Greetings!
In my previous post, my grandson asked me to guess what he was saying by looking at him. I made the right guess because I used some child psychology. From the expression on his face, he demanded an answer. So I said he was asking the same question that he voiced.
What happened that day reminded me of another incident. Four months ago, I was with a group of volunteers visiting the seniors living in a housing complex. It was my first time there. Only a few residents participated in the event. The other volunteers had visited before, and they knew the residents by name. I stood aside watching them reacquainted with one another.
A woman talked to my friends about a physical condition. I could hear the concern in her voice. I was standing at a distance from her and my friends. Mentally, I sent her my love and blessings. Right then, she raised her head and nodded at me. She said: "Thank you, I love you too." Then she continued talking to my friends. I was amazed. Telepathically, she had perceived my thoughts, but she probably did not realize that. My friends were facing her, therefore, their backs were towards me. I believed it never crossed their mind why the woman thanked me in the middle of their conversation.
In truth, we sent and received thoughts all the time. However, most of us didn't realize that. For examples, before you picked up the phone, you already knew who called; you thought of someone, and he or she came to visit.
Sometimes other people's attitude or thoughts could affect us too. Here was an example. One day as I was walking to my car, I saw a friend talking on the phone. She had finished talking before I got to my car. She told me she suddenly felt very exhausted. I asked if the phone call had anything to do with it. She exclaimed: "Yes, that is why I feel so tired! It's a friend (who called). Every time she calls me, I feel exhausted afterwards. She is very negative, and complains a lot. It is very tiring listening to what she says. Her negative feeling must be getting to me, and I do not realize that."
From my experiences, I have learned the importance of maintaining my peace. It is very important to pay attention to our thoughts and stay positive. If our mind is filled with negative thoughts, we cannot think right because the flow of love is blocked. In my friend's case, she can protect herself by listening with discernment. We can listen with compassion, but we don't have to take in what we hear personally. We cannot console others when we lose our own peace.
Have it ever happened to you that you suddenly feel depressed, agitated, or sad? Meanwhile, upon self examination, you find no reason for you to feel so. It is possible you are perceiving the feeling of a loved one, or of a friend. Have you ever felt warmth (a very comforting, loving feeling) around you? You are probably receiving loving thoughts from someone on this plane or from the other side. We are more connected than we can imagine.
May all of us be the presence of love and peace. I say these affirmations sometimes.
Wherever I AM, LOVE IS.
Wherever I AM, PEACE IS.
Many blessings,
Q of D
Friday, February 15, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Grandma, guess what I am saying now?
Greetings!
Our younger son and his family came over and ate with us on New Year Eve and New Year Day (lunar calendar). It was so wonderful to have them with us on these special days.
While we ate, our granddaughter who was 3 years old talked to her daddy in her sweet little voice. Meanwhile, she looked at him with that adorable loving look. I said to our son: "She is talking to you with her eyes." Our son said that his son did that often too. I looked at our grandson who was a year and a half older than his sister. He looked at me with his eyes widely open as if waiting for my response. He was a very good story teller. He did not only talk with his voice, but with full expressions on his face and eyes. I smiled and agreed with our son that indeed our oldest grandson talked with his eyes all the time.
Immediately, our cute grandson protested: "No, I do not talk with my eyes!" Our daughter-in-law explained to him: "When people say that you talk with your eyes, they do not mean that you really talk with your eyes. They mean that they know what you are trying to say by looking at the expression of your eyes."
My grandson turned to me. He said: "Ah Ma (=Grandma), you say that I talk with my eyes. Look at me, and guess what I am saying now!" Then he looked at me intensely with puffed cheeks. We laughed. Someone at the table said (I did not recall who): "Oh, Ah Ma is in trouble!" Boy, you never knew what a 3 or 4 years old was going to ask you! Our grandson kept looking at me, and waited for my answer. I looked at him. I said: "You are saying (with your eyes) 'guess what I am saying now'. Is that right?" He released the air in his cheeks, and said: "That's right." He turned his attention to the food on his plate. It was just a lucky guess on my part!
My husband and I had joy taking turns holding our new grandson who was born a few weeks ago. He is a good baby, perfect and wonderful in every way.
I have not gone to church or any gathering in recent months. After living away from this state for five years, we have to get used to the cold weather again. I hope I will find a church or a place to go to regularly in the coming months.
