let's go to space

"come see what my kids did!" aunty kim beckoned excitedly, laughing as she wrapped her arms around one of the little boys giggling beside her.

"they were showing me space! they said, aunty kim, want to go to space?!?"

i quickly ran over to see what was going on. the lights in the boys dorm were all switched off. the surrounding area was pitch dark by then, as the phnom penh village still had limited access to electricity. yet it was too early for these boys to possibly be sleeping. what could they be up to?

i reached the window of one of the dorms and peered in.

space.

it was like i'd peered into a vortex of a million and one brightly glowing stars. stars everywhere i looked - on the walls, the ceilings, the floor. i couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful it all was, until i was quickly distracted by little boys jumping from the top of one bunk bed to another, fighting each other with lightsabers.

and then it caught my eye. how the magic all started.

a bunch of genius little boys had cut open the tubes of the glo-sticks we had given them earlier and were proceeding to fling their glowing contents everywhere and on everyone. there were little glowing aliens running around everywhere chasing each other with glo-juice on their backs, laughing hysterically.

it was impossible not to burst out laughing too.

the lost boys, was what immediately came to my head. carefree, wild, and full of spirit, just like the boys in peter pan.

and then i walked over to peer into the next dorm, and the scene changed. one of the boys waved at me and shouted, "see our club! we're going clubbing!"

a portable speaker complete with glowing led lights then suddenly made an appearance out of nowhere, and started pumping out club hits. a ring quickly formed around a group of little boys who were dropping some sick dance moves as they faced off in the circle. the glo-juice harvesters had made it to the club too, and were flinging sparkly, glowing liquid over the dancers.

only in cambodia.

these kids barely saw their familes. barely had a place to call home. on the surface, it seemed like they had next to nothing, but maybe, looking closer, they had everything that was needed for a good life.

a heart full of gratitude. for food in their bellies and a place to sleep. but more importantly, people around them to love and be loved by.

maybe they even had more. i mean, how many city kids would be able to do what they just did, i thought. fling glo-juice everywhere and not get the whacking of their lives? maybe these kids know more about joy and contentment than our city kids with all the gadgets, toys, and amusements that money can buy.

i want what these kids have, i thought to myself. to own no things - but to own everything.

to spend days filled with laughter, spontaneity, company, merriment, imagination. to wake up on a hard wooden bunk bed one morning and go to space at night.

i want to experience life like that.

simple. eyes washed in wonder. 

a code to contentment

it's been a crazy, crazy year. most days i feel like i'm scrambling to get through, and gasping for breath! in times like these, i find a lot of comfort in the stories of people who have gone through and are going through the same challenging seasons... and who are choosing to journey through them with lots of grace, positivity, and perspective.

one of them is linds, whom i've never met in person or even chatted to online, but found online through a comment she left on my blog. even though we live completely different lives somehow i always resonate with what she posts up!

she recently put together her 'code to contentment' that helps her navigate through the rocky, tumultuous waves of life and stay grateful through it all. i was incredibly inspired to do the same, so here's my code to contentment to help you kickstart another week ahead (in pictures, words, and song!):

crystal's code to contentment

1. choose my attitude.

"i choose to be the best that i can be.

i choose to be authentic in everything i do.

my past don't dictate who i am - i choose."

-i choose, india.arie

we all know people who have that 'victim' mentality. we probably have been that at points in our lives too. we know how it is. it's ugly. when you're always looking to point a finger, shift the blame, wallow in self-pity, and gripe about how much tougher you have it than everyone else. but it's a choice to rise above all that and choose to be better. 

2. enjoy the little things.

"there are times when it is hard to believe in the future, when we are temporarily just not brave enough. when this happens, concentrate on the present. cultivate le petit bonheur (the little happiness) until courage returns. look forward to the beauty of the next moment, the next hour, the promise of a good meal, sleep, a book, a movie, the likelihood that tonight the stars will shine and tomorrow the sun will shine. sink roots into the present until the strength grows to think about tomorrow." 

