My Signature Themes! (...of Talents/Strengths)

In the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, the reader is encourage to take the "strengths finder" test to discover one's strengths or talents.

Posted below are the results of this test, revealing my five dominant signature themes/talents, based on The Gallup Organization survey.

Strategic
The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

Responsibility
Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.

Ideation
You are fascinated by ideas. What is an idea? An idea is a concept, the best explanation of the most events. You are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are. An idea is a connection. Yours is the kind of mind that is always looking for connections, and so you are intrigued when seemingly disparate phenomena can be linked by an obscure connection. An idea is a new perspective on familiar challenges. You revel in taking the world we all know and turning it around so we can view it from a strange but strangely enlightening angle. You love all these ideas because they are profound, because they are novel, because they are clarifying, because they are contrary, because they are bizarre. For all these reasons you derive a jolt of energy whenever a new idea occurs to you. Others may label you creative or original or conceptual or even smart. Perhaps you are all of these. Who can be sure? What you are sure of is that ideas are thrilling. And on most days this is enough.

Input
You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don’t feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It’s interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

Relator
Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people—in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends—but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk—you might be taken advantage of—but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.

Views Through the Viewfinder

A picture speaks a thousand words...this blog entry has less words... and just pictures recently taken with my new DSLR camera.

Safi Landmark Hotel (Kabul, Afghanistan)













Hongkong International Airport







Manila Ocean Park







Bubba Gump Restaurant (Makati, Philippines)

Closing a Cycle (by Paulo Coelho)

Having recently tendered my resignation is part of "closing a cycle" so to speak in my life. Below is an article by Paulo Coelho which appropriately describes the situation I'm into at the moment.

Here goes....


One always has to know when a stage comes to an end.

If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden?

You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened. You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that.

But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister, everyone will be finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.

None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things that happen to us. What has passed will not return: we cannot for ever be children, late adolescents, sons that feel guilt or rancor towards our parents, lovers who day and night relive an affair with someone who has gone away and has not the least intention of coming back.

Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home. Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place.

Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them. Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood. Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.

Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.” Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back. Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need. This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.

Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life. Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.

Stop being who you were, and change into who you are.

Surpassing the 3,000 ml Milestone

Y'ello Care programme...a volunterism campaign of our company that involves every employee to community building projects...of helping those who are in need.

Personally, it re-affirms my commitment (as an active Boy Scout in my younger years) to help other people at all times. Last week has been my ninth recorded blood donation with the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in addition to the undocumented blood "gifts" provided to friends and  relatives during hospital visits.

Last week's blood letting though is also a personal milestone as I have suppased the 3,000 ml mark....and still more to come. Yes, that's more than 3 liters of my blood flowing on other peoples veins. Here goes the count...

1. 16 February 1990 - 250ml
   
2. 10 February 1995 - 250ml
3. 14 August 1996 - 250ml
4. 17 April 1998 - 250ml
5. 22 July 1998 - 250ml
6. 12 February 2000 - 450ml
7. 21 February 2002 - 450ml
8. 24 Mordad 1386 (Persian Calendar) - 450ml  [Note: 15 August 2007]
9. 22 Khordar 1387 (Persian Calendar) - 450ml [Note: 11 June 2008]

The next milestone will be to hit the "one" gallon mark which is 3,785 ml.

It has been said that..."If you donate money, you give food! If you donate blood, you give Life!!!"

Sa Mga Anak Ko....

Kung sakaling mawala akong bigla at hindi ko masabi sa inyo ang mga sumusunod;

Mga anak, sa maniwala kayo o hindi, kayo (kasama si MAMI syempre...) ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko.

Magmahalan kayo bilang magkakapatid, at huwag ninyong gawing telenobela ang buhay ninyo dahil sa mga walang kakwenta-kwentang bagay.

Mahalin nyo ang MAMI. Wala siyang ibang iniisip kundi kapakanan nyo. Kung paluin man nya kayo o sigawan, ito ay dahil may nagawa kayong hindi sang-ayon sa prinsipyo nya. Itanong nyo kung bakit nya kayo pinapagalitan. Kung mali naman talaga, eh huwag nyo nang uulitin.

