The Wanderer

Dance for me sweetheart while I strum my guitar,
You sure look pretty tonight,
I've just come off the road and I could use the company,
That would suit me just fine

Now I've seen a lot of special things around this world,
You can see them too, you can,
What's that you ask?
I have no name I have no name,
For I am known only as man,
I am known only as man

I'm a wanderer,
I have no place or time,
I'm just drifting on this lonely road of mine,
If you like you can come along with me,
But I promise you that I am not the man I used to be
But I promise you that I am not the man I used to be

Now you and I we've seen our share of ups and downs,
Somewhere we just lost hope,
I can't change the past but who cares?
Your love is all I've ever known,
Your love is all I've ever known

[CHORUS]
I'm a wanderer,
I have no place or time,
I'm just drifting on this lonely road of mine,
And if you would accept me for me,
Then I promise you that there's a better man inside of me (x3)

Dance for me sweetheart while I strum my guitar,
You sure look pretty tonight

Life

Life is strange.

It takes you to places you'd never thought you'd go. It forces you to experience things you were never certain you wanted to experience. It brings you close to people you never thought you'd see again. It throws you curve balls you never really wanted. It gives you what you need and also what you dint. Its life.

Life is not fair. Life is not kind nor harsh, it just is. For each person, the path of life is different. Each path as unique as each individual. Yet, we compare our life paths to others, we value ours based on how others perceive it, we feel a need for others to want or desire our paths more than theirs. This makes us feel complete, but why?

Why cant we just accept our life, our paths, who we are as unique? Why cant we all agree that no one has a perfect life or path, that we all have our obstacles? That its OK to be different, to struggle? Its in our uniqueness, in our strangeness and in our struggles that we learn to appreciate those moments of happiness and contentness. Its those life struggles that make us who we are.

My life has not been perfect, I can blame so many people and things and most importantly myself for these struggles; but really I am glad I have had moments of hardship and struggle, it helps me to have compassion and understanding for others. I have learned from those moments and most importantly, it has allowed me to appreciate the good days even more.

My life is a good one, not a perfect or amazing one, but a good one. And for this I am thankful.

Precious Little Time

The man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waitingfor him at the door.

Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure, what is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?"

"That's none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

"I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour."

"Oh," the little boy replied, head bowed.

Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?"

The father was furious. "If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games." The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy's questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money.

After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the Door of the little boy's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep son?" he asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man. "It's been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here's that $10.00 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, beaming. "Oh, thank you daddy!" he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man, since the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.

"Why did you want more money if you already had some?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?"

This week's story was submitted by Anita Barany of Victoria, British Columbia. She's a single mom with 2 beautiful young children and she's presently a full time student.

what teachers make

> WHAT
> TEACHERS MAKE
>
> The dinner guests were sitting around the
> table discussing life.
>
> One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with
> education. He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn
> from someone who decided his best option in life was to
> become a teacher?'
>
> He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about
> teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't,
> teach.'
>
> To stress his point he said to another guest;
> 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you
> make?'
>
>
> Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty
> and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make?
> (She paused for a second, then began...)
>
> 'Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought
> they could.
>
> I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.
>
> I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their
> parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game
> Cube or movie rental.
>
> You want to know what I make?' (She paused again and
> looked at each and every person at the table.)
>
> ''I make kids wonder.
>
> I make them question.
>
> I make them apologize and mean it.
>
> I make them have respect and take responsibility for their
> actions.
>
> I teach them to write and then I make them write.
> Keyboarding isn't everything.
>
> I make them read, read, read.
>
> I make them show all their work in math. They use
> their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
>
> I make my
> students from other countries learn everything they need
> to know in English while preserving their unique cultural
> identity.
>
> I make my classroom a place where all my students feel
> safe.
>
> I make my students stand, placing their hand over their
> heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One
> Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of
> America.
>
> Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts
> they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they
> can succeed in life.'
>
> (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
>
> 'Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with
> me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up
> high and pay no attention because they are ignorant...
> You want to know what I make?
>
> I MAKE A
> DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr.
> CEO?'
>
> His jaw dropped,
> he went silent.
>
>
> THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY TEACHER YOU KNOW.
>
> Even all your personal teachers like mothers, fathers,
> brothers, sisters,
> grandparents,
> your spiritual teachers
> --------
>
> HAPPY
> TEACHER'S DAY