-ardis whitman

"i remember how I used to want it all 

funny now the big things seem so small 

i dream of simple things 

i can believe in 

like the feeling this day brings 

true love and the miracle of forgiving 

i believe in simple things"

-simple things, amy grant

i was never raised to place much importance on things and brands. even then, especially now that i've started working, it's hard not to be surrounded by materialism and people comparing themselves to each other. and so, i'm grateful i'm still able to appreciate the simple things, like a good cup of coffee and good conversation. 

3. don't wait for things to change, but be the change.

"i want to leave a legacy 

how will they remember me? 

did i choose to love enough 

to make a mark on things?"

-legacy, nichole nordeman

today, i came across this tweet that really made me think: 'Do you complain about the wind, hope the wind will stop or adjust your sails?' the first and second are essentially a waste of time, energy, and emotions. i'd rather channel them into changing the way i look at the situation, and essentially changing the situation itself. 

4. live the questions

"...have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. and the point is to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." 

-rainer maria rilke, 1903, in letters to a young poet

"i’m letting go

of the life i planned for me

and my dreams

this is a giant leap of faith

trusting and trying to embrace

the fear of the unknown

beyond my comfort zone."

-i'm letting go, francesca battistelli

i've learned that the fastest way to become unhappy and dissatisfied with anything - a job, a partner, a life - is to try to control it. there is much freedom, liberty, and peace, in learning to let go and not have to always be in control. 

6. turn to saltwater.

i've found that there are very, very few things that a good run, a good beach getaway, or a good cry can't fix. 

5. focus on eternity

"they think that it's you

but they don't know that who you are

is not what you do

I don't want to gain the whole world

and lose my soul"

-lose my soul, tobymac

i listen to the above song almost every morning on my way to work. it keeps me sane, reminds me to look up, and helps me remember, in the midst of all the distractions of life, where i'm heading. 

hope my code to contentment in someway challenged or inspired you. what's your code of contentment? if you have one, please share! if not, why not spend some time writing yours too?

have a blessed week ahead!

2011 Thankfulness

Thought I'd just take some time to pause, rewind, and look back on some of the greatest blessings the past year has brought into my life (not in any particular order).

Amazing friendships - in particular the After-Alpha community

Conquering Mount Kinabalu, which has always been on my dream list

Naz and Mabel, who kept me sane through winter at the start of the year

The most annoying yet heart-meltingly adorable cat in the world

Finding my way back

Graduating with a Bachelor's Degree!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17

Thankful

My last post talked about feeling empty, and lacking.

So I thought it would be a good time to focus on the opposite - on abundance and fullness.

Despite what I lack, when I have some down time to stop and clear my head - usually stuck in a jam or on the LRT after work - I never fail to be reminded of the abundance of blessings that my life is flooded with.

I could do with more thankfulness. I think all of us could. There are a million and one things we take for granted every day, every moment, that we forget to say 'thank you' for.

Someone once said if the only prayer you ever said was "Thank you", that would be enough (Meister Eckhart). I completely agree. Except I would add "I'm sorry" to "Thank you." I think those four little words are the most important words anyone could ever learn.

So this is a thankful post, counting the dozens of blessings that have been showered on me.

I'm thankful for:

• Amazing friends
• Answered prayers for Good People to come into my life  
• Working for a company whose values I share and whose vision I can believe in
• Getting plugged back into a community of believers who come together in a way I've always dreamed to see - with no regards for denomination, without being judgemental or critical, but being real, admitting we're not perfect, and just doing life together as we learn to be more like Him
• Being reminded and inspired again to live each day as if it were my last while watching Jayesslee live
• The chance to be part of an amazing global competition with the prize of a year-long trip around the world for Good Causes
• A new PC
• Being able to afford brand new books
• Being challenged to think and dream bigger
• Discovering an awesome new chocolate cake recipe with Joanne
• Working together with an amazing team behind CultureRun's Big Idea
• An opportunity to climb Mount Kinabalu (which has always been on my bucket list) that appeared out of the blue
• The occasionally-crazy, but also the sweetest, most loving cat in the world that makes me look forward to coming home every day
• Home-baked goodness
• Inspiring and challenging conversations that leave me fired up to do more, live more, be more, love more
• His grace, that is always enough

My cup overflows.