Why So Bombastic ...

A reader of one of my books said to me one day, "Your book has got so many bombastic words. I have to use a dictionary to find the meanings. There were some words which I couldn't find in the dictionary. Why so bombastic?"

I was quite bemused when I heard him saying that. I was delighted that he'd been using a dictionary to check out the meaning of those words. I had on purpose, thrown in some of the words in my writings as I knew that rather a few of my readers in my home country would not know the meanings of the words as they had been taught English with a strictly grammar-based syllabus but without realizing that their vocabulary was actually rather limited. My vocabulary had been very poor, too. I had started to improve it when I began to indulge more in writing.
The so-called bombastic words I had used in my writings would be quite common to one who had been taught English with a wider-based syllabus with more emphasis on vocabulary enrichment. If one were to Google-search those words, all the meanings would be there.

I had written the books in my simple style.  There wasn't any rodomontade or exaggeration in my writings as I was no Walter Mitty. I hadn't indulged in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs in my writings as I had not achieved anything in life. I had only used creative licence to turn ordinary incidents of my simple life into something which I thought might be interesting to the readers. Most of all, I had written for my personal enjoyment.

ltbs

You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn’t care a damn about anybody else at all.
Doris Lessing

Snub-killer

Often slighted or snubbed
I've found solace being alone,
At the comfort zone of home
Reading, writing or doing nothing at all
And so enjoying a simple, stress-free life.

I'd rather write into Cyberspace,
To no one in particular, but to myself
Allowing imagination to take hold
Spinning stories of my simple life
Salving my solitary, restless soul.

ltbs

The important thing is not what they think of me, it is what I think of them.

Queen Victoria

Showing Love to Others

I have, but a short time of my life left

Why then should I not make the best of it?
Doing things I like best
Thinking not of me alone
But showing love to others
To enjoy the remainder of my life best.

You have, but so much time of your life left

Why then should you not make the best of it?

Doing things you enjoy best

Thinking not of you alone

But showing love to others,

And so enjoy the rest of your life best.

ltbs

We must love one another or die.
W H Auden

Salving One's Hurting Soul

Facing a tidal wave of disillusionment
Coupled with disenchantment to boot
One can't do anything
Or tell anyone
Of all the pain and disappointment
That have got burned into one's brain
And have been stuck into one's eidetic memory.

One can only write
And tell oneself not to repine
But to be strong and confident
And do whatever one enjoys best
Erasing from one's photographic memory
All the pain and disappointment
And salving one's hurting soul.

ltbs

True dignity abides with him alone
Who, in the silent hour of inward thought
Can still suspect, and still revere himself
In lowliness of heart.
William Wordsworth

Salving of a Solitary Soul

Often slighted and snubbed
I've found solace in being alone,
In the comfort zone of home
Reading, writing or doing nothing at all
And  enjoy a simple, stress-free life.

I'd rather write into Cyberspace,
To no one in particular but to myself
Allowing my imagination to take hold,
Spinning stories of my simple life
Salving my solitary, restless soul.

ltbs

I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.
But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Safe on an Island Republic

Whenever I visited an island republic, I would usually take a stroll to the market at 5.00am and then walk along the beach. I would watch fish-mongers, butchers, vegetable-sellers and food hawkers set up their stalls at the market. I would have breakfast at one of the food stalls and then leave for the beach.

One day, as I was walking a couple of kilometres by the beach, a passer-by said to me, "Easy!"

I was puzzled and asked in return, "Easy?"

He replied, "Yes  -  easy life!"

That stranger must have heard me humming or singing to myself. I felt safe and easy walking around this island city, unlike back in my home city, where I was king-hit with a crash helmet by a pillion-rider about 50 metres from home last year. Deeply traumatized by that unfortunate encounter I now fear walking just outside my house, let alone around the city.

ltbs

Walking is the best possible exercise.

Thomas Jefferson

Reason to Lament

I can't help it
But break out into spontaneous weeping
Whenever I recall a painful incident
Which seems to open a sluice gate in my soul
Letting flow of painful experiences long forgotten.

A strange flow seems to ooze through my body
As the pain and disappointment of old
Seem to re-surface from old embedded wounds
Bringing me agony and tears
Like from a fresh cut
Smarting from the spicy juices of a jalapeno.

Commiserate with me
And pray with me
As I pray in earnest
That such cruelty and abuse
Will never ever happen again
To someone, or anyone else.

ltbs

Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
William Wordsworth

Publishing for Charity

I'm no well-known prosateur. I’m unable to write for money.

When I first started writing a book, I knew I had no literary agent to promote it to any international publisher to get it published where the subsequent print-runs would be rather tremendously huge if the book turned out to be successful.

I knew, too, that I could get it published by a local publisher as I had rather a number of friends in the local publishing world. However, the print-run would be rather small and I would get peanuts for royalty while the publisher would get the bulk of the profits.

