My late mother passed away just over 10 years ago, yet I still dream about her.
She looked like what she was before she left us but the event of that dream was something which had just happened a couple of days ago. The people in that event were people my late mom hadn't even met when she was alive. This is truly beyond comprehension.
Was she somewhere where she could see each and every of our daily activities? Was she trying to send me a message? Or is my mind playing games with me?
The dream occured totally out of the blue. I hadn't been talking about my late mom with anybody in this recent couple of weeks. That event which happened a couple of days ago hadn't even bothered me since then or wasn't even on my mind today - so I thought. Yet after analysing the dream, I felt that sub consciously, that event did refresh itself - briefly - today. The human mind is truly a mystique.
I can't help but concur that my late mom was trying to send me a message that I should start taking steps to prevent that same event from recurring.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What I hate and love most in 2008 ?
I'm sure some of you would share some of the events worth entering the "Hall of Hatred" in 2008.
Soaring fuel, food and commodity prices for a start. News of natural disasters like the earthquake in Beijing. Plight of the North Koreans, Burmese and Tibetans and others perhaps from Africa suffering in their own countries. The mixing of politics and sports which marred the Olympic torch relay. The demise of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Merrill and more. Piracy off the Somalia coast. Terror in Mumbai where innocent civilian lives are lost for nothing. And similarly terror in American schools and homes where unwarranted, unprovoked killings are meted out to the innocent. The continuing civil strifes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka which also resulted in the loss of innocent lives. The politicking in Thailand and Malaysia. I'm sure we can name more.
But to pick one which can be deemed the most hated event is something I can't do. Everything which happened had a cause and a reason. To be on one side of the wall without realising what happened on the other presents no grounds for us to term one event more hateful than the other. To be knowingly misled by sensational media coverage is not something any prudent, intelligent (even if somewhat) and objective human should fall for. For if we do, then news of Sarah Palin's wardrobe and extravagance, or Britney Spears' indiscretions would have qualified for inclusion in our list of hated news stories or events. Or perhaps even the Ferrari team's bungles in the course of the F1 circuit in 2008 would have featured somewhere too. I would rather leave the hating to the activists and the naive and move on.
On the brighter side. What were the events worth remembering and loving?
There're soaring stock markets which some of us may or could have capitalised on. There are plenty of bargain counters up for grabs. China successfully hosted one of the best-ever (or rather, one of the most impressive) Olympic games so far. Formula One had it's first night race in Singapore which opened eyes both in Asia and Europe, and perhaps the rest of the world too. A rookie from a minority race winning his first World Championship in F-1. The Fed's rescue and stimulus package for the American banks and economy in general. China's and Taiwan's making up. North Korea's return to the negotiating table. The birth and implementation of Asean's charter. And, the top news (and most covered) will probably be the first African-American President-elect in the biggest economy in the world!
But this time, I can pick a "most".
The most loved event to me in 2008 is the realisation by all major governments around the world that this financial and economic crisis isn't localised; and all countries, and especially, all major economies, must do their little bit to pull the world out of this crisis, depression or recession whichever way you wish to call it.
The USA was forced to act because the meltdown was happening in her backyard. The Europeans had to act because the fallout from across the Atlantic could and will cause a backlash in their own backyard. China had to act as their foreign revenues are set to shrink. Japan has to act too for their own good.
This is different from the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98. We don't have the IMF chief standing with arms folded while a leader of one of the most populous countries in the world sign away control over her economy. We don't have IMF and World Bank hotshots zapping around in First Class seats telling impoverished Asian economies what they should be doing about their economies jsut because they can afford to dole out support funds contributed by rich nations. We don't have Western bankers strangling their counterparts in Asia so that their bonuses will be equally fat, if not fatter, at the end of their financial years. NOW, we have a whole world working together to solve the problems which originated from short term greed and indiscretions. That is certainly something we should all be happy about and proud of. Hence the reason for my naming that the "most loved" event in 2008.
Carry on the good world, nations. For we, on this planet need you all to buck up and lead us out of this mess.
Soaring fuel, food and commodity prices for a start. News of natural disasters like the earthquake in Beijing. Plight of the North Koreans, Burmese and Tibetans and others perhaps from Africa suffering in their own countries. The mixing of politics and sports which marred the Olympic torch relay. The demise of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Merrill and more. Piracy off the Somalia coast. Terror in Mumbai where innocent civilian lives are lost for nothing. And similarly terror in American schools and homes where unwarranted, unprovoked killings are meted out to the innocent. The continuing civil strifes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka which also resulted in the loss of innocent lives. The politicking in Thailand and Malaysia. I'm sure we can name more.
But to pick one which can be deemed the most hated event is something I can't do. Everything which happened had a cause and a reason. To be on one side of the wall without realising what happened on the other presents no grounds for us to term one event more hateful than the other. To be knowingly misled by sensational media coverage is not something any prudent, intelligent (even if somewhat) and objective human should fall for. For if we do, then news of Sarah Palin's wardrobe and extravagance, or Britney Spears' indiscretions would have qualified for inclusion in our list of hated news stories or events. Or perhaps even the Ferrari team's bungles in the course of the F1 circuit in 2008 would have featured somewhere too. I would rather leave the hating to the activists and the naive and move on.
On the brighter side. What were the events worth remembering and loving?
There're soaring stock markets which some of us may or could have capitalised on. There are plenty of bargain counters up for grabs. China successfully hosted one of the best-ever (or rather, one of the most impressive) Olympic games so far. Formula One had it's first night race in Singapore which opened eyes both in Asia and Europe, and perhaps the rest of the world too. A rookie from a minority race winning his first World Championship in F-1. The Fed's rescue and stimulus package for the American banks and economy in general. China's and Taiwan's making up. North Korea's return to the negotiating table. The birth and implementation of Asean's charter. And, the top news (and most covered) will probably be the first African-American President-elect in the biggest economy in the world!
But this time, I can pick a "most".
The most loved event to me in 2008 is the realisation by all major governments around the world that this financial and economic crisis isn't localised; and all countries, and especially, all major economies, must do their little bit to pull the world out of this crisis, depression or recession whichever way you wish to call it.
The USA was forced to act because the meltdown was happening in her backyard. The Europeans had to act because the fallout from across the Atlantic could and will cause a backlash in their own backyard. China had to act as their foreign revenues are set to shrink. Japan has to act too for their own good.
This is different from the Asian financial crisis of 1997/98. We don't have the IMF chief standing with arms folded while a leader of one of the most populous countries in the world sign away control over her economy. We don't have IMF and World Bank hotshots zapping around in First Class seats telling impoverished Asian economies what they should be doing about their economies jsut because they can afford to dole out support funds contributed by rich nations. We don't have Western bankers strangling their counterparts in Asia so that their bonuses will be equally fat, if not fatter, at the end of their financial years. NOW, we have a whole world working together to solve the problems which originated from short term greed and indiscretions. That is certainly something we should all be happy about and proud of. Hence the reason for my naming that the "most loved" event in 2008.
Carry on the good world, nations. For we, on this planet need you all to buck up and lead us out of this mess.
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