Valerictorian

Someone To Lean On.

2011-08-27T13:28:00.000+08:00

The strongest-willed

are usually

the

weakest creatures.

need to

lean on

someone

bigger, better.

will get tired

of doing it ourselves.

Won't you feel

safer

when you get to

cling on to

someone who's not only

strong but

warm?

Won't you feel

lighter

to have someone

come along,

scoop you up

and

carry you through

the once

impossible adventures?

＊

有您的

同在

最好

私にもまた

居場所が

出来た.

I've found my

sanctuary.

私たち一緒にときが

一番しあわせ。

My best times

are spent with you.

お神様、

本当にありがとうございます。

いつも、ありがとう。

何かあったて、

私の大好きが人こと

絶対に忘れてじゃない。

＊

Do Now. すぐにできる！

2011-07-15T22:38:00.000+08:00

What

do you really want

to do?

Who

do you wish to

meet?

What do you want

to say?

Seize the day.

Do it while you can.

Do it while you're

alive.

やり

たい事、

言い

たい事、

会い

たい事、

お元気

な時間に会う思う存分

おやりになってください。

想做

的事，

相說

的話、

相見

的人，

趁著

健康

請盡情的去做。

Happy Are We. 幸せもの

2011-07-02T11:47:00.000+08:00

As we grow up

we will encounter

countless unpredictable changes

in life.

みんなの

長い長い人生には

いろんなことかある

However,

no matter what happens,

we can

still be truly blessed

だけどどんな　ときも

when we are able to be

at peace

with ourselves,

to still

truly like ourselves,

and to

approve of what we do.

自分で自分を

大好きだって

いえる人でいて

欲しいです

そういう自分でいようって

努力してればいっかきっと幸せはやってきます。

'...Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what
he approves' Romans 14:22b

Great Meets.

2011-06-12T22:08:00.000+08:00

ほんとに会いたいときには

全部放り投げていくもんだから。

When you

really want to

see

someone,

just

drop

everything

and

go!

友達のプレセント*Friends

2011-06-03T16:21:00.001+08:00

私は

ときどき

悲しいく

感じ

です

＊

Every now and then,

I feel sad.

だけど、

悲しい時は

友達が

励まし

てくれる

だから、

私は

ちょと

幸い

です

＊

But I'm still blessed

because

I have friends

who encourage me.

みなたち

本当に

ありがとうね！

Thank you very much,

my friends.

Hello Neighbour.

2011-05-18T22:06:00.000+08:00

When

you're

timid,

you're just

thinking of

yourself!

Think

of the

other person

—

put him

at ease,

get him

a drink.'

Richard Branson's 83 year old mom,

Eve Branson

かわいいの両親

2011-05-17T09:47:00.001+08:00

Nippon

moms, pops

and their

kodomos.

Too Rare

2011-05-07T13:55:00.000+08:00

Good conversations

are

better than

all the

fun

in the world.

Face Grace [她的温柔］

2011-04-25T14:18:00.004+08:00

[photo sneaked from Gershon's album]

grace

can be

found in a

face,

I think I've found

one.

Gentleness

frames it.

Her

eyes

are

soft and lovely.

They are

sharpened

by a

tireless passion

which

receives,

feeds,

and

leads

thousands of souls.

Yet

among the crowds,

when

you find

her gaze

adorn your face,

no display of

lofty speeches and debates,

you will

find

comfort

and

believe

again

that

you are precious.

温柔

的

脸蛋

太

罕见

它的

微笑

是

你的黑暗中

的

一丝光芒。

它的

爱

悄悄地,

穿入

你的心

＊

感受

平安

。。。。。

惧怕

消失

了

＊

感受

恩典

的

荣耀

。。。。。

骄傲

溶解了

＊

感受

希望

的

力量

。。。。。

心结

都

松断了

＊

终于

欣赏

那

弯弯

的

彩虹；

她的

存在

是

我们生命的咛叮：

‘嘿！

请别放弃

因为

美好

的

永恒

一直

等待着你。

世界

更美好，

因为有

她

的

温柔。

感谢

认识了

您。

＊

Secret Monologues

2011-04-04T17:02:00.001+08:00

It's not

what we

say aloud

that

determines

our

lives.