Best wishes to all of you,
Love,
Q of D
Our younger son and his family came over and ate with us on New Year Eve and New Year Day (lunar calendar). It was so wonderful to have them with us on these special days.
While we ate, our granddaughter who was 3 years old talked to her daddy in her sweet little voice. Meanwhile, she looked at him with that adorable loving look. I said to our son: "She is talking to you with her eyes." Our son said that his son did that often too. I looked at our grandson who was a year and a half older than his sister. He looked at me with his eyes widely open as if waiting for my response. He was a very good story teller. He did not only talk with his voice, but with full expressions on his face and eyes. I smiled and agreed with our son that indeed our oldest grandson talked with his eyes all the time.
Immediately, our cute grandson protested: "No, I do not talk with my eyes!" Our daughter-in-law explained to him: "When people say that you talk with your eyes, they do not mean that you really talk with your eyes. They mean that they know what you are trying to say by looking at the expression of your eyes."
My grandson turned to me. He said: "Ah Ma (=Grandma), you say that I talk with my eyes. Look at me, and guess what I am saying now!" Then he looked at me intensely with puffed cheeks. We laughed. Someone at the table said (I did not recall who): "Oh, Ah Ma is in trouble!" Boy, you never knew what a 3 or 4 years old was going to ask you! Our grandson kept looking at me, and waited for my answer. I looked at him. I said: "You are saying (with your eyes) 'guess what I am saying now'. Is that right?" He released the air in his cheeks, and said: "That's right." He turned his attention to the food on his plate. It was just a lucky guess on my part!
My husband and I had joy taking turns holding our new grandson who was born a few weeks ago. He is a good baby, perfect and wonderful in every way.
I have not gone to church or any gathering in recent months. After living away from this state for five years, we have to get used to the cold weather again. I hope I will find a church or a place to go to regularly in the coming months.
Best wishes to all of you,
Love,
Q of D
Saturday, February 9, 2013
A small crisis in the classroom
Greetings!
Imagine you are a student in a classroom of 45 students. The school bell rings. Everybody stops talking. They take out their textbooks, and put them on the desks. They wait quietly. The teacher is expected to walk in any minute now.
Some minutes pass, the teacher does not come. It has never happened before. The teacher always walks in soon after the bell rings. The students look at one another. They start to talk in a soft voice wondering what is going on. Is the teacher sick? If that is the case, why doesn't a substitute teacher show up? Some more minutes pass. No teacher shows up.
A while later, the students conclude that the teacher must be absent, otherwise, she would have come. They realize it means there will be no class and no teacher to watch over them! They feel elated in this unexpected free time. They begin to chat, and some leave their seats to hang out with their buddies in the class.
Suddenly, they hear the loudest yell in their life. They turn to look at the entrance of the classroom. There stands the principal! With her hands resting on her waist and her face reddened by anger, she stomps into the classroom! The students who have left their seats quickly return to their seats. The stillness that follows is a sharp contrast to what has been seconds earlier.
The principal scolds them. Their voices are disruptive to the students who are in the classrooms next to them. Although the teacher is not there, but they should know what is expected of them. The students lower their heads. They know they are wrong.
The principal continues: "For those of you who have misbehaved, you will be hit 3 times on each hand (by a wooden ruler). You also have to write 200 times 'I will never chat again during class'. You have to hand it in before you can go home. Those who have misbehaved, stand up now!"
A few students stand up. Some students stand up after them. Slowly, more students reluctantly follow. They would have stayed in their seats if others have not chosen to stand up. Eventually, only a handful of students remain sitting on their chairs. The few who are still sitting down either look straight forward at the principal, or look downwards at their desks. They never look at their fellow classmates especially at those they have chatted with a while earlier.
One by one, those who have stood up walk forward to the principal and receive the punishment. Before she leaves, the principal praises the few who have (supposedly) behaved as they are expected to.
Imagine you are a student in a classroom of 45 students. The school bell rings. Everybody stops talking. They take out their textbooks, and put them on the desks. They wait quietly. The teacher is expected to walk in any minute now.
Some minutes pass, the teacher does not come. It has never happened before. The teacher always walks in soon after the bell rings. The students look at one another. They start to talk in a soft voice wondering what is going on. Is the teacher sick? If that is the case, why doesn't a substitute teacher show up? Some more minutes pass. No teacher shows up.