Orang Penanti tidak sabar menanti

Untuk mencari seorang pengganti

Adun dia letak jawatan bukan mati

Nak mengaji lagi walaupun ada 2 Degree

Baru nak masuk bab Timbalan Ketua Menteri

Tiba-tiba tok guru meninggal dunia mati

Semoga menjadi iktibar dan pengajaran
Jangan cuma tengok tahap pelajaran
Jangan terpesona dengan petah percakapan
Lenggok macam gaya ustaz lepasan Jordan
Janggut sejemput macam pejuang ikhwan
Kita sudah terus beri thiqah kepercayaan
Oleh itu kepercayaan menjadi pengkhianatan
Marilah kita sama-sama memohon keampunan

Kita bersedia berjuang walaupun kepenatan

Tup tup tup Najib kata tak jadi di Pekan

BN berkata ini semua taktik lawan

Dan berkata ini semua adalah pembaziran

Dulu kata kalau tak bagus lebih baik letak jawatan

Tiba-tiba BN sudah ubah pendirian

 

Kalau takut janganlah bagi alasan

Tiba-tiba bercakap mengenai pembaziran

Rasuah dan komisen itu bukan pembaziran

Bayar komisen 500 juta itu penjimatan

Melancung ke Disneyland itu keperluan

Peeerrah sejak bila dia nak sep duit kerajaan

Bini siapa kalau berjalan beli barang bertan-tan

Tak caya kau orang tanya MAS punya kakitangan

Habis diborong nya LV dan Gucci punya beg tangan

Mat Salleh kat London pun geleng kepala kehairanan

Eloklah jangan bertanding di Penanti

Nanti bila kalah jadi 5-1 malu nanti

Walaupun referi dan linesman boleh dibeli

Tapi rakyat Penanti bijak mengundi

Bawalah Imam Besar untuk mengelabui

Tapi Imam tu sepak tong tunjuk emosi

Orang hilang hormat walaupun pandai mengaji

Mungkin Tun M jadi calun BN untuk Penanti.

Martin Jalleh tries to capture the initial events leading to Umno’s power grabbing, pariah politics and Pyrrhic victory in Perak

Umno uses the royalty as pawns in their dirty political game. It is all about political expediency and nothing about being pro-royal. Najib makes use of the palace to push and protect his agenda and vested interests. The people are his least concern.

Martin Jalleh

The rakyat of Perak are robbed in broad daylight of their political right to determine the State Government they want. Their will is ridden roughshod over by a few renegades and running dogs ready to reap their reward. A day of reckoning will come.

A fraudulent state government rules Perak. It is a farcical government of a fallacious “majority”. The people are frustrated and furious. They believe that a fake legislature forced upon them will eventually face its fatal consequences.

C4 and 4Cs

The Election Commission (EC) plays politics and panders to the political (pay)master. It even portrays itself as a court of law and makes a palpably wrong decision that prevents the people from being the paramount arbitrator to overcome Perak’s political deadlock.

The new EC chairman refuses to recognise the Perak Speaker’s request to call for two by-elections after two assemblymen “prostituted” themselves. It is a duty which he is constitutionally bound to do so – a fact promptly and plainly confirmed by his predecessor.

The EC chairman sets a precedent that will perpetuate party hopping and paves the way for Umno’s power grabbing, pariah politics and Pyrrhic victory. He reinforces growing public suspicion that the EC is hand-in-glove with the powers-that-be.

The mandate given to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) by the majority of Perakians is made a mockery of by the minority UMNO State Government. Umno survives on manipulative manoeuvrings, mysterious disappearances and money-politics led by Machiavellian characters like Najib Tun Razak, who will soon assume the mantle of PM.

Soon after Umno’s defeat in the Kuala Terengganu by-election in January, its elites called for a “revamp”, a “reinstating of the ‘wow’ factor” and “radical reforms”.  As proof of its unwavering resolve – it receives without any reservation two former PKR assemblymen who have been charged for corruption!

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad slams the Umno leadership for 'stooping low' in courting the two crossovers. He should know its implications. He had left behind a Cabinet of soiled reputations and an Umno full of spent characters and self-seeking sycophants. Pak Lah’s new MACC, a supposedly “serious” effort to stem out corruption, turns out to be a silly joke.

The country catches a glimpse of Najib’s “culture of change”. More powerful than C4, he will charge this country up when he wears the crown, with 4Cs – Corruption, Coercion, Crossovers and Coups. Such is his commitment to compromise our democracy – whatever the cost.

Dr Mahathir, who preferred Najib over Pak Lah as PM, very correctly captured in his Blog (when he predicted that those using bribery will win in the Umno elections in March) the coming catastrophe in this country: “We will get an Umno government that is corrupt and without morals.”