I decided to publish it myself. But I was not rich enough to come out with the printing cost so I called upon a few of my friends to sponsor the printing. I have been gratified, indeed, that so many of them have been generous and quick enough, without any persuasion, to help foot the printing cost. I'm particularly grateful to a lady who made up for the shortfall in sponsorships to enable me to have my last book, Catharsis of the Heart, printed.

All my books have been donated to charity organizations and they have kept 100% of the sale. I'm thankful to the members of those charity organizations who took the trouble to sell the books and kept all the money for their projects.

ltbs

Better is he who gives little to charity from money honestly earned than he who gives much from dishonestly gained wealth.
Midrash

One Proud and Excited Grandmother

I went to my newsagent for a newspaper and she excitedly said to me, "My grandson brought a girlfriend home yesterday evening! He just said, ' Ah Mah, here's my girlfriend' ".

I could see that she was rather proud and excited about it and I said, "Congratulations! You may be a great grandmother soon!"

She smiled broadly and then went on to tell the others who came to buy newspapers about her grandson having a girlfriend. She was one proud and excited grandmother. She was much younger than I. She must have got married when she was in her very early teens and so must have her son.

I wonder whether I would have the opportunity to see my oldest grandson have a girlfriend one day in the very distant future. He's just turned six!

ltbs

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.
Barbara Bush

One Might be Killed at Home

My younger daughter, Olivia, hugging me before flying off to Hong Kong, said anxiously to me,
"Take care of yourself. Be careful in whatever you do."

My wife who was accompanying her, echoed, "Yes, be careful. Take things easy. Relax. Don't always rush into doing things."

I replied, "Don't worry. I'll be okay. Enjoy yourselves in Hong Kong".

After they had left, a conversation, with a friend -  an athletics coach -  a few years ago, crossed my mind. He was then trying to persuade me to take up athletics again in my junior senior years as he knew I was a former combined-school athlete.

My friend, the coach, had said, "C'mon, you can do it again. You are still fast and strong on the tennis courts. You can take part in the veteran 100m and 200m. I will train you."

" No, I can't. I haven't run the sprints for such a long time. It's different from tennis. I might suffer a heart attack on the tracks! " I had replied.

"C'mon. Don't worry about that. We can start slowly. Everything will be okay. Nothing will happen. People do die at home from accidents," he had continued.

I had laughed at his statement that fatal accidents could happen at home. I refused to train for the veteran athletics meet.

ltbs

Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.
Vernon Law


Dedicated to the memory to Arthur Spykerman - a friend and confidant.

One Fortunate Lady

No flashy or gaudy clothes,
But smartly and cleverly dressed.
No heavy make-up,
But subtle touches.
She looks no more than thirty,
But she's actually getting on to sixty!
Age hasn't taken its toll on her at all
She's one fortunate lady.

She's truly beautiful,
But she doesn't flaunt it.
She needs no expensive clothes
Or make-up to enhance it either
No wrinkles or crow's feet on her face
No ugly flab or folds on her body
Her true age doesn't show on her
She's one fortunate lady.

No haughtiness
No arrogance
No negative-mind
She puts everyone at ease.
Being friendly and gentle,
Her inner beauty oozes out of her
That's why she's one fortunate lady
For Father Time to be so very kind to her.

ltbs

Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.
Jacqueline Bisset

Not Toady at All

How embarrassing it is
To see someone fawning on another,
Being so gnathonic and sycophantic always
To the rich and mighty!

I'm truly blithesome,
There have been a lot of greatly, successful people
Who have been very kind to me
Making nobody me feel like somebody.

My only regret is that
I haven’t been able to ever reciprocate their kindnesses,
But have always thought of them fondly
Without having to be toady at all.

ltbs

" And that's why today any myrmidom, any gnathonic sycophant, any obsequious assistant or menial hanger-on is called a toad-eater or, more often, a toady.”
Michael Gartner

No Supper for Me

Snow has fallen and there is black ice on the roads in Bad Godesberg. This evokes memories of my final teaching practice in the UK, years ago.

I cannot remember much of my teaching physics or music at a Grammar school in Birmingham but I remember a bit about the stay with our hosts  -  an elderly couple  -  in Aston. I would have to walk on black ice or trudge through snow to take the train, every morning, from Aston to Birmingham and then a bus to the school.

The host-couple did their best to make my stay with them rather comfortable. However, they were quite formal at dinners. We had to dress for every meal.

We had to dress for supper, too. After a few suppers, I told the hosts that I would like to skip the meals and prefer to go to bed early, instead, because I was quite tired after school. I did not tell them that I did not enjoy the meals as I would often sit rather tongue-tied like a shy schoolboy. I was poor at conversations during the meals.

I was too young and ignorant then not to realize that I was being quite rude to skip supper. She must have taken a lot of trouble to prepare the meals.

ltbs

The dinner hour should be more than eating. It should be about teaching, listening and loving.