A while later, the students conclude that the teacher must be absent, otherwise, she would have come. They realize it means there will be no class and no teacher to watch over them! They feel elated in this unexpected free time. They begin to chat, and some leave their seats to hang out with their buddies in the class.
Suddenly, they hear the loudest yell in their life. They turn to look at the entrance of the classroom. There stands the principal! With her hands resting on her waist and her face reddened by anger, she stomps into the classroom! The students who have left their seats quickly return to their seats. The stillness that follows is a sharp contrast to what has been seconds earlier.
The principal scolds them. Their voices are disruptive to the students who are in the classrooms next to them. Although the teacher is not there, but they should know what is expected of them. The students lower their heads. They know they are wrong.
The principal continues: "For those of you who have misbehaved, you will be hit 3 times on each hand (by a wooden ruler). You also have to write 200 times 'I will never chat again during class'. You have to hand it in before you can go home. Those who have misbehaved, stand up now!"
A few students stand up. Some students stand up after them. Slowly, more students reluctantly follow. They would have stayed in their seats if others have not chosen to stand up. Eventually, only a handful of students remain sitting on their chairs. The few who are still sitting down either look straight forward at the principal, or look downwards at their desks. They never look at their fellow classmates especially at those they have chatted with a while earlier.
One by one, those who have stood up walk forward to the principal and receive the punishment. Before she leaves, the principal praises the few who have (supposedly) behaved as they are expected to.
After the principal leaves, most of the students begin writing the sentence 'I will never chat again during class'. Everybody is quiet. Nobody wants to say anything. Every now and then, the students who are writing look over to their classmates who do not have to write. Both try to look away when their eyes meet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What do you think you would do in this small crisis in the classroom? Will you be among the first few who stand up? Or, will you be among the second group to stand up? Or, do you choose to wait it out until most have made up their mind, and then you will decide what to do? Or, do you think those who remain sitting down are the smartest of all?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Whatever you think you will do, you are the only one who knows the answer. Nobody is going to judge you. That is not what this post is about.
A few days ago, out of nowhere, I 'heard': "Were you afraid that you might be punished when you wrote about that incident?" All of a sudden, the above incident came to my mind. It was ancient history, and I wasn't thinking about it at all! Mentally, I responded to the question: "No. It never crossed my mind that I might get into trouble writing about it." It was weird, but it happened.
Later that day, I started writing this post. It happened a long time ago. I could not recall the incident clearly. Furthermore, what happened that day in the classroom seemed to be very insignificant in the dramas of life. "What was the point of writing this post?" I wondered. However, part of me felt that I should because of how it resurfaced in my mind. As I said, I wasn't thinking about it at all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A couple of days after what happened in the classroom, we had our weekly English composition class. We must finish the writing in class, i.e. within 2 continuous periods (45 min. each). I did not recall if that day the teacher gave us a title to write, or we were allowed to write what we chose. Anyway, I wrote about the classroom incident. I recalled at the end of my composition, I wrote something like this -
I did well in Chinese composition, but failed English composition all the time. I believed this was the marking system for English composition when I was in school: 40 points for grammar, and 4 or 5 points were deducted for each mistake; 40 points for content, most students got 10s to low 20s, with high 20s to 30 as the top marks for content; most students got 10s for the remaining 20 points. 60 out of 100 was the passing score. Although I might get a good mark for content, but could not make up for the 40 points counted towards grammar because I usually got a zero.
In both Chinese and English composition, scores of high 70s to low 80s were the top scores. Only a few writings scored in that range. Those compositions were displayed at the back of the classroom for others to read and learn from. As a teenager, I regarded my writing as something personal, and did not really want others to read what I wrote. Other students might feel proud / happy when their compositions were on the display board, I would rather keep what I wrote to myself.
Incidentally, my writing on the incident got a good grade, and it was posted for others to read. Many of my classmates told me they liked my writing. However, I also realized what I wrote must have caused some uneasiness among those who did not stand up. In fact, after the incident in the classroom, a cloud seemed to have begun to loom over the class.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For days I could not finish this post. I almost wanted to delete it. I stuck after describing the incident. I felt the story about my composition was irrelevant.
Yesterday I suddenly realized the different reactions to what happened that day in the classroom could be viewed as a reflection of a society or a community responding to a crisis.
