The Dash

A man stood up at his wife's funeral and spoke. They had been married for more than fifty years. This is the core of the husbands' speech:
"On the tombstone you will notice there are two dates. The first is the date of my wife's birth the second is the date of her passing. What we often forget to notice is that there is a dash between those two numbers. This dash represents her life."
That dash is what makes us who we are. It is what took place in between those two dates. There are many lessons learned, many tears of joy and sorrow, much love shared and many lives touched; all portrayed within that simple little dash.

Just like the story above, everytime I walk pass a graveyard and look at the tombstones, I'll always be reminded about how we should live our life. What will be your epitaph?
Epitaph is a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.So what is your epitaph? What will other people remember you for? Will you be remembered for?

(epitaph of Mel Blanc)

When we are born you are crying and everyone is smiling. Live your life so that when you die you are smiling and all those around you are crying. Put more dash in your life, and may it be a very long dash indeed.

"To me, my greatest achievement in life will be seeing more lives being changed for the better because I was once on this earth"
~ unknown ~

Two Wolves

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life...
He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One wolf is evil -- he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.
The other is good---he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too."
They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied: "The one you feed".

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples don't count on harvesting golden Delicious"
- unknown -

Life Lesson from Horse Riding

I used to read a Manga about a horse named "Sylphid". A young horse with a pair of weak leg which eventually trained and turned into a fastest racing horse. I'm not going to share how can a weak horse turned into a powerful racing horse, but throughout the process and even in the racing arena, there are some life lessons that we can learn from riding a horse:

1. Always look where you are going. If you must take a circuitous route, don't run over the instructor. They tend to get very upset when a thousand plus pound animal is coming at them out of control. This applies to the people you meet daily. Don't run over them out of control.
2. Keep in balance. Everything will flow together in harmony if you simply allow it.
3. Plan ahead. This means have respect for another's personal space. No one likes it when you run up behind them and stay there. They are moving at the pace that is comfortable for them. Make allowances. Honor their right to be right where they are. (Refer to number 1.)
4. Know your stride and be ready to adjust it if necessary. (This refers back to number 1 and 3.)
5. Forward! Always forward! This is a dressage term that means even when it is necessary to back up the momentum is still going forward.
6. When navigating any obstacle focus upon the next obstacle. Consider the obstacle as merely a step in the overall course.
7. When you fall off, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, understand the mistake you made that caused you to fall off and then get right back in the saddle.
8. Teach and train; not punish and blame. This is used in dog training. Prepare yourself through learning and understanding. Ultimately the choices you make are based on learning and understanding. Take responsibility for your actions and feelings. Should you find your understandings and actions no longer serve you, change them. Change your actions and thought and you will change your life and world.

May all your falls be gentle ones and your mistakes little ones. May you learn to walk in Balance and fly over obstacles.

"Change of life starts with change of mindset followed by change of action"
- unknown -