The backroom politics of Umno and its backdoor takeover of the Perak State Government forms the perfect background for Najib to lead Bolehland into a political backwater. Many believe that the bedlam created by Umno in Perak will surely bring about a backlash expressed in the ballot box of the next General Elections.

Silver State’s Shaky Stability

Confronted by Umno’s hypocrisy, hopping highhandedness, hideous characters and hoax majority, the Menteri Besar (MB) of Perak and many Perakians turn to and place their hopes high on His Royal Highness (HRH) Sultan Azlan Shah – whom they hold in high regard.

Surely on His Silver Jubilee as Sultan of the Silver State, the exemplary sovereign who was a former Lord President will shine like a silver lining in the sordid state of affairs. Indeed, he will safeguard the sentiments of his subjects expressed in the last General Elections.

Sadly, the Sultan’s solution makes very little sense to his subjects. HRH seems swayed by Umno’s political subterfuge and scheming. He summons the MB who sought the dissolution of the State Assembly. There will be no snap elections. The MB is told to step down, and to do so swiftly. The saddle belongs to Umno.  

The popular MB of positive policies proves he is no pushover. All he wants is that the democratic procedures and process be followed properly. The Sultan’s personal discretion and his straying beyond his parameters of power are met with public disbelief and disappointment. Public perception over his impartiality plummets.

Respected retired judge N H Chan suggests that HRH has “sidestepped” provisions of the Perak constitution and made a “fatal error”. Tengku Razaleigh strongly implies that the removal of the MB by HRH was done “without regard for the rule of law”. And as Zaid Ibrahim sees it, “political questions should be resolved in the legislature and not behind closed doors in a palace”.

The Sultan returns Perak to its original stalemate. Nothing changes. Only the roles are reversed. The same razor thin majority remains. The initial political uncertainty is reinforced. Politicking in Perak – to remain in power or retain control – rages on, with each side trying to lure defectors.

The Sultan wants a “stable” State Government. Umno assures HRH that it has the majority due to the solid backing of three defecting “friendly independents” made up of two former PKR assemblymen charged for corruption – and a former DAP assemblywoman who reduces the price of democracy to cash and Camry!

In other words, the “stability” of the Silver State rests solely on three shady characters interviewed by the Sultan and whose status are now even more uncertain since the PR has filed a suit to declare their seats vacant.  

Alas, the future of the people of Perak is determined by three “independents” (who acted independently of the people’s wishes) and an “unstable” Umno Assemblyman  (who says that his hop from Umno to PKR and back to Umno ten days later was for the sake of political stability)!

The Sultan hands to the people of Perak a “unity government” which has a dubious majority, achieved by the most divisive means! On top of that, it is overwhelmingly dominated by 27 Umno seats. There is only one MCA seat and three independent defectors’ seats. How’s that for a unique representation of multi racial unity?

Pawning the Palace

The nascent PR State Government is numbed momentarily by Najib’s nefarious tricks. It eventually bounces back with MB Nizar leading it with nerves of steel. Najib is naive to think that Nizar would wilt in the battle of wills. The MB (who is from PAS) will fight him all the way to the moon and back!

Nizar refuses to resign as MB. He believes he is lawfully the MB until he resigns of his own accord, or is removed by a vote of no confidence in a formal sitting of the State Assembly. For Nizar and his Exco it is business as usual.

Naiib has made Nizar famous. The DAP backs him fully. The Bar Council praises him for the “many significant steps forward”. The people of all races have faith in him. He may be without an official office, car and house, but Nizar can find a place in the hearts of many Perakians!

Umno goes berserk over Nizar’s boldness. Next to buying over defections, Umno is an expert in diversions and distortion of the truth. Behold, the Umno boys are unleashed; protests are held (without police permits); police reports are lodged; and their press is ready and raring to spin.

At their hysterical best, Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein hits out at the opposition for “betraying the Rulers”, and his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin hollers for Nizar’s banishment. Surely such histrionics will be duly rewarded at the coming Umno elections.

Umno uses the royalty as pawns in their dirty political game. It is all about political expediency and nothing about being pro-royal. Najib makes use of the palace to push and protect his agenda and vested interests. The people are his least concern.

History reveals that Umno shows deference to the royalty only if it serves its political advantage. As a royal peer and Umno leader, Tengku Razaleigh sees through the hypocrisy of the Umno elite. He hammers them by implicitly suggesting that it is Umno who has harmed the Malay rulers more than anyone else! He recalls the constitutional crisis of 1993.

