When you possess light within, you see it externally. ~Anaïs Nin

“Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space.  It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe.  It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.”  – Michael Strassfeld

I love that quote. Light is filling all available space.

Are we  source of light? I believe that at least we are our own source of light.  Each of us are unique. Each of us are sources of light. It is our task to seek our unique light and spread that unique light with love. Always bring your sunshine in your daily life. As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

“I will love the light for it shows me the way.  Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” – Og Mandino

Yes, it is in darkness that one finds the light. Having troubles, mistakes, unfortunate or darkness in our daily life isn’t a disaster, but it is a path that we must go through in order to recognize our light, our full potential. We are walking in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light, and to be he/her higherself.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” -  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Our reality in daily life, is our light from within. . To change our daily reality, we must change the light within, only you can change yourself. .

“The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a nice full of light day…………………

So what the heck is this all about?

I write this post, because my son gave me  pictures that he took a couple of weeks ago. They were just normal pics, and my son asked me to put those pics in my blog with my views. My view and opinion about zooming out and zooming in from those pics.

Wow…… my son, you just started a new trend in this blog. GBU. For those who are reading my blog, from now on, I will be glad to receive your interesting pics and give my opinion about it. Send me your pic with a description about the intention, the feeling, the idea or the message of the pic. Share it with us.
Having other viewers comments will add more perspective to a picture. My views will not about the technical specs of the pic (let the pros do that..), but just about zooming out and zooming in.

So, please email me your pics, and let us look at them with our various perspective.

Back to my son’s pic, here it is :

SILIT...easy-fast-healthful PRESSURE COOKER

Zoom out and Zoom in:

So my son, where should I start? It is just an ad of a pressure cooker made in Germany. And we know that German technology is one of the best in the world, so it has to be a good pressure cooker. Or is it the girl in the pic? Yeaa..she is nice, but still nothing interesting, and I think she is too old for you.

Silit in Javanese means........................

Ohh… SILIT….

You are putting your attention on the word SILIT.  This is another matter. But first, I must explain  to all other readers that don’t understand that word with what you perceive. You smile at it because you perceive it with Javanese language (one of  Indonesia’s native language).

In Javanese Silit means A*SH*L*. (Sorry for my bad…)

People passing by the ad, with the same perception as my son, will surely smile at the ad. I don’t know how effective the name of the product in the product’s selling numbers in my country. But it seems to make people stop an look at it. Whether they buy the product or not, that is another matter.

We can find many similar situations in language differences in our daily life.  It can be funny, but not always. Language as a tool in communicating sometimes even can make problems. They can make misunderstandings.
Let alone communicating in a different language,  speaking with a same language is already hard enough to explain what you want to express. They said that even some wars start because of miscommunication or misunderstanding.

Just try to remember how long ago that you had a fight just because of misunderstanding. Whether it is with your wife, husband, friend, children, colleague or whoever. A fight about just simple things and explodes to  a bigger fight.  A fight that starts because perhaps you  took a wrong word to express what you  really meant. A fight that starts because one of you didn’t make a full effort to listen. Or perhaps one of you never finish what you really want to say. And BAM…it just exploded. And because of our own egos, we kept silent and start not to talk to each other. Perhaps in one or two hours, everything will cool down again, but sometimes it can take longer than that, days, months, even years.

In communicating with others, we try to explain what we perceive to others. But remember what we perceive will never be the same with anyone. Perhaps 99% similar but never exactly the same 100%.  And 1 % can make a lot of difference.

That’s where misunderstandings come.  Yes….because of the difference in what we perceive.

In my view, having good communication,  is making our maximum effort to have the same or similar understanding in what we are communicating with each other. It is not about who is right, or who is wrong. It is not about who is true or not true, but about something that is similar to what we perceive and the most important thing, it is about what is useful for each of us.

So if you are in a fight with someone right now, just remember that you won’t have a solution by aiming the arrow to your partner. Aim to the problem. Put the problem in a plate, put it aside, and discuss it with your partner. Aim to the plate…

Try to find the maximum similarity in what you and your partner perceive in that problem. Don’t try to change what he/she perceives, but try to discuss what mutual benefits you both can take from the problem.

Have a nice communication day……

PS: If you misunderstood my post, please forgive me. English is my fourth language…LOL

]]> http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/miss-understanding/feed/ 0 RSM Silit Silit Silargan http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/mirror/ http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/mirror/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:31:22 +0000 RSM http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/?p=137 ]]>

Mirror mirror on the wall

This is an old story about my wife and one of our maid.  We  once had a very nice maid.  Hard working and honest.  But she was a little bit annoying. She always complain on everything.

For example, if my wife brought a bonus soap from the supermarket, our maid will tell her “That supermarket is so cheap, why do they give a small soap as a bonus”.  Or if my wife brought some food, her maid will complain “ why bother buying this kind of food, we have better food here at home”, and so many other complains that if my wife would take a note, it can produce a novel about complaining.

