Stress Management and The Most Valuable Gift Of All
It has been a long week. At the beginning of this week, I felt like I was saturating from too much stress at work. I guess that’s one problem that that I need to find the cure to. I’ve not exactly been that good in handling stress. Most of the time when push comes to shove, I would freeze and find myself lost in thought and action. I guess my problem lies in the fact that when faced with a situation or a problem, I tend to focus too much on the problem itself, rather than looking through it for the solution. I keep having to remind myself of the good message that I picked up from the movie Patch Adams, when the genius professor who was admitted to the asylum for the mentally insane (probably for being too genius) showed Hunter Adams (played by Robin Williams) what the problem was with most people’s perception; when faced with a situation or problem, too often we are stuck without a solution, or maybe we take too much time to find a solution which could turn out to be simple, because our minds are too burdened by the problem at hand. This is something I need to change and work on.
Anyhow, while in my effort to distract myself from the loads of work and pressing datelines at the office, I took some time to look through some forwarded e-mails that I received and kept in my archive files. I came across the following story while I was at it. It serves as a good reminder to all of us that sometimes the most precious gift that we can give to our loved ones is the simplest of things. Our company and our time. Too often, we become too engrossed in the rat race that we are in that we forget the things that are more important to us than our work. Our loved ones.
Make sure you make the time for them. Leave the office early, or take a few days off work and make that long-postponed visit to your hometown to see your old folks. Believe me, the time you make for those you love is the most precious gift you can give them. Well, even J Lo says that her Love Don’t Cost a Thing…
It is kinda long, but worth the read. Hope you’ll enjoy the story.
Thanks For Your Time
A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could
stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown.
Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box is gone," he said.
"What box? " Mom asked.
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox.
"Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package.
The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.
"Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.
Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter.
His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.
Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold
Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time."
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
"Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.
"Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!"
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the
moments that take our breath away."
Have a great day and thank you for your time...
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Friday, April 09, 2004
My Favourite Poem
My Favourite Poem
It’s been a long day. Am still in the office with so much more to do. At the moment, I just have to take a 10 – 15 minutes break. If only my financial situation was much healthier than it is, the 15 minutes break could have had its venue in San Francisco Coffee, or maybe Delifrance or Cinnabon. But the combination of my restraint finances and the hurricane of work has made me to settle for the coffee in the office pantry. A nice blend of Nescafe and Milo should do the trick. Hmmm....
Anyhow, I would like to share this poem with you. Chances are, you woudln’t find this poem a stranger. I was first introduced to this poem from watching The Simpsons Halloween special when I was in my secondary school. There is something dark and gothic about it that makes it very appealing. For instance, the crow’s queer repetition of the phrase ‘never more’ when faced with the narrator. This would seem queer until you begin to wonder whether the bird is saying anything at all (‘Never more’), or is it just a subject of the narrator’s own failing sanity i.e. Is he hearing things or is the bird really saying those words? It subsequently inclines the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator, yet at the same time makes the reader wonder whether or not the evil presence is real in the shape of the crow. Either way, it subtly portrays the mental state of a depressed person trying to cope with the loss of a loved one.
I once memorised the whole poem for my school’s poem reading competition while I was doing my A-Levels in the UK. The judges must have been impressed that a non-English person (some of them were even impressed that I could speak English as a matter of fact!) could memorise such a long poem that I even qualified to the latter round of the competition. Come to think of it, funny how such a simple thing as poem could bring back memories from the past...
I’ve included excerpts of the poem here. For a complete, long version of The Raven, click here.
And if you want something more fanciful, you can go here for impressions of the poem with pictures. This is a good one.
Enjoy!
The Raven
[First published in 1845]
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
It’s been a long day. Am still in the office with so much more to do. At the moment, I just have to take a 10 – 15 minutes break. If only my financial situation was much healthier than it is, the 15 minutes break could have had its venue in San Francisco Coffee, or maybe Delifrance or Cinnabon. But the combination of my restraint finances and the hurricane of work has made me to settle for the coffee in the office pantry. A nice blend of Nescafe and Milo should do the trick. Hmmm....
