Mirth And A Foutain Of Delights

[The last day of the year (lunar calendar) - contemplate and encapsulate some golden words in life] Doing little things in a METICULOUS way can be worth a thousand words to foster a relationship. However, don't be a picky or fastidious b*st*rd. Sometimes, you can spend your free time cooking at home instead of lying on the sofa or bed acting like a couch potato. One of the fervent ways to a person's heart is through his or her stomach. If cooking is actually your nightmare, no qualms about trying again after a series of dismal failure. You might be on the verge of either success or disaster. Nevertheless, you could pick up where you left off when you had dogged perseverance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Lanh, 11/02/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest Typography: Stephen. A. H

  [The last days of the year - contemplate and encapsulate some golden words in life] Sometimes, the question of what would happen next in my life crossed my mind, but then I realized that whatever would happen in the future (presumably I will choose a different path), could be part of my personal plans and decisions. Everything is a bit up in the air. When I mulled the word "respect" over, it might seem like a simple word, but not nearly all people could fully understand it, including me. For all I know, RESPECT means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they are different from you. Respect doesn’t have to come naturally – it is something you need to LEARN for the rest of your life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Lanh, 10/02/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest Typography: Stephen. A. H

  Have you ever been in a state of unrequited love? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No matter who you like, I'm still alright, Just look me in the eyes, I've been well satisfied. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Lanh, 04/02/2021, Stephen. A. H

I am just a normal person going through my seemingly mundane life. Nothing has changed, but sometimes I am struck by thoughts. Little by little, I can feel myself descending deeper into silence. A wave of panic swept through me, so I got frustrated at that moment. There was not enough passion left in me to feel euphoria. I was mesmerised by nearly all my ideas about who I am. I was standing in a place that was neither dark nor light. I got a lot of time alone there. I had a terrible phase that I now shudder to recall. No matter what would happen in the not-too-far-distant future, the best I can do is to practice holding equilibrium internally. I, betwixt and between, Pure happiness and deep sorrow, I, betwixt and between, Shifting near unexplored worlds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen. A. H, 16/02/2021, Picture: collected from Pinterest

“When words leave off uttering, music begins.” - Stephen. A. H Retrospectively, I was riding my motorbike when it was raining heavily. I was in a state of unrequited love when I realized that the person I always kept an eye on had been taken by someone else. I did not know whether to laugh or cry at that time. I was not angry, but just disappointed. All of a sudden, my bike broke down and I had to push it off the road in search of a motorbike shop. Unfortunately, even one shop was nowhere to be found. I had to walk in the rain. I would say that I looked like a drowned rat. The drops of the rain stung my eyes. A sad but familiar song from a coffee shop nearby was a bolt out of the blue. It was "Too Good At Goodbye" sung by Sam Smith. I listened closely to the song. Lyrics encapsulated my emotions and feelings with the racing mind. It rubbed salt into the wound. However, it rose my spirits afterward, indeed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------...

You can flirt and be romantic like Shakespeare: "I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest." William Shakespeare | Much Ado About Nothing I have been a die-hard fan of Shakespeare since I read Hamlet. His collection of poems is an invaluable source of inspiration for my literary journey in this life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Japanese, 月が綺麗ですね | tsuki ga kirei desu ne translates to “The moon is beautiful, isn't it?” This phrase is a poetic way of saying I love you. I was wondering if my heart would melt when a person said it to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Arabic, تقبرني literally means you burry me. It means you wish to die before them, thus them burying you so you never have to live a day without them. I.e: I hope that you outlive me to spare me the pain of burying you. It is quite moving - it almost brings a lump to my throat. ----------------...

I was obsessed with green just by collecting green things when I was a little boy. My mother once said: "If one day you chose someone to fall in love with, I supposed that you would choose a person with green skin." I did not know whether to laugh or cry at that time. I have been a green colour enthusiast for donkey's years (~ a very long time). Retrospectively, the crayon I chose for my first picture was green. A leafy garden abounds with lush trees and grass. In that picture, some played marbles on the ground, others sat on the greensward if my memory serves me right. Personally, I am simply a "green colour drunkard". Green has the same irresistible temptation for me that liquor has for its devotee. I cannot withstand it. I was blissfully happy when I returned home. My verdant countryside is full of massive trees and brilliantly-coloured flowers. Although it was terribly cold in the morning, I myself had to wake up early to pick up some fruits for my aunt to s...