He describes it as “an ugly confrontation between Umno and the Rulers” during which the Umno-dominated government campaigned to remove the immunity of the rulers. He leaves a haunting question for Umno: “Was greater harm done to the sovereignty of the Rulers in 1993 through Parliament or a week ago on the streets of Perak?”
 
He strips bare Umno’s attempt to camouflage public opprobrium over its undemocratic takeover of the state government: “Today’s crisis in Perak is about the legitimacy of the process by which a new state government has been formed in Perak. It’s not about the status of the Rulers.”

In March last year, in a clash between Umno and the Sultan of Terengganu (who is also the Agong) over the appointment of the State’s MB, hostile Umno members hurled insults at the royalty and even hoisted banners headlined ”Animal King”.  

All of the 22 BN assemblymen protested against the appointment and later boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the new MB. Umno Terengganu even stripped the new MB of his (Umno) membership after he defied the party leadership and accepted the Sultan’s appointment!

Surely this was not treason. Umno protestors were not traitors. Neither were they tainting the name of the Sultan. They can’t be “rude”. They were just being Umno – “with its inconsistent adherence to the rule of law (and) its inconstant respect for the key institutions of our country” (Tengku Razaleigh).

“It is time for Umno-BN to stop using the Palace. It must now learn how to survive on its own as required by both the constitution and democracy,” is the wise advice that law professor Abdul Aziz Bari has to offer to Umno.

Meanwhile Nazir files a suit to declare illegal the government of the new MB. The Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker suspends the newly appointed MB and his six Exco members.

Pak Lah tells the new MB to ignore the suspension and to lodge a police report against the Speaker. Dr Mahathir mocks at the ignorance of the PM. The country heaves a sigh of relief that he would be retiring soon

As for Anwar Ibrahim and the PR, they have a lot of soul-searching to do. A democracy dependent on defections is a very defective process waiting to disintegrate. Crossover is not the answer for a nation at a crossroads. What has happened in Perak is a classic case in point.

Hopping does not bring hope. With money politics so rife, there is no guarantee that the hopper may not one day hop back into his/her original “hole”. The Umno assemblyman who double hopped in a space of 10 days is a perfect example.

The PR is a “people’s party”. The people’s wants, wishes and will must come first. The “tsunami” of March 2008 was a “people’s victory”. The very essence and reason for PR’s existence is – the people.

The only way for Perak to move forward is to go back to the people!

(The above article was written for the latest issue of Aliran Monthly. Subsequent to the above were significant events such as the raw courage of the MB, Speaker and PR Aduns holding the Perak State Assembly under a Raintree, and scandalous events such as the jaundiced judgments of a junior judge (judicial commissioner) which made the judiciary the butt of everyone’s jokes.) 

Be Patient With Yourself

Patience is one of the most important qualities to develop if you care about personal growth. It’s also one of the most difficult.

Wouldn’t it be nice if after you identified a change you’d like to make, you could just snap your fingers, and the change would occur instantly? Unfortunately, it’s rarely so easy as that, despite what marketers tell you.

I remember in my early 20s, I’d often read a book on a new subject and get gung ho about applying it. Maybe it was the first book I’d read on visualization or running a business or goal-setting. I’d think, “Wow… this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” Obviously the author had gotten results with it… I must do this right away. Then I’d dream of personal development nirvana, where all my problems would instantly vanish, and practically overnight I’d make a genuine quantum leap.

Of course we all know what really happens in such situations, right? You go out with a bang and land with a thud. You expend a lot of energy to run in place. On very rare occasions you might achieve a small breakthrough, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

Why is change so hard?

We don’t usually expect major changes to our environment to be easy. Building a new house is hard. Building a new business is hard. Making a new child is hard… unless you’re a man.

When it comes to physical world changes, we already understand that patience is required. We don’t expect to suddenly manifest a new house, business, or child overnight.

So a better question is, “Why do we expect personal changes to be easy?”

A big part of the problem is that self-help marketers have given us terrible expectations. New books, audio programs, and seminars promise to make us all overnight successes, solving all our problems if we merely plop down the cash. It’s an easy sell because we’d all love to believe it. So the real problem is our desire for expediency, which often works against our common sense.

A single product promises you the world. You buy it, invest a lot of time in it and get zero results. Eventually if you do this enough times, you become jaded on the whole idea of personal growth. No wonder so many people think the whole idea of personal development is nonsense. If you believe all the ridiculous hype some of these marketers put out, then by comparison the reality is pretty bad.

