Inspiration Is All Around (29/02/2020)

The following words of inspiration are written on a tote bag:-

WITHOUT A FRIEND TO SHARE THEM NO GOOD WE POSSESS ARE REALLY ENJOYABLE.

The following 2 slogans were sighted on T-shirts which would be complicated if I were to ask the respective wearers to oblige with a photoshoot:-

NEVER STOP LEARNING BECAUSE LIFE NEVER STOP TEACHING
It has been said that if we don't learn something well, it will come around again to challenge us. 

As we learn, life will present new stuffs for us to learn some more. The learning never stop as life is a university.


UNITY OVER ADVERSITY
An adversity such as the outbreak of Covid-19 can wreak havoc and create chaos such as panic buying of basic necessities like rice, noodles and toilet rolls. 

At times of adversity, it is when we need to be united the most by being considerate towards others and lending a helping hand.

There is strength in numbers. When those number of persons are unified in purpose, they become a force to be reckoned with.

Please feel free to share words of inspiration that you have come across by posting to the comments section below.

Thank you for supporting Daily Refreshing with your readership.

Gratitude Challenge - Day 9 (Human Intelligence)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 9, let's be thankful for Human Intelligence. 

Photo by Jason Blackeye on Unsplash

The development and progress of human intelligence is mind-blowing and perhaps taken for granted.

All the cooked food that we have been enjoying is due to the breakthrough discoveries and harnessing of fire (e.g., gas stove) and electricity (e.g., microwave oven). With the flick of a switch, we could turn on the lights in our room with candles out of sight.

Can you imagine taking a horse-drawn carriage to work instead of driving a car or taking the train or bus? And, taking a ship to overseas destinations which would mean a voyage of several days instead of jet planes which bring you to your destination within a matter of several hours?

Who would have imagined that we could now have a mobile device that combines telephone, diary, camera, radio, music player and computer held in the palm of our hand. We have certainly come a long way from carrying, clubs and swords in our hands and evolved from caveman and barbarians to users of sophisticated modern technology. 

We have advanced so far that we now have to make a distinction between human intelligence and artificial intelligence as man-made devices and robots are programmed to perform functions and tasks automatically and keep learning to adapt and grow.

Btw, you may wish to check out your dominant intelligences based on the following 9 types which an American developmental psychologist Howard Gardener has put forth in 1983:

1. Naturalist (nature smart)

2. Musical (sound smart)

3. Logical-mathematical (number/reasoning smart)

4. Existential (life smart)

5. Interpersonal (people smart)

6. Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)

7. Linguistic (word smart)

8. Intra-personal (self smart)

9. Spatial (picture smart)

Thank you for reading Daily Refreshing!

Journey of Happiness

Happiness is not a destination. If happiness is a destination then you would only be happy when you have arrived at your desired goal. But, that is no guarantee that you will remain happy.

For example, your destination for happiness could be when you are married to the spouse of your dream or when you have a personal net worth of USD 100 million. Nothing stay the same. Your might not be happy for long. What next?

On the flipside, why not change your mindset and realise that happiness is just a thought away? You can be happy right here right now without altering your environment and circumstances. That's a start while you do what you can to attract (think the good stuffs pursuant to the law of attraction) and improve your lot in life.

You are not alone. Believe that you can be happy. For sure, people all around you and all over the world are looking for happiness every day.

However, a vast number of people have the the misguided notion that it is somewhere out there. This may lead to substance abuse (e.g. drugs and alcohol) and other external stimuli (e.g. overseas travel, food binging and partying).

You can be happy on your own. Happiness is found in your mind. Exercise it.

Thank you for reading Daily Refreshing. Trust that this article will help you find, first and foremost, happiness within yourself. Chin up, smile and make happiness a way of life.

Once you are happy on your own, you can add to it by sharing in the happiness of others.

Click here for Ed Sheeran - Perfect [Official Music video/La La Land].

Gratitude Challenge - Day 8 (Health)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 8, let's be thankful for Health. 

Photo by Cecilia Par on Unsplash

Health is wealth. In the absence of health, you will experience downtime (time is money) and pile up on medical bills which could hurt your finances.

As evident from the recent outbreak of COVID-19 virus, an infection can have devastating effect on health globally and disrupt usual daily activities.

Let's be thankful for health care workers who are exposed to viruses and may even be subject to verbal abuse by their patients (who are agitated by their illness) or name-called as 'dirty' in public places.

Good personal hygiene, a healthy diet and appropriate physical exercises would be the order of the day towards a healthy lifestyle. 

Aside from physical health, do take care of your other dimensions of overall health by taking the time outside of work to rejuvenate yourself mentally with personal time (read, write, reflect, plan), engage in selected social activities that resonates with you, and be still before God (spiritual awakening).