This life abounds with many stories, and yours is one of those. You can play different roles depending on whose story it is. I want to tell you that your story is unique, and you must prove to the world that it deserves to be read and heard. Your story is not written just to make people make fun of it once they stumble upon its pages. Your story is meant to be revered and remembered, perhaps, not by everyone, but only to those who treasure you wholeheartedly. It is created to be something worth looking back. And it is only you who can make it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cao Lanh, 31/01/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest

A shaft of moonlight came through the open door in which a man was shedding a few tears. He did not know what was going on, but he felt cold. No one made a sound. He started to recall what happened one year ago. All of a sudden, the taste of the ocean brought childhood memories flooding back. He made a simple story resonate with complex themes and emotions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sai Gon, 30/01/2021, Stephen. A. H,

I've just literally returned home. It seems that I am engrossed in my leafy garden in my hometown, which can keep me busy, make me happy and change my little world. Plants often speak in a whisper, so you need to listen closely to every pleasing sound they produce. As far as I am concerned, they have a mighty healing power that can transcend everything else. Luscious landscapes always render me stupified. When I observe plants, I often cast my eye over leaves. Leaves can run the gamut of colour, from green, red, orange, gold, and brown. They can be Nature's flyers, wind rustlers, whisperers, shiverers, chlorophyll carriers, and tiny oxygen factories. When my world is grey and shaky, plants are there for me at my worst. Through the cracks in the road, trees grow and sprout. They are my friends which lends a sympathetic ear to me every once in a while. Therefore, I can get away from the daily grind.

We often strive to find the answers to all the questions we have in this life. We also give ourselves the deadline to meet, but eventually, we just unfold the misery in some ways. However, these days, I realize that some of those are just mere questions without satisfactory solutions, and that is okay. I stopped putting myself under considerable pressure because that will make myself sapped, especially on my darkest times. I am mildly curious, so I still have questions that are in want of reasonable answers. I won't be able to answer every doubt and uncertainty in my head. There are still more tomorrows to search and wait for it. Come what may, I will get through this day. Sai Gon, 27/01/2021 Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest by me

  "I almost wish we were butterflies and lived but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain." ~ John Keats

Retrospectively, I have not drunk coffee for a long time. However, now I am taking a sip of coffee and contemplating my life. I thoroughly enjoy sitting in a coffee shop alone. Halfway through the time I was at the coffee shop, my mind started to wander. It seemed that I tingled with both excitement and anxiety at that time: "Sometimes, it is better to stand out than to blend in with the crowd. You can be a flower which blooms on the most beautiful occasions, but you need to be yourself at any cost. Flowers have not only beauty but also fragrance." "Life can be a labyrinth, and we human beings as free spirits hover over to search for happiness. Who can tell what happiness is? Some people equate money with happiness. Nevertheless, it is not apparently true." "If you are in the darkest of your life, you can be depressed and sad. Your world can be grey as you often imagine, but it's better for you to look on the bright side. If you cannot get over someone, jus...

Mental pain can be a sharp knife that can stab you every time that you are not alert. It might snake around your mind and sometimes make you lament the loss or destruction of yourself. Your anguish at yourself might be a very clear accumulation. Nevertheless, you can get out of this situation by looking on the bright side, doing some meditation, practising cognitive behavioural therapy, and so forth. Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain. Nevertheless, it is more common and also more challenging to tolerate. The frequent attempt to cloak mental pain in secrecy increases the burden on us. It is easier to say “my legs are aching” than to say “my heart is broken". -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen. A. H, 24/02/2021, Picture: collected from Pinterest

If someone asked me to describe love in a sentence before, I would say that love, to me, was a long stare into vast space. I'm completely flummoxed. I do not know about other people, but I personally think that being head over heels in love with myself is the first secret to happiness. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen. A. H, 26/02/2021,

  "Dawn or dusk will eventually disappear. Only time is endless, so on and on." - Stephen. A. H - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I told sunset about you, but sunset told me you were talking to him about someone else - accidentally on purpose. He then asked me if I had been heartbroken. At that moment I did not know whether to laugh or cry. It is apparently true that you are not an actor. Do not hatch those plots to bamboozle me. I just wanted to see how you kept that secret. You acted like a sad person, but inside you were not. Were you satisfied with forcing someone who loved you the most to improvise in a stage of life? You were in the spotlight, but you put me on the spot. Is that fair or not? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sai Gon, 04/03/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest

Pulchritudinous /ˌpʌl.krɪˈtʃuː.dɪ.nəs/ (literary, formal): (especially of a woman) beautiful. E.g: My mum and my aunt love me unconditionally. They are always profoundly pulchritudinous in my eye. I think my mum and my aunt - there is enough natural sugar in most fruit vegetables. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ By the way, Happy Women's Day 08/03/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest

This is a great idiom for anything in life. 半途 means halfway, 而 is like the word “and/but”, and 废 means to give up. It comes with a story about a wife and her husband. Her husband went away to study, but he came back early. His wife was like, wait, what?? And he said, “Well, honey, I missed home!” So his wife cut up what she had just woven with scissors and said, “I wove this cloth, one tiny strand at a time. That’s what studying is, you have to keep going until it’s finished, or else the whole thing is useless!” So 别半途而废了！Don’t give up halfway! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sai Gon, 10/03/2021, Stephen. A. H, Picture: collected from Pinterest