It's what

whisper

ourselves

that has

the

most

power.

Love Me/爱我

2011-03-26T10:40:00.000+08:00

You

owe

yourself

take care

yourself.

You

can't

love

others

you

don't

love

yourself.

宠爱

别人

前

先

懂得

宠爱

自己

。

＊

Life Sculpt.

2011-03-13T11:20:00.000+08:00

The

best way

predict

your

future

is to

create

it.

Abraham Lincoln

创造

未来

＊

Think Big.

2011-03-04T23:46:00.000+08:00

The

size

of your

goals

shows

the

size

of your

god.

Think

BIG!

He's

magnificent.

Head Chemist.

2011-02-26T11:47:00.000+08:00

Who's

the

Head Chemist

your mind?

Intelligence

doesn't

guarantee

success.

Riding in the

world's most sophisticated aircraft

run by a

Fearful and Negative

pilot

kamikaze.

To which

do you

devote

most time:

thinking

success

failure?

聪明

是

有用的

但

光聪明

未必

有用

＊

You're His Baby.

2011-02-18T22:19:00.000+08:00

Everybody

God's

somebody.

'He

loves

every

person

as if

there's

no one else

love.'

Saint Augustine

Safe Is Risky.

2011-02-12T12:20:00.001+08:00

Safe

very

risky.

People

with the

most

security

has

the

least

freedom.

The first thing

most of us

do with our

spare cash

is to

save

them in the bank.

[Nielsen's Global Consumer Confidence Report 2010 Quarter 4]

We'd rather

park by

the sidelines

than

get in

the game.

We forget

how to

play.

And if we have to,

we play

with the

fear

of losing.

We pray

we can

survive.

We just want

stay safe.

If playing

risks our security,

we'd rather

not play at all,

choose to play the

game of safe,

the

most boring

game of all.

The Taker, Giver and Teacher.

2011-02-02T15:45:00.005+08:00

There are

three

kinds of people

in the world.

The

Giver

Those who

give fish

to the

poor.

The

Teacher

Those who

teach

the poor

how to

fish

and

The

Taker

who only

wants to

sell

fish.

If we

only have

enough

for ourselves,

how much

can we

give?

If we

are

only

interested in

profiting from others,

what do we do

with all we've taken?

If we

only know how to

fish with a rod today,

why don't we

want to

learn new ways

catch more fish,

why don't we

dream and work towards

being able

hire others

to fish for us

so that

we can not only

have

more fish to

give

to the poor

and also

give time

teach them

how to fish

for themselves?

Your Designs.

2011-01-30T12:59:00.002+08:00

[Karl Lagerfeld's sketch]

'Give

yourself

a little more

freedom

to be

who

you really

want

to be.'

Donald Trump

Stay out

of the

box

others

try to

put you in.

Nobody

can

shape

you

unless

you allow

them

to.

Design Your Happiness.

2011-01-25T17:47:00.003+08:00

'In my opinion,

our

main job

in life

is to

make life

here on earth

a little bit

more like

heaven.'

Robert Kiyosaki

Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad

People don't

devote enough time to

thinking seriously

about

how

they

spend their life

and

how much

of it they

actually

enjoy.

Your

happiness

is something

you can

design

and

have control over.

1 Year Ago on Valerictorian

2011-01-21T23:19:00.002+08:00

Their Thoughts.

2011-01-19T20:57:00.002+08:00

What

other people

think of

you

none

your

business.

Life

is too short

care

about

little things

like these.

Pause & Honour.

2011-01-06T18:03:00.002+08:00

[an excerpt from The Value of Ritual in your Workday by Peter Bregman;
he begins by describing a particular scene in The Last Samurai movie]

Sitting at a low table,
he moved deliberately, singularly focused on his tea. He contemplated it. Then poured it. Then sipped it, tasted it, and, finally, swallowed it.