William J Beatton

No Spammer of a Writer

I write, often spinning stories of my daily life or my nostalgic past, my joy, my pains, my travels and my little achievements. I share my anecdotes  -  fantasy or real life  -  first, with members of my e-groups on the Net and then, I publish my anecdotal writings for others to read. It has been gratifying, indeed, to me, to find that my books have been well-received and I have been able to donate the bulk of the proceeds to charity. It has been very exhilarating to me to know that I have quite a number of fans of my books.

Writing comes easily to me on the computer. I write to the Blue Nothing  -  Cyberspace. I imagine that I am writing to nobody but I am just throwing my words away into the infinite abyss of Cyberspace. I write best when I am hurt or troubled. However, I do not whine or complain in my writings but try to elevate myself from pain or hurt. Writing has been most cathartic to me. It has kept ennui and boredom at bay, too.

I not only donate my books to charity but I have given them to those I felt would be interested in my writings.

ltbs

It is the glory and merit of some men to write well, and of others not to write at all.
La Bruyere

No Sex, Politics or Religion

I have formed three Yahoo e-groups to share interesting stuff from the Net. I have adopted a no-sex, no-politics, and no-religion policy for all postings. No belittling of anyone, either. I only share inspiring music, beautiful art, inspirational quotes and interesting photographs from the Net. Of course, I share my simple writings, too.

Forget about sex, politics or religion. Discussion of any of these subjects will always lead to someone getting upset or hurt. Enjoy or do other much more interesting stuff on the Web.

If you’d like to join any of my Yahoo e-groups, email me – luketeoh2@yahoo.com.

ltbs

The gloom of the world is but a Shadow; and behind it, yet within our reach is Joy. Take Joy.
Fra Giovanni

No One was going to Spoil Our Holiday

On a trip to China, I received a call that my house had been broken into and it had been terribly ransacked, as soon as I arrived at a hotel from the airport in Hangzhou

The burglars must have seen us leaving home with our luggage for the airport in the capital city in the small hours of the morning, and started breaking in after we left.

I decided there and then that no one was going to spoil our holiday. Nothing could be done about it. No one was going to dampen our holiday spirit.

We spent nearly a month in China and we were very well-feted in Urumqi and Korla in Xinjiang. Everyone was warm, hospitable and generous to us. We had a wonderful holiday.

Coming home, we found our house in a mess but we were quite relieved that the burglars were only after money. They had managed to get away with some cash but had left everything else behind.

ltbs

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.

Job 1:21 

No Music Teacher

Listening to music, I'm reliving the days of my youth,
Training to be a music teacher in the UK
Travelling to London to attend concerts, as part of the course,
And all over Europe during the summer holidays.

I didn't teach music after my training except at a school,
As music, at the other schools, was not part of the curriculum.
I only played 'The National Anthem' on the piano at school assemblies
I was totally lost to sports, instead.

I could play the piano and trumpet fairly well then

But I can't even play a tune on the piano now,
Or toot a note on the trumpet, either
But listening to music,

Always evokes happy memories of my music training in the UK.

ltbs

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

Author Unknown

No more "The Luke" anymore

I came to a casino hill-resort for a concert.

While I was waiting in the crowd outside the concert hall, an elegantly-dressed, slim lady came up to me and said "Excuse me! You look very familiar. Have we ever met before?"

She looked very familiar to me, too. I felt I had met her before but I could not recall where. Father Time had been kind to her as age had not taken its toll on her.  I introduced myself and told her where I came from. She said she was a teacher in the capital city but used to teach at a particular school in my home city, too.

When I mentioned two teachers I knew at that school, she gave out a cry of delight and started to hug me, saying, "You're ' The LUKE'!"

She squeezed me tightly but I managed to reply, "Yes, I am, but I'm much older now!"

She released me and said, "Yes, you are, but you still look and sound the same! How are you?"

We chatted a bit and then she was swallowed by the thronging crowd into the concert hall. I looked for her after the concert but I was unable to find her. I did not bump into her at the resort later, either.

That chance meeting evoked a lot of happy memories. I remember that I was very keen on her. She was very young then. Everything came to nothing when I was transferred to a premier school in my home island city. We lost contact totally after that.

The surprise meeting also triggered off demons in my mind. I came home feeling quite depressed when I realized I was no more "The Luke  -  young, vibrant and enthusiastic " that the lady knew in her youth.

ltbs

The young always have the same problem – how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying the elders and copying one another.
Quentin Crisp

No Live Telecasts for Me

I do not usually watch TV but I enjoy watching sports on cable TV. I watch especially football and tennis.

However, I usually will not watch live telecasts of the matches, should I favour a player or team.

I find that it will be too taxing for my heart as the excitement of the matches will trigger my ticker box to palpitate to overdrive. I will, either, read a book or do something on the computer, instead, and come back every now and then to see how the matches are going on. I will then watch the replay of the matches at other times, only if my favourite teams or players won.

This is good as my wife can watch her soap opera whenever a live telecast of football or tennis is on. I usually do not watch TV, either, when my wife is at home as I have all the time to do it when she is at work. I will also do it in the small hours when she is in bed.

However, television does not occupy much of my time, I prefer to read a book or do some writing on the computer.

ltbs

I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on, I go to another room and read a good book.

