learning how to see; 

If you want to make something new, start with understanding. Understanding what’s already present, and understanding the opportunities in what’s not. Most of all, understanding how it all fits together.

But would you have the guts to go this slow? Perhaps if you stop resisting time, you'll understand better, you'll realize deeper.

An opportunity to grow.. and let go.

There are so many words, such little time to express them. I can tell you that this was the best year for me in a long time. A few bumps in the road… surely.. but nothing like before. Nothing that I couldn’t endure. I’ve grown so damn much, wised up a fair bit and I can feel it within myself. I realized that though I’ve hurt many in the past, this is my present. The only difference I can make is NOW, in THIS moment, I cannot go back in time.

This is my life to live and I do not want to spend it in sorrow.. though I shall not dare say that doing so is a burden, I believe that out of great sadness you develop great strength. Whatever happens to us in our journey, there always exists an opportunity to grow. I've learnt that I just have to trust within myself first...

Then I will be ready to take the step to move ahead.

Coffee Stained pages:

That’s how people live, by telling stories. What’s the first thing a kid says when he learns how to talk? “Tell me a story.” That’s how we understand who we are, where we come from.

Stories are everything. 

You’ll never know, maybe that time when you smiled and greeted the stranger, that stranger could have his/her life changed because of it. You’ll never know, maybe that kid sitting by himself is just waiting for someone to approach him and be his friend. You’ll never know, the rude cashier had a tough day with her family. You’ll never know, maybe you have already met the one just by doing one good act. You’ll never know until you try.

My idea of travel: travel is little beds and cramped bathrooms. It's old television sets and slow Internet connections. Travel is extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. It's waiters, gas station attendants, and housekeepers becoming the most interesting people in the world. It's MacDonald's drive-thru being a luxury. It's the realization that you may have been born in the wrong country. Travel is a smile that leads to a conversation in broken English. Travel is tipping 10% and being embraced for it. Travel is the same white T-shirt and jeans again tomorrow. travel is flowing in the back of a bus with giggly strangers. It's a street full of bearded backpackers looking down at maps. Travel is wishing for one more bite of whatever that just was. It's the rediscovery of walking somewhere. It's sharing a can of root beer on a overnight train with a new friend. Travel is "Maybe I don't have to do it that way when I get back home ♥

It's the wound we can't see that caused us the most heartache.

Closing your eyes isn’t going to change anything. Nothing’s going to disappear just because you can’t see what’s going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That’s the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes.

Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won’t make time stand still.

You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed.

You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with cigarettes, with work, with jars of peanut butter, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life.

You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them. Strength will see you through. YES.

Everything that you have been through has allowed you to get to this point in time. Everything that you are going through will get you to the next point and all the ones after. Keep going.

No matter how bad the storm gets keep pressing forward knowing that clear skies await you. No matter how you tremble and shake never give up. Get to the other side of your fear, and trust that what lies there is worth fighting for. All that you want is worth fighting, struggling, sacrificing, and waiting for.

Go on, and continue putting forth even the smallest of efforts to sustain your pursuit. Don’t ever hang it up.

I've learnt that no matter what happens in life or how bad it is today, life goes on and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learnt that you can tell a person by the way he/she do handles 3 things: A rainy day, a broken heart and decision to make.

I've learnt that making a "living" is not the same as making a "life". I've learnt sometimes life give you a second chance. I've learnt that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mit on both hands, you need to give something back. I've learnt that whenever you decide something with a open heart, you eventually will make the right decision. I've learnt that whenever I've pain, I'm not the only one.

I've learnt that I still have a lot to learn. I've learnt that people will forget what you said, what you did to them, but not how you make them feel.

The only way out is to get through and learn from it.

Most good things don’t come easy. –
Easy is to think about improving. Difficult is to put these thoughts into action. Easy is to stumble and fall. Difficult is to get back up. Easy is to judge the mistakes of others. Difficult is to recognize your own mistakes. Easy is to receive. Difficult is to give. Easy is to promise something. Difficult is to fulfill that promise.
We realize, most of the things we need in life are simple, but not easy. The difficult, however, is often an indication that it’s worthwhile.

You don't get to choose when or who you meet, but you do get to choose who you hold on to.

who told you to wait in line?

Don't you realize that we are always waiting for something? Waiting for it to be the weekend, to be finished with school, till later, till we are 18. We are always waiting and what’s sad is we are missing every beautiful moment in the ‘present’ because we spend our whole lives waiting for tomorrow and for the future, we end up skipping our whole lives, and one day we will spend our last day waiting on a tomorrow that will never come.

If you wait to do everything until you’re sure "the time is right", you’ll probably never do much of anything. Stop waiting till it's Friday, start living.

Life is such a balancing act isn’t it? I definitely haven’t mastered it yet. These last weeks pushed me to my limit, past my limit and then some.

I’m going to step back up onto the balance beam, and I will not stumble. For, I see my future in you.

Even if you choose your words when you talk about your feelings, it couldn't define exactly, it just kinda always left something out.

Once in a while, amidst all your bad days, you’ll have a good day. A great day even.

Make sure you remember those days. Keep them safely in your pockets, maybe even a jar on your desk because you need to know that there are and will be better days. You need to remember how on those days you felt warm inside, like you’ve just drunk a hot cup of tea, like a spark was ignited inside of you. Hold on to that warmth.

And never let it go.

Rainy Nights:

When it starts to pour, people start to become quiet and feel the silence and coldness around them. Some get their earphones and play sad songs and pretend that it’s their time to drama. Some stare out in the nowhere and feel alone while doing some realization. Rain could really make our emotions turn from high to sad.

