Where's your fire?

Every idea begins with a spark of inspiration. That spark is always created by the friction of a desire rubbing up against a barrier. We come equipped with a load of desires. When our desires are easily satisfied, they burn themselves out. There's no longer a need for passion. So we move up our hierarchy of needs to until we find another barrier. That's just the way we are. Pretty soon, we're headed for the moon.

We can sit for hours, fascinated with the warmth, glow, and dance of a fire. Just as we can satisfy ourselves reading biographies of great explorers, inventors, and conquerors. Or watching the exploits of passionate people on TV and in the movies. Or following them in the news.

These pictures of great lives and harrowing adventures stoke the fires of our passions. Some of us take our passions one step further. Like the greats, we make a promise. We commit to following our passion where it leads. Once we make our picture public, we are seldom alone. Our creative fire attracts the creative fire of other people focused on the same or a similar picture.

How can you keep your creative fire hot without getting burned? If you're too worried about that, you've probably not going to make much creative fire.

昨天、今天、明天

當我們回顧過去、放眼未來時，會發現“今天”的顯現和顯現對境一個個即來即失，就如同坐在快速行駛的列車上看窗外的花草樹木。今天我們使用的物品、居住的房屋以及稱之為“我”的五蘊身體等等的一切，都不再是昨天的，因為昨天的一切已經顯現而又消失，走向了過去。時間，如同魔鬼般張著天地大的兇猛的嘴、呲著像陡峭的雪山般堅厲的牙，吞噬了這所有的一切。就當我轉動筆尖寫下這幾句話時，時間又已經悄無聲息地吞噬掉我們生命裏的寶貴幾分鐘，我們的壽命又已經減少了幾分鐘。

很多年前活潑可愛的你、現在年輕瀟灑的你、未來老態龍鍾的你，如果這三個不一樣的形像同時出現在你面前，你認為哪一個是真正的你？如果說這三個都是你，那麼你就變成了三個。這樣推算，每年都會出現新的你；如果再仔細計算，則每一刹那都會出現新的你，那你就變成無數個了；再進一步仔細分析，“一刹那”也可以細分，到最終，連細微的“一刹那”也找不到了。我們的身體並不是在童年、青年、老年分時段發生變化，也不是每個月才變化一次，而是不留痕跡地每一刹那都在發生變化。短暫的人生，不過是上演了一場生、老、病、死的短暫歌舞罷了，如同天空中劃出了一道刹那間的閃電，對如此短暫的人生，卻作長遠的打算，那只能是自己欺騙自己。

Talking to your brain

Hey wake up! We've got to write another article.
Give it a rest, will you?
Come on, you've got no reason to be so grumpy.
Reason? What's that?
You're so difficult to deal with sometimes.
No, I'm not.
Yes you are. I can never get you do what I want.
That's because you're always trying to control me.
But I need an idea. Now! You know I can't write without you.
You interrupted a wonderful daydream.
How am I supposed to get anything done with a better half like you?
What's to get done? Life is a process, not a product.
That's easy for you to say, up in there clouds, no contact with reality. But I have to write an article.
You want ideas, this is where they come from.
So give me an idea.
Are you listening?
Yes.
Promise to take good care of it?
Promise.
Promise to defend it against all your left-brain friends?
Promise.
Promise never to compromise it?
What do you want from me?
What do you think?
I have no idea.
Yes, you do. I just gave you one.
What?
You weren't writing it down?
Come on. Talking to yourself is bad enough, but writing it down, that's...
That's what?
...not a bad idea!
You're welcome.

The most creative brains

The New York PR agency, Porter Novelli, conducted a survey of 100 executives from America's top companies, They asked, "Which is more important, intelligence or creativity?" 59% cast their lot with creativity. 28% went with intelligence.

That's the good news. They also asked, "Do American schools do enough to foster creativity?"76% said no. Only 14% said yes. It's still good news for executives, though. According to the survey, tight budgets do little to limit creativity. And deadlines actually help. But consider whom they asked.

The most creative companies they could think of were Apple, 3M, McDonalds, and Disney. The most creative people they named were Ross Perot, Steven Jobs, and Thomas Edison. In that order, the most encouraging news is the belief among 88% of America’s most stellar executives that their"most creative days are ahead..." Nearly half said they were more creative than their bosses. And 43% said that they themselves have been accused of being "too creative." Way to go!

Finally, if you're looking for the best time to present your big idea to the boss, you gotta get 'em as early yin the morning as possible. That's when 46% say they are most creative. It drops dramatically throughout the rest of the day with a little positive blip in the evening.

Thinking with a pencil

Crazy boss

Don't ever admit you're working for lousy boss. Because it's been shown that lousy bosses hire incompetent people. Any you don't want to identify yourself with this phenomenon.