Groucho Marx

No Dancing King

I had been to dances when I was a student in the UK, ages ago, but I had been a determined wallflower. I was too self-conscious to go down on the dance floor. Furthermore, girls frightened me as I had developed a streak of puritanical frigidity due to my very strict religious upbringing. Thus I was no dancing king when I was in the UK.

After I got married, I eventually found that I had married a dancing queen when ballroom dancing re-surfaced as a craze. My wife had dancing fever oozing from her every pore  -  she was a fantastic dancer. I was just an incompatible partner to her on the dance floor. I stopped going to dances with her as I did not want to spoil her enjoyment. Neither did I want to be a wallflower while she danced the nights away.

However, I wanted to surprise my wife by being able to dance well one day and so without her knowledge, I bought a pair of dancing shoes and took private dancing lessons from a lady dance instructor. The dance coach would teach me alone before her lessons to a group of learners.

I soon found that I could not follow the dance movements. I felt like I had crampons on my feet and was quite flat-footed. My sense of co-ordination was out, too. I was totally loss on the dance floor.

I gave up the idea of being able to dance when I realized that I did not have the poetry in motion in me to dance. Neither, did I enjoy it. I decided to spend my time by indulging more in writing. I would allow my writings albeit rather simple to do all the dancing.

ltbs

Dancing is the body made poetic.
Ernst Bacon

Dedicated in gratitude and friendship to June Toh for being very patient in giving me the free dance lessons.

No Acrobat of a Lion Dancer

The celebration of a Spring Festival in freezing, rather quiet Bad Godesberg in Bonn, Germany, evoked memories of my performing lion dances in the Midlands under cold England sky, when I was a student in the UK.

Not many people in the UK had seen lion dances then as the Bamboo Curtain was deeply entrenched and travel between China and the outside world was strictly controlled or prohibited.

It was a novelty then for the English people to watch our lion dances. They must have been fascinated by the ornately-made lion head, the noisy hitting of the gong and the beating of the huge drum. As to the dancing, we were just galumphing. Our movements were rather simple and rudimentary. It was nothing compared to the performances of the skilful and rather acrobatic lion dancers of mainland China.

Looking back, I deem myself fortunate to have the experience of doing the lion dance, to the fascination or enjoyment of everyone, at the various school functions in the UK, although I was no skilful acrobat of a lion dancer.

ltbs

Making a true difference in a life is one vehicle by which we create memories that last a lifetime.
Byron Pulsifer

Never Let It Ever Happen Again

My heart's bleeding
And I've been having sudden bouts of weeping
After I've witnessed an ugly incident
Which has brought great pain to my innermost soul

I've rarely prayed
But I've been falling on my knees
And crying out to the Good Lord
To prevent it from ever happening again

I hope you'd pray with me, too
So that the Good Lord
Will answer our prayers
And my plea will not be in vain.

ltbs

Cruelty ... is the conscious inflicting of pain.
Oswald Spengler

Nearly a Drowning Victim

During my first posting as a teacher to a secondary school in a kampung (village), I used to indulge in fishing after school hours. My favourite spot was on top of a huge boulder lying across one side of a river. I would climb on top of the rock from that side of the river. The fast water would race towards the rock, eddy below it and flow past one side of it. The deep swirling whirlpool below the large stone was where the fish were. I used to haul in a lot of catfish and carp.

On a particular day when I was on top of the boulder, it rained quite heavily but I continued fishing. After having caught rather a lot of fish, I climbed down on to the bank on one side of the river and started to wade waist-high across it. I held, above my head, the tackle in one hand and the haul of fish in the other. Suddenly, in midstream, I found myself being swept away by a huge mass of swift, rolling water. The water must have accumulated from the rain upstream.

I let go of the tackle and fish and struggled to find a way to escape the turbulent onslaught of water. Fortunately, as I was being swept downstream, I managed to grab hold of a bamboo plant which had fallen across the stream when I was being swept under it. With my body, still chest-deep in the fast swirling water, I slowly inched myself with my hands along the bamboo pole to safety.

On walking home beside some rice fields towards my school quarters, I deemed myself fortunate enough to have escaped from drowning in that suddenly dangerous river.

I stopped fishing from that boulder whenever the weather was threatening to rain after that frightening incident.

ltbs

The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.

Marya Mannes

My Awakening Odyssey

It‘s gratifying, indeed that you have been able to weave through the maze of mumbo-jumbo and wild ramblings of my writings and have continued reading Awakenings of the Heart until the end.

Thank you for accompanying me on this awakening stage of my life. It's been rather an odyssey.

Don't throw the book away if you don't like it. Present it to someone else who might.

I would like to welcome any feedback whether negative or positive
(luketeoh2@gmail.com)

ltbs

Every wakeful step, every mindful act is the direct path to awakening.

Wherever you go, there you are

The Enlightened One

Muses of a Simple Writer

I count myself fortunate enough to have friends who have been ever-willing to sponsor my writings for charity.

