Just Another Cold, Wet, Windy, Rainy Day In Melbourne

 

Write Something If You Can't Sleep

It's 6:09AM Melbourne time, the usual time that I wake up everyday. Only difference is I'm currently in Penang, Malaysia where the local time is 3:10AM. Still struggling to adjust to the weather and time here after arriving here for almost 1 week already. There is noise everywhere even now in the early morning, I can still hear traffic 27 floors below me on the streets in Pulau Tikus and Gurney Drive. 

The skyline at Gurney Drive has changed quite drastically since I was here 3 years ago. The tallest hotel is currently under construction and has already topped out dwarfing all the other towers which were previously the giants along Persiaran Gurney. Gurney Wharf has been fully reclaimed and construction is currently underway in full capacity to catch up with lost time due to Covid-19. The landscape has certainly changed.

Besides changes to the physical appearance of the place, I noticed that there is another change which is more substantial in terms of its impact to people's lives. Prices for dining out have increased unreasonably, double at some places. A plate of Char Koay Teow is now RM10! This is something unforeseen just 5 years ago. Inflation has affected the whole world and Malaysia is no exception.

So far, my first week has been quite pleasant, get to eat most of the food on my list (my very own Michelin list, not the official one).

I'm looking forward for another 5 weeks of eventful holiday in Malaysia. Today is Christmas Eve, tomorrow is a special day for all Christians. Merry Christmas!

Kita Boleh

Finally Malaysia has a new Prime Minister on 24th November 2022. Much to the excitement of most Malaysian, Anwar Ibrahim has finally the leader of the country after waiting for 24 years!

After almost three years of lock down when hope diminishes by the day, the country has now emerged with a glitter of hope. A big step forward towards a developed nation status. Wawasan 2020 has passed for two years now and we are still a developing nation. If Anwar took over from Dr. Mahathir during the 90s naturally, there is a big possibility that we may have achieved the dream. In reality, it is as if the 24 years were stolen away from us. 

But such is the way how things should be. Man has no control of what will happen tomorrow. Only GOD knows as HE is the only one that can see the big picture.

We have waited for 24 years, what other thing can trouble us.

Kita Boleh!

#anwaribrahim

#anwar

#malaysia

#kitaboleh

Colourful Autumn in Melbourne

Melbourne truly has it all, from snow capped mountain to beautiful beaches to colourful city, no wonder it was ranked the most livable city for multiple times.

This time we travel to Mount Macedon, about an hour's drive from the city to enjoy the colourful autumn wonderland this place has to offer!

10 Minutes Relaxation Music

Set aside 10 minutes each day to calm down your tired mind, release tension from work, close your eyes and listen to this relaxing music.

Advice From People Who Have Been Through It

It's normal reaction to see psychiatrist for anyone who suffers from depression. There is another equally effective way that is to listen to those people that actually struggled with and successfully overcome it.

Some of the advices are as follow:

- 'For anyone out there who is struggling, know that you're not alone, there are others out there going through what you are going through too.'

- 'What you feel is real and it matters. Give yourself a break, take some time off even if it's just a day on the weekend.'

- 'Get off the couch, force yourself on a walk. Make sure you're moving your body. It doesn't matter if it's dancing or joking, just move that body!'

- 'Be good to yourself, forgive yourself, be kind to yourself, you deserve it.'

- 'Write down things you are grateful for everyday. Whenever you find yourself in those dark places, stare at the list that you have written and read it out loud until you believe it. It's going to be OK. You have so much more to live for.'

Conquer Your Fear

What makes us feel what we feel? Is it the weather, news or the people around us? The fact is all of these affect our mental state at a particular moment of time. So does it mean that if we distance ourselves from all these by hiding deep into the mountain, things will be different? That’s the practice of Buddhist monks where they believe that the only way to set themselves free from the entanglement of the world is to live a reclusive lifestyle away from the world. This may work but it comes at a tremendous costs. It means that they can’t be married and have families. They must cut off all their links to this materialistic world and devote their whole lives in seeking enlightenment.

But it does not make sense that the purpose of arriving to this world is to escape from it. We are here for a reason. If living in this world means suffering, so be it, we just need to learn to live through it. We need to experience every good and bad moments to learn from it. Some experiences may be unpleasant or even unbearable but the best way to overcome it is to face it head on and find the best solutions.

