Tag: Alan Bailey

Want something new?


Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Many new things come into our homes and our lives around Christmas. And what excitement it all generates! Hot on the heels of all the new things is a new year with all its hopes and prospects. Probably some new joys, new experiences, new faces — and new problems.

When each day dawns we look to the sky to see the weather. We read the paper to find out what’s new. We’re always on the lookout for something different to make life more enjoyable and interesting. It is only natural.

A common experience
Have you ever looked forward to a new start? A new job, or maybe, a move to another house in another district. Perhaps a new school or college. Hopes are high for everything to take on a new colour, for an increased income, for conditions to make life just wonderful. But somehow it all fails to come together. Strangely, the old creeps back. The problems haven’t gone away; they just slip out from the shadows and stare at us once again.Continue reading

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There’s a rough ride ahead!

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

The global financial woes hopefully help us to remember what is most valuable
No doubt you’ve heard the question, ‘I’ve got good news and bad news; which do you want first?’

Right now most people are well informed of bad economic news which is affecting people around the world. The message seems to be ‘Fasten your seat belts folks. There’s a rough ride ahead.’ Times are not going to get easier, especially for those who struggle to pay their way at the best of times.

There is a tremendous focus on money in our world today. Whether you are a ‘have’ or a ‘have not’, minds are concentrated on getting by, surviving, keeping one’s head above water, or, for some, continual striving for more and more wealth. Perhaps it will always be like this.Continue reading

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Revenge is sweet – so they say!

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Acts of retribution are often far beyond what is fitting
Right now there are a lot of people hell-bent on getting even. A wrong has been done to them and they won’t rest until there is some pay-back.

Revenge can become serious, with fists, stones and even bombs flying. People can get badly hurt or killed — and unfortunately we seem to hear about it almost every day.Continue reading

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Keeping love alive and well

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

As I stood admiring a lovely home the other day I was told that the previous owners, in their seventies, had split up and were going their separate ways. How often do we hear of it? Couples who have lived together for most of their lives, having brought up a family and been through thick and thin together, deciding that they can’t stand each other any more.

Not only is the change of heart hard to understand but the aftermath of the break-up must be so painful as to threaten any future happiness. Property splitting, new family relationships and other changes would hardly be all sweetness and light.

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Amazing acts of courage

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

In a world where greed and selfishness seem so prevalent, it is heartening to hear of something very different. Now and again a courageous and unselfish act takes the headlines. In recent days we have heard of someone risking his life by running into a burning house to rescue a small child. Another case saw a man furiously working to save a person trapped in a burning vehicle, dragging him free and in the process taking the chance on being badly injured.

These brave people deserve a medal and will probably get one in due course.Continue reading

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Something for life’s headaches

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Recently, my wife and I enjoyed a day walking around the Singapore Zoo. It’s an excellent setting for the animals; lush with tropical green and resplendent with brilliant flowers. Best of all, we enjoyed seeing the show on stage where various clever creatures performed. Everyone was fascinated with those animals and their antics, but I wonder what the beasts would think of us if they had the chance to look at some of our ways? Especially if they had intelligence like ours and could come and look us over.

My imagination reels at the thought of a family of monkeys looking in through my dining room window or a giraffe and an elephant pressing their noses against the glass outside the bedroom. What chatter there would be as they went their way wondering what on earth these humans get up to!Continue reading

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That magnificent obsession: sport

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

In a world where empires collapse, earthquakes devastate, assassins slay and armies crush, no news is as important to many people as who won the last sporting world cup. Sport for many is a craze. At least, it could easily look that way to an outside observer.

Think of the hours of coverage on television or the procession of parents following their children to the local playing field each weekend. Witness the people who run, climb, bat, kick, throw, swing, dive, drive, pedal, dance, skate, ski, wrestle, box — and add what you want.

For some it’s an interest, a pastime. For others it’s an essential ingredient of life — life being rendered meaningless without it. For yet others it is a passion, a driving force, a religion calling for supreme dedication. Those who view sport but don’t play it, fall into exactly the same categories.

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What it takes to be a man

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

As I grew up I learned that to be a man meant to take all of life’s hard knocks without looking for sympathy and certainly to never cry.

Manhood seems to be associated with courage, strength and endurance, as womanhood is with things more tender and more sensitive. But what really is the main distinctive?

True manhood involves shouldering responsibility. Physical toughness is not the measure, nor whether he abstains from activities thought to be feminine. A man is truly a man when he squarely faces his responsibilities and makes a real effort to handle them.Continue reading

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Looking through a window at the world

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

You can see a great deal from a window. At times, things you are not meant to see. It is a means of spying on others. But then, a better use of a window is to look at the natural world around you and appreciate it. A pleasant view is worth a lot.

From where I sit the view is pleasant indeed with brilliant flowers grow profusely. Wide variety and rich colour are on every hand. Masses of red Bougainvillea seem to set the place alight. Then swathes of green reach to folded hills that lead up to towering blue mountains. Above the mountains huge plumes of shining white cloud sit, reaching way up to the heavens. Yes, a very pleasant view.Continue reading

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