Most of all, I'm thankful to the members of the various charity organizations I have donated the books to who have willingly gone all out to promote and sell the books for their various projects. The proceeds have been quite minimal but they have made every effort to sell the books. They have made sure that my simple books have not gone to waste or into pulping.

It's quite gratifying and blithesome to receive feedback from a few friends and a lot of total strangers that they have enjoyed reading my easy-reading books.

Overcoming the fear of writing has made me a different man  -  a soul grateful to others but very confident of myself  indeed, albeit I have not achieved anything of significance in life.

ltbs

If you're a writer, you want your soul out there, where people can look at it.
Jeremy Larner

Mistaken for a Malay

Years ago, as I was about to open the gate to my aunt's in an island city, the maid, who was sweeping the front-yard, saw me but could not recognize me.

She quickly shouted out, in Hokkien, for my aunt, "Ah Ee-yah, oo chi leh Hua-nah ti gua kau!"

My aunt came to the front door, looking at me for a while, then recognizing me, shouted to the maid, "Emm si-lah. Si Ah Li-yeuk-lah".

The maid had mistaken me for a Malay and had shouted for my aunt, " Aunt, there's a Malay outside".

My aunt, on recognizing me, had shouted in return to the maid, "It's not. It's Luke".

I was extremely sun-tanned, rather more like sun-burnt then. I must have been darker than a Malay. I was rather like an extremely dark Malay fisherman. This was due to the very long hours, for months I had spent in the sun, on the beach and in the sea.

I was then teaching at a secondary school on the east coast of my country. After school hours, I would beach-comb the beach or snorkel, line-fish or spear-fish in the sea. I would also hire a fishing boat, on weekends, to take me to one of the islands off the coast to enjoy similar activities, and trolling for mackerel, marlin and other large fish on the way. That was the most exciting and happy time of my early teaching career, enjoying more than teaching the beauty of the sea.

ltbs

Happiness consists in a frequent repetition of pleasure.

Arthur Schopenhauer

Meeting of Old Friends

When old friends meet,
Should there be a contest of wit and intelligence,
Of put-downs, insults and clever deceit
Or
A time of no one-upmanship
But real camaraderie to enjoy?

Everyone  would love to come to an alumni gathering
Where all titles, status or wealth are left at home
Just the bringing of the simple self of everyone's youth
Don't you think so?

ltbs

Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet, and two others at first speech are old friends.
Mary Catherwood

Me? A Runner-up?

I was a judge at a karaoke contest a few years ago. There was an elderly singer who had won a lot of competitions among the contestants. He was rather arrogant and confident that he would emerge the champion. He was so cocksure of himself that he strutted and swaggered up on stage.

However, he was upstaged by a young man who sang very well, indeed. The cocky, old singer was placed second.

For years after that whenever, I bumped into the runner-up with a group of his friends, he would point me out to them and shout loudly and indignantly that I was the one who had placed him second. His friends would appear surprised that he had not won the contest.

I did not let on to the disappointed man that among the three judges that I had gone against my sense of fair play, knowing fully that the eventual winner was a better singer, but had  given the old fellow top marks because I knew him. Of course, I was out-voted by the other two judges.

I have stopped accepting appointments to be a judge in singing contests after that.

ltbs

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Luke 14:11

Me and My Shadow

Me and my shadow,
Blissfully spending time together
Enjoying a busy, fun-filled day.

In the dusk of evening,

It’ll gradually disappear.

I’ll be alone in the darkness of night.

In the dawn of day
I’ll await the return of my shadow,
To keep me company again.

ltbs

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
Aldous Huxley

Making Something Good

I have heard or come across so many unfortunate incidents  -  too many  -  of people hurting their loved ones. This has been creative for me as I have been able to use the figment of my imagination to take a few of such ugly incidents and turn them into good.

Using a bit of exaggeration, half-truths, changing the place of a particularly bad incident and the names or professions of the characters involved, I have been able to come up with a story to show that the opposite has happened...something good instead of bad.

This has made me feel good, too, as there has not been any aggression of the keyboard as I keyed in the fabricated story! I have taken something bad and made it good.

So, don't be a gossip and talk about hurtful people. Change the story and tell white lies to show how great they are instead. It will make you feel good, too!

ltbs

I will speak ill of no man and speak all the good I know of everybody.

Ben Franklin

Making Me Happy

No one needs to do anything special

To make me happy

Just a few kind words

Or a gentle touch

That’s all it takes to do it.

ltbs

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring which have the potential to turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia

Love Keeps One Strong and Confident

Did you know that the amygdala  -  the main site in the brain  -  plays the most active role in processing emotions?

Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, says "... amygdala arousal seems to imprint in memory most moments of emotional arousal with an added degree of strength. The more intense the amygdala arousal, the stronger imprint; the experiences that scare or thrill us the most in life are among our most indelible memories."