Piliin ninyong mabuti ang nga kaibigan nyo. Huwag sumali sa barkada na may iisang "stereotype" o klase. Huwag sumali sa barkada na puro jologs, puro nerd, puro bakla, puro manginginom, o puro magulo. Siguraduhin ninyong makikita nyo ang lahat ng klase ng tao sa barkada nyo. Mas marami kayong matututunan sa kanila kesa TV o sa bahay natin. Marami silang maituturo sa sa inyo na hindi namin kaya, o hindi "appropriate" na kami ng MAMI nyo ang magturo.

Maging fluent kayo sa written and spoken English. Pag-aralan ninyong mabuti ang subject - verb agreement. Huwag kayong matakot mag consult sa dictionary o thesaurus kapag meron kayong hindi naiintindihan. Kasi mga anak, darating ang araw, makakaapak kayo sa ibang bansa, at sigurado akong marami kayong makakausap na hindi makakaintindi ng Tagalog. Kahit saang sulok ng mundo, makakahanap kayo ng nagsasalita ng English.

Gawin nyo ang lahat para matuto kayong mag-gitara o gumamit ng kahit anong musical instrument. Pag-aralan nyo ding kumanta ng nasa tono. Kahit saan mo kasi dalhin ang gitara, maaaliw ka. Isipin nyo yung mga bulag. Hindi sila nakakapag-Playstation o PSP. Hindi sila nakakapag-internet o Wii. Hindi sila nanonood ng TV, at hindi sila nakakapag-enjoy sa mall. Pero bigyan mo sila ng gitara o pakantahin mo, matutuwa sila. May kuryente man o wala, mapapasaya ka ng gitara.

Makinig kayo sa mga kanta ng Beatles. Kapag naging aware kayo sa pag-develop ng musical style ng Beatles, kahit anong genre kaya nyong i-appreciate. Sa kanila kayo matutong magsulat ng poetry, at sa kanila nyo rin matututunan kung paano lagyan ng music ang poetry na ito. Saan kayo nakakakita ng banda na lampas 30 years nang naghiwalay, patay na ang ilan sa mga miyembro, pero sikat at ginagaya pa rin? Beatles lang ang nakakagawa nun, mga anak.

Pag dating nyo ng college, huwag nyong kakalimutang subukan lahat ng kalokohan sa mundo. Bakit college? Kasi kung high school kayo magiging sira ulo, baka mawalan kayo ng options sa college. Baka sa walang kwentang "money-centric" computer institute kayo bumagsak. Mag-aral kayo ng mabuti sa elementary at high school. Dapat makapasok kayo sa Ateneo, UP, La Salle, UST o Mapua. Dapat maganda at interesado kayo sa course na kukunn nyo. Sa college, balansehin nyo ang academics at kalokohan. Gumimik kayo pero pasukan nyo lahat ng klase kinabukasan. Huwag magpakalasing kung wala kayong siguradong uuwian at kung walang aalalay sa inyo pag sumuka na kayo. Wag maadik sa droga. Sumubok kayong mag-marijuana pero subok lang. Kung dadating ang panahong hindi nyo na mapigilang makipag-sex, siguraduhin nyo lang na gaganda ang lahi natin kung sakaling mabuntis o maka-buntis kayo. Practice safe sex. Wag nyong kakalimutang i-survey ang lugar/room kung may (hidden) camera o wala. Kawawa naman ang MAMI nyo kung malaman niyang may "scandal" kayo.

Huwag nyong gawing trial and error ang pagkakaroon ng girlfriend o boyfriend. Alamin nyo muna kung ano ang kaya nyong ibigay sa isang relationship, at kapag nalaman nyo na, doon kayo maghanap ng isang babaeng/lalaking magiging masaya sa mga maibibigay nyo. Pakinggan nyong mabuti ang mga kwento ng girlfriend/boyfriend nyo. Alamin nyo kung ano ang mga gusto at mga ayaw nya. Huwag nyong sisigawan. Dahil ang isang tao (especialy ang babae),kapag pinakinggan nyo siya at alam niyang nirerespeto mo siya, mamahalin ka nun habambuhay. At higit sa lahat,huwag kalimutang gawing inspirasyon ang inyong lovelife.

