Counting Our Blessing On a Rainy Day

I thought I should share this sight to let everyone know what is a blessing.

It was raining quite heavily outside and 2 construction workers were donning thick yellow raincoat and continuing their work of drilling the floor. We are all blessed that we don't have to work under the heavy rain and that we are all dry and covered with warm clothing in this cold weather.

Be contented with what we are given, because what we have could be what is in the dreams of others. Count our blessings everyday, positive energy and happiness will come to us. Have a fantastic week ahead, everyone !

My Fundraising for Children with Cancer

Dear Friends,

As you tuck your child to bed, read a bedtime story and pat your child to sleep, as you reflect on a tiring day both at work and at home, you probably didn't realise that somewhere in Singapore, an exhausted parent could have spent countless sleeping nights caring for a sick child, she could be praying for successful surgery or a negative test result, she could be on the verge of despair due to all the emotional trauma of seeing her child suffer, coupled with a mounting medical bill.

Caring for a child is a tiring process, caring for a child who succumb to a prolonged illness like cancer is the fatigue multiplied many times. It is also an emotional roller-coaster for the parents, filled with fears, worries and anxiety, when they see their child go through the painful treatment process.

I hope to do more in my personal capacity for these families, which is why I am starting this fundraising campaign. In the past few years, I have campaigned for events, volunteers groups and individuals who are in need of urgent help and donation, but this will be the first ever fundraising project I am hosting.

My objectives for this fundraising project:

1. Raise funds for Children Cancer Foundation (CCF). I have good faith that CCF has helped many families deal with the heavy financial burden of medical treatment. Personally, I have seen CCF help Baby Aden (baby boy who was diagnosed with Leukaemia at just 3 months) subsidise a huge bulk of his treatment cost. Till date, CCF has helped Aden's family with almost $300,000 in surgery fees, chemotherapy and transplant cost. This is great testimonial that CCF is not willing to give up on any child despite the heavy cost.

2. Make a bald statement. Yes, I am going to shave bald to show moral support to cancer patient, especially young children, and to tell them that it is okay to be bald. It is a daunting thought to shave bald but I know I am blessed that I can shave voluntarily, rather than have hair dropped off due to the effect of treatment. I know I am no David Beckham, so I will definitely be conscious on how people look at me but this is nothing compared to what the cancer patients are going through. With your support, I will find the courage to pull this off.

3. To tell everyone that you can contribute to the betterment of this world in your own unique ways. If an ordinary person like myself can raise a humble amount of $100, imagine what a million of us can raise? yes, 100 Million dollars to charity! It may not be shaving for charity, it could be other things, something that you are good at, e.g. baking, crafts, running for charity.

4. Building the community spirit to help one another. I can shave, I can campaign but if there is no one supporting, then we achieve nothing at all. Your support towards this cause will help build our community spirit, something we need to help one another get through the toughest times, that will be our biggest safety net.

As I seek your support for this campaign, I ask of you to donate within your means. If your means is $1 or $2, I am equally grateful and appreciative for your support. Remember, if a million people donate $2 each, we would have $2 million. It does not matter how much you donate, what matters is we are in this together. Also, I have worked with CCF to create a fund raising page (see link below) so that all your donations go directly to CCF and not a single cent through me.

On behalf of CCF, the children suffering from cancer and their parents, I thank you for your selfless contribution and act of kindness. May Life bless you with good health, peace and happiness and may you continue to spread the love around. To the parents and children suffering from cancer, don't give up because everyone is right behind you, to fight this battle with you. Stay strong and keep going, good times are just round the corner.

My fundraising page (click "Donate to this event"):

https://www.ccf.org.sg/giving/fundraisng_event.php?id=fundraising-for-children-with-cancer

Life Has No Reset Button

There is no reset button in Life; all the bad experiences, the embarrassing moments, you wish you could rewind and make better decisions but you can't. This is unlike any computer game where you can die a hundred times and still go on to defeat the last king and win. In real life, you die only once!

Yet, the beauty of Life is also due to the very fact that there is no reset button to make everything perfect, because Life is not meant to be perfect. There is no perfect life where every decision you made is right, you don't make perfect friends who have no flaws, you don't meet nice, kind and trustworthy people all the time.

We go through ups and downs in Life, we made wrong decisions which we regret, we meet people who hurt us, we have days where everything is going against us. However, whether we like it or not, these experiences enrich our lives and make them better. Someday, we will be thankful for them because they made us stronger, made us wiser, let us see who our true friends are and make Life much more interesting and meaningful.

I always believe that everything in Life, good or bad, happens for a reason. It is up to us to make the best out of every situation so we continue to improve and progress as a human being. Don't let setback hinder you and don't let failures define you. It is not over until you decide so. Everyday is a new opportunity for redemption and to make things better. Make full use of it. Cheers

The Ups and Downs of Life

I have a friend who was doing quite well in his insurance biz just a couple of years ago. I remembered during our catch up, he drove a sports car to pick me up for lunch. Then he told me he had another sports car at home for his dad. He shared that his monthly expenses was more than 10k but it was alright, since he was earning much more anyway.

Recently, we chatted again and he told me that he was not doing too well, a few failed business venture made him lose a lot money. Unable to accept his business failures, he tried to use gambling to recoup his losses and ended losing more, totalling a million dollars of losses. He is still in debt as per our last convo.

Life may get you up to the highest point but it can also send your world crashing, just like my friend. Don't envy others when you see the glamorous side, what you didn't see could be the pain and sacrifice, or the turbulence they may have to go through thereafter. Find contentment in your life and count your blessings, because while you may not ride the hot air balloon to admire the scenery of the world, you could also be safe and sheltered from the punishing thunderstorm.

Amazing Things Happen When You Believe in It

Amazing things can happen, when you believe in it.

