Life is Like Riding a Bicycle

Life is lived forward and understood backward. It is like driving an automobile where the windscreen in front of us is spectacularly large to give us a clear view of what is ahead as opposed to the small rear-view mirror for us to see what is behind us. 

And, striking a balance or finding our balance is the key to life. Albert Einstein said that: "Life is like a riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you have to keep moving." Oh, yes, he thought of that why riding a bicycle!

Occasionally, we may take a fall why riding our bicycle. Don't stay down. Get up, get going and find your balance again by moving forward. This is a timely reminder by William J. Clinton, "If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit."

As we keep learning, exploring and developing our skills in the University of Life, we will find our balance. Consider the concept of balance that literally launch the New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. as extracted from Wikipedia:-

"In 1906, William J. Riley, British emigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company, manufacturing arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit in the Boston area. His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three support points to provide greater balance and comfort in the shoe. It is believed that Riley came up with the name "New Balance" by observing chickens in his yard and demonstrated the way his arch supports worked by keeping a chicken foot on his office desk. He explained to customers that the chicken's three-clawed foot resulted in perfect balance."

Meanwhile, you may wish to be refreshed by some stand-out-from-the-crowd bicycles from http://hellobicycle.com.sg/

Let's keep riding our own bicycle, maintain our balance in life and enjoy the ride!

Fresh Fuel for Pursuing Your Dreams

It is said that a picture can paint a thousand words, and we can well imagine and try to extrapolate the multiplier effect of a video or movie. Yet, words are no less powerful than a picture or a series of pictures to fuel our dreams.

A single word or words strung together to form a sentence can be very powerful indeed as they can change our internal representation and launch an idea or vision to propel us forward towards the attainment of our dreams.

With words, we can receive fresh impetus to see the beauty and details of our dreams and imagine watching ourselves living our dreams on reality television everyday. 

Here then are the fresh fuels at this Dream station:

"Action conquers fear." -- Peter Nivo Zarlengo

"We cannot rise higher than our thoughts of ourselves." -- Orison Swett Marden

"Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what." -- Jack Canfield

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." -- Henry David Thoreau

"Imagination x Vividness = Reality" (Imagination mixed with vividness becomes reality) -- Glenna Salsbury

"Adversity is what gives you the opportunity to develop your inner resources of character and courage. Adversity is a great teacher. It will test you and make you stronger. But you have to hang in there and not give up." -- Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen

"It is never too late to pursue your dreams. Begin with your end goal in mind. Know what you want. Be prepared for sacrifices and commit wholeheartedly. It will be worth it." -- Mark Phooi

"It is never too late and no one is ever too old to learn something new or to pursue a passion which was put aside. What's worse is to go through life without ever pursuing your passion or uncovering your gifts." -- Mark Phooi

Just today, an article in The Sunday Times written by Mr Mike Lee on 52-years-old Mr Wilson Ng made my day. Wilson discovered his passion in acting while doing his rounds as an information technology salesman in his 40s and started off by acting in films directed by media students whom he has met. 

If you are interested, you can look him up at https://www.facebook.com/wilson.sgp His advice to aspiring actors is that fame and fortune don't come easily, but if they are willing to hone their skills and put in time and effort, their work will be recognized.

Get going, and pursue your dreams with dogged determination and persistence; don't give up. There will be lots of hard work and sacrifices, but it will be well worth it.

Sunshine & Happiness

I love sunny days where the skies are as blue as can be and there are gatherings of bright white cotton clouds up there 'seizing the day' and beckoning me to join them. Such days give me a positive vibe and make me feel happy. And, I have often wondered whether they are just coincidences or a result of some correlations between sunshine and happiness.

A quick research over the internet show that when sunlight strikes the optic nerve, some of that light is transmitted to the gland of the brain which releases serotonin. Serotonin is a chemical which works as a neurotransmitter (some say hormone) to awaken us and cause us to feel good or confident. 

Additionally, when sunlight hits our skin, it helps our body to produce Vitamin D which, in turn, contributes to a higher level of serotonin.

From my own experience at night, if I want to stay alert to read or blog, turning on the room's light in addition to the desk lamp would distinctively keep me more awake. Now, I know that it is the impact of light on the production of serotonin.

Apparently, the lack of serotonin can lead to depression but scientists are unsure as to whether the lack of serotonin is one of the factor causing depression or depression itself (due to other contributing factors) decreases the level of serotonin.

Incidentally, there is also another neurotransmitter called melatonin which is affected by sunlight in the opposite direction (inversely proportional) to serotonin. After sunset, the level of melatonin increases to induce downtime for the body in tandem with the decrease of serotonin, and vice versa.

Besides sunshine, there are other cause agents such as people who makes us feel happy even when skies are grey and we would unabashedly declare to them that "You're My Sunshine!". I suppose, unbeknown to them, they help to increase the secretion of serotonin in our body and we ought to keep good company with them and be their sunshine, too.

Thank you for hanging on as I try to put a finger to the working relationship between sunshine and happiness. 

Permit me to leave you now with "You Are My Sunshine" by a promising 19-year-old new artiste, Reuby T, and an oldie hit "Una Paloma Blanca" by George Baker.

I wish you more sunshine and happiness!

The 15 Habits of Supremely Happy People by Gregory Ciotti

If you wanna to explore Happiness, I think you would find this essay by Gregory Ciotti to be refreshing, inspiring and useful.

Click here to enjoy and share. 

Happy Reading!