I feel very uncomfortable whenever there is something lingering at the back of my mind. It worries me because I can’t see it clearly when it stays in my mind. For example, there is a task that I need to accomplish today and I woke up in the morning thinking about it. The more I think about it the more I feel uneasy because there is zero progress by just ruminating about it. As soon as I spread it out on my desk and look at the problem in front of me, instantly I feel that I’m back in control. Calmness then overcome anxiety in that moment.

Nelson Mandela said it beautifully: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

The Little Boy's Dream

Simon went to dinner with his friends to celebrate Chinese New Year. He hasn’t been seeing his friends for more than a year due to the Covid-19 Lockdown. It is a perfect time to catch up during Chinese New Year as it is a festival that is full of joy, gratitude and love. The food was great with eight course dinner with fish, prawns, chicken etc. It supposed to be a happy and relax moments with friends.

The festive mood suddenly got hit with a huge blow when his friend asked him when he would like to purchase a house. It was then that he realised that most of the people that night have already got their own home except himself. Simon politely answered that he wasn’t ready to fork up such a huge sum of money as down payment yet. His friend then commented that it is not productive to have the money sit in the bank due to the low interest rates. Simon thought for a moment and silently agreed with this statement in his mind.

Simon is a religious person and he thanks GOD for everything that he has in his life. But there is this knot at the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite get it untied. He was thinking why didn’t his parents leave him some assets so that he can get a head start in his life. In a way, he was blaming for things that he didn’t have.

That night, Simon went to bed with a heavy heart, seemingly unhappy after the dinner. He had a dream that night. He saw himself as a little baby longing for care and love. Simon was an abandoned child and he never experienced fatherly and motherly love in his childhood. But in the dream as he was crying for help, he noticed those people that were always there for him since he was born. His grandmother, adopted mother and aunt were there in his dream. It was then that he recalled that he was actually been taken care of since day one he was born. GOD has never abandoned him and instead sent three angels to take care of him in the absence of his biological parents. He praised the Lord for what He has provided throughout his life.

It is easy to blame others every time we come face to face with challenges in life. Our tendency to focus on the negative has distracted us away from all the good stuffs that we have enjoyed all the while. It’s important to count our blessing every day, the more we do it, the more we realise how lucky we are. It’s good to be alive and enjoy every moments no matter good or bad.

Today I Write My First Song

A historic day for me, today I write my first ever song! Hope this will be my first stepping stone into the world of music. Need to generate more positivity to the world through music. Especially in an uncertain time like this, all of us need more faith, hope and spiritual support to face the ever changing challenges each day.

Lyrics of the song:

You're the only one That we all lean on You're my mountain Perched above it all There is no other Coz you're the only one........mm There's no one above you I know because I believe You'll always be there, til the end of time You'll be there for us No matter where we are And we'll be stronger With you by our side There is no other Coz you're the only one.......oh yea There's no one above you I know because I know You'll always be there, til the end of time When everything has ended, you still be there You're the one and only, til the end of time

A Different CNY During Covid

Today is the fourth day of Stage 4 Snap Lockdown in Melbourne and it is also the fifth day of Chinese New Year. As usual, there is not much new year atmosphere in Australia as it is not a public holiday. This ‘quiet’ atmosphere is magnified this year due to the snap lockdown. Everyone were told to work from home during this five days restrictions. As I look outside my window, there is hardly any car on the road as traveling are only allowed within 5km radius of where we live.

Watching the news for the past week made me realize that I am not the only one who is unable to be with our family back in Malaysia. There are a lot of Malaysians stranded in Taiwan, US, Europe and even those working in Singapore are unable to ‘balik kampung’ (go back hometown literally). Knowing that there are others who are suffering the same fate does not take away the frustration of not being able to go home. Although the authorities and experts keep telling us that we will be back to the so called ‘New Normal’ very soon, it does not help to remove the doubt at the back of our mind whether there is a normal to be looking forward to. The fact is that no one knows when we can get back to normal as each countries is at different position of how well they handle Covid cases.

The pandemic does push all of us into one corner and make us think hard about what matters most in our lives. Most Malaysians who migrated to Australia remains as Permanent Residents because we do not wish to surrender our Malaysian passports (it is required in the event we are to take up Australian citizenship). Malaysian government does not recognize dual citizenship. It is fine with us as most of us go back at least once a year in the past, we still get to see our family and friends back home regularly. After Covid, the situation has dramatically changed. Not only we can’t go back, there are tons of uncertainty ahead of us. Nobody can confidently say when this is going to end, if it ever ends at all.