My recent wonderful, well-loved and well-feted tour around parts of Europe aroused my amygdala and put my emotions onoverdrive when I was there. Those four frabjous months of travelling kept evoking memories when I was most happy, ages ago in England, training to be a music teacher, and on summer holidays, hitch-hiking around Ireland and travelling on a shoe-string all over the Continent. That arousal of my amygdala did not allow deeply-rooted unpleasant experiences to re-surface at all.

However, after coming home, I found not only ennui stalking me, but the arousal of my amygdala which only uprooted deeply-embedded, traumatic experiences and not the euphoric ones. I was suddenly swept with a mix of dread, loathing and regret. Fortunately, I have the love of loved ones and friends, and my writings to keep me strong and confident.

ltbs

He who has the most friends and the fewest enemies is the strongest.
Lord Chesterfield

Love at First Sight in Verona

Spending four months on the Continent and England, I noticed that no one would look me in the eye whenever I came face to face with them on the streets, in the parks or anywhere else. I guess I must have been downright rude staring at them all the time.

On a bus in Verona, as I stood facing a lady seated a short distance away, I could not help but look at her. She was simply dressed in a decidedly non-couture yellow tank top and jeans, but her beauty needed no adornment. She had a presence and almost an aura that drew my eyes to her, with her high cheekbones, fair complexion and intelligent dark brown eyes, framed by a sharply cut Cleopatra bob of black hair. Catching me staring, she looked up and smiled.

I smiled back and I could feel her eyelashes caressing me as I continued to look at her. I would take a furtive peek at her, every now and then. I was excitedly thrilled. I guess I had fallen in love at first sight like Romeo did in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

We got down at the same bus stop and I began following her but then I heard my daughter, Nicole, shouting, "Hey, Daddy! This way! "

I had no choice but to turn around and follow Nicole.  That captivating, smiling lady was soon swallowed up by the milling crowd going in the opposite direction.

ltbs

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand..
Mother Teresa

Libido-boosting Adventures

Reading of a magazine magnate marrying his very much younger fiancée who was more than sixty years younger than he, I could not help but think of friends who had liaisons with Lolita-like girls.

I particularly recalled an elderly friend who had a close relationship with a very young, college student where the age gap was nearly half a century! He confided in me of his indiscretion because he knew I was no blabbermouth. He knew, too, that I was neither a cater-cousin who would ridicule him to others on his ridiculously impossible-to-be-believed, May-December fling.

Being not particularly imbued with religious scruples, I was happy for the old guy as she had brought some colour and excitement to his quite mundane life. It was more than most men would have glimpsed in a lifetime.

The streetwise, old lover-boy cunningly covered his tracks by not flaunting his conquest in public. I was relieved that he was able to face the eventual rejection when the no-future-relationship came to an end.

ltbs

However carefully you phrase the history of your sex life you're bound to emerge as a boaster, a braggart, a liar or a laughing stock.
Willie Rushton

Leave Grandchildren to Themselves

I met a lady by a swimming pool one morning. She's in her mid-eighties. I've known her for years. She swims a few laps every morning. We had a pleasant chat on her life. She spoke about her husband and her children.

When I asked her about her grandchildren, she said, "I leave my grandchildren to themselves. I prefer to keep the company of my friends. It's less stressful".

I guess she's one person who's quite independent and enjoys life. She reads a lot, too. She's a fan of my books.

ltbs

A life spent worthily should be measured by a nobler line  -  by deeds  -  not by years.
Richard Sheridan

Kudos from a Friend

A college-mate he once was

My abode two blocks away from his

Quiet, modest but respected

Now a writer and a poet in bloom

Sleepless nights he spends

Reminiscing incidents past

With delight, and sometimes, remorse,

He lists the story of his life to everyone.

Maniam Suppiah

A friend is a second self.

Aristotle

Keeping Senility at Bay

I’m no polyhistor,
Neither am I a polymath
I have no encyclopedic knowledge
As I only read for fun and pleasure.

I am now rather senescent
But I’ve been perennially juvenescent,
A toddler with a great yearning for reading
This has helped to keep senility at bay.

ltbs

To honour an old man is showing respect to God.
Mohammed

Keeping Hangovers At Bay

When one's hurting or disappointed,
And everything seems so overwhelming
That one's unable to do anything
Don't ever resort to a stiff drink or a relaxing pill,
As it'll definitely bring on a nasty hangover.

It'd be better to forget a stiff drink or a tranquillizer,
When one's overwhelmed with pain or disappointment
But to do what one enjoys best
As everything would be better by and by
And so escape a horrible hangover

ltbs

My greatest happiness consists precisely in doing nothing that is calculated to obtain happiness
Chuang-Tzu

Just Can’t Stop Painting

“Have you been painting the house all by yourself, Daddy?” my younger daughter, Olivia, in Melbourne, asked me on Skype.

 “Yes, I have,” I replied. “There’s just the kitchen, the back and the side of the house to be done. I’m taking my time in doing it.”

I have not told her that once I start doing something I will not stop until everything has been done. The kitchen and the other parts of the house have not been done because I have run out of paint. I will continue to paint in earnest after I have bought a fresh supply of paint.