Pagka-graduate nyo, iwanan nyo na ang mga araw na umaasa pa kayo sa ibang tao para mabuhay. Matuto kayong mag-ipon. Alamin nyo kung tama yung kinakaltas sa sweldo nyo o yung tax na binabayaran ng negosyo nyo. Pinaghirapan nyo yang pera na yan. Huwag nyong hayaang kunin na lang ng kung sino-sino. Bago kayo gumastos, lagi nyong itanong sa sarili kung ang bibilhin ay isang NEED o WANT, ito ba ay ASSET o LIABILITY. Huwag kalimutang mag bigay ng "portion" kay Lord at sa mga taong nangangailangan ng tulong.

Sana maging accountable kayo sa lahat ng ginagawa at gagawin nyo. Hindi parating maganda ang sitwasyon dito sa mundo. Pero sana sa paglaki nyo, huwag nyong sisisihin ang mga pangyayaring naganap sa inyo kaya kayo ay magrerebelde o malulugar sa masamang landas. Ang buhay nyo ngayon ay dahil sa desisyon namin ng MAMI na mabuhay kayo. Pero tandaan nyo ito...lahat ng mangyayari sa buhay nyo ay dahil sa mga desisyon nyo. Tandaan nyo na walang taong gustong gumawa ng maling desisyon sa buhay...kaya kung nagbago ang kondisyon o kalagayan sa buhay...dapat baguhin rin ang desisyon. Kailangang matuto kayong mag-adapt sa mga nangyayari sa ating kapaligiran para hindi maging obsolete (walang kwenta) o extinct na kagaya ng mga dinosaurs.

Mga anak, marami pa akong gustong sabihin sa inyo. Pero kung meron akong kaisa-isang advice na maibibigay, eto ang pinakamahalaga:

LEARN.

Huwag kayong matakot matuto. Matuto kayo sa Discovery at National Geographic channels. Matuto kayo sa library. Matuto kayo sa internet. Matuto kayo sa news. Matuto kayo sa Bible, Koran at teachings ni Buddha at Confucious.

Matuto kayo sa mga pagkakamali namin ng MAMI nyo. Matuto kayo sa mga kaibigan nyo.

Matuto kayo sa mga pagkakamali nyo at ng ibang tao.

...at higit sa lahat, matuto kayong huwag sayangin ang buhay na binigay sa inyo ni Lord...dahil ang simula at dulo ng lahat ay ang Diyos.

lovelots,
-dadi-
19 April 2007
revised and posted on BLOG 15 June 2008

OMG - Oh, My Gout!

Today is the second day of my gout attack... an intensely, excruciating, burning pain on my swollen, reddish and sore right foot. Imagine this, even the slightest touch such as the draping of a blanket in the affected area could cause extreme instantenous PAIN!

I have had my first experience of gouty arthritis attack a couple of years ago while assigned in Davao City working for a telecommunications firm. Root cause: Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood due to consumption of too much alcohol (the one that is measured in PROOFS), mostly brandy and beer; too much red meat - pork, beef; too much internal organs - liver, gizzards, intestines; too much seafoods...yeah, all the good things/foods in life!

Nothing much have changed since then, I am now working in a faraway war torn country as an expat of still another telecommunications company. Brandy was replaced by vodka which is readily available and easier to "smuggle," as it looks exactly like water. Red meat is still there, though in the form of lamb and beef as pork is a forbidden ("haram") commodity in this place, and yes...chicken gizzard/liver is still very much available and edible.

I have been taking medicines galore for gout....alluporinol, colchicine, glucosamine sulfate, celebrex (for pain), and others. But the traditional way of soaking one's foot into a tub of hot water mixed with salt solution seems to work best in soothing the pain. Perhaps the hot water somehow "melts" the uric acid crystals forming in the "attack area," or perhaps it's just my mind trying to think that somehow doing something makes things better... than doing nothing at all.