A while ago I talked to a very well-known professional speaker who knew many of the major players and was told, “It’s all so fake with some of these people. The difference between their professional image and their private lives is night and day. Publicly they’re on stage saying one thing, but privately their life is a complete mess.”

Don’t believe that just because you buy a book with a smiling picture on it that promises you the world that all your problems will instantly be solved.

I often tell people to think in terms of months and years, not days and weeks, when it comes to personal growth. I think we’ve all seen more than enough of the “for Dummies” marketing in this field. I’d rather tell people it’s going to be hard and challenging and set them up for success, even if it means I’ll end up driving a less expensive car, as opposed to promising them the world and watching everyone give up in frustration while I enjoy my new Porsche. With my knowledge of sales and marketing, it would be easy for me to generate a strong income by cranking out shallow self-help products and making those typical long-winded sales pages with dozens of testimonials. But I’d prefer to keep my soul, thank you very much. Also, I don’t really want to attract thousands of dummies as customers, even if they do have credit cards. Writing for smart people is a lot more fulfilling, and it helps me grow as well.

What’s the reality?

The reality is that personal growth requires tremendous patience. I’m not suggesting you intend things to take a very long time. I don’t want you to start having negative expectations. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t get overly attached to outcomes. Intend what you want, but be open to whatever outcome presents itself, and then adapt.

Despite reading dozens of great business books, it took me five years working full-time to get my first business to the point of sustainable profitability. I read health books for about six years before I eventually went vegan. I attempted changes to my sleeping habits for almost 15 years before I was able to successfully become an early riser. If anyone tries to label me an overnight success, then I will have to label that person a moron.

It’s great to get enthusiastic about making a change. But allow yourself to accept whatever outcome occurs, even if you get no results to show for all your efforts. In truth the result you’ll get most of the time will be that you learned something — usually that your approach didn’t work. That just means you need to try something else.

Sometimes the approach is sound for the author of whatever book you bought — I’m not saying such people are lying about their results — but it may not be right for you, or the timing may be bad. A book written by a 60-year old businessperson may seem like it’s full of great advice for a 20-year old entrepreneur, but more often than not, you’ll find you lack the knowledge, experience, and skills needed to apply it.

Don’t give up

Although personal development often occurs slowly over a long period of time, it does eventually work. It just usually takes a lot of time. There are so many interconnected factors that have to change together: limiting beliefs, habits, thoughts, behavior, relationships, environmental reinforcement, etc. Changing any one of these is a serious challenge even when you know how to do it, but for a change to stick, everything around it must eventually change too.

If a change takes five or ten years, that’s OK. The time is going to pass anyway. So you might as well make sure that you’re in a better spot in five years instead of a worse one. If a quality is worth having, it’s worth having a decade from now.

The nice thing about personal growth is that the results are cumulative. A change in one area often supports changes in other areas. A good diet can give you more energy across the board. Self-discipline can give you more consistency across the board. And strong relationships can give you more support across the board. Even small changes in different areas can work synergistically to help you make bigger changes. I’ve found that over time, my ability to grow has accelerated. I’m noticing that more frequently I’m able to make changes the first time, mainly because I finally have enough of the other qualities I need to make them stick. So it does get easier if you stick with it.

Even if you’re working a great deal on your own personal growth, you may look back on yourself a year ago and think, “I didn’t get very far this year at all.” That’s OK. It doesn’t mean you failed. For most big changes, a year is too little time. Look back at yourself five or ten years ago. Notice any differences? Unless you’re a stick in the mud, they’ll be a lot more pronounced. You’ll have a better sense of what worked and what didn’t.

A general rule of thumb is that people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but they underestimate what they can accomplish in five years. I’ve found this to be fairly accurate.

Tony Robbins claims to have read over 700 books on personal development — and that was years ago, so I imagine it’s in the thousands by now. Brian Tracy recently claimed to have read about 6000 books. Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield claim to have each read many thousands of books as well. This isn’t unusual in the personal development field. But I seriously doubt any of these people can tell you the single book that will instantly solve all your problems overnight.

I estimate I’ve read about 700 books on personal growth now; I read six this month so far. No single book stands out much. Occasionally I do recommend specific books, but what’s important is the ongoing habit of absorbing new information. Make it a daily habit. Eventually you’ll soak up enough ideas that something will click in your mind, and you’ll find certain changes easier to make.

Be patient with yourself. Personal growth is part of your life, not merely something you check off your to-do list. If you fail, don’t beat yourself up. Just get back up and try again. It’s not like you have anything better to do.