Happiness
What makes me happy?
hehe..loads of things.
Sometimes,I think I want to stay 'young minded' all the time despite the fact that I'm growing older.I would like to laugh heartily, be silly sometimes & even take things light heartedly.When ppl say to me,that's what everyone wants also-but not many will really do it.I don't know why.
Sometimes,I see my students and they ask me silly questions.Makes me smile a lot.hehe.Sometimes,I talk silly too.And,all for a good laugh.Laugh at me,I don't mind.But,it's already 1 smile carved-oh,2 actually!Of course,it should also make me smile if the joke is not too harsh. :)
Sometimes,at work,things get a little bit too tensed up.I get agitated sometimes.But,I put smiley stuffs in front of me to make me feel much better.Mostly pictures of friends.hehe.I have my quotes in front of me,too.A calendar of quotes-& I just flipped one page to another once in a while.
I'm a little kiddish sometimes.Maybe that's why I can relate to some of my students.But,kids these days,they're more sarcastic than before,I think.Guess where they learnt that from?Then,turn the table around,I think I learn to be laughy laughy from my parents.Or probably coz sis & bro are just TOO serious,I just have to be the laughy one.
All just to be happy.
Yknow,actually,it is interesting to note that by being happy,some others get agitated because they see one so happy.I get comments about me being happy,like-'u're a very happy person one orh??' and expects an answer like 'nola....'Sometimes, by being happy,it is also often taken as 'not knowing enough' or 'not very intelligent'(?)or don't really know what 'life is all about'.Ppl don't have to say it-but it's written all over their face.
Lessons to be learnt?An adult should put a frown on their face.Act serious.Talk 'deep' stuff-so deep,no one can understand.(including the person who speaks it)Never laugh loud.Try not to even smile.Walk hastily & always look like you're thinking something very important.
I seldom see adults laughing heartily.When will it be my turn?
Tsunami Relief
> An Experience with Bhante Wimala in the rat race to help Tsunami victims!
>>
>> I am Dr. Henry Francis from Chattanooga, Tennessee,
>> Obstetrician Gynecologist. Have known Bhante Wimala over ten
>> years.I spent last four days with him. This is my
>> experience of what he is doing.
>>
>>
>> I arrived in Colombo to see Bhante Wimala at full
>> speed, Constantly on the
>> cell phone arranging purchases, shipping,transportation and
>> consultations with government officials, friends, relatives and
>> Buddhist monks. My medical supplies and personal baggage were lost in
>> transit, but no problem??.live like a monk!
>>
>> The first day of my arrival at 11pm the truck was loaded at the
>> monastery with the mosquito nets, water purifiers, pots and
>> pans and food supplies,.
>> We started from Colombo ;at 4. 45 am on the road
>> south and east along the coast with mad truck and van race
which demonstrated the consummate driving
>> skills of all involved. Close to Gall we stopped
>> briefly to rendezvous with
>> other volunteers from Germany and by chance met the United States
>> marines..Master Sergeant Honko , the comptroller, gave a
>> detailed description of relief activities in the area performed by marines
>> on a daily basis under the guidance of Sri Lankan Government. They were
>> very happy to help people
>> and would do anything they were asked to do. The Marines thought Bhante
>> and four other volunteers were very interesting and
>> wanted to take pictures with them.
>>
>> We continued on thru miles of Tsunami damaged sea
>> side areas. We saw marines with bulldozers, rare relief organizations,
>> UN vehicle(Brand new Toyota land cruisers, 4wheel drive!) and countless
>> shattered houses. New temporary bridges were working. Sewage and
>> electrical systems were stating
>> to be repaired.At three locations the Buddha Statues and Stupas
>> were in perfect conditions while surrounding structures were heavily
damaged or destroyed. Every
>> one said all over the Island the Buddha statues were
>> intact, I must say in the 80 miles I traveled that was definitely so.
>>
>> We arrived at a small road and followed it back for
>> a mile or so to a temple where people were waiting for us. All around
>> the temple tsunami damage were present. The destruction were severe as
>> you approached the sea.
>>
>> The people were anxious, courteous and friendly but
>> as the time passed you could see and feel the distress. They told us
>> horrible stories of tragedy,A girl in the first year of collage had
a father died of cancer of that year and tsunami killed her mother.
We have her
>> picture and information of her. Another family of three found their mother
>> crushed under a cinder block wall. At the time of our arrival No relief
>> organization or government officials had helped that community as
>> yet.