This, I realized, was the source of the samurai's strength.
His acrobatics were impressive, but they were merely a demonstration of his strength. The source was this tea ritual and many other rituals like it. His power as a warrior came from his patience, precision, attention to subtlety, concentration, and his reverence for the moment.

The

power of ritual

profound

and

under-appreciated.

Mostly, I think, it is because

we live in a

time-starved culture,

and

ritual is

time-indulgent.

Who can afford

the luxury of

doing

one thing

a time?

Who has

the patience

pause and honour

an activity

before and after

we do it?

We all

should.

Religions understand and leverage the power of ritual.

In Judaism,

blessings are as plentiful as iPhone apps.

Wake up?

There's a blessing for that.

Wash your hands?

There's a blessing for that.

Experience something new?

Eat a meal?

Go to the bathroom?

There's a blessing for each one.

Every religion I know has similar practices to

make our

experience

of the world

sacred.

Which might be why we avoid ritual in the business world.

Religion is so loaded, so personal.

But

ritual doesn't have to be religious;

it's just a tool religions use.

Rituals are about

paying attention.

They're about

stopping for a moment

and

noticing

what you're about to do,

what you've just done,

or both.

They're about

making the most of

a particular moment.

And that's something

we could use a lot more of in

the business world.

Imagine

if we started each meeting with

a recognition

of the power of bringing a group of people together

to collaborate and an intention to dedicate ourselves,

without distraction, to achieving the goals of the meeting.

Perhaps even

an acknowledgement

that

each person's

views, goals, and priorities

are

important

and

need to be heard.

Of course, that would require that every meeting have a clear goal, an agenda, and a purpose. But those are just nice side benefits.

What if

every performance review

began with a short thought about the importance of clear and open communication?

every time

we worked on

spreadsheet

someone else created for us,

we paused

acknowledge the complexity

of the work

she did

and

the attention to detail

she brought to it?

at the beginning of the day

we paused to honor

the work

we are about to do

and

the people

with whom we are about to do it?

Here's what makes it easy to get started with this: no one needs to know.

Start with just
yourself
Sit at your desk in the morning,
pause before booting up your computer,
and
mark the moment.

Do this by
taking a deep breath.
Or by arranging your pens.
Whatever it is,
do it with
the intention of
creating respect
for what you're about to begin.
Do the same before you make a phone call. Or receive one.
Or before you meet with a colleague or customer.

Each time we
pause, notice, and offer respect
for an activity,
it reminds us to
appreciate and focus on
what we're about to do.

And by
elevating each activity,
we'll take it
more seriously.

We'll get
more pleasure
from it.
The people with whom we work will
feel more respected.
And we'll feel more self-respect.

Which means
we'll
work better
with each other.
And produce
better results.

That focus will help us
accomplish our tasks
more carefully,
more proficiently, and
more productively,
with fewer distracting under-the-table BlackBerry texts.

And all the research shows that
that kind of
singular focus
will make us
far more efficient.

In other words,
that
time-indulgent ritual thing?
It might just be the
perfect antidote
to a
time-starved world.

*

.

Brimming Bliss.

2010-12-24T12:40:00.001+08:00

Celebration

for

everyday

not

just for

Christmas.

Perhaps

if we

slow down

ponder

the little good things

in life,

we'll find

merriment

everyday

and

cause

what we have

only to find

greater joy

bringing bliss

our loved ones

and

even strangers.

Caring Contact.

2010-12-17T11:25:00.002+08:00

'If we

don't

ease

each other's stress

through

caring contact,

we will all be

increasingly

distressed.'

Dr. Bruce Perry, leading child psychiatrist

and co-author of Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential - and Endangered

'While we are

born

for love,

we need to

receive

in certain, specific ways in

early life

to benefit most

from

its

mercy.

We need to

practice

love

as we grow through

difficult social experiences

to best be able to

give it back

abundance.