Anyhow, I would like to share this poem with you. Chances are, you woudln’t find this poem a stranger. I was first introduced to this poem from watching The Simpsons Halloween special when I was in my secondary school. There is something dark and gothic about it that makes it very appealing. For instance, the crow’s queer repetition of the phrase ‘never more’ when faced with the narrator. This would seem queer until you begin to wonder whether the bird is saying anything at all (‘Never more’), or is it just a subject of the narrator’s own failing sanity i.e. Is he hearing things or is the bird really saying those words? It subsequently inclines the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator, yet at the same time makes the reader wonder whether or not the evil presence is real in the shape of the crow. Either way, it subtly portrays the mental state of a depressed person trying to cope with the loss of a loved one.
I once memorised the whole poem for my school’s poem reading competition while I was doing my A-Levels in the UK. The judges must have been impressed that a non-English person (some of them were even impressed that I could speak English as a matter of fact!) could memorise such a long poem that I even qualified to the latter round of the competition. Come to think of it, funny how such a simple thing as poem could bring back memories from the past...
I’ve included excerpts of the poem here. For a complete, long version of The Raven, click here.
And if you want something more fanciful, you can go here for impressions of the poem with pictures. This is a good one.
Enjoy!
The Raven
[First published in 1845]
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
Sunday, April 04, 2004
My Best Friends’ Wedding and My Worst Nightmare Came True
My Best Friends’ Wedding and My Worst Nightmare Came True
Boy. It has been a while since I last wrote. Have to say that I have been rather caught up with work since my last entry. But that is not to say nothing interesting happened since. There were definitely some interesting moments in that time.
Friday, 26th March 2004
First of all, 2 of my good friends just recently got married. They held a reception at the Dewan Perdana Felda on 26th March, and a grand wedding it was. Proudly, I was given the honour by both of them to give a speech on that night. Not so surprisingly considering that I have been partly responsible in getting them together, or so I would like to think. They first fell for each other at my house when I was hosting a function, and later on, upon the request from the girl, I called the guy up and coaxed him to ask her out. I don’t think he even knows yet that I called him that night because she asked me to (so if you’re ever reading this, now you know!). He still thinks that I told him to ask her out on a hunch. Hehe.. Anyways, that was almost 15 months ago and I am kinda impressed that things have progressed this far between them. They really are a lovely and loving couple and they do belong to each other. Congrats Azahar and Abrizah!
Preparing the speech for their reception wasn’t exactly an easy task. I guess it would be easier to prepare a talk or ceramah, in which the contents would be more specific. I felt like there were too many things to say, and too short a time to deliver it. Not to mention the hungry guests’ patience, since I was to deliver the speech before dinner. Somehow, I managed to get my speech finalized on the morning of the reception itself, and managed to give a rather good delivery of it that night. My friends’ in the audience thought that the speech was rather mushy2, but hey, it’s a wedding okay, not a political party rally. I thought you were supposed to sound mushy at weddings, and paint glowing impressions of the groom and bride. I felt a great sense of relief after I was done delivering the speech, and funny enough, I felt like I wouldn’t mind doing it again. The truth be told, I had originally been rather nervous about doing it ever since I was asked to do it. I accepted at first because I felt too honored to refuse it. There were even times that I felt that I might not be up for it, and felt like maybe I should just bail out. But in the end of the day, I’m glad that I did it. In fact, I feel like I’ve become comfortable at speaking publicly in front of a big audience (there must have been around 600 – 700 guests that night) since that night.
Moral of the story: to people with stage fright like me out there. Go out and do something that you’ve never done before, or something that would go beyond your usual comfort zone. You will feel, like I have, that once you’ve gone beyond that, you will discover new frontiers of the things you could do.
