Our Gossip Girl Blake Lively is back with a new movie: ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2’, which is going to be on air by August 6. If you missed the first one, here is the movie summary: Four best girlfriends spend their first summer separately, but want to stay connected by passing around a pair of second hand jeans. Despite being of various shapes and sizes, each one of them fits perfectly into the pants. They share their adventures, and each goes through a crucial life experience. Interesting? Mark your calendar then.
Feng Shui
I was recently forced on vacation for a week because of the office renovation, and being moved to the new work station (from window seat to the center area). That triggers my thinking of ‘feng shui’. Feng means “wind” and Shui means “water”. In Chinese culture, gentle wind and smooth water have always been associated with good harvest and good health. I don’t want to talk about the details of Feng Shui, however, I would like to share with you some interesting facts. If you do not feel comfortable after a move, you have to do something to make yourself feel better. The way you arrange your furniture (i.e. desk or chair) would really affect your mental state. Do you feel all right if there is a flow of people walk behind your back while you are working? Do you feel better to set your desk and chair to face people rather than behind? Have you ever thought about why there are some stores on a busy street do not have enough visitors? All of these related to the so called feng shui. I like to move my home furniture around after a period of time – add some new objects, or re-arrange the couch and dining table to give a refresh look, and to make myself more comfortable. One more thing, do not set your bed face the entrance – not good for your health because of the direct flow of wind, I guess.
J for Joke
Joke: We sometime say “This is just a joke”, and want people not to take it seriously. On the other hand, we will say “Are you joking?” to the facts that we don’t want to believe. It was with lots of surprises on April 1st in 2003 that a famous Hong Kong actor-singer Leslie Cheung flew himself to death – jumped off from the 24th floor of Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Most people in Hong Kong would like to believe that “This is just a joke” on April Fools’ Day. This is heart-broken news and not a joke to his fans. I am wondering if there is a hidden message ”my whole life is just a joke”. That triggers also the question “Do we have the right to commit suicide?” He chose to finish his life at age 46 that he felt his health on the down side, and worried his appearance too, I think. He was praised by his handsome look, and brilliant performance on stage. I can imagine that there are lots of pressures to be a superstar. However, life is too short, and even ants strive to survive (from an old Chinese saying).
Thank God?
Every day you will encounter people and things that may trigger your thought database, add some new ideas and even to adjust your current belief.
I recently heard about a story that a middle-aged lady who has not slept well for almost 30 years. She has tried different medication, and consulted doctors’ opinions, but cannot find a reason. Until one day, she joined a catholic church with her new friend; she prayed and slept like a rock. I don’t know if this is just a psychological factor, or thank God!
I for Ice
Ice: From Wikipedia, ‘ice is the name given to any one of the 15 known crystalline solid phases of water’. If you warm things up, you will break the ice. Break-the-ice gossips may work with someone like me. There’s a movie ‘Iceman’ (1984), and the actor is John Lone. His name is Charlie in the film, and he is a 40,000 year old iceman preserved by a miracle of nature, and brought back to life by a miracle of science. Have you ever thought of having your body being frozen on your death, and stored to be cured in the future. There is a story about a man who was granted a wish by a Fairy to live forever, but on the other hand, Fairy asked if there is a way to quit and rest in peace. Remember, every beginning has an end. Life is about quality, not about quantity, I think.
H for Happy
Happy: You are happy or not really depends on your perception of things around you. In Chinese, ‘Happy’ is written in two words “open” and “heart”, you will be HAPPY if you open your heart. One of the quotes by Charles Churchill “if you mean to profit, learn to please’. There are some basic elements to be happy according to my own bible: You are alive and healthy, you can do things follow your heart, and most important you have someone to share with both your sadness and happiness!
G for God
God: “What If God Was One Of Us?” (Lyrics by Joan Osborne) What will you do if you are God? Are you going to leave the world as is, and let the Human to determine their fate? It is not fun to be God, please imagine yourself to take care of everything in this globe. Are you going to heal the soul of each human being? We all carry some kind of Sin because we are offspring of Adam and Eve according to the Bible. We are being punished by God if there is one, and left alone in this world to fight with each other. We discriminated each other by the color of skin, separated ourselves by the boundary of ‘Country’, and created War between us because of scarcity. BTW, you may want to see this comedy film ‘Evan Almighty’ in 2007, and God is being portrayed in human form by Morgan Freeman.
F for Fate
Fate: Have you ever watched the movie “Sliding Doors”? There are two sides to every story, and your whole life will be changed whether you catch a train or not. Have you ever thought of going back a minute or a day, and to fix something? However, things may be worst than before because of the “butterfly effect”. I do not believe in Fate but I think we can all be a fortune teller at some points. You can tell whether a person will be success or not if you know his character – character determines fate. I would like to share with you a very interesting story about Fate. A man received a call from an emergency unit of a hospital one day that his wife was seriously injured during a car accident, and he immediately drove to the hospital. While on his way, he hit a car by accident, and tried to leave as soon as he can. The driver got out of his car and asked the man to give him a ride because he has an urgent appointment. The man did not have time to explain and left the driver alone. The man’s wife was announced death 15 minutes after he arrived at the hospital because the surgeon still not shows up yet, and who happens to be the Driver! The so called ‘Fate’ is just a series of cause and effect relationships.
E for Exist
Exist: How to prove that I ever exist? I believe that ‘I’ exist for some reasons. Why I am here on Earth? What mission I have to carry? What message I have to circulate? Someone has ever said that “To have lived is not enough we have to talk about it.” I will talk, write and record what my belief is, and to influence people around me in order to change the world. I am the one who do not believe in God or Fate, but our own effort to make a change! Thank you to the advanced technology and the World Wide Web, it is very easy to broadcast my message to other people around the world
D for Dream
Dream: There is a Cantonese Opera called ‘Zhuang Zhou Hudie Meng’, which means Zhongzhou’s dream of butterfly. The actor Zhongzhou is confused whether the butterfly is in his dream or in fact, he is in the dream of the butterfly. I am puzzled sometime whether my whole life is just a dream! I am wondering if some of the familiar places and people are in fact transferred from my dream to the daily life, and there are things that already happened in my dream. Have you ever imagined yourself to wake up every morning in a new place and in a different person’s body? I remember a movie or TV episode about this, but cannot recall the name. A TV series “Fantasy Island” (1978) about a resort that will make your dream comes true. Anyway, wake up buddy, and a new day is waiting for you to explore.