The brain becomes

what it does most frequently

it is

shaped

everyday

what we

and what we

don't.

If we don't

practice

empathy,

we can't be

emphatic.

If we don't

interact

with people,

we can't

improve

our connections

to them.

If we don't

ease

each other's stress

through

caring contact,

we will all be

increasingly

distressed.'

Responsivity & Morals.

2010-12-10T15:17:00.001+08:00

Children

who get
more

touch and affection

during
infancy

turn out to be

kinder,

more
intelligent

and

more
caring
about others.

Kids

who were

held more

by their parents,

whose

cries

received quick responses

infancy

were
more
disciplined

without

corporal punishment

and

were
more

emphatic

when they grow older.

[A research discovery by Notre Dame Psychology 2010 -
children surveyed were from the US and China]

*

Balm of Life.

2010-12-04T12:01:00.001+08:00

[Colombo, Sri Lanka

Andrew Cabellero Reynolds, Reuters]

Adults

who often

feel

grateful

have

energy,

are

optimistic,

earn

money,

sleep

soundly,

exercise

regularly,

and

fall ill

less easily

than

those who

don't.

[Study report on The Wall Street Journal]

The Magic of Gratitude.

2010-11-30T17:20:00.001+08:00

[EPA]

Children

who often

feel and act on

gratitude

are

less

materialistic,

get

better grades,

set

higher goals,

complain

fewer stomaches, headaches

and

are

more satisfied with

family and friends

than those who

don't.

[Studies reported by the Wall Street Journal]

It's O.K.

2010-11-22T22:10:00.001+08:00

Being happy

means

you realise

there are times

when

you will be

unhappy

and

you accept

that

life

sometimes

stinks.

Full Swing.

2010-11-11T21:44:00.002+08:00

Life

likes to play

boomerang.

Mock

life

and

life will

mock you back.

Embrace

it,

and

will

embrace

you.

Fancy Freedom.

2010-11-06T11:43:00.002+08:00

young balloon

is out on a

holiday.

Valerictorian

will

resume

upon

the

next

announcement.

Happy Formula.

2010-11-03T19:28:00.001+08:00

Better

a nation of

restless and sullen

overachievers

wonderland

happy

slackers?

[to be continued]

Remember Death.

2010-11-01T19:19:00.003+08:00

For 38 years,

Steve Jobs

asks himself

when he brushes his teeth

in the morning,

'If today were

the

last day

of my life,

would

I want to do

what I am about to do

today?'

There was a time

when everything Apple touched
did not turn into gold.

Jobs shares his thoughts on

Death

and

how keeping it

in mind

helped him

truly live.

I've picked out attention-worthy chunks

from his speech at the Stanford University graduation ceremony in 2005.

Though it's now five years,

these nuggets of truths are

timeless life skills

we could consider picking up for ourselves:

Remembering

I'll be dead soon

is the most

important tool

I've ever encountered

to help me make big choices in life.

In the

face of death,

all

external expectations,

all

pride,

all

fear of embarrassment

failure

just

fall away -

leaving only what is

truly important.

Remembering

that

you are going to die

is the best way

to avoid

the trap of thinking

you have something to

lose.

You are already

naked.

There's no reason

not

follow your heart.

No one

wants to

die.

And

yet death is

the

destination

we all share.

No one has ever escaped it

and

that is as it should be

because

Death

is very likely

the best invention of

Life.

It is Life's

change agent.

It clears out

the

old

make way

for the

new.

Right now

the new

you

but

someday

not too long from now,

you will

gradually become the

old

and be

cleared away.

Sorry to be so

dramatic,

but it is true.

Your time is

limited

don't waste it

living

someone else's

life.

Don't be trapped by

dogma,

which is

living with

the results of

other people's thinking.

Don't let the

noise

others' opinions

drown out

your own

inner voice.

And most importantly,

having the

courage

follow your heart

and

intuition.

They somehow

already know

what you truly

want

to become.

Dare You.