Saturday, 27th March 2004
What happened over the weekend was nothing short of tragedy. Really, I only have myself to blame for what happened. Ever had a bad dream when you find yourself in an exam hall, sitting for an exam, and feeling that you’re so ill-prepared for it? Or another bad dream when you wake up late on the first day of your SPM or degree exams, and you have only half an hour before the exam begins? Well, both of that actually happened to me on this day! The exam was supposed to be an easy one, and I was supposed to be able to ace it with minimal revision. If only I had the chance to revise for it that is. I thought the exam was going to be on Sunday afternoon, and was actually only going to look into my notes on that Saturday night. Imagine my horror when a friend of mine who also sat for the exam called me up and told me that the exam was to start in half an hour. And I was just about to get comfy for an afternoon siesta! Well, the rest is history as they say. The exam was a multiple choice one, and I was Billy the Kid himself, firing away at possible answers to questions I had no clue what the answers were. Oh well…
Moral of the story: Bring dices to a multiple choice question exams. It sure makes selecting an answer easier than blindly choosing one when you have no clue what the answer is.
Boy. It has been a while since I last wrote. Have to say that I have been rather caught up with work since my last entry. But that is not to say nothing interesting happened since. There were definitely some interesting moments in that time.
Friday, 26th March 2004
First of all, 2 of my good friends just recently got married. They held a reception at the Dewan Perdana Felda on 26th March, and a grand wedding it was. Proudly, I was given the honour by both of them to give a speech on that night. Not so surprisingly considering that I have been partly responsible in getting them together, or so I would like to think. They first fell for each other at my house when I was hosting a function, and later on, upon the request from the girl, I called the guy up and coaxed him to ask her out. I don’t think he even knows yet that I called him that night because she asked me to (so if you’re ever reading this, now you know!). He still thinks that I told him to ask her out on a hunch. Hehe.. Anyways, that was almost 15 months ago and I am kinda impressed that things have progressed this far between them. They really are a lovely and loving couple and they do belong to each other. Congrats Azahar and Abrizah!
Preparing the speech for their reception wasn’t exactly an easy task. I guess it would be easier to prepare a talk or ceramah, in which the contents would be more specific. I felt like there were too many things to say, and too short a time to deliver it. Not to mention the hungry guests’ patience, since I was to deliver the speech before dinner. Somehow, I managed to get my speech finalized on the morning of the reception itself, and managed to give a rather good delivery of it that night. My friends’ in the audience thought that the speech was rather mushy2, but hey, it’s a wedding okay, not a political party rally. I thought you were supposed to sound mushy at weddings, and paint glowing impressions of the groom and bride. I felt a great sense of relief after I was done delivering the speech, and funny enough, I felt like I wouldn’t mind doing it again. The truth be told, I had originally been rather nervous about doing it ever since I was asked to do it. I accepted at first because I felt too honored to refuse it. There were even times that I felt that I might not be up for it, and felt like maybe I should just bail out. But in the end of the day, I’m glad that I did it. In fact, I feel like I’ve become comfortable at speaking publicly in front of a big audience (there must have been around 600 – 700 guests that night) since that night.
Moral of the story: to people with stage fright like me out there. Go out and do something that you’ve never done before, or something that would go beyond your usual comfort zone. You will feel, like I have, that once you’ve gone beyond that, you will discover new frontiers of the things you could do.
Saturday, 27th March 2004
What happened over the weekend was nothing short of tragedy. Really, I only have myself to blame for what happened. Ever had a bad dream when you find yourself in an exam hall, sitting for an exam, and feeling that you’re so ill-prepared for it? Or another bad dream when you wake up late on the first day of your SPM or degree exams, and you have only half an hour before the exam begins? Well, both of that actually happened to me on this day! The exam was supposed to be an easy one, and I was supposed to be able to ace it with minimal revision. If only I had the chance to revise for it that is. I thought the exam was going to be on Sunday afternoon, and was actually only going to look into my notes on that Saturday night. Imagine my horror when a friend of mine who also sat for the exam called me up and told me that the exam was to start in half an hour. And I was just about to get comfy for an afternoon siesta! Well, the rest is history as they say. The exam was a multiple choice one, and I was Billy the Kid himself, firing away at possible answers to questions I had no clue what the answers were. Oh well…
Moral of the story: Bring dices to a multiple choice question exams. It sure makes selecting an answer easier than blindly choosing one when you have no clue what the answer is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