My wife, who is the MD of a family-foundry, has offered to have her workers do the painting but I have told her that I would prefer to do it alone. She can easily get her foundry-workers to do all the odd-jobs at home but I have always insisted on doing everything myself as I am a real DIY fiend. 

ltbs

The fellow that owns his own home is always just coming out of a hardware store.

Kin Hubbard

Jackpot for a Pickpocket!

A train to Tirano waiting at Milan Station was packed and everyone was rushing for seats.
As I was running to do the same, two young girls in white dresses came forward to help me.
One of them carried my bag while the other found a seat for me. The taller of the two then put my bag on the rack of the train carriage. 

Thinking of giving them a tip, I slid my hand into the left pocket of my jeans for some coins. I was shocked to find that my money in 100 Euro bills was all gone except for the coins. One of the girls must have picked my pocket. Instead of getting some loose change, they had got away with a jackpot!

It was too late to do anything as they had left the train and it was moving out of the station.

ltbs

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
Norman Vincent Peale

I'll be but OK

Don’t promise me anything
If you can't keep that promise,
Don't keep me waiting.

I'll be but OK,
If you don't promise me anything.

Say "No" to me
If you can't help me

Don't give me all sorts of excuses.
I'll be but OK,
If you just say "No" to me.

ltbs

Friendship does for people what the sun does for flowers.
Pour it on and watch it blossom.
Author Unknown

“I can’t believe it!”

I called a German-born OZ lady one evening and when she found out it was me, she kept on repeating “I can't believe it! I can't believe it!”

I asked her, “Why?”

She replied, “I'm holding your book, 'Catharsis...' in my hand that’s why! I've been reading it again. And now you called. I just can't believe it! What a coincidence!”

I could not believe it, either, that she had been reading the book. I had given to her more than two years ago.

I felt rather blithesome that she was still reading my book.

ltbs

If we are imprisoned in ourselves, books provide us with the means to escape. If we have to run away from ourselves, books show us the way back.

Holbrook Hobson

Dedicated in friendship to Helmut & Magdalena Drobbe, Melbourne, Australia

I Bleed Easily

I'm a sensible, but quite an idealistic guy.
However, I bleed easily,
When I encounter any unkindness.

I'm glad I've been able to stop the bleeding
By turning to reading, writing and sports
To stop the demons on my mind from running wild.

I'm blithesome to have been often shown kindness,
By strangers and friends alike
To be strong enough to tourniquet any such bleeding.

Most of all
I thank the Lord
For making me calm and steady
After encountering any unkindness.

ltbs

We should all take our share of the burden of pain which lies upon the world.
Albert Schweitzer

How Vain Can I Be?

After being well-feted
By friends in Australia and China,
I sported a noticeable paunch
Which upset me very much indeed.

I went on a diet of eating less
But soon constant hunger pangs
Made me eat more instead
And my potbelly became much bigger!

I went on an exercise regimen, too
Walking round a field daily, every morning and evening
But I gave it up after three months
As I had only lost one pound in weight!

Coming to Bonn, I went everywhere on foot,
And, because of the sub-zero, wintry weather
I didn't feel much hunger and so ate less
Voila! My paunch became noticeably smaller.

ltbs

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself.
If we are weak, words will be of no help.
John F Kennedy

How Small-minded Can Someone Be!

How sad it is to see someone bogged down in a quagmire of pettiness and small-mindedness, spewing wild, baseless and imaginary accusations against another by misconstruing everything.

Nothing can ever release that someone from a self-imposed prison of self-pity, neurosis or psychosis.

Nothing can ever change that person’s perception of another or stop the backbiting and bad-mouthing. One needs to be indifferent and allow that person the freedom to stew and wallow in a deep bottomless pit of persecution complex.

One will definitely feel ecstatically blissful as well, to be forgiving.

Move on and enjoy the love and friendship of those whose company will be uplifting instead.

ltbs

Everyone makes mistakes in life,

But that doesn’t mean they have to pay for them for the rest of their lives.

Author Unknown

Home is the Best

I had the chance to live in Tokyo, years ago, after I was offered the position of manager of music publishing in SE Asia and the Far East, by a multinational British publisher who wanted to start music publishing in those areas. The publisher was very keen to employ me as I was highly recommended by several people in the publishing industry. I was the only job applicant with both publishing experience and music qualification, too. Both my publishing experience and music qualification were quite basic, though. The other applicants had, either, publishing experience but no music qualification or had music qualification but no publishing experience. They arranged the interview in London while I was on holiday in the UK and then accepted me.

However, the job required relocation either to Singapore or to Tokyo. I was rather keen on Tokyo but not Singapore.

I came home and mull over the job offer. Would you believe it that I rejected it although the job was highly lucrative with a lot of perks for me and the family?  Was I crazy not to accept the job offer?

Well, my children were very young then. The youngest of the three was still an infant. I had discovered the joy and happiness of being with my children all the time after I was retrenched. So I refused the job offer. I opted to be a stay-at-home-Dad with the agreement of my wife. She was financially strong enough to support us. 