To keep good people in their place, bad boss belittles and intimidates. He keeps tight reigns on information, discourages new ideas, and allows nothing to happen without their approval. Bad boss is critical, indecisive, inconsistent, and demanding. He never listens, rarely show approval, and have no sense of humor.

He makes as much noise as he does salary. And we could get along with a lot less of both. You spend valuable time planning when to approach him, because you want to hit him when his mood swings your way. He is never around, and when he is, his door is locked. You have to do everything his way. He cares about no one but himself. Today he's pondering how to pose for his corporate portrait. He ignores or humiliates anyone who threatens to mar his image. And if he's listening, he has no idea who I'm talking about.

Why do we tolerate? The corporate drive for profit accommodates anything that works, including tyrants. And the only thing that will improve conditions, is your insistence on standards of common decency.

The good news is, there are better bosses out there, and they listen. They realize that money-making ideas can come from anyone. But to listen, bosses have to trust. A boss who doesn’t trust is probably in over his head.

Be a good wife

Think about it: what simple things in life could you do to make someone else's life better -- and what would you appreciate the most if it were done for you?

1. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile. Don't greet him with complaints or problems.
2. Showing respect for his family and friends. You should avoid putting him in a position where he had to choose between his mother and his wife.
3. Be good with his parents and relatives in his absence.
4. Make the home pretty.
5. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first. Don't badger him with inane banalities -- whatever hot topic of discussion you have, unless it is ill or on fire, can probably wait for you to talk about it until he has time to catch his breath.
6. Pleasing him if he is angry -- If he was angry because of external reasons then keep silent until his anger goes.
7. Make the evening his. Never complain instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax. Treat him like you would expect to be treated and recognize the value of time alone or with other friends. (assuming he is loyal and not a schmuck -- if he can't be trusted to do this, get rid of him)
8. Physical beautification -- Take good care of your body and fitness, beautify and perfume yourself.
9. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
10. Don't question his judgment or integrity. The point is he should be trustworthy and you should treat him as such and in return his job is to take care of you.

A good wife always knows her place. Yep -- in the house and in the senate, too!

Hope this inspired a few smiles, and a few more kind actions towards our partners.

What would you do if your boyfriend coming back home late into the night?

6 hours is neither long nor short, but 6 hours into the night is quite bad. He was out that long and hasn't told me he intends to be that long. I feel like calling him but don't want to be so obvious and give him any pressure. I tried to call him after 5 hours (at 4am) but he didn't pick up the call which made it worst. It would be better if my other half knows to call me as I worry, so as long as he calls to let me know he is still alive and not lying in a ditch then that's fine.

Commitment

As for commitment, I think it is a result, not a component of love. Two people will naturally want to stay together if they are in a loving relationship. I can say that a conscious commitment to stay together was never part of the picture for either of us. Rather, the desire to stay together was the outcome of loving each other. On the other hand, a person who baulks at committing themselves because they value freedom more than the relationship is not tasting the fruits of love, or so it seems to me.

Leaving 15 days----Staying 8 days----Leaving 13 days----Staying 12 days----Leaving 12 days----20/60----1/3

'Behind the scene' painting

There is a painting I happened to drip yellow paint on. At first I was terribly upset, but then I started enjoying it. The trickle looked like a crack; it turned the flowers into a battered old backdrop, a backdrop with some flowers painted on it. I began playing with the crack, filling it out, wondering what might be visible behind it. I called it “behind the scene”.

On the surface, there was always an impeccably realistic world, but underneath, behind the paper, lurked something different, something mysterious or abstract.

Communication

When we learn to communicate openly and honestly, life changes. To love someone is to communicate with them. Let the people you love know that you love them and appreciate them. Never be afraid to say those three magic words: “I Love You.” Never let an opportunity pass to praise someone. Always leave someone you love with a loving word – it could be the last time you see them. If you were about to die but could make telephone calls to the people you loved, who would you call, what would you say and... why are you waiting?

Making love

Romance and passion are about taking in information and energy, as opposed to broadcasting them. So it is not about being sexy or being attractive, it is about being interested in your partner and being receptive and knowing them, and taking in something deep and fundamental about them. It is a moment-to-moment decision to be interested, to be complimentary. People good at relationships have this habit of looking for things to appreciate.

You don't marry someone you can live with

To my dearest and loveliest friend:

It's hard to keep waiting for the 'right one', but it's worth it in the end. You are worth having someone be loving and kind and special and make bells ring in your head, to make your heart pound and your palms sweaty.

People say: You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person who you cannot live without.

隱藏在心中的事

芝宇久違心耿耿

鬢邊猶染舊烟痕

暗竹浮烟人寂寂

一一心頭印作痕

注:“久違芝宇，時切葭思”這是舊時書信中常用的客套語，意思是久不見面，時刻想念。芝宇，即眉宇。


詩的好歹，意思的深淺，姑且勿論；於今數年，這是醒過來的人的真聲音。

Pull your head out of your ass