When Life Gives You Doubts…

Make a Doubt Sandwich!

A Doubt Sandwich has the healthy questioning of Doubt, placed in between the wholesome bread slices of Faith and Surrender. While intaking Doubt, you can also get a healthy dose of Faith and Surrender. These supplements are very important for the soul and spirit.

Everything has to be in moderation, though. Too much Doubt will result in the Soul becoming yellowish and dull, while too much Faith and Surrender without proper use of Discrimination makes one bloated with Pride and Overconfidence. As with most food for the soul, balance and moderation is key.

So, enjoy your Doubt while you can, in the form of this delicious sandwich. Only available for a limited period. Because this too shall pass, and nothing lasts forever.

“Don’t Steal My Dust!”

One of the inevitable side effects of teaching music in a classroom is that sometimes, the classroom instruments become more than that – they become weapons of childish acts of revenge, objects to tease with, objects which can be used to get attention.

After a particular trifle between 2 groups in which Boomwhackers were hurled through the air, I got them to stay back after class to Talk.

Long story short – after rounds of blame-pushing and fact-crosschecking, the culprits finally owned up to their actions and agreed to accept the consequences.

Still feeling angsty over their misbehaviour, I then curtly told them to make it quick and to make sure I can see how much dust they have each cleaned from the room. The 2 boys picked up the brooms and started sweeping earnestly. After a while, 2 small mounds of dust accumulated  on the floor. Boy1, after sweeping his mound into the dustpan, went over to Boy2’s mound and attempted to do the same. Boy2 became startled. “Hey!! Don’t steal my dust!!”

That he would be so protective over a mound of dust tickled me to no end.

Almost at once, I felt the irritation and angst over their earlier misbehavior dissipate, and I saw them for what they simply are: Young boys who are growing up. With hormones and all.

I allowed myself to crack a half-smile (even though I really wanted to burst into laughter), and told them there was lots more dust under the teacher’s table and under the stacks of chairs. It became almost like a game, with them trying to show me how much dust they could each collect.

I went back to the staffroom and shared the dusty story with a colleague, and we had a good laugh over it.

Self care for the day, done!

That Moment When…

THERE IS FOOD.

The “Lion King” Moment

Outside my window, which reminded me of:

Picture Source

 

Decisions

“She wanted to go somewhere tomorrow to have her own time or something, right?”

“No, I thought she told me she wanted to go out and see books together?”

Both turned to stare at me.

“Er… Remember I told you I already spent the L*S money? So… I was thinking of going somewhere quiet to…”

My brother turned to my mother.

“Ok Mum. You were right. She wants to be alone.”

And with a mock sigh of disappointment, he turned and walked away.

;p

Baby Lizard

“Dad, mum and I just swept a baby lizard out from the house this morning.”

“Ohh, that one.”

“What! You knew about its existence?!”

My father gave a sagely nod of his head.
“Yes, I’ve been taking care of it for some time.”

O.o

Level Up

“How did you fracture your thumb?!”

“I was playing soccer, then I fell and my thumb turned the other way, then they brought me to hospital, and the x-ray show that it was fractured.”

“Wow.” I couldn’t stop staring at the thick cast around his hand and wrist.

“Cher, I have the picture of the X-Ray, wanna see?!”

“What? No! No, please keep your x-ray. I do not. I do not want to see your fracture! And please take care of yourself!”

The friend, watching with amusement nearby, quipped:

“Cher, he level up!”

Though I looked at them in great amusement at that moment, on hindsight, isn’t what the boy said true?

Everything adversity, every challenge, everything that doesn’t kill us, DOES help us to “level up”. We learn from experiences, we become stronger, more matured, more resilient. Just because we have not hit the next “level” does not mean that we are not on the way there.

Just another day when I learn from those I supposedly teach.

Aye Aye Captain

Mary

 

After snapping a few shots of this little one, I walked a distance away… Before noticing that a giant dog had started to approach the cats in the area!

Startled and worried for the safety of the cats, I wanted to head back and try some means to chase the dog away. (Now that I think about it, I think the cats would have laughed at my efforts. Seriously, stamping my feet? Waving my hands? Which dog would be afraid of THAT?) In my mind, the dog was the evil aggressor, the bad guy who must be stopped at all costs, the bully who must be taught a lesson.

As fate would have it, a lady who works around the area happened to be returning to office, and was walking past the area. Recognizing the dog and cats, she immediately made a loud hissing sound.

“PSST! MARY! DON’T DISTURB THE CATS AH!”

“Mary?” I looked at the huge mongrel, almost 3 times the size of any cat in the area. It looked like anything but a Mary.

She turned to me with kindly eyes. “Ya, we all call her Mary. She big big but actually she very scared one. She just wants to make friends with the cats! She never dare to do anything to them.”

So saying, the lady gave one more click of her tongue in the direction of the animals before continuing her way. And sure enough, the dog – Mary – had backed away. The felines, ever cautious, maintained their defensive positions, but it did not look like WW3 was going to erupt any time soon.

I could not help but keep smiling in amusement for a while after that.

Mary?

I Glided

“When you were young and learning to walk, you never crawled.” My mother suddenly pronounced last night, when I was lying on her bed, talking about random things before sleeping.

“Huh? Me? Really?”

“Ya! You were so cute. You never learnt to crawl properly. You just glided.”

“I what?!”

“Glided!”  She repeated, making a sweeping motion with her arm away from her. “You don’t believe, go ask Daddy.”

So I bounded away to where my father was. “Is it true that I didn’t really crawl, I just glided? Like… like a penguin??” (I don’t know why that image popped into my head)

 

Picture source

He thought for a while.

“Now that you mention it, yes. Yes. You glided.”

 

So that confirms it. Crawling doesn’t always come before walking.

And age has no limits on creativity! ;D