Breathing in, I calm body and mind.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is the only moment.

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind.” This line is like drinking a glass of ice water–you feel the cold, the freshness, permeate your body. When I breathe in and recite this line, I actually feel the breathing calming my body, calming my mind.

“Breathing out, I smile.” You know the effect of a smile. A smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face, and relax your nervous system. A smile makes you master of yourself. That is why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are always smiling. When you smile, you realize the wonder of the smile.

“Dwelling in the present moment.” While I sit here, I don’t think of somewhere else, of the future or the past. I sit here and I know where I am. This is very important. We tend to be alive in the future, not now. We say, “Wait until I finish school and get my Ph. D. degree, and then I will be really alive.”

When we have it, and it’s not easy to get, we say to ourselves, “I have to wait until I get a job, in order to be *really* alive.” And then after the job, a car. After the car, a house. We are not capable of being alive in the present moment. We tend to postpone being alive to the future, the distant future, we don’t know when. Now is not the moment to be alive. We may never be alive in our entire life. Therefore, the technique, if we have to speak of a technique, is to be in the present moment, to be aware that we are here and now, and the only moment to be alive is the present moment.

“I know this is the only moment.” This is the only moment that is real. To be here and now, and enjoy the present moment is our most important task. “Calming. Smiling, Present moment, Only moment.” I hope you will try it.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Migrants’ kids at risk: CDRI
Instead of attending classes, many of the children take up jobs to add to the family’s earnings in between remittances or to make up for shortfalls. Children from migrant households are 27 per cent more likely to have income-earning work, and for child labourers who were already employed before the adults left, their burden increases; migration is likely to add 7.4 hours on children’s workload per week, according to the report.

Caption: A young Cambodian boy loads bricks into a kiln in Kandal province last year. A new report suggests that children of migrant workers are more likely to stop schooling and join the labour force. Photo: The Phnom Penh Post/Hong Menea

http://kimedia.blogspot.com/2014/10/migrants-kids-at-risk-cdri.html

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Steps are nearly straight up
Very dangerous steps in the most
famous temple in my country, Cambodia.

Video and more photos
http://kimedia.blogspot.com/2014/10/scary-stairs-story-rebutted.html

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A poor girl and little baby in my country, Cambodia
Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.

~Dennis Prager

http://kimedia.blogspot.com/2014/10/golden-memories.html

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No one wants to be bitter. It sneaks up on us.  Bitterness is unforgiveness fermented. The more we hold onto past hurts the more we become drunk on our pain and the experience can rob us of the joy we can find in anything.

Bitterness occurs when we feel someone has taken something from us that we are powerless to get back.  We hold on to the hurt in an attempt to remind ourselves and others of the injustice we’ve experienced in the hopes that someone will save us and restore what we’ve lost. Unfortunately, bitterness only makes our sense of the injustice grow. It does nothing to heal the wound caused by the injustice.  In fact, it causes the wound to become infected with anger.

When we are hurt, we have a tendency to turn the painful events over and over in our head or tell anyone who will listen about our pain–even over and over again. It is fine to talk to people we think can help us heal the hurt, facilitate reconciliation or help us rebuild our lives, but other than that, we should do what we can to stop dwelling on the story of our injury ourselves and stop speaking of it so freely to others. 

Source: Patheos

No one wants to be bitter. It sneaks up on us. Bitterness is unforgiveness fermented. The more we hold onto past hurts the more we become drunk on our pain and the experience can rob us of the joy we can find in anything.

Bitterness occurs when we feel someone has taken something from us that we are powerless to get back. We hold on to the hurt in an attempt to remind ourselves and others of the injustice we’ve experienced in the hopes that someone will save us and restore what we’ve lost. Unfortunately, bitterness only makes our sense of the injustice grow. It does nothing to heal the wound caused by the injustice. In fact, it causes the wound to become infected with anger.

When we are hurt, we have a tendency to turn the painful events over and over in our head or tell anyone who will listen about our pain–even over and over again. It is fine to talk to people we think can help us heal the hurt, facilitate reconciliation or help us rebuild our lives, but other than that, we should do what we can to stop dwelling on the story of our injury ourselves and stop speaking of it so freely to others.

Source: Patheos

http://leelavadeeflower.blogspot.com/2014/10/healing-hurt-that-wont-go-away.html

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Even though life is hard, even though it is sometimes difficult to smile, we have to try. Just as when we wish each other, “Good morning,” it must be a real “Good morning.”

We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to seize the situation in our hand, to recover our own sovereignty. When we sit down peacefully, breathing and smiling, with awareness, we are our true selves, we have sovereignty over ourselves.  ~Thich Nhat Hanh

From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax, to be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth. This is not a retreat, it is a treat. During walking meditation, during kitchen and garden work, during sitting meditation, all day long, we can practice smiling. At first you may find it difficult to smile, and we have to think about why. Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we are not drowned into forgetfulness. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

You should not do anything you do not want to do just to fit in or to impress others. It is impossible for you to please everyone or to make everyone happy. You must be yourself and sometimes decision has to be made even if you have to face criticism. Remember, no one in this world will praise you all the time and no one in this world will criticize you all the time either. Happiness comes and goes, so does suffering. You should do what is right for you, what makes you happy because you are the one who have to live your life. Not doing what others tell you to do, does not mean you don’t love them. For example: I am a vegetarian. I don’t drink or smoke either. My friends always begged me to eat meat and consume a little alcohol whenever I joined them at the cookout.  Of course, I would never do what they wanted me to, no matter how much they begged me because I do what I believe is right for me. You must build a strong roof so there is shelter that can protect you from the rain. Do not let anyone change you to be the person you do not want to be. Always follow your heart, not the voice in your head. ~Jendhamuni

Wishing you a lovely night,
Wait for tomorrow for day so bright,
See pleasant dreams for another day,
As on your bed you lay,
Wait for a new dawn,
a new day,
Don’t forget to say your pray,
Good night and sleep tight!

~Source: WishAFriend