Avoiding the Crowd & My Little World

There will always be a crowd at popular holiday destinations. It is unavoidable, even if I travel on a non-peak season. For some odd reason, I will naturally gear to the path with "least resistance". Lesser people, slower stroll, more time to enjoy the surroundings.

While travelling to Korea last year, I was often missing-in-action to my travelling buddies. They would then spent their precious time finding me. I am grateful to have them looking out for me but I was not lost. I was just walking a different path from them. My radar was always tracking where they were. When I noticed they stopped and looked worried, I immediately popped up beside them like a magician. Then, *poof* I vanished once again.

I like being in my own little world. Observing the scenery, the people, the things, the food... There are so many to be awed by. Nothing can beat Nature. No matter how amazing the architecture or futuristic the art, Nature wins. It tops in its shapes, its colours, its overall serenity. My appreciation then leads to realization that the creator of them must be more beautiful, more powerful, more lovely. ^_^

Nami Island, South Korea

    

       

Detachment #1c: 1 Month

It is done. One month, 30 days. That is all it takes to change anything I want, if I put my mind into it. Time to move on with other areas of my life. Smiling as go along...  ^_^

Power of Filters

  

Behind the Smiles

After a month of fasting,  Eid celebration is the time to gather and catch-up with relatives. The delicious food, the colourful traditional clothes, the bustling environment are things I look forward to every year.

For the past 3 days, I had a number of heart-to-heart conversations. There are lessons to be learnt everywhere, if only we listen.

I learnt:

• Everyone has their own set of challenges. It will not be portrayed on their faces because they are patiently enduring their hardship. They will not complain of their situation, instead they only share their experiences as an advice to the younger generation. 
• Change own self to the situation. By changing the perspective on viewing the situation, one could understand and appreciate the hardship. This will alter the way we respond to them. 

These are simple lessons, but the reminder helps.

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The best of reminders is from the Quran.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2015 ^_^

Baking Banana Cream Pie

One bunch of riped bananas and the endless threats from mom to throw it away. Due to my scrooge ways not to waste, I began scrowling the internet for great recipes.

I found "Allrecipes", both their website and YouTube channel. After careful consideration (ensuring the difficulty level was acceptable, all ingredients were available & less than 3 hours to the breaking of fast), I picked BANANA CREAM PIE! ^_^

Aside from the pudding and banana filling, there was an extra step of baking the pie crust. The whole baking adventure was orderly, mess-free and surprisingly easy.

I learnt to trust my instinct. The numbers in the recipes are a rough gauge on the ingredients needed. Cooking is meant to be fun, easy and stress-free.

Destroyed the perfect pie even before chilling it in the fridge. *yum*

Overall, it was a success. It was delicious! The pudding was creamy and complemented nicely with the sweetness from the riped banana. Minions would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I would have to tweak the pie crust recipe in my next try. There will always be something to improve.

Detachment #1b: Clear Boundaries

It has been 3 weeks since any contact with Person X. It does get easier as time passes. However, there are times when I wish he would rekindle the relationship. Bah, humbug! Come on, I can do this. God, please give me strength.


These are my steps to detach myself from him. The aim is to set clear boundaries.

Step 1: Clearly define relationship
My last message to him was to clearly state that we are better as friends and I gave my reasons. Rather than cutting a good guy out of my life, I rather have him as a friend. I also eliminate the ambiguity of our relationship. I tried my best to end things will a good note. I have never understood the need to play the "vanishing game" on others. I believe that it would be better to clear all misunderstandings and separate amicably.     

Step 2: Cut any unnecessary contact
As (casual) friends, I will limit myself to just sending well wishes to him during celebrations.



The only determinant of success or failure is self-discipline to stay within the boundaries.
[I can do this... I can do this...]

False Independence

Being independent is always seen as one of the perks in becoming an adult. Sometimes, we even gain false confidence from the thought that we are independent. But, are we really independent?

In life, we are always dependent on something or someone. For instance, we depend on our employer to pay our salary on time. We depend on our families to be a support in troubled times. We even depend on the transport system to reach work on time. Dependence is normal. It is not only subjected on humans but on everything that exists. Pets depend on the owners to feed them. Wild animals depend on the availability of natural resources (environment, food, water). In actual fact, we are interdependent. There is a cobweb of dependence that links everyone and everything together!

The misplaced confidence that we get from thinking we are "independent" is destructive. I believe it is one of the roots of arrogance. Instead of being grateful, we sometimes attribute the success to ourselves leading to excessive self-pride and forgetting our roots.


Within any monotheistic religion (the belief in only one God), the dependence is only to the one God. This is because the one God is the creator of everything that exists. I as a human am a creation of God. Rather than putting my dependence on other creations (e.g. sun, moon, fire, water, animals, other humans), I place my trust and dependent entirely on the creator, God. To me, it is the most logical conclusion. Without my religion, I would be lost.