Such is the dilemma faced by many who currently reside abroad and found themselves stuck. We can’t help but ponder upon the question whether we made the right decision to migrate in the first place. Sure most of us have valid reasons like children education, better environment to raise family, work-life balance, equality etc. But are the sacrifices we made worth it at the end of the day? Recently these questions sound louder and clearer ever since we found ourselves in this pandemic predicament.

Garbage In Garbage Out

In computer science language, there is this phrase called ‘garbage in, garbage out’ or GIGO in short. What it basically means is that if you input nonsense or useless information to the computer, you will get faulty output as a result. The same can be said for practically everything else in life really. If we constantly feed ourselves with junk food, we will have bad body shape or even terrible health as a result.

Unlike our physical bodies which are easy to monitor as we can observe in the mirror everyday if we want to; our mind is what we have to watch out for it is less ‘visible’. If we constantly feed negative information into our mind, we will gradually form a mental perspective that life in general is just terrible. By telling ourselves that everything around us is bad (input), we end up feeling miserable and pessimistic (output).

The Christchurch mosque mass shooting in March 2019 is a perfect example of how bad input to the mind can cause horrible reaction in the physical world. In the midst of his shooting frenzy, the shooter filmed the entire process via Facebook live in an angle that look very much like a first person shooter game. By consistently feeding virtual reality into his mind, sadly it projected into reality in the real world. Perhaps this unfortunate incident may be prevented if the accused was playing Candy Crush instead.

Our mind is a very powerful tool given to us by GOD as a gift, we have to sacredly protect it, nurture it and grow it in a positive way. Think of our mind as a garden, if we are really so busy with our daily lives, we have to at least pull out the weed every now and then to prevent it from overgrown and dominate our entire garden. To go one step further is to obviously nurture the garden by applying fertiliser that will give nutrients to the soil. Our reward will be more beautiful flowers and bigger fruits in our gardens.

Proverbs Chapter 4 Verse 23 summarizes this point succinctly: ‘Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.’ How true this is! 

在电脑学里，有一个口头谈“垃圾进，垃圾出”。它的基本含义是，如果您把垃圾讯息输入电脑，你将得到糟糕的答案。我们的人生岂不是一样吗？如果我们不断吃快餐，那么我们就会变胖甚至也会影响到我们的健康。

我们的思想也是如此。它是上帝赐予我们的一种非常有力的工具，我们必须保护它，培育它和让它能继续成长。

箴言第4章第23节总结了这一点：“注意你的想法; 因它将影响你的人生。” 

There Is No Free Lunch

We all have ambitions, climb the corporate ladders, buy big houses, travel the world, be a successful YouTuber who has millions of followers and the list goes on and on. All the motivational gurus told us that we could do anything as long as we focus our minds on it. Being positive minded is definitely a good thing but this type of teaching only tells us half the story. You see, just being positive is not really enough.

When Covid-19 hit last year, a lot of so called ‘gurus’ in various fields popped up overnight in the internet universe. There are people who want to tell you how comfortable they are because of the digital business that they do. That they have work-life balance, they choose when they want to work or not work. Then there are those who boast about how good their negotiation skills are when they managed to close a million dollar deal over a meal at a Mamak stall by the road side in Malaysia. There are even those who would go to the extent of lecturing you that the only way to be happy is to celebrate life itself. They are almost implying that if you find yourself in a bad situation, it is all your own fault as you can simply turn the switch inside your head and you would instantly change your life. Imagine you tell a person who has just lost his entire family to fire that he should celebrate his life, I won’t blame him if he instantly land his foot on your face. Honestly, I’m sick of this idea that positivity will solve all problems.

The problem is lots of people believe them as they make it sounds so easy to achieve success. Most people want to get what they want in the shortest time possible. This is exactly the weakness that the motivational ‘gurus’ focus on when they target their potential ‘customers’. They are fully aware that most people want to achieve success without putting in too much effort. In fact, it would be better if they don’t have to do anything at all!

If positive thinking is the answer to all our problems, then American would still have Donald Trump as their President. He was ‘positive’ that he won the election (even though he didn’t) to such an extent that he couldn’t differentiate reality from imagination. He was basically living in his own bubble. A lot of these so called ‘gurus’ failed to tell their audience the truth, that success does not only come from purely positive attitude. It also requires other equally if not more important ingredients to make it happen - hard work and perseverance. You won’t become wealthy by just sitting on your couch whole day and feel confident inside your own mind that you will be rich one day. It is not only impossible but also stupid!