When a crisis arose, people reacted differently partly due to the differences of our character and personality. What we had been taught or had learned in life also played a role in our process of making a decision. Some people rose to the occasion, and took up the responsibility. Some people took another approach to solve the problem that they faced. Some people froze in time of urgency, and it took them more time to decide what to do. Some people thought of others and tried to help whatever they could. Some people thought only of themselves and did whatever to protect their own interest in the time of a crisis. If we put right or wrong aside, all reactions are relevant.
In any situation or crisis, there are lessons here and there for everyone. I (or we) should hold myself accountable for my own action, and looked at life from there.
Looking back, I am glad most of us in the class took responsibilities of our action. We were wrong and we knew it. The principal might have lost her cool on that occasion, but she was a good principal. During those years, she taught us good values, how to conduct ourselves in school, and our responsibility as a citizen in the society.
Good night!
Many blessings,
Q of D
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What do you think you would do in this small crisis in the classroom? Will you be among the first few who stand up? Or, will you be among the second group to stand up? Or, do you choose to wait it out until most have made up their mind, and then you will decide what to do? Or, do you think those who remain sitting down are the smartest of all?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Whatever you think you will do, you are the only one who knows the answer. Nobody is going to judge you. That is not what this post is about.
A few days ago, out of nowhere, I 'heard': "Were you afraid that you might be punished when you wrote about that incident?" All of a sudden, the above incident came to my mind. It was ancient history, and I wasn't thinking about it at all! Mentally, I responded to the question: "No. It never crossed my mind that I might get into trouble writing about it." It was weird, but it happened.
Later that day, I started writing this post. It happened a long time ago. I could not recall the incident clearly. Furthermore, what happened that day in the classroom seemed to be very insignificant in the dramas of life. "What was the point of writing this post?" I wondered. However, part of me felt that I should because of how it resurfaced in my mind. As I said, I wasn't thinking about it at all.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A couple of days after what happened in the classroom, we had our weekly English composition class. We must finish the writing in class, i.e. within 2 continuous periods (45 min. each). I did not recall if that day the teacher gave us a title to write, or we were allowed to write what we chose. Anyway, I wrote about the classroom incident. I recalled at the end of my composition, I wrote something like this -
- One by one, the students walked forward to receive the punishment. While I waited for my turn, I looked out of the window. I saw an apple tree near the wall of the playground. I thought of the childhood story of George Washington and the apple tree.
I did well in Chinese composition, but failed English composition all the time. I believed this was the marking system for English composition when I was in school: 40 points for grammar, and 4 or 5 points were deducted for each mistake; 40 points for content, most students got 10s to low 20s, with high 20s to 30 as the top marks for content; most students got 10s for the remaining 20 points. 60 out of 100 was the passing score. Although I might get a good mark for content, but could not make up for the 40 points counted towards grammar because I usually got a zero.
In both Chinese and English composition, scores of high 70s to low 80s were the top scores. Only a few writings scored in that range. Those compositions were displayed at the back of the classroom for others to read and learn from. As a teenager, I regarded my writing as something personal, and did not really want others to read what I wrote. Other students might feel proud / happy when their compositions were on the display board, I would rather keep what I wrote to myself.
Incidentally, my writing on the incident got a good grade, and it was posted for others to read. Many of my classmates told me they liked my writing. However, I also realized what I wrote must have caused some uneasiness among those who did not stand up. In fact, after the incident in the classroom, a cloud seemed to have begun to loom over the class.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For days I could not finish this post. I almost wanted to delete it. I stuck after describing the incident. I felt the story about my composition was irrelevant.
Yesterday I suddenly realized the different reactions to what happened that day in the classroom could be viewed as a reflection of a society or a community responding to a crisis.
When a crisis arose, people reacted differently partly due to the differences of our character and personality. What we had been taught or had learned in life also played a role in our process of making a decision. Some people rose to the occasion, and took up the responsibility. Some people took another approach to solve the problem that they faced. Some people froze in time of urgency, and it took them more time to decide what to do. Some people thought of others and tried to help whatever they could. Some people thought only of themselves and did whatever to protect their own interest in the time of a crisis. If we put right or wrong aside, all reactions are relevant.
In any situation or crisis, there are lessons here and there for everyone. I (or we) should hold myself accountable for my own action, and looked at life from there.
Looking back, I am glad most of us in the class took responsibilities of our action. We were wrong and we knew it. The principal might have lost her cool on that occasion, but she was a good principal. During those years, she taught us good values, how to conduct ourselves in school, and our responsibility as a citizen in the society.
Good night!
Many blessings,
Q of D
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