Coming to Tokyo on holiday, years later, I felt I had made the right decision in not accepting that very highly-paying job. I had no regrets whatsoever after I saw Japanese commuters, on the trains, on the way to work. Nearly every one of them looked terribly exhausted in the morning. They were either slouching on the seats or in deep sleep. Had I taken on that very lucrative job offer I would have been one of those sleep-deprived commuters, too. The stress of the job would have either killed me or driven me crazy!

ltbs 

We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have I Got Any Supernatural Powers?

While I was walking along the bank of a narrow canal in Venice, I saw a young boy pointing frantically to a football bobbing in midstream to his mother and asking her to retrieve it. He must have accidentally kicked it into the canal. His mother could do nothing, but just watch helplessly as the ball floated and eddied gently down the canal.

I stopped and watched, too. I could not help to get the ball for the boy, either. However, being the only Chinese around, I pretended as if I had qi qong powers and was able to bring the ball to the side of the canal. I stretched my arms out and then pointed both my open palms at the ball like I was directing some energy onto the ball and began the motion of pulling it in.

Initially nothing happened. It just drifted in midstream. However, it soon began to slowly inch nearer and nearer towards the bank as it floated down the canal. I continued the moving motions  –  outwards and inwards, away and towards me  -  of my palms and followed the ball.

After bobbing for about a distance of 10 meters down the canal, moving nearer to the bank as it floated by, the ball eventually came within reach of my outstretched arms and I quickly put my right hand under it and brought it out from the water. Immediately there was loud applause from the opposite bank of the canal. A few tourists had been watching me and were applauding my success in retrieving the ball.

Looking back over the incident, I wonder whether I really had been gifted with supernatural powers after all. I am going to find out by throwing a ball into a lake or stream and try to retrieve it. Chances would be that I would definitely not succeed. But I would never know if I didn’t do so. What do you think?

ltbs

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein

Have I Changed?

Have I changed?
Yes, I think I have.
But not many people knew this
For they had encountered me
When I was then young and angry
Struggling against hurt and pain
Unable to enjoy the youthful days of my life.

Have I changed?
Yes, I think I have.
I'm no more young or angry
But senescent, and probably a bit sanguine
Having found peace or solitude with my writings,
To enjoy a simple, carefree but exciting life.

Have I changed?
Yes, I think I have
I thank the Lord
For my having discovered writing
Which  has made me a better person
To enjoy the twilight years of my life.

ltbs

There is nothing noble about being superior to other men.

The true nobility is being superior to your previous self.

Hindustani Proverb

Have Book – Will Read

You’ve got to finish reading this book you’re holding

To profess an opinion of it,

Even, if it’s really horrible.

If it’s taxing to read a few pages of it,

Imagine what it was like

For me who had to write it.

ltbs

The best authors are always the severest critics of their own works.

Lord Chesterfield

Have a Strong Ego

You may be hurt
Or you may be betrayed
But you needn't whine and complain
Or tell it to the whole world
Of the hurt or betrayal
Just thank the Lord for a strong ego
To remain calm, confident and indifferent
Against nasty or disloyal people.

ltbs

There's a world of difference between a strong ego which is essential and a large ego  -  which can be destructive. The guy with a strong ego knows his own strength. He's confident...
But the guy with a large ego is always looking for recognition. He constantly needs to be patted on the back.
Lee Iacocca

Hair on Ends

I cannot help but have horripilation  -  the bristling of body hair  -  and goose bumps, always, whenever I recall an incident that happened years ago. I came to a city near the Malaysian-Indonesian border in Borneo, and a friend recommended that I stay at a newly-built small hotel. The tariff was rather low so I chose to check into the only suite available  -  a honeymoon suite  - although I was alone. I was greatly attracted to the spacious, cosy ambience of the set of rooms.

After a heavy and absolutely scrumptious meal, I went to bed and fell soundly asleep. However, I woke up when I found myself wrestling and fighting with an enormous, crushing load on my chest. The room was in pitch darkness but I managed to quickly turn on the bed lights and then all the lights in the suite. I began to have extremely cold sweat on my body, too. I looked at my watch and found that it was only 3.00am. I could not go to bed after that.

I told my friend about it later that morning. He said that the hotel was built on exhumed land. There used to be a cemetery for the victims of Japanese atrocities during the Second World War. All the dead had been beheaded. He concluded that the heavy load must be a ghost of one of the victims!

That was the beginning of my fear of the dark and I have been encountering incidents like that for years whenever I am alone.

ltbs

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13 -2

Grateful to Greater People

 I just can't understand why,

Every now and then

I'd meet someone unkind

Who thought he was better than I

And he’d treat me with no respect.

I'm glad there are lots more people

-  People of greater stations in life

Than that person unkind

Who thought I was equal to them

And they’d treat me with much respect.

ltbs

In civilized society, external advantages make us more respected.

Samuel Johnson