LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Our expectation for a friend whom we classify as best friend is high. We expect our best friend to stand by our side, comes what may. We expect our best friend to answer our calls in the middle of the night, and to lend a shoulder for us to cry. We expect our best friend to stay by our side when we suffer grievances or death of family member.

We expect our best friend to know how we feel, and why we feel like this. We expect our best friend to understand our feelings, even if he or she does not share the same feelings
We expect our best friend to share in our laughter and joy. We expect our best friend to share in our success, without envious. We expect our best friend to pull us out of the financial destruction by lending us his or her hard-earned money.

We expect our best friend to have time for us, to give us priority over other not so important engagements. We expect our best friend to point to us all our failings, without hurting our feelings.

We expect our best friend to protect our reputations, and to defend us in front of others. We expect a lot of our best friend. We seldom stop to think why are we so demanding of our best friend. We practically demand the kind of worship that God demands of us!

What makes a best friend? Each of us has different expectation. We reasonably expect more of our best friend, than casual acquaintance. However, that does not mean that we can demand our best friend to give up his or her life for us.

We cannot even expect our best friend to give up too much of his or her precious time for us. Even when we are bedridden in hospital, we cannot expect our best friend to visit us every day. Our best friend has other commitments and obligations in life.

We should be thankful that we have a person whom we address as our best friend. Many people in the world do not.

We should be thankful that there is a person who loves us for who we are, and not what we have. We should be thankful that, that person is our best friend.

It is very easy for us to list what we expect of our best friend, it is difficult for us to be the kind of friend to our best friend. Whatever we expect of our best friend, we jolly well make sure that we can meet the requirement.

If we cannot run into the burning house to rescue our best friend, we cannot expect our best friend to do the same for us.

If we do not want to part with our hard-earned money to save our best friend from financial embarrassment, we should not expect our best friend to meet this expectation.

Only when our best friend, and us can agree to the terms and conditions of friendship, then our friendship can last forever.

A best friend is a gift. Do enjoy the company and privilege of calling someone, a best friend. Bear in mind, that many people in the world do not have anyone to call as friend, much less a best friend.

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Are you rich? If you dare to say NO, I'll use a hammer and knock your head really, really hard to get some senses into you.
You are RICH, very, very RICH. Let me explain to you.
First, let us assume that you are alive. In this case, there're trillions and trillions of little busy cells running up and down your body. They are your little busy friends, doing their best to keep you alive. You are RICH with all the cells that want you to enjoy life!
Second, let us assume that you want to keep alive. The bare minimum that you must do, no matter how lazy you are, is to eat, sleep, drink and breathe every day. You are RICH with the abilities to enjoy eating, sleeping, drinking and breathing. God, fortunately, does not tax you $1 for every intake of air
Third, let us assume that you love and are loved by somebody. You are RICH with love. And love fortunately is FREE. You do not need to pay tax to love anyone. No government dares to require payment for permit in order for you to love your parents, friends, children and pets. If you think you don't love anyone or are loved by anyone, then LOVE yourself. Tell yourself how great you are, how smart you are, how loving you are, how everyone in the whole wide world is secretly in love with you. Perhaps not everyone, I can only guarantee that the mosquito loves you. Love the world around you, love the birds that make so much noise in the morning and evening, love the cats, love the blue sky or love the starry heaven.
Fourth, let's assume that your brain is still capable of thinking and dreaming. You are RICH with your dreams. If you don't think you are rich materially, then make yourself RICH in your dreams. You do sleep every night, don't you? Good, then dream of yourself as the MOST IMPORTANT RICHEST man/woman. Out of 24 hours, at least there are 8 hours in which you are THE RICHEST man/woman in the world.
Lastly, you are RICH in whatever ways you think you are RICH. Maybe you are RICH in gossips. Maybe you are RICH in material wealth. Maybe you are RICH in grey and/or white hairs. Maybe you are RICH spiritually. Maybe you are RICH in wisdom.
Definitely you are RICH in worries and problems (ME too, ME too, in fact I am TOO RICH in these. I'm perfectly willing to donate some of the worries and problems to make you even RICHER).
You know how RICH you are!

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To live happily is an inward power of the soul,” said Aristotle, the great Greek thinker. We often find it difficult to derive happiness from our everyday life, so full of stress and worries. However, the fact is that happiness lies deep within us, in the very core of our being, not in any external object.

It is, thus, a state of wellbeing, a balance of physical, psychological, social and spiritual self. A state in which our mind’s habitual agitation is calmed.

We tell ourselves our life will be better when we have a bigger car, when we can take a vacation…. The truth is, there is no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, then when? Challenges will always be there. Admit as much and decide to be happy in spite of it all.

Here are some simple initiatives you can take.

Focus on personal goals:
Cultivating your spirituality may uncover what is most meaningful in your life. By clarifying what is important to you, you can eliminate stress by focusing less on the unimportant things that can sometimes consume you.
When you feel part of a greater whole, you realise that you are not responsible for everything that happens in life. You can share the burden of tough times as well as the joys of life’s blessings with those around you.
Whether you find spirituality in a church, mosque or temple or in your family, or in walks with a friend through nature, this sharing of spiritual expression can help build relationships. Research indicates that people who consider themselves spiritual are often better able to cope with stress and have higher personal goals.

Use adaptive thinking:
Realistic thinking involves reasoning, which helps us adjust to the real world. It also includes the strengths and the weaknesses within one’s self and the ability to cope with these.
Our positive thinking can put us on the right path and change our personality. Thinking, therefore, is very important for learning, understanding, shaping external matters or our mind.

Develop relationships:
Happiness begins with our relationship with ourselves and is nurtured by our ties with others and our sense of purpose in life. The best ways to cultivate happiness are to improve self-esteem and to foster closeness with those who are important to us.

Reflect inward:
Create fond memories. Keep a journal to help you express your feelings and record your progress. Seek out a trusted adviser or friend - preferably someone who has had similar life experiences - who can help you discover what is important to you. Sometimes others have insights that you have not.
Read inspirational stories or essays to help you evaluate different philosophies of life. Talk to people whose happiness you admire. Be open to new experiences. Do something different. If what you are doing is causing you problems, do something else.
Playing video games getting in the way of relationships? Spending money you do not earn? Identifying a problem is a good first step. Then go and do something else. If you find you cannot do something else, you may be addicted, in which case the something different could include counselling.
If you cannot specify a problem but still cannot call yourself happy, then use some mental techniques to enjoy life more - develop effective listening and communication skills; stop thinking about things that are bothering you and direct your mind to things you enjoy, and you may find surprise solutions popping up in your head; pray or meditate, whatever makes you feel calmer, stronger; focus on enjoying the present instead of fretting over the future.