The success gurus that I would like to learn from are people like Dwayne Johnson. This guy’s achievement is entirely due to his hard work. He wakes up 4 o’clock in the morning to work out. He then eats his breakfast and go on working on his other works like movie and so on. He only gets about 4 hours sleep each day. He believes that he succeeds because he knows he is always the hardest worker in the room. There is no short cut in life. We reap what we sow. If we want to have good harvest, start planting the seed NOW!

我们都有愿望，升职加薪，买大房子，环游世界，甚至成为一位出名的网红，拥有数百万名粉丝，等等。大多激励大师告诉我们，只要我们专注于此，世界上没有任何事情是我们办不到的。保持积极向上的态度绝对是一件好事，但这种教导只告诉我们事实的一半。因为仅仅保持积极态度是不够的。

去年新冠肺炎大流行时，突然在一夜之间互联网世界出现许多所谓的“专家”。有一些人会告诉你他们的事业令到他们有很多生活方式的选择。他们深信他们找到了工作与生活之间的平衡，可以选择何时工作或不工作也可以。甚至还有一些会劝说，让幸福快乐的唯一方法就是庆祝生活本身！他们几乎暗示着，如果您发现自己处境很糟，那完全是您自己的错，因为您只要动动脑筋，就可以立即改变自己的生活。老实说，我非常讨厌这些所谓的专家。

问题是很多人相信他们，因为他们的言论听起来若要成功似乎很容易。试问谁不想在最短的时间内得到想要的东西。这些专家完全意识到，大多数人都希望在不付出任何努力的情况下取得成功。

如果单靠积极的态度就可以解决我们所有的问题的话，那特朗普现在很可能还是美国总统。这些所谓的“大师”都没有告诉大众真正的事实，成功并不仅仅来自积极的态度。它也需要其他重要的要素，包括努力和毅力，以实现目标。一整天坐在沙发上并不会发财，对自己的内心充满信心，相信自己有一天会变得富有是不够的。这不仅是不可能的，而且还是十分愚蠢啊！

我想学习的成功专家是像巨石Dwayne Johnson这样的人。这个家伙的成就完全归功于他的努力。他早上四点醒来锻炼身体。然后，吃早餐，继续从事电影等其他作品的创作。他每天只有大约4个小时的睡眠。他相信自己会成功，因为他知道自己比其他人努力。生活没有捷径。我们收获我们所播种的。如果我们想获得丰收，那就要立即开始下苦工！

Be Grateful Always

Human Traffic Light System

Looking at these old photos makes me think how difficult life must have been during those days for people to travel from one place to another. Not many people could afford their own cars back. They relied heavily on public transport or simply walk to wherever they wished to go. I’m sure a walk to the local town centre was a pleasant and adventurous trip for many back then. It could be a weekend retreat for them to get out of the house and go somewhere in their town.

For those of us who were born in the 70s, there used to be two people working in a bus – one is the driver while the other person was responsible for selling tickets to passenger. I used to take one of these buses from my house to Komtar, the city centre of Penang Island, Malaysia. There was no touch and go payment system back then, we would hopped onto the bus, took our seat, then a man would approach us asking us where we wanted to go. He would then punched the ticket with the value of our trip. After he had finished selling all the tickets to all those who had just boarded the bus, he would knock the ceiling grab rail with his metal hole puncher and shouted: “Jalan!” (let’s go in Malay) signalling the bus driver in front to move on. There was no air-conditioned in the bus but the ride wasn’t uncomfortable. The side windows were wide opened to allow ventilation into the bus and the weather then wasn’t that hot compared to today. I’ve always enjoyed those trips on the bus. You see life back then was much simpler.

Things have changed tremendously in the 21^st century. Today, there is only one person working on every bus – the bus driver. His only job is mainly to drive the vehicle as the ticketing system is now automated with the touch ‘n’ go payment machines located at both entrance doors of the bus. Buses are now fully air-conditioned and very comfortable to ride on.

It always amazes me to see how much progress we have made in mere half a lifetime. Our society has evolved to be more sophisticated with all the latest technological gadgets. Theoretically, this should make our lives more comfortable and we all should be happier. But are we?

