger. It is only at this time when we are exhausted and still that we begin to hear the Universe whisper to us.