>>
>> The monks who are traveling with Bhante Wimala
>> gathered with words of comforts and prayers.. The Villagers numbered
>> approximately one hundred followed their every word and were obviously
>> inspired and given hope.The people formed lines and received the much
needed supplies. The monks who had gone house to former house we
continue to assess
>> the need and do what was needed to alleviate suffering. Bhante Wimala
>> Would discreetly give Rupees to those in acute need of money.
>>
>> That night we slept in the house of Mr. Jayaakodi
>> and his pregnant wife Nisha. The next day we were up early and Bhante was
>> off again to locate and
>> inspired some educated monks who could assess the immediate needs of the
>> small villages. Bhante had previously joined a group
>> of ten councilors through the Sarvodoya organization to visit the
>> grief stricken famlies of
>> Hambantota to provide psychological evaluation and
>> spiritual support.The group included one Buddhist monk, two Buddhist nuns,
>> and a Catholic nun.
>>
>> Upon arrival at the medical/government complex many
>> people were gathered.
>> Bhante wimala introduced the members and with
>> eloquent speech opened his heart, the people were absolutely silent,
they were so grateful to be with the counselors and clerics.
The counselors then individually heard
>> everyone's stories. Bhante had several families to talk to, the
>> Buddhist nuns each had three families, the Catholic also
>> was taking to families separately. They all were listing to awful stories.
>>
>> You must know what happened here. December 26 was a
>> Sunday, the market
>> day, the day all the families travel to town to buy supplies for the
>> week and visit with friends. The buses are packed,
>> streets full with vendors and pedestrians. It was not a seaside hotel or
>> resort but commercial/poor residential area. All the surrounding villagers
>> lost people who were in
>> town shopping. The tsunami killed an estimated
>> 7-8,000 i people in this town and left them in swampy rice fields behind the
>> town or swept them out to sea. The town is gone! The wreckage now
>> bulldozed flat (too hard to
>> repair buildings and control disease) the vegetation
>> all brown, dead from salt water poisoning. The sea however is still
>> there casually flipping the fishing boats at anchor, a fresh brisk sea, a sea
>> that is no longer
>> alluring but is now deceptively menacing like the closed mouth of a shark.
>>
>> The people spoke and everybody listened. A Muslim
>> woman lost all of her children she was crying as she limped away. A 16
>> year old girl held her sister in the rushing water as longs as she could
>> until the force took
>> her sister away. She can still hear her sister
>> screaming. She has nightmares and must sleep between her parents.
A Buddhist women
>> was in a packed bus,one of the five or six people who survived. She was
>> at the hospital for twelve hours before she was admitted, her wounds,
>> physical and psychological have not healed.
>>
>> Until Darkness Bhante Wimala's group council who
>> ever was present. Exhausted, we left to seek a prior arranged sleeping
>> place But it was Tsunami damaged and unsafe. So we droved hour and
>> half back to Matara and arrived at our resident at about 11pm.
>>
>> Last four days I have seen Bhante's compassion in
>> action. There was no rest for him. Bhante Wimala is constantly on the
>> move unless actually helping the tsunami victims, The Cell phone,
>> recruiting, arranging,purchasing and assessing the immediate needs of the
>> people we contact.
>> It is always surprising that when you talk with the
>> people you see how much need there is and how little of them are met by
>> relief organization or the government. Bhante knows that you can not
obtain the help for those people
>> without a very personal assessment. That is where
>> his current efforts is concentrated.
>>
>> Many people are still in need and they haven't
>> received most of what they need. So far disease control must be
continued.
>> Bhante is focusing
>> getting people ? monks to areas that are still in need to
>> assess immediate requirements and deliver what is needed. A long
>> -term plan is being
>> developed at the present. Bhante is in very good
>> health. Perfect! I
>> think he thrives when he can really do some good. But it
>> is not glamorous. It is hot, sweaty, dusty, diesel fumed work. Constantly
>> accompanied by mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, please send me a
>> mosquito net.
>> Bhante is wearing me out.
>>
>>
>> More later,
>> May you live long Aubowan.
>>
>>
>> with love and blessings
>>
>> Bhante Wimala
>>
Something to think
SH-PLS bear this in mind before the next time u even want to start gossiping.
PHILOSOPHY ....
In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high
esteem.
One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Socrates,
do
you know what I just heard about your friend?"
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd
like
you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my
friend,
it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going
to
say.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you
are
about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and ...."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or
not.
Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you
are
about to tell me about my friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary ..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him,
but
you're not certain it's true.
You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:
the
filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going
to
be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither
true nor
good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?
This is why Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high
esteem.
