Java Glory Vines

One of the meanings of "glory" is take great pride and pleasure in... so this entry I like to remind everyone to stop for a moment and recognize your accomplishments in life.

Sometimes the most fulfilling things we do  bring little recognition, yield no monetary profits, and come without fanfare... yet they can still mean a lot and be completely rewarding.

The things which I have seen I now can see no more - William Wordsworth -

What do you have to say for yourself?

Next to temperance, a quiet conscience, a cheerful mind, and active habits, I place early rising as a means of health and happiness -Flint-

What are some moments that defined your life?

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have - Eckhart Tolle -

How did you make yourself happy?

Life is a journey, and if you fall in love with the journey, you will be in love forever - Peter Hagerty -

Have you spent time listening to yourself?

Use your heart. Understand. Learn to see things in the now, not as they were or will be, or as they might or should be, but as they are, right now, in this moment. The hearts sees the now; the mind only sees the next. If you can't learn to see the now, you'll never see what's truly there, and then where will you be? - E. J. Patten -

Get to know yourself again, if you have unconsciously ignored you! Explore. Feel. Love.

Lemon Clover (Yellow Oxalis)

 A weed... an unloved flower.

Weeds are nature's graffiti  - Janice Maeditere -

 I love these tiny buttercup bublets.  I only noticed them once creeping along the sides of my garden. Only managed to take these few shots but I now have their snapshots of delicate beauty for keeps.

I learn more about God
From weeds than from roses
Resilience springing
Through the smallest chink of hope
In the absolute of concrete 
- Philip Pulfrey -

i

Today is Easter Sunday in Malaysia and I was reading the history like I do for everything else, as often as I could, to remind myself of the magical old days. Historically, it is the arrival of spring and light, and the awakening of life around us. The renewal of each day is what we get to experience each morning, a new chance to be creative, a day to look forward to and be enthusiastic about, and to just celebrate life.

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. - J. B. Priestley -

Thought of the day...

SMALL is the new big! 

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way - Napoleon Hill -

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies - Mother Teresa -

Great things are not done by impulse, but by series of small things brought together - George Eliot -

Orchids

Many orchids exhale different kinds of fragrances - from wonderfully sweet odors with a hint of chocolate right to stinky acrid smells!

Did you know that the lip of an orchid flower is where each unique fragrance is produced?
Why?  Simple! It is to attract specific types of pollinators.

Delicate thoughts, strong creativity, perseverance, beauty and strength. Gentle on the outside but with strong inner resilience.

In a gentle way you can shake the world - Mahatma Gandhi - 

Happy New Year my friends. Welcome to the Year of the Goat 2015. Can't believe this year my first entry is only now in March. Better late than never. Thank you my friends, old and new, for constantly following my blog and messaging me.  You always give me great encouragement and inspiration in your own unique way. I am tying in the characteristics of a beautiful orchid to a cute gentle goat for this entry. I see similarities in personalities and goodness, both depict softness and hardiness at the same time. A gentle start, with deep cravings for a better tomorrow, for you and I....

You and I ... and every one else... with our diversity of dreams and visions for our future, let us set out in gentleness yet with an inkling of stubbornness; good stubborn! I prefer to call it DETERMINATION!

I can't be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it - Maya Angelou -

My wish: Be determined to go through all kinds of "fragrances" that life emits.  Yet, be passionate in our pursuits.  Even though roads ahead may not be all gloriously paved,  may our walk in sacrifices and love be meaningful and rewarding in the end.

Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than your, their choices no more easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace - Kent Nerburn -

Crepe Ginger

The symbol of strength

"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done." - Vincent van Gogh -

The Crepe Ginger is one of the very few flowers in the world that will be proclaimed as "native to the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia" in the Internet. Isn't that wonderful? It's our very own baby!!!

Characteristics of the Ginger: Passion... Success... Wealth... Power

What an awesome foursome to help us start a new year!

The foursome can sit about, having coffee, or wine, and talk about how they can enrich our lives in the coming days.

The foursome can head into each of our beings and teach us the pros and cons of living with them.

The foursome can then ride into the sunshine, or into the starry night, and have a good laugh at us or be proud of us.

This is a picture of my shadow. Ohhh I was just being silly and needed to stand a bit after all the crawling and bending under the hot sun.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and A BLESSED NEW YEAR from my home to yours.  

Thank you for following my blog. I am indeed grateful for all your messages, views, and compliments. Here's wishing all of you...

To be passionate in living while looking for missing pieces in life!  Everyone is a giant puzzle and the puzzle pieces are all over the world. At times we get to find our own missing pieces and fit them together. Other times, we need someone to come along with a piece that fits perfectly in our puzzle. It is important to keep that enthusiasm alive, because passion gives us purpose, and purpose gives us hope.  

To be successful in achieving goals. Get your health in order. Adopt a positive attitude, at all times if possible! Don't just set goals. Move it!

To increase your wealth in knowledge. I am not talking just academically. It's about enhancing your level of observation, competency, and reasoning.  Don't be a dumdum! 

And, to have the power to be the change you want to see in this world.  Instead of waiting or blaming... find yourself. Then, want, choose, and commit to create the change. Bear in mind that there is no reward waiting for you! 

"Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. 

Who is powerful? He that governs his passions.

Who is rich? He that is content.

Who is that?  NOBODY!"

-Benjamin Franklin-

Tiny Purple Polka

Why did God create weeds?

Weeds, to many of us, are useless, ugly, pesky, intrusions in our garden, and it takes a whole lot of time plucking them away in order for our garden to look immaculate and just the way we like it.

In all existence, there is an intrinsic worth. Weeds may be a huge nuisance  to us but they teach us hidden life lessons, like perseverance and patience, among others.  Some have good in them: hardy in nature, edible, medicinal ... but most of them have beautiful flowers.

I learn more about God from weeds than from roses
Resilience springing through the smallest chink of hope
In the absolute of concrete
(Philip Pulfrey)

Until I find the exact name for this tiny beauty I am naming it the Tiny Purple Polka! The flower is so puny, I actually have to lie on the ground and stick my camera right up to the face of the flower to see it in detail. And... it is a beauty. It took some aches and pains to get these closeup shots but it was worth it. Who would think this is a weed flower? An unloved blossom. An invaluable bud.

Take a step back and ask yourself ...

"How do I know I exist?"

What does life mean to you?

Are you living like a useless weed, easily trampled and plucked away?

Or, are you living like a a flowering plant who gives oxygen to humans to live?

Life is real. It has its happy and sad moments. It can be simple or complicated.  It is up to you to write your own life story. Your choice to make life work for you. Your rights to change its route when you believe it is time.  Just like every blade of grass has its spot on earth whence it draws its life and strength (Joseph Conrad) ... it is the same for each and everyone of you (and me!) to live life for YOU!

We have, each of us, a life story, whose continuity, whose sense, is our lives   -  Oliver Sacks -