Thursday, February 28, 2008

Underdogs vs Favoured,

A long, long time ago, there were two brothers. They were close in every way and promised that they would never ever think of forsaking the other, no matter what happened. They would share their joys and their sadness, they would laugh together and they would weep together. Sadly, as all stories would end, they didn't share their entire lives together. They had a father, solemn and serious about his sons' upbringing, constantly keeping an eye on them. He never ever let them astray from him, he was their guardian and their disciplinarian. This went on for years to an end, a relationship of sorts, the brothers having only themselves as confidants, the father constantly keeping a watchful eye on them. When one of the brothers came of age, he left the family and began a life of his own, yet he still kept close ties with his brothers. They constantly corresponded and shared the same dilemmas of their time. Life was well for both of them that time, probably the best in a lot of years, for dear father was frail and old by now, and tired of life, and he had his own problems to care about. Yet, father continued taking care of his children's' welfare, always being there for them during those turbulent years, fulfilling the most basic of responsibilities required of him. Now, the brother who was living outside was happy, happier than ever, enjoying his new found freedom. He vowed to bring his other brother out to live with him and enjoy the life that they never had. In the end, little brother was eventually old enough to leave the family, and dear father also decided that he hadn't a very big role to play in his boys' lives anymore. So, two brothers started to live together, it was a new stage in their relationship. At first their relationship blossomed, then after two years, constant tensions between them brought the relationship to the rocks. They fought constantly now, bitter exchanges between them - exchanges no one could mediate, even dear father. So, they broke up and went their separate ways, knowing that this quarrel meant the end for their relationship. Sad as they were, they felt they had been liberated of the other, a new person with a new life and objective. As they went their respective ways, they gained more and more ground. Both became successful eventually, in their own manner. Little brother though gained the most attention, he was deemed the more successful of the brothers, the perfect example of the underdog trumping the favoured. Big brother however, successful as he was, never made it to little brother's standards. Eventually, all ties between them failed and it was as if they never knew each other at all.

That is the tale of two brothers. One whom liberation had brought success upon him, one whom liberation brought upon envy fo
r the others' success.
So, who ended up tops? Today, you can see, Malaysia is never up there in terms of development - always second, never ever first, Singapore never fails to make it to the list of developed nations. That was the tale of two brothers, whom went their separate ways after a disagreement in 1965.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Bucket Lists.

Dreams.

Behind every man, there has always been a dream, a dream of things that they wanted in life whether it was the pursuit of happiness or the creation of a better world.

Dreams embodies the essence of mankind, always hoping for a better tomorrow.

Do you have dreams?

Have you ever contemplated the life you have set in front of you, ever wanted to change it to be better?

Life itself is hard. Undeniably so. And when life takes a swing at you one day, you realize just how important those dreams are, how much they are actually part of your soul and spirit.

I watched a movie that talked about these dreams, of two cancer-stricken patients, one rich and one poor whom set out on an inspiring journey to fulfill their dreams. Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, both of them were too engrossed with their lives that they just decided to forsake the dreams that they had when they were young.
"The Bucket List" is an inspiring movie, it gets you thinking of what you want to do in this world, while your fragile existence hangs on balance. It teaches you to live life the very fullest, making the best of every moment given to you. The name of the show is derived from the term "kick the bucket", therefore the bucket list is actually a compilation of things you want to do before you die.

It may be cliche, it may be soppy, but at the end of the day, I think it got the message across and for that the movie fulfilled its purpose. It manages to tell a story of dreams left unfulfilled until one realizes that this was their last chance of fulfilling them. So, all in all, it got its message across.

Life is all about dreaming. All reality started with a dream. Every man who has been successful today has dreamt his way to the top, envisioned his name at the top of the pack and then motivated himself to be the best in his field. Dreams can become reality, with a fair dose of hardwork and self motivation.
Don't ever give up. Whatever your aims are, they are never as far away as they seem. So jsut reach out and take a grab, and you will know what to do. Never say no, despite countless rejections - there wouldn't be much a dream left if you said no right?

It's time to dream, to set goals, strive harder and change this world forever.

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
Walt Disney

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
Christopher Reeve