But one thing is sure, if you keep on doing things against your doctor's advice, somehow what the physician predicts to happen will really happen. On the other hand, if you do follow your doc's advice to the "t," ...then you will be as healthy as can be and your doctor will lose his/her job. Of course, the doctor is clever enough to make sure that nobody can follow his/her instructions religiously and enjoy life to the fullest at the same time.

So what's the point of whining and grumbling about this painful gout? Like all things in life, this will come to pass. After another day or two...or perhaps a week, my foot will return to normal as if nothing happens... and life will continue to go on as before.

Pain is an inherent part of life and living. Pain is there when we are born, has always been part of living in this cruel world, and will surely be present when we move on to the next life. And yes, it is also worth noting that... "Painful experiences that does not kill you, will surely make you stronger."

Father's Love Letter (...an intimate message from God to you)

My Child

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32



Love, Your Dad.

Almighty God



Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2006 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

The Fate of Sand Castles

Amidst the endless carnage here in the warzone, one is constantly reminded that life is ephemeral and we are all living on borrowed time. Yet, life is still beautiful and worth living. As the message of the story below which I got from a forwarded e-mail states..."You are worth not for what you have, not even for who you are but what others have become because of you."  

The imagery of this piece is so timely, but the lesson itself is timeless. May we all realize the power of our presence in the lives we touch, may we be able to take time in reflecting how we affect the lives of people around us — and will be forever responsible to those whom we "tamed" or those who have "tamed us." Here goes....

* * *
 
You've watched it, too. I'm not the first and only person who has seen it. But there is a lesson in it that we both may have overlooked.

There are some children on a beach. They're playing and giggling - building sand castles all the while. They seem so intent on the project. You get amused at how meticulous and careful they are with crumbly corners and towers. The looks on their faces as they screw their mouths and stick out their tongues make you smile. Their resolute concentration on the task is priceless.

Then a big wave begin building and starts toward shore. But the kids don't panic. Instead, they do the strangest thing. They jump to their feet, scream with delight and watch the torrent of water wash away their creations. There is no panic. No sadness. No bitterness. Even children know the inevitable end of sand castles. They are neither surprised nor angry about what has happened.

You and I should be so wise. The stuff of this world is about as lasting and durable as children's sand castles on the beach. Yet we grownups can get so caught up in it, defensive of it and depressed over the loss of it.

Children know that their sand castles are brief joys destined to disappear with an incoming tide. So they don't fret as the waves approach. They watch their creations get swept away without
shedding tears. Again, we should be wise.

Everything about this life is fleeting and perishable. The incoming wave of human mortality is going to sweep it away. Like sand castles, nothing done for the sake of this world can last. Only
what we do for eternity will survive.

What would the loss of your job or business do to you? What if your house were lost to fire or storm? What if a strange pain sent you to your physician and led to the discovery that you have only a few weeks to live? These things really do happen to people, you know. We are all as vulnerable as sand castles.

Life is God's gift. Revel in every good thing. But as you enjoy your creations in the sand, just remember not to get overly attached to them.

Remember, you are worth not for what you have, not even for who you are ... but what others have become because of you.

First Fruits and the Promise of Abundance!

"Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine"[Proverbs 3:9 - 10 KJV]

Here is an important promise of abundance. God has the power to bless us financially... and if we honor him with our income, by giving generously to help other people (the sick, poor, and starving of the world, for example) he will reward us generously.

The potential size of a harvest is clearly limited by the amount of seed the farmer sows in the field in the first place. Applying this principle to giving, Paul says: "Whosoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whosoever sows generously will also reap generously" (2 Corinthians 9:6).

It has been said that your cannot out-give God.

The Joy of Helping

Being a "man for others" is one of the virtues being thought in the schools run under the Ignatian system by the Jesuits.

I could still recall the words of my "Philosophy of Man" professor asking the basic question..."Who is my neighbor?"...then proceeded to relate the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible.

It has been ages since I left the portals of the university, and have tried my best to help other people at all times, whether family, relatives, friends or complete strangers. Helping other people brings joy to the "helper," not to mention the tangible rewards that the giver receives in return.