But rain isn’t all bad. In fact, I love it when it rains. I could sleep soundly enjoying the breeze it gives me. I could drink my favorite hot choco and feel the warmth it gives to make me relax and comfortable. When it rains, people are running just to find some shed especially if you don’t have an umbrella. But don’t you know that the rain is a magical feeling. I mean, if you don’t have an umbrella, why bother running away? You’re just going to be wet sooner or later. If you can’t hide from it, face it and you just might enjoy it.

Playing and stomping on puddles of water is one of my favorite past time when it rains during my childhood. The rain gives a new feeling of warm breeze. It’s ironic but it’s magical. When it rains, simple things can turn into something enchanted. Like kiss in the rain, dance in the rain. When you do things under the rain with someone, it suddenly becomes so much memorable, so much mystical, so much fun..

So, if you can’t hide from the rain, just stop and enjoy it for a while. You never know what great things it could bring to you ♥

There is always a reason why the sun rise every morning and sets every dusk.. There is always a reason why the earth needs to rotate every (approx) 24 hours and revolves around the sun for 365 days. There is a reason why people fall in love and fall out of love. And there is a reason why I wrote this post.

Everything happens for a reason. If things went bad today, maybe tomorrow things will be better. If you desired for something, just wait for it to come by. And if you’re hurt because of love, it means that it is set to happen for the better things. Don’t mistook bad things for bad luck and good things for coincidence. Good thing happens because you deserve it and bad thing happens because you need it.

因为我不知道，下一辈子是否还能遇见你，所以我今生才会，那么努力，把最好的给你。

I am not the A* student who mugs my ass of for the sake of degree, because that isn't real learning nor is it application. That's just memorizing and regurgitating to get your exams over and done with.

I would never want to be one of those people who live just to work 9-5, work in a office because society says "for as long as you're in office wear, you are likely to have a stable income" because chances are, you're gonna slog so hard for that promotion without a real purpose and you don't even get the time to spend all that "stable income" because you have to answer to a nasty grumpy boss... Ya da da.

So cheers to the ones who were bold enough to break out of society norms and stayed true to their childhood dreams.

whatever you do, do it good ♥

The difference between what you want, and what you have, is what you do. The bridge from desire to fulfillment is action. Every moment is an opportunity to act. The more of those momentary opportunities you make use of, the more quickly your dreams will become real.

It doesn’t really matter what you say you want or what you wish for. What matters is what you choose to work for. What matters is what you use your irreplaceable time to accomplish. So make purposeful use of today as it comes.

You deserve more than just empty wishes, so get busy and give yourself the best of what you deserve. Work for it, and delight in the outstanding experience of bringing your most treasured dreams to life.

Do you ever realize that we see with memory?

My memory is different from yours, so if we are both standing in the same place we’re not quite seeing the same thing. Different individuals have different memories, and so other elements are playing a part. Whether you have been in a place before will affect you, and how well you know it.

There’s no objective vision ever – ever.

Nothing is as therapeutic as getting into the trails hitting the slopes, accelerating down the descends and feeling free.
The best part?

When it starts pouring, and you have yourself a jolly good time drivin' through the mudders, and when you're finally done......

Your bad week, your bad day, just kinda dissolved.

Have you ever noticed someone, perhaps on the train, bus, while walking home, felt so intrigued solely by their presence? Not in a creepy way, but because they seemed to have such a story behind them.

The type of story that would fascinate you. Behind the book that they were reading, behind the smile on their face while they look at their phone, behind their walls, they seemed like a unique person. Something about them filled you with wonder in a way that you sincerely wanted to get to know them.

Despite the fact that you have this urge to approach them, you know you could never. But just like any story, this one has an ending too. Their train stop nears, their bus stop approaches, their turn on the sidewalk bends around the corner, and you never see them again.

Just like that.

You know what you want, you’re just afraid to admit it because you’re afraid of failing. Screw that. Screw your fear. You know what you want, which is a hell of a lot more than most other people. So don’t be afraid or ashamed.

Just go on and get it.

Children are:
Amazing, acknowledge them. Believable, trust them. Gifts, treasure them. Joyful, appreciate them. Kind-hearted, learn from them. Lovable, cherish them. Open-minded, respect them. Precious, value them. Questioners, encourage them. Spontaneous, enjoy them. Vulnerable, protect them. Talented, believe in them.

Happy Children's Day, little ones ♥

Some things don’t last forever, but some things do.

Like a good song, or a old text messages, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down on the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there.

You. Make it you.

You’ve made it about everyone else this week. Today, make it about you. Eat the crust of your pizza. Jump on your bed. Sing in the shower. Confront. Collide. Color outside the lines. Unlock your inner code, because it’s Sunday Funday!

Think about how many people have sat beside you at a room, at a public bus or train and how they somehow crossed their fingers hoping that you will talk to them. I am definitely certain that somebody has. There are plenty of times that someone has seen you and hoped that you will talk to them, but you never did, because you are unaware and they never had the guts.

Don’t go around wondering that no one likes you and that you are not loved, because there might be a lot of times that a stranger spotted you and said, “Just my type.”

If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start.

This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing out in the cold. It could mean jail. It could mean isolation. Isolation is the gift.

All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter.

It’s the only good fight there is.

Many believe they need to close a chapter before opening a new one. They see closure as a washing away and they don’t allow themselves to move on until what is preventing them from moving on has completely dissolved. I believe closure is having the ability to transition, walking after that crippling event or relationship. Closure then is courage.

Closure doesn’t have to mean forgetting about or erasing memories.
The events that have happened to us, the relationships we have been through, they are valuable. To hope they didn’t happen or push them away is not closure. That is denial. Closure means to accept, learn from, but most importantly begin again.

Closure means to walk and it is a bridge, not a door.