Movie: 那些年，我們一起追的女孩

"那些年，我們一起追的女孩"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Are_the_Apple_of_My_Eye

The movie resonated with me because the director is around my age, and he is sharing his love story for this girl during his schooling days. I could relate to a quite a lot of things and there are so many subtle lessons in the movie, especially this sentence 

"有些事情本来就注定是徒劳无功的..."

" Some things are destined to be futile..."

So... it would be wiser just to enjoy the journey...  since a lot of things in life are futile. 

Looking back my schooling days, I have no regrets studying hard... fortunately, I played quite hard as well. But I wished I was more rebellious... I wished I had challenged the authority more.... and played even harder!

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In my secondary days, I was the vice-head prefect and I led my fellow peers to boycott the system, by not performing prefects' duty (as we wanted to step down and concentrate on our final exams). The school was in mess for a while, and the disciplinary master was very angry with me. In the end, I was given C5 (bad grade) for ECA --- after contributing my 4 years of dedicated service to the school and leading the prefectorial board. 

On the hindsight, I am happy for my action. I was supposed to be a model student, yet I revolted because I stood firm on my rights. More importantly, I earned the respect from my peers.

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When I was promoted to junior college, I could not bother with school activities because my past experiences. There was an opportunity to do overseas volunteer work - building a school in the impoverished part of Inner Mongolia China, during the June holiday. Most of my peers were busy studying and preparing for exams in July, but I decided that this was too rare an opportunity to be missed.

In the end, my July exams results were the worst grades during my junior college days. Academically, I was in the top 5% in my cohort, and my teachers were lamenting that I was getting complacent and lazy.

On the hindsight, I don't really care about the July exam grades (I did well for my final A levels exam).
I still had vivid memories and lessons from the trip.
That's more important!

Having Fun with the Kids in Inner Mongolia, China

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"有些事情本来就注定是徒劳无功的..."

It's the experience that really matters!!!

Take more risks
Be foolish
Be embarrassed
Be spontaneous
Break more rules (those that doesn't make sense)
Question the Authority
Live without regrets!

So.... go out and have fun now!
Experience Life!
Be Alive!

Lessons from Life Reports (NY Times)

Taken from: New York Times

Life Report 1 & Life Report 2

"The most common lament in this collection is from people who worked at the same company all their lives and now realize how boring they must seem. These people passively let their lives happen to them. One man described his long, uneventful career at an insurance company and concluded, “Wish my self-profile was more exciting, but it’s a little late now.”

"The most exciting essays were written by the energetic, restless people, who took their lives off in new directions midcourse. One man, who was white, trained an all-black unit during World War II, was a director of the pharmaceutical company that developed The Pill, and then served as a judge at an international court at The Hague. “Career-wise, it was a rocky road,” another wrote, “but if diversity is the spice of life, then mine resembled hot Indian curry.” Nobody regretted the life changes they made, even when they failed."

"Many more seniors regret the risks they didn’t take than regret the ones they did."

"An amazing number cherished their marriages of 43 years or more. And, for almost all, family and friends mattered most."

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Such an insightful articles.

Sometimes, we do not change because we are afraid & fearful...

Fearful of the unknown

Fearful of failure

Fearful of embarrassment

Fearful of being judged

Fearful of change

By the end of the road,

would you regret that you did not take more risk?

I have certainly taken some risks in my life, 

things might not have worked out as I planned (yet).

Always need a bit of optimism. =)

But it's okay, at least, 

I wouldn't say "I should have done it".

Life is a journey.

This is Life.

Enjoy it. 

Book: The End of Poverty - How we can make it happen in our lifetime

I first came across this book in the bookstore in Kathmandu, Nepal (One of the poorest countries in the world), but I felt that the subject matter is too heavy to ponder on a trekking trip so I didn't purchase it. The following year, I was on a business trip to India (also one of the poorest countries in the world) and I decided to buy it in the airport.

The End of Poverty

It was a good book - with Jeffery Sachs sharing his experiences in Bolivia & Poland, and shedding his views on the rise of China and India. It was a heavy topic and the problem is mind boggling. Sometimes, too heavy that I wanted to stop reading.

Some key takeaways from the book:

"The key problem for the poorest countries is that poverty itself can be a trap. When poverty is very extreme, the poor DO NOT have the ability - by themselves - to get out of the mess."

"When countries get their foot on the ladder of development, they are generally able to continue the upward climb. All good things tend to move together at each rising rung; higher capital stock, greater specialization, more advanced technology, and lower fertility. If a country is trapped below the ladder, with the first rung too high off the ground, the climb does not even get started."

Reasons why Communist China is the booming (currently the second largest economy in the world), while the rest of the Soviet and economies are not doing as well.

"1. The Soviet and Eastern European economies had massive foreign debts, whereas China did not.

2. China had a large coastline that supported its export-led growth, whereas the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not have the benefit of large coastlines and the resulting low-cost access to international trade.

3. China had the benefit of overseas Chinese communities, which acted as foreign investors and role models, whereas most of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe did not have comparable overseas communities.

4. The Soviet Union was experiencing a drastic decline in oil production at the outset of reforms, but China was not.

5. The Soviet Union had gone much further down the road of industralization, using technologies incompatible with Western (US, EU & Japanese) technologies, whereas China remained at a low level of technology and could more easily adopt Western specification."

On why Malaria has reached an epidermic level in Africa but not the rest of the world:

"...Malaria is largely a tropical disease, and if warm weather is a prerequisite, Africa has it! ..... The force of transmission of malaria in Africa is roughly 9 times that of India because of the difference of mosquito species..."

"Corruption is the Culprit....corruption is Africa's venal sin, the deepest source of its current malaise..."