There are more and more negative news and information on the internet and mainstream media. It appears that we are now living a much more difficult lives than before. People complains about almost anything, from politics to even the food they eat in the restaurants. These thoughts don’t seem like coming from happy people.

Perhaps the next time we catch ourselves having these negative thoughts, pause that thought and reflect back of those good old days when we were happier even without all the conveniences that are available today. Latest smart phone and all the other modern conveniences won’t make us happy. We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness. The easiest way to start this happiness journey is stop complaining, and be grateful of what we have right now.

看了这些旧照片后，我在想以前的人要从一个地方去到另一个地方是多么的辛苦啊！那个年代没有多少人可以买得起一辆车。他们依赖公共交通工具，或者步行到他们想去的地方。

对于我们这些70后的人来说，还记得在公交车上共有两个服务员 - 一位是司机，而另一位人负责向乘客出售车票。那时没有自动付款系统，上巴士坐下来后，服务员将会走来问我们要去哪里。然后他会根据我们要去的地点打票。当他完成了向所有刚登上巴士的人出售票后，他将用他的打孔器敲打天花板扶手，然后大喊：“ Jalan！” （马来语前进的意思）向坐在前面的司机发出信号可以安全开车了。那时的巴士没有冷气，但在乘客并不感到不舒服。窗口会开着，以便通风。那时的天气不比现在那么热。我每次都很享受乘巴士的旅途。当时的生活真的要简单得多。

如今，每辆巴士上只有一个人工作 — 那就是司机本身。他的唯一工作就是驾驶巴士，售票已经自动化。巴士上还装有空调，乘坐起来非常舒适。

我们的社会已经发展到科技发达和更加复杂。理论上来说，我们的生活现在因该更加舒适，我们所有人都应该更加快乐。但事实是如此吗？

互联网和主流媒体天天都有许多负面的新闻和信息。看来我们现在的生活好像比以前困难得多。人们几乎每样事情都抱怨，大家都好像很不愉快。

下一次我们发现自己陷入这些消极想法时，停下来思考一下，回想过去我们快乐的美好时光，那时我们并没有现在的所有便利。最新的智能手机和所有其他现代便利设施不会让我们快乐。唯一的方法是停止抱怨，并感恩我们所拥有的一切。

Make Good Use Of The Time That Is Given To Us

Melbourne is forecasted to reach 38° maximum today. Bush fire warning has been alerted throughout the state of Victoria. People are advised to keep themselves hydrated and stay indoor if necessary. However, I won’t be surprised to find the evening news reported some mishaps happen at the beach where people would be suffered from heat stroke, this is no joke as it could be fatal.

A lot of us constantly putting ourselves in danger deliberately even though we are fully aware of the risk prior. People are complaining about how their freedom have been taken away from them when they didn’t even try to comply with the safety rules in place. In a not so serious situation, how often we found ourselves cursing inside our car while stuck in the traffic jam even though we know that would be the case if we chose to drive in that direction at that particular time?

Unfortunate things do happen which are not due to our fault and we have no control over them. But, we can reduce the unhappy incidents in our lives significantly by making the right choices. A lot of people suffered from poor health in our modern fast paced lifestyle. But is it really unavoidable? We can choose to have healthy diet and lifestyle but most of us just waste too much time on social media or binging on Netflix. Entertainment is good when we need to have some break but it cannot be let to take over our lives. Sadly, most have allowed their lives to be completely determined by which movies they should watch in the evening.

One of my favourite dialogue of all time from a movie is in Lord of The Ring when the wizard Gandalf advises the Hobbit Frodo: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Such a powerful advice to give especially when someone has doubt about themselves! Don’t take things for granted, GOD gives us this moment for a reason. Start making good use of this gift and stop wasting our lives on unnecessary and sometimes dangerous activities.

Stay safe in this scorching heat.

气象预测墨尔本温度今天将达到38 °。全维多利亚州都已被视为火灾重区。建议人们多喝水，必要时呆在家里别出门。但是，如果今晚新闻报道有人在海滩上发生不幸事件或中暑，我不会感到惊讶。

即使我们事先已充分意识到风险，许多人还是会不断将自己置于危险状况之中。

确实世界上有很多不幸的事情是我们无法控制的。但是，很多时候在通过做出正确的选择，我们可以大大的减少我们生活中一些不开心的事。我们现代的快节奏生活中，许多人都因身体不好而遭受痛苦。但这真的无法避免吗？我们可以选择健康的饮食和生活方式，但我们大多数人却大多时间浪费在社交媒体上，或者在Netflix看一部接一部的戏。我们千万不能让娱乐占据了我们的生活。