This story is a classic housewife story,  so when my wife tell all of this story about our maid to me, I patiently listened to her, and at first gave no  comments just a smile.

But in the end my wife ask me  ”So how about that?, I am so confused,
she is a hard worker, loyal and honest, but her complaining…aarrgh is annoying and boring, what should I do?”
A question was asked,  so I had to answer, and I answer with a question “What was that you were just doing at me?”
“Oh..man, telling the story of our maid, what else?” my wife answered with her angry look.

“Telling a story or complaining?” I asked
“Hmmmm….telling…and complaining….hahahahahah” my wife hit her head with her hands.

After that I try to explain to my wife that there are always signals in our life. And we must always be aware of that.
Even if our life seems in a good condition, there will always be disturbances, which is natural in a life. This disturbances sometimes carry a signal for our self improvement. In the case of our  maid, she was perhaps a reflection or an image at a mirror of my wife or perhaps myself.  Our maid was perhaps a signal for my wife and me to be aware and look at ourself. Perhaps my wife and me were also  complainers, whether we know it or not. Or whether we admit it or not.

Answering the question about the maid, I told my wife that,
she has to always remind our maid to be grateful at everything.

Be grateful at everything, whether she like it or not.

And told my wife that she, herself is the answer to the question.

Always having gratidute in her life, in every condition, will remove all the complaining in herself, and around her.

Gratitude will put our energy in a positive state, and will improve our self consciousness

Time to have a look at a mirror…………………………

]]> http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/mirror/feed/ 0 RSM mirror http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/balance/ http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/balance/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:19:37 +0000 RSM http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/?p=127 ]]>

A balance life

Balance..

Harmony…

Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. Thomas Merton

Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself. Jessye Norman

What I dream of is an art of balance. Henri Matisse

The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. Euripides

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi

Balance and harmony in life…..

Milk my lady?

I remember a nice story and would like to share it with you.

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly,and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”  He said…”Then I thank you from my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attentionon the side of the bill. She read these words…

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”

================

You receive what you give…………..

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Want another glass of milk?

A glass of milk can benefit bad hearts

(Photos)

And this is my 3 days old new kittens (taken by Canon EOS 500D , 55-250 EF-S IS lens)

Milk.....mommy.....

Are we wearing masks?

Are we are wearing a mask in our daily life?
Is it formed by our experiences in life?
Is it shaped from input and teachings that we receive daily?
And is it strenghthened by our arrogance and judgement?

Will the mask sooner or later become ourself?
Will it make us feel comfortable in our journey of life?
Will it become our perception in love,
and become our perception in fear?

Do we have to become inseparable with the mask?
Is it becoming stronger because of our pride of it,
and more attached to us because of our love of it?

At the end it becomes one with ourself……

The mask eventually will have the “power” in our life.
It will be seen as the one who loves.
It will be seen as the one who fears.
It will be seen as ourself………….

Ready to take off the mask?

How will it be,
if we have the courage to take off the mask?
How will it be,
if we live our life with our “true self”?

The choice is yours…..

model : my daughter Shida

]]> http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/mask/feed/ 0 RSM Mask Mask http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/prince-charles-president-obama-and-senator-mccain-in-action/ http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/prince-charles-president-obama-and-senator-mccain-in-action/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:44:40 +0000 RSM http://zoomoutzoomin.wordpress.com/?p=96 ]]> From this picture of Prince Charles at a ceremony we can make a lot of interpretations.

Prince Charles at a ceremony

(Photos)

When we initially see the picture above, most of us will interpret it with an adult oriented interpretation. It is in our  nature 

For a couple of seconds (or maybe more) , I did that. I  was thinking, what will Prince Charles’ hands do after the moment this picture was taken? But it was just a short visualisation. After I came to my senses, I just smiled.  For me the picture was nice and funny.

This  picture of President Obama and Senator McCain is taken after their 2008 Presidential  debate. Look how Senator McCain walked behind President Obama. Again you can interpret the picture as you wish.

Obama and McCain after 2008 Presidential debate

(Photos)

For me the truth of those pictures above  is what I see , know and perceive,  as for you, you can hold and keep on, on  what you see, know and perceive. It is all about our perception.

The two pictures above are examples of nice action photography. We know that photography requires a little technical knowledge. You’ll need to understand how to select the shutter speed that will freeze action when you want to, or choose a longer shutter speed to allow for some creative blurring effects when you want to do that. But neither of those skills are the real keys to getting those pictures above.

The important thing is that the photographer which took those pictures were choosing the right subject : important people and what they might do, and where to stand to take the right moment.

And they choose the right moment. If they take those pictures a second too soon or a second too late, it will be just a normal picture as millions of other pictures. They were lucky enough to click on the decisive moment.