Stay healthy. Appreciate it. The opposite of health never sits well with anyone.

Gratitude Challenge - Day 7 (Service Providers)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 7, let's be thankful for Service Providers. 

Photo by Antonio Reynoso on Unsplash

No man is an island or a one-man-operation. It is practically impossible for you to get through the day without being served by someone else.

While you may not have a butler or chauffeur on your payroll, chances are that this morning someone from your favourite outlet would have made you breakfast and a bus driver or train operator would have despatch you to your destination.

Then there is the hairdresser who cut and style your hair, the dentist who fixes your teeth, the nanny who minds your children, the mentor who turned your life around, the property agent who helped you divest your investment property for a handsome profit, and so forth.

As a service provider yourself you will appreciate how heartening it is when people express gratitude for the service that you have provided on top of paying you for it. 

What if your usual service provider fell short of your expectations? My guess is that you will be able to put yourself in the other service provider's shoe and show understanding that people do have their bad days or may need to change their mindset and learn what it means to server another person.

"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy." - Mahatma Gandhi

Good service rendered with joy speaks for itself and it would be a nice gesture if acknowledged with a delightful "Thank you". 

Photo by hiurich granja on Unsplash

Thank you for reading Daily Refreshing!

Gratitude Challenge - Day 6 (Freedom)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 6, let's be thankful for Freedom.

Photo by Harley-Davidson on Unsplash

But for history, you might find it unthinkable that slavery existed in the past. What a bleak world it was then for those who had lost their basic freedom as an individual.

Today one might still feel enslaved to make ends meet, but this is still far better than being a slave. Freedom is made possible by the sacrifices and hard fights of those who came before us.

In a time of crisis like war and pandemic, our liberty will be curbed but we don't hope for them to teach us to be thankful for the freedom that we now enjoy with our mobile, tablet or computer in front of us.

With this perspective of not taking our freedom for granted, we can empathise with the plight of those who are stung by modern day human trafficking and join the fight against such hideous crime against fellow human beings for monetary gains. 

Let's live more, complain lesser and lesser, enjoy our work (unlike us, slaves don't get paid for their work) and be thankful for freedom.

And, if you don't feel like doing anything today, no problem.

Click here for The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars.

Gratitude Challenge - Day 5 (Night)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 5, let's be thankful for Night.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

At the end of each day the golden sunset disappears from the horizon and ushers in the night. 

If you live in the city chances are that the tall buildings and lights all around will shield you from the night sky above. Try going to an open field where it is bereft of bright lights, stand still and look up (don't walk while looking up, seriously, to avoid untold damages).

You will then realise that the silent night resonates a sound of it own (the sound of silence) and emits a pulsating energy. There is so much out there in the outer space besides the the usual sun and moon. Watch the flicker of lights from distant stars and be amazed that this twinkle-twinkle little stars may appear small, but in reality they can be 100 times bigger than the sun (which is an average sized star).

Saved for those who have to toil at night such as fishermen, nurses and security personnel, the quietness and darkness of night spells rest and relaxation as you wind down for a good night's sleep.

Take some time to be still, review what had transpired during the day and take note of what you can learn from it so that you can do better the next day. Then hit the sack and let your mind and body rejuvenate after a long day of waking hours.

    

Gratitude Challenge - Day 4 (Morning)

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have and you will attract more good things. If you just study this one word "gratitude" every day for a month, I guarantee that your life will shift." --Bob Proctor

Join me on this one-month journey to practise "gratitude" on a daily basis and see how it would impact your life. You could keep a journal or blog of your own, and post your comments below.

For Day 4, let's be thankful for Morning.

As planet Earth stays in its orbit and rotates on it axis, the morning sun will show up after dawn to let you know that it is a brand new day for you to start on a clean slate.

Tomorrow is gone forever and never coming back save for the memory thereof. Even when it is cloudy or raining, the sun is still shining out there albeit out of sight until the sky clears up. 

Every morning is potentially a good morning if you have had a good night's rest and you are able to adapt and go with the flow as the day unfolds. Best of all, you get to break your fast and enjoy your first meal of the day with your favourite cuppa. Coffee, anyone?

If you are a morning person you would get to enjoy the many benefits of getting up early such as a relatively comfortable and shorter commute to your school or workplace due to the lesser traffic. Like they say, the early bird catches the worm.

When it comes to weekends or public holidays, mornings would mean a break from your weekday routine and you can do things differently such as sleeping-in, going for a round of golf and shopping for groceries. 

Make your mornings count; live in the moment without grudging and set yourself up for a wonderful day.