我最喜欢的电影对话之一是在《魔戒》中，巫师甘道夫（Gandalf）和霍比特人Frodo的一番对话：“我们所要做的就是决定如何处理我们所拥有的时间。” 千万不要认为每件事情都是理所当然的，上帝给我们这一刻是有原因的。我们要开始善用这份礼物，停止浪费我们的生命在不必要或者危险的活动上。

Working From Home

About two years ago I went into a job interview. Towards the end of the interview I was asked if I have any questions about the work or the company. ‘Am I allowed to work from home?’; that’s the only question I was interested at that time to which the manager who interviewed me answered in lightning speed without having to give much thought; a resounding ‘NO.’ I’m still in the same company today but just amaze of the fact that how thing has changed since that reckoning day in that spacious meeting room.

When Covid-19 hit in 2020, ‘Working from Home’ became the normal practice at offices worldwide all of a sudden. The reason most businesses were able to switch to operating from home almost instantly was because of the advance in communication technology of the internet and mobile phones. So the capability was always there but most employers were reluctant to operate in that manner as they didn’t trust their employees will be discipline enough to continue producing work from home. They feared of lower efficiency and productivity might be greatly reduced. But when the government imposed hard lockdown to contain the spread of the virus, working from home became the only option to prevent the economy from total collapse. Ironically, it was this deadly virus that forced all of us to work in a smarter way even though we already have the technology to do so ages ago.

In the past, I never had the chance to drop my 10 year old daughter at school in the morning or walk her home in the afternoon. During the weekdays, I found myself always in a hurry throughout the day, rushing to the gym after work, work out as fast as I can then headed home for dinner. By the time I done all that, I was so exhausted that I have no more energy to spend with my family or reading bible.

Working from home has provided me opportunity to spend more time with my family. Now I can spread out my work and personal life throughout the day more flexibly. I no longer dread driving to office as I have the choice of working from home if I want to. For the first time after coming to Australia 8 years ago, I feel I have finally achieved work-life balance!

I want to thank GOD that I’m one of those lucky people who still enjoy a livelihood at this unprecedented tough period of time. Covid-19 is a wake-up call for all of us to reassess our priorities. It has also presented a rare opportunity for us to reset our lives for the better. I pray for our wisdom to walk on the righteous path and spread hope to every corners of the world.

两年前我去了一场工作面试。当面试快要结束时，那间公司的经理问我对这份工作或这间公司有任何疑问。当时我唯一想到的问题是，“我可以在家工作吗？” 该经理毫无犹豫的回答说：“不行”。今天我仍然还在这间公司上班。

当新冠肺炎在2020年大流行时，“在家工作”突然成为全球办事处的常规做法。大多数企业之所以能够几乎立即转型在家办公，大都因为我们有了先进发达的互联网和手提电话。之前雇主们不愿意以这种方式操作，原因是他们不相信自己员工会有足够的纪律来有效的在家里继续工作。他们担心效率会由此降低，生产率可能会大大减少。但是，当政府决定丰城以遏制病毒传播时，在家工作的模式在一夜之间成为了防止经济全面崩溃的唯一选择。

过去，我从来没有机会早上将10岁的女儿放到学校或下午接她回家。在工作日里，我发现自己整天总是忙个不停，下班后赶往健身房，尽我所能尽快锻炼身体，然后回家吃晚饭。当我完成所有这些事物时，我都已经筋疲力尽了，再也没有精力可以和家人享受天论之乐或阅读圣经。

在家工作为我提供了更多与家人在一起的时间。现在，我可以全天候灵活地分配工作和个人生活。来到澳大利亚八年后，我第一次感受到自己终于实现了工作与生活的平衡！

我要感谢上帝我还有一份工作。这疫情呼吁我们所有人要重新评估我们人生重要的地方。这也是一个难得的机会，让我们的生活更加美好。我祈求我们有智慧走在正义的道路上，并将希望传播到世界每个角落。

How To Avoid Depression When There Is No International Travel

Still can’t believe that we are almost three weeks into 2021. Come 1^st February, we will be marking the first anniversary of Australia’s international border closure. We may have survived 2020 but we are yet out of the woods. This is confirmed by Dr. Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Health Department Chief today. Dr. Murphy foresees that there will be no international travel for Australian in 2021. Although the Australian government has planned to bring forward its vaccination plan to end of February, it does not mean that everything will be back to normal as soon as we put that needle into our arms. Dr. Brendan Murphy based his prediction on scientific ground. He is confident about the effectiveness of the vaccines to prevent us from being infected. However, nobody is currently sure that those who have been vaccinated cannot still infect other people.