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Jeff's insights have led me to think deeper about the problems facing this world. But why do I care about extreme poverty - since I am not affected by it anyway and I am not rich to make any significant changes. I would not have any material gain by spending my time thinking and donating money.

My analogy is a person who is suffering from Depression, needs someone else to help them out of the situation. Similarly, in extreme poverty, they also need a helping hand. 

Everyday we have heard so many negative news around the world. The world is in serious need of people who could show empathy, love and compassion, otherwise the world is hopeless. I believe that by doing small things within our limited abilities, we could make this world a slightly better place. 

The world is in serious need of people who cares.

One of the organizations that I truly believes could alleviate poverty is

http://www.kiva.org/

=)

The Biggest Risk in Life

The Biggest Risk in Life is not taking any risk and play safe.

When your life is over, you regretted you have not lived.

You regretted that you have not taken more risk.

Because at the end, a lot of things that you fear doesn't matter.

(Embarrassment, Fear, Failure, Social Expectation etc..)

Life is a short trip.

Make it a good one.

As Steve Jobs said

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

Potala Palace

(Taken @ Lhasa, Tibet)

An evening with friends...

I really enjoy this kind of gatherings.

Meeting at a friend (XF)'s place.

Preparing a simple dinner together.

Eating and chatting over dinner.

Teasing the kids of a friend.

Washing the dishes together.

Playing a round of Mahjong game.

That's it!

No fancy dinner. No loud music. 

Simple, yet very enjoyable.

It's perfect way to spend an evening.

Preparing Dinner in the Kitchen (with small fish tank)

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My friend's place is decorated with swarovski crystal ceiling, designer furniture, expensive paintings and antiques (ie. 1000 years old Bronze Figure). 

Those things are really beautiful and unique (and really expensive).

But when I saw the innocent and adorable look of 10 month-old Shannon sleeping soundly,

it dawn on me that none of the expensive things is as beautiful as that moment.

To me, it validated my belief that physical things will never be as beautiful as other invisible things in life.

=)

Think Different with Steve Jobs' Narration

Watched this video umpteen times,

but it never fails to move me.

The Crazy Ones 

who dare to be different and changed the world.

Thank You.

Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

As I grew older, I am embracing this idea of "Less is More".

More Time...

More Freedom...

Simpler

=)

French Buddhist Monk Matthieu Ricard

Read an article on the Straits Time about Happiness by Matthieu Ricard.

Taken from the Article:

"Dr Matthieu Ricard, 65, is the Dalai Lama's French interpreter and a monk in Nepal's Shechen Monastery, from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He completed his PhD in cell genetics in 1972 under the supervision of Nobel Prize winner Francois Jacob at the Institut Pasteur, in Paris. Though he moved in rarefied circles as the son of celebrated French philosopher Jean-Francois Revel and abstract water colourist Yahne Le Toumelin, he moved to Darjeeling in India to study Tibetan Buddhism at the age of 30.

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Garbed in burgundy and saffron robes, and carting a laptop, Dr Ricard loves the secluded life, yet is globally connected. He travels with the Dalai Lama, attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, runs humanitarian and heritage projects. Last year, he counted 70 airline boarding passes.

'Personally, I feel wonderful looking at Himalayas from my hermitage. It is 3m by 3m with a big window facing the mountains. There is no heating, no hot water. It's paradise,' he says.

'The only reason I come down is to serve. 

Compassion should be put in action, otherwise it is sterile.'"

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I got to know about him when I was in Kathmandu 2 year ago searching for a book to read during my 2 weeks Everest Base Camp trek. I was fortunate to chance upon his book "Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill.", which is one of the best books I ever read. 

May be it is his scientific and philosophical background coupled with Buddhism philosophy, I found a lot of wisdom and clarity in his book. I am grateful for that.

"...The fact is that without inner peace and wisdom, we have nothing we need to be happy. Living on a pendulum between hope and doubt, excitement and boredom, desire and weariness, it's easy to fritter away our lives, bit by bit, without even noticing, running all over the place and getting nowhere. Happiness is a state of inner fulfillment, not the gratification of inexhaustible desires for outward things." - Matthieu Ricard

In another words, if you want to find lasting happiness outside of yourself, 

it would be a futile effort eventually.

One New Experience Each Week - A Taoist Temple Dinner

My father has been attending the Taoist Temple Dinner in celebration of a deity's birthday for many years. The last time I attended such event was may be 15-20 years ago. It was never my interest to attend such an event. 

This year, out of curiosity, I decided to attend and try to understand it.

I asked one simple question: Who is this deity?

Then, I realized my parents did not know anything much as well. They just followed the family "tradition" to support this temple, as my late grandfather had been a supporter of this temple.

I decided not to ask more questions.

The Taoist Temple

When I was younger, I would follow my parents and burn incense as a form of offering without questioning. Now, I decided not to follow the worship practice unless I have a clear understanding of the significance behind each practice and ritual. I still bow in respect, but I have my doubts and questions. 

It is not surprising that Taoism is losing ground among the younger generations.

The traditional puppet show.

It is a dying trade, and there is no audience anymore.

Quite sad, but that's part of change. 

Dinner Celebration with Auctioning of items like Martel Wine.

The crowd was made up of the older generation (those in their 50s & 60s), in fact, I was a rarity among the crowd. I was commenting to my dad and his friends that such an event might last another 10 years only, as the younger generations are not supporting it. They were quite defensive with their response. 

I left the event with a lot of unanswered questions. May be that is not important, at least, I understood why my father never fails to attend such an event. It is a community gathering - meeting up with old neighbours and friends. 

My dad asked if I could get involved with the temple, as part of our family "tradition", since it started with my late grandfather many years ago. 

My reply was "I would rather spend more time on volunteering work".