Our Ability To Survive

Everyone of us is born and brought up through different environment and social conditioning. We are made different and will adapt differently to situations and circumstances. Some of us are strong, smart, courageous, and confident; we can survive and thrive and live successfully in the every changing and challenging world.

We all have different traits and different ways of carrying ourselves, and they, in turn, have influenced and affected our performance and ability to cope with our lives and our emotions.

For some of us, it is the ability to adapt to changing situations. We learn fast and we grow fast. We think fast and we act fast. We are always there, ready to look for and grab every opportunity available. Sometimes we even create our own opportunities to succeed and triumph.

For some of us, it is our patience and perseverance. We are not the type who give up and drop out easily. We don't surrender, and we don't back down. We will fight until the last moment, and we will do our best; we will hold on and endure to the end.

For some of us, it is our ability to smile at the storm. We love challenges, and we live and work with them. We strive to learn, increase our skills and efficiency, and we turn problems into workable solutions. Come what may, we are here to stay!

For some of us, it is the readiness and decisiveness to nip the problem at the bud. We are careful, diligent and receptive to difficult and complex situations, and we are ready to deal with them before they run out of control, and often we are correct in our assessment and timing.

For some of us, it is the ability to take things easy, and not be too hard on ourselves. We are to take things one at a time, and we are to deal with everything carefully and wisely. We don't hurry through anything we want to do. We take our sweet time, and enjoy every step of our advancement and improvement.

For some of us, it is the willingness to work together as a team, the importance of continuing the family tradition, the ability to excel and to utilize our own knowledge to maximize performance, etc.

How about you? What do you need to survive, thrive, and grow?

Nextdoor Neighbors

I always make it a point to get to know my nextdoor neighbors when I move to a new neighborhood or a new town. To me, it is important to know who I am living and dealing with, and know how to protect my family. It is better to play safe than to be sorry later on.

I would greet and talk to my neighbors. I would try to know them well, at least I would want to know what they are doing for a living and a bit more about their family background. To me, information like these can be useful and important; we never know what our neighbors can do to us.

Getting to know our neighbors can make our neighborhood safer, or at least friendlier. Life can be quite lonely, dull and frustrating when we isolate ourselves from our neighbors and avoid talking to them. Unfamiliarity with our surroundings can often make us a little unsettled, suspicious and even cynical of the people around us.

I have good neighbors and we use to meet and do things together. We help one another to clean our compound; we share our gardening tips and secrets; we share our harvests and cultivating tools and techniques; we share our food and recipe; we help one another in taking care of our house when we are not around, etc.

Living with good neighbors can be fun, inspiring, exciting, and rewarding. Of course, there are times when we have to live and deal with bad neighbors. We may have to avoid crashing into one another; we may have to build up walls, and close our doors and windows most of the time.

It is difficult to live with quarrelsome and restless neighbors. There will be noises and disturbances; there will be quarrels and fights; there will be inconsideration and thoughtlessness, self-centeredness and selfishness, etc.

How are you immediate neighbors? Do you like them, or have troubles with them?

Good neighbors are hard and hard to find this day.

Maybe it is our turn to learn to be good neighbors.

What do you think?

Political Speech

I was listening to a political campaign.

The first few speakers were beating around the bush, and were not focusing on the main points of their speeches. Nevertheless, the crowd was listening faithfully to every word that had been said, and many responded with approval and enthusiasm.

The night was getting dark. More and more vehicles were arriving; headlights and taillights were flashing everywhere. More and more people were coming; of all age, gender, race, shape and size. It was getting noisier, over-crowded, and people were becoming more vocal.

Then the main speaker arrived, walking with style and grace. The crowd cheered and applauded, with slogans and shouts of happiness; their beloved and respected great leader had finally arrived.

The atmosphere was charged and emanated incredible enthusiasm. More and more people thronged to him, wanting to shake his hand, hug him, etc. He had all the charisma and personality the people love.

The crowd quieted down as he began to speak. He spoke with clear, simple, and short sentences, and he led the people with his speech, engaging and challenging them whenever possible. The crowd was thrilled and responded immediately and almost in unison. He spoke with convincing power, springing from deep conviction; he really controlled and commanded the crowd.

Then he made his move to another station. Many thronged to him again; a few hugged and kissed him, some cried. The crowd followed him. Some began to leave the place; they had come especially for him.

The crowd had thinned down. Other speakers began to take over, but the talks weren't that exciting anymore.

I left the place, greatly amazed at how powerful words can touch and change many people's hearts.

True Love Doesn't Fade

Some people said, "Love is everything before marriage, but nothing after marriage." Others said, "Love is in lots before marriage, and is lost after marriage." What do you think of these?

Before marriage, we will do all we can to impress, and to make our future spouse feel special, to build him or her up, and to cater to his or her every need. We will do everything possible to develop love and to strengthen love.

After marriage, many of us will take our marital relationship for granted. Love will no longer play the major and the only part in our relationship. Now we will talk more about responsibilities, commitments, and hard works for the sake of the family. Now our love to our spouse will become secondary.

Some said, "Love fades after marriage". That is why many are reluctant to get married. They want a steady and unfailing love; they can't afford to lose a moment of love. Some married couples are also contemplating not to have children too early; they want to enjoy their love for one another, and not sacrifice it for the sake of the family.

Family's future is an important step in marriage. Some rush into it and try to have as many children as possible. Others do it slowly; they build up, strengthen the family bond, and enhance the family status in society.

Love after marriage is difficult; everyday has become a test of love for one another. It is time to be responsible to yourself and your family. It is time to help and assist one another for the betterment and development of the family. Family comes first, so is love for one another.

I don't believe love fades after marriage; I believe it will be strengthened all the more. Though we don't talk much about love, or express it in a formal and explicit way, but it is always there, and alive.

Some people need a family crisis to realize that they are still in love. But I don't think we need to come to that critical stage. But I do believe we need to find times to express our love to one another. Love is practical and goes beyond words after marriage.

True love never fade; true love lasts forever, even after marriage.

Acting Too Quickly

Sometimes in a public place, I mistook someone to be my friend. It could be very embarrassing and uncomfortable, especially when I had readily grabbed the person by the hand and greeted him or her, only to discover that he or she was not my friend.

This had happened to me a few times, and I had often felt embarrassed every time I thought of the incidents. The first time was horrible. The person was huge and intimidating, and he looked at me with an angry look and asked me what I was doing. I was stunned and scared. Quickly I apologized and walked away.

Since then, I learned to be very careful if I recognized someone to be my friend. I would walk very near to him or her, make very sure that I had seen the right person, before I greet and talk to him or her. There were times, when I drew near the person, I got the strange look from him or her. It was better that way; at least I didn't have to feel embarrassed for recognizing the wrong person.

How about you? Were there incidents when you recognized someone as your friend, only to discover that he or she was stranger to you when you drew near to him or her? If you were in this awkward situation, normally what would you do?

Sometimes we have acted stupid and talked too fast in our lives. As a result, we have created a lot of misunderstanding and hurt people's feelings. But I believed this is common happening among men; everyone makes mistake. It is just that we must try not to make the same mistakes twice.

So the next time when you meet someone familiar, check very carefully, and make sure that the person is someone you know, and he or she is in the mood to talk to you, before you make your moves. Acting too quickly can be a cause of many problems.