Almost 3.5 yrs ago, I started a cause to promote kindness. It wasn't the most popular thing to do actually, as compared topics relating to food, parenting, investment or buy/ sell. The hardest was to get people to buy-in your idea and to believe that what you are pursing is worth their attention and time, especially when we live so busy lifestyles and hardly had time for anything.

It was a one man mission right from the start; me writing the blog, creating the page then the group, all with a common aim of encouraging kindness. Initially, there was hardly any response, people I added to our group left and requested not to be added again. I went around asking the popular influencers/ bloggers for help to do some publicity for our project but none responded. It was the moment when the tennis ball was going to hit the ground, and also the lowest the project could go. Because the tennis ball bounced off higher and higher after that.

Soon, people start to see the value in this project, the cause and that all the sharing serve a certain purpose. You see, inside our hearts, you can always find love. It is a matter how deep we hide inside us, often wrapped by the harsh reality of life. When we can slowly peel off layers by layers, like an onion, the love will appear.

When we have more support, the members requested to join in, instead of involuntarily being added by me. Then, we started to make an impact, little by little, especially to cases that fell outside the government safety net. We have a few urgent cases seeking help and at times I found myself swept by tens and even hundreds of PMs, waiting for me to respond. It was stressful but at the same time rewarding to know that a single individual is able to carry so much responsibilities on his shoulder.

Fast forward to this day, we have more than 10,000 members in our group but I am no longer the face that runs the place. I have handed over the main duties of managing the group to my capable admins. I believe in empowering people to achieve their full potential more than building a legacy to my name. I am heartened to see our kindness community grow, to see leaders born and to witness hope growing. And yet, we can do so much more, not just from the few of us, but everyone. A million of us giving just $1 each, we would have assembled $1M.

My sharing is to encourage you that if you have a dream or a goal, be bold in pursuing it, because you never know how far you can go until you try. Sometimes, you may feel like you are reaching the rock bottom, but that could be turning point you need to bounce you off higher after that. Believe in your strength and potential, just like how I have believed in mine and everyone else's. Cheers

Appreciating the Gift of Sight

Why am I happy? I am happy because I can see. Without the gift of sight, this wonderful world will be less fascinating.

Imagine going to Paris but not seeing the Effiel Tower, going to Switzerland and not seeing the Alps, or going to Japan and not being able to see the Sakura blooming.

Imagine missing out on the great movies, the amazing sight of food, seeing your loved ones, reading and even surfing Facebook. We build our memories based on what we see throughout our lives.
While it seems like an entitlement because everyone around us is able to see, it is actually a blessing that all of us have. There are people who are not as fortunate as us to have the gift of sight. Just think of those awaiting for a cornea donation/ transplant, local or overseas. And as we aged, our vision will deteriorate somehow. It is definitely not an entitlement or something we could hold on forever.

If we could take a minute each day to count the blessings we have, maybe Life is not that bad afterall. Cheers.

Life. Ferris Wheel.

Life is like taking a ride on the Ferris Wheel, at times up at times down. When you are at your lowest point, rest assured that it will pass and the Ferris wheel will bring up to the highest point again. When you are at your highest point in Life, enjoy every moment of the beautiful scenery and make the best out of it. Don't let unnecessary and meaningless thoughts disturb your peace and stop from fully enjoying the best that Life has to offer to you.

Life is never boring in the Ferris Wheel. While it may seem such a routine to repeat the cycle of life everyday, but everyday brings a new adventure. You will meet people from all walks of life, you will build relationships and form new networks, you will hear their stories and you will share your stories and you may create new stories with some of them. The scenery around you is changing with time and there will always be new exciting things waiting for you to explore.

I hope all of us can be like the Ferris Wheel, lifting people up when they are down and bringing them to places of magnificent views and scenery. The Ferris wheel will always be the icon, as it stands out among other infrastructure. We can also stand out, by doing doing the extraordinary in our ordinary life, by impacting lives of others through our gifts and strengths, by making a difference to the lives of others. If someone's life is enriched because of us and if someone is thankful that we existed, then we would have succeeded.

Be inspired by the Ferris Wheel and be as inspiring as the Ferris Wheel, wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead !

Counting Blessing On a Rainy Day

What is in a Blessing?

It is raining heavily everywhere in Singapore. Do you have a shelter that protects you from the heavy rain and keeps you dry? Do you have enough clothing to keep warm?

The cold weather makes you hungry more easily. Do you have something warm to eat? Are you able to find food easily? Do you have money to buy food?

Is your work affected by the rain? Will you have no pay because you can't work due to the bad weather? Or it is business as usual, you still get paid, rain or shine?

Maybe you are dealing with many issues in life, but do remember that we always have simple blessings to savour, also remember that it is possible to seek simple pleasures to lift yourself out of the gloom.

Be positive and be good to yourself, find reasons of happiness and you will get out of your predicament soon. Problems are meant to be solved so that we can grow as a person. So, don't be afraid of problems, overcome them and become stronger !

Negative Energy Affects The People Around You

When the hairdresser thinks that she is overworked and underpaid and she is unhappy about it, she in turn gives poor service to her customers, gives them crappy haircuts, the unhappiness is transferred to the customer.

When a father brings all the stress from work back to home and starts getting irritated over the smallest matter, the negative energy gets transferred to the spouse and kids.

Human beings are social networkers, what we do and say influence others, be it our loved ones or friends on social media. So, if we think that we are the only ones suffering from our negative emotions or actions, then we are wrong. I urge everyone to keep their negative emotions in check, we have a social responsibility to ensure the well beings of others, as well as that of our loved ones. Don't let the people around us suffer together with us. Find ways to diffuse those negative energy so we can all be positive and happy together.