2010-10-29T19:49:00.002+08:00

One

isn't always

the

loneliest

number.

What

would you

what people

thought of you

don't

matter?

Let People Feel.

2010-10-27T19:40:00.002+08:00

don't have

be happy

feel good.

One of the

worst

birthday messages

is,

'Stay

happy!'

And

it spans to a spectrum of

'Stay

beautiful!

Stay

cool!'

This contributes

the life lesson

we should all

unlearn:

'It's important to

stay

happy.'

For the sake

of your

total well-being,

Shake this

expectation

off your back

because it is

emotionally

unhealthy

and

logically

unnatural.

Need proof?

Recall a time

when you were

distressed

about something.

You

approached a friend

and

started to share

about it.

Your confidante

then

issues his/her

piece of mind,

'Hey,

it's okay.

I think it's really

not a big deal.

I know

exactly how you feel.

Just don't

be upset.

Move on,

cheer up!'

Case dismissed.

Now,

did you

feel

good?

How about,

better?

Did you

magically

become happy again,

bouncing off

like nothing has happened?

In situations like this,

it is

stressful

not allow

yourself

feel

as you

feel.

When

you need

vomit,

vomit!

Swallowing

it down

is not going

do you any good.

Negative feelings

are

signs

that are

steering your attention

something

you need

deal with

to something

haven't dealt with.

Feeling

dealing

when

you become

aware

why

you feel

what

you feel.

Sometimes,

we need others

to help us

find the sources

of our

frustration, pain, anger or sadness.

We could

do that

for others

too.

We could

ask

them

constructive

questions

instead of

dishing out

our

intelligent analysis

and

insist

our friends to

'Cheer up.'

Permit

others to be

sad.

Let them be

human.

We will all

feel

better

after that.

The foundation of

well-being

not

continuous happiness.

Robots

could be programmed

this way.

But

we are not

machines.

We are just

not

designed

that way.

It is okay

to be sad

when

you need to be.

Let it out.

Grieve

if you need to.

Bad weather

happens.

Don't withhold

the

dark clouds.

They do

get heavier

with time.

Release

them.

Rain

your tears

to its last drop.

Then

you might

catch the

rainbow

at the first touch

sunshine.

Video: Seeing Blindness

2010-10-25T19:40:00.001+08:00

Video for

Seeing Blindness

are often

blind

to what we

see

everyday.

We are

funny people.

dream

and

long

for a

perfect day

to come.

When it

shows up,

we cannot even

celebrate it

because

don't even

realise

it has.

Eyes

that

see

and

ears

that

hear

we get our

basic equipment

but

miss out

so much

on what

already

have

and

what we

now

can have.

What

is this

handicap?

What

distraction

is so powerful

blind and deafen

us from what have

fallen onto our laps?

Perhaps

dream

about

tomorrow

too much.

We are always

wanting,

needing,

what we

do not

have.

We long

for the

perfect days

that will

never come

because they

do not

exist.

We are fired up to

dream.

We are encouraged to

hope.

It inspires us

grow.

It excites us

with visions of

what

we can have,

where

we can be.

But

how could we

get to our

destination

when we

do not

even

know

where we are

now?

One of my

guilty pleasures

dreaming.

Guilty,

because I could

indulge

in quantities of

more than I should

sickens

me.

I write and draw

my dreams,

draft

grand plans

and

unfailingly spiral down

a state of longing

that's so unhealthy it

starves my hope

for the future.

It seems

the

more I

desired,

the

more

discontented

I became.

This longing

exhausts

from

enjoying

what we

now have.

Let's

slow down

notice

wherever we are.

We don't have to

wait

for

the future to come.

Let's not worry about

tomorrow

because

we cannot control

what exactly

will happen.

While

what is ahead

remains in

darkness,

one

sure thing

shines out

we have the

gift of

now.

has come,

here

for

you and me.

Notice,

embrace

now

then

it will

help you

understand

why

you are going to

where you are going

and

it will

reveal

how

you could

get there.