It is an understatement to say that I was disappointed when I first read the news. Before Covid-19 hit, I used to travel back to Penang, Malaysia from Melbourne every year. Last year needless to say I was stuck in Australia and now realized that I may have to spend my 2021 Christmas in Melbourne again. If there is one common thing that Covid-19 has done to all our lives is that we can’t make plans anymore.

I’m sure that I’m not alone in this situation. There are lots of other people all around the world being separated from their loved ones thanks to the pandemic. We basically have two choices, one is to feel helpless and depressed, or there is a better way. Instead of focusing on things that we can’t control, why don’t channel our energy onto something we have control of, the way we response to the situation. We can take this opportunity to slow down and ponder upon our lives. Take this extra time that is now made available since we can’t fly to re-prioritize our personal values and goals.

If I have to name one positive thing that comes out of this pandemic, I’ll call it reflection. We now have the luxury of reflecting on ourselves and explore inwards to investigate what our lives are all about. It definitely isn’t about running around like a headless chicken which we used to do daily in pursuit of materialistic goals. For me, I realized that Covid-19 taught me to cherish family even more from now on. It also gives me opportunity to reassess my relationship with others and with GOD.

The reason why depression is common illness in modern times is because people overestimate in themselves and constantly aiming for higher achievements simply because others around them are also doing it. It is this Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) that makes our lives so competitive and stressful. Too much attention has been focused on ourselves and we believe that everything is within our grasp and control. Covid-19 has proved to us that regardless of how positive minded or rich you are, we are all vulnerable when facing this invisible enemy. It turns out that we are not so great and powerful after all.

Christians believe that GOD is the only ONE who has control of everything. Accept that we are vulnerable, start praying and open our ears. You will be surprise what you can hear when you open yourselves up. Whatever your faith is, rest assured that there is a greater force than all of us. Make use of this down time to tap into that universal force and start healing our souls. Stay safe and pray for each other.

我仍然不能相信，我们已经差不多进入2021年的第三个星期了。2021年2月1日将是澳大利亚关闭国际航线的第一周年。我们虽然已辛苦的度过2020年，但我们仍然还没有走出困境。澳大利亚卫生部局长布伦丹·墨菲（Brendan Murphy）博士今天证实了这一点。墨菲博士预测澳大利亚将不会在2021年重新开放国际边界。尽管澳大利亚政府计划将其疫苗接种计划提前到2月底，但这并不意味着一旦我们接种一切就会恢复正常。布伦丹·墨菲（Brendan Murphy）博士的预测基于科学根据。他对疫苗预防我们被感染的有效性充满信心。但是，目前尚无人能确定已接种疫苗的人不会感染其他人。

这新闻令我很失望。在Covid-19之前，我每年圣诞假期都会从墨尔本回到马来西亚的槟城。去年很明显我不能回去，现在看来今年圣诞节又得在澳洲度过了。

我深信我在这种处境下并不孤单。全世界还有更多人被逼与亲人分离。我们基本上有两种选择，一就是感到无助和沮丧。或我们可以将精力集中在我们可以控制的事情上。我们可以借此机会放慢脚步，沉思我们的生活。

我们可以反思自己，并重新探索我们的内心世界。绝对不要再回去我们过去为了追求物质目标而每天迷糊奔波的日子。对我来说，我意识到Covid-19教会我更懂得去珍惜家人。这也使我有机会重新评估我与他人和神之间的关系。

在现代社会中，抑郁症是一种常见疾病，其原因在于人们高估自己的能力，不断追求更高的成就，因为周围的人也是这样做。正是这种对错过的恐惧使我们的生活充满竞争和压力。太多的注意力都集中在自己身上，我们相信一切都在我们的掌握和控制当中。但是Covid-19向我们证明了，无论您有多积极向上或有多富裕，当面对这个无形的敌人时，人人都非常脆弱。事实证明，我们毕竟不是我们想象中的那么伟大。

基督徒相信只有神是唯一能够掌控一切的。我们必须接受我们的脆弱，开始祈祷并睁大耳朵聆听神的话。