12.09.12
Honestly, I am 46 today. I am still young @ heart:-) Fortunately, I have been living my life the way I want to be. For this reason, I truly thank my mom and dad who taught me how to be FREE, FOCUSED and FLEXIBLE. Most importantly, I have learned how to FAIL and FIGHT back without giving up. I am now more content and following the ‘Middle Path’ through life’s journey.
I aim to listen to my inner voices more and enjoy the next chapters of my life (4 years to 50, 14 years to retire) with a healthy lifestyle – FIT & FIRM in both body and mind. I will continue sharing my meaningful thoughts and lessons learned in life that might inspire others, regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, health and wealth. Ideally, I do hope that I could have some good impact to transform people’s lives.
I believe that life is a journey, not a destination. The more we travel, the more we learn about others and that can be reflected back in our own self-learning. This year, I travelled overseas to the US (New York – seeing a Broadway Show, 9/11 Memorial, MoMA, Guggenheim; Boston – including MIT & Harvard; LA and Chicago – visiting landmark houses/buildings of two of the greatest architects, Frank Loyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe); Turkey (amazing Istanbul and its beautiful seascapes); Vietnam (Hanoi, Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An, Danang, HCMC & home-stay around the Mekong Delta); Myanmar/Burma (Chiang Tung/Kyaingtong/Kengtung in Shan State) as well as travelling around my two home countries – Thailand (Chiang Rai & Naan) and Australia (Melbourne for the Australian Open & Uluru, Central Australia). Indeed, these travel experiences are priceless! However, I will end my Year of Travel with a spiritual journey, travelling to learn more about my inner self; e.g. my mind, my thoughts, my emotions, my breath, my worries, my ego, my greed and my suffering. It will be a 10-day Vipassana course – an ancient meditation technique over 2600 years, at Goenka’s Dhamma Bhumi in Blackheath near the Blue Mountains (www.bhumi.dhamma.org). I will then have a fresh mind for 2013 after recharging to my full energy (in mind-body-spirit) ready for the challenging year to come.
In the last decade, the 9/11 news coming on my birthday always reminded me that life is too short not to enjoy. I’m glad that I chose to be the architect of my own life. Knowing the Power of Now and have a happy moment in every day. Yes, we are all writing our own journey. Make it a good one with 7F’s – Free, Focused, Flexible, Fail & Fight, Fit & Firm. Cheers!