Let me elaborate on the rewards of giving. During my early years as a struggling rank and file employee of a telecommunications firm, I have started the practice of donating blood to the "Red Cross." This activity becomes a "habit" so to speak, considering that our company has close ties with the Red Cross and this "blood letting" activity became an annual event in the company and in my life. Even when I left the company, giving blood to others became a tradition. It has extended the life of one of my friends (who was diagnosed with Leukemia) for several months, just enough time to see his son being born and hold it in his hands, before passing away into the next life. Yet, the best reward I have received from my blood donation rituals is for my own son. Some two (2) years ago, my son was diagnosed with dengue fever and his platelet counts have dropped to dangerous levels. When I went to the Red Cross blood bank, there were several of us needing (and fighting!) for the last remaining five pieces of "Type B" platelet bags. I calmly showed my "donation card" to the blood bank staff, and she asked if somebody else who is in need of blood has the same card. Nobody else has a donation card, so I was able to get the needed 3 platelet bags for my son without a fuss, while the others continued to fight for the remaining 2 bags. When I arrived at the hospital, the platelet count of my son has already improved as if by a miracle, and he became well without a single platelet transfusion. Just the same, the bags that I brought from the Red Cross were used/given to another patient who is in need of platelets...free of charge, of course!

It seems to be a paradox, that by giving away you can receive more. Yet if you analyze it carefully, there seems to be logic in this principle. A seed, placed inside a bag or a sack, will still be a seed after several months of storage. However, throw away that same seed....in the field, and it will grow and produce a bountiful harvest of hundred or thousand times! I believe this same theory also works with money or with any other resources. I have proven it many times in my life, giving away money to help others, only to find out that God have returned it back several times more. You can never "out give" God in this regard, as He has a lot of ways of returning back what was given to Him. Yet, a lot of people are reluctant to help, very stingy in giving...but are expecting abundant returns...which is a futile idea!

There is a vast amount of blessing awaiting a cheerful giver. I have experienced it time and time again. You can share your time, your talents and skills, your money, your compassion, your prayers...just give and share...and you will see the rewards and experience the happiness that goes with it.

On the other hand, if somebody does offer to give you help in one form or another, please don't refuse...don't deny the giver the pleasure and immense joy in giving. Be grateful ... say thank you to the person and offer a thanksgiving prayer to God for providing people who are willing to help...for having persons who are "man or woman for others" all "For the Greater Glory of God!"

One Loves the Sunset...When One is Sad

The Little Prince might have lost a friend on the day of forty-four sunsets. Losing a friend is such a sad, forlorn and painful experience, that one wonders if it is worth the risk of making and establishing future friendship ties.

Mere acquaintances may come and go without much effect on the daily sequence of events in one's life, while friends have a unique way of disrupting and completely messing-up one's schedule. The mood of the day can suddenly change with a friend's urgent call for assistance that causes immediate feeling of concern, or the casual messages of greetings and hellos that somehow brightens up the day.

The good times shared together with friends, providing hope to each others dreams and wishes, spicing-up one's lethargic life and humdrum existence, can somehow create an illusion that friendship will last forever ...but like all things in life (including friends)...these are all ephemeral, like a flower that blooms today and will wither tomorrow.

Friendship is best left to children who have the natural ability and talent to make friends. Imagine a group of children, even if they are of different races or language, will immediately become friends with each other at no time at all. It never cease to amaze me to observe children playing at the park or any play area (such as those found in a fast food chains) that they instantaneously become friends, even though it is the very first time that they meet with each other. Such innocence, such openness...such a peaceful and joyful world to live-in.

And who causes the mess and problems in children's life...the GROWN-UPS, of course! These grown-ups are like those that the Little Prince have met in his adventures....conceited men, drunkards, businessmen...just to name a few. They (grown-ups) think that they were always concerned with matters of great consequences, that they totally mix-up their priorities. They think they know what they are looking for, but most of them are confused and clueless on what they really want to do with their lives. And yes, grown-ups loves FIGURES! They love figures soooo much that they measure and do everything with numbers....age, height, weight, vital statistics, calories, scores, profit, income, credit limits, mobile numbers, frequent flier mileage, salaries, etc.

I guess i've already grown-up and become so engrossed with figures...and in so doing, have abandoned being childlike...and have lost a friend in the process.