So, the two most important things about capturing an exciting photographs like above pictures, are knowing what to photograph, and when. Capturing who/what and at the right moment is important.

And remember, we also can apply those two factors in our daily life. It is important for us  to know what we want to do with our life and know the right time to take an action. Don’t let the decisive moment  pass by..

and my own financial situation,

I decided to remove some of my goods

and have a Garage Sale

*******

It will help me to re arrange my financial situation and

make some space at my home.

**********

I know you are a passionate reader

and  I know that you will help my by buying some of my goods

***********

Helping others is helping yourself

Buying one of my under priced items will benefit you a lot

********

I will inform you the exact date of my garage sale

please do contact me ASAP

********

The garage sale is on first come first served basis

so your immediate confirmation is needed.

*********

To avoid riot, please do select in advance your items below

and inform me the goods that you are interested in.

******

GBU……for helping a friend in need

*******

Please select wisely….enjoy

************

PICTURE OF GOODS READY FOR SALE :

Garage Sale --- Choose wisely

PS: an old mailing list joke but I love the Ferrari…and just wanted to share the pic
BE HAPPY

Zoom Out

Here are some nice pictures of fishing and they do tell us interesting stories :

This is from chilloutpoint.com :

Fishing in Srilanka

this is from carcino :

Fishing?

and this is from daily mail :

Orang Utan fishing with a spear

There are many more interesting pictures about fish and fishing on the net, and they help us see the world through the lens.

For Zoom in, I will post a story about Japanese fishermen :

Japanese fishermen fishing ritual

pic from phototravels.net

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?
If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend? How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh:
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

The story show us that we should never give up up in whatever we are doing right now.
Everything is in you and in your service, all you have to do is KNOW it. The are many good possibilities for you and also there is a powerful energy  for you to take, how to take it and make it a physical reality as you wish, is another problem. But have faith that everything is there as perfect as it is for you at this moment of time.

Also, have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving? Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better.

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are Conqueror. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

So, Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards. Don’t stay on the bumps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn’t get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you. When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There’s a purpose to life’s events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

Gratitude is the easiest way to know yourself.  Feel your gratitude every time you are in a problem, and you will know that everything is perfect for you, if you want to make changes, decide and take action….

—————————

So are you ready to have some Sushi,

Delicious Sushi

and Sashimi

Fresh Sashimi

for your meal today?

Have a nice meal……

Photo: Melissa Brandts

And  here is the story :

Melissa Brandts and her husband were surprised to find a squirrel posing with them in a photo taken on holiday. The couple had set the timer on their camera while posing at a lakeside in a national park in Canada. Just as they were about to be captured on camera the cheeky squirrel popped up in the foreground and stole the show. The picture was taken at the side of the stunning Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada. Mrs Brandts said: “We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot.” The picture was submitted to the website of America’s National Geographic magazine.’It was a once in a lifetime moment – we were laughing about this little guy for days!’ said Mrs Brandts.

============

As Mrs Brandts says ‘It was a once in a lifetime moment’. Indeed it is. She will perhaps never capture an interesting  moment like that again. I love the pic because it reflects with our daily life. Life is full of suprises.

Like the squirrel in the pic, a suprising event  can always  just pop up in our life. It can be a very happy one or a sad one. A positive or a negative. It sometimes can change our life totally. For Mrs Brandts and her husband, the squirrel for sure changes their life. Yes, because they are famous now (at least you and I know who they are), and  more people all around the world will know about that squirrel. In Mrs Brandts’s case, it’s a good and happy surprise. And they really know how to handle the situation, by submitting the pic to the website of America’s National Geographic Magazine….LOL

But how do we face a not wanted, not so nice, not so happy suprises? A lost of a loved one for example, or bankruptcy, or lost a job, or an accident, or sickness?  The list can go on and on and on. It will surely change our life also. But the question is, whether we want the “bad” surprise to change our life in a negative way or make that “bad” surprise event  into a positive moment to improve our future life. How can we change it to improve our life?   I always try to make every moment in my life as the best moment there is.

Here are some tips for zooming in :

- Be grateful.
Yes be grateful. Be grateful every time and every moment. Most of the time we are grateful when we are in a “happy” situation. But, we usually forget to be grateful in a “bad” or a “sad” or  an“unwanted” situation. Now, try to remember when was the last time you express your gratefulness in an unwanted situation? Don’t remember, or perhaps never?
Just try to be grateful when you are faced with an unwanted situation. Being grateful will put you in a balanced positition. You will clearly recognise your situation at that moment and can define steps to deal with it.

- Have Vision
After reaching the balanced condition and know the situation you are in, it’s time for you to make a vision about what you are going to do. Make your vision clear. Try to visualized the future you want to be in. And make a plan to grab it.

- Action
Having known your problem, have a vision to solve it, now it’s  time to take action to reach it. Go take action. Take steps in your action as you visualized and planned. If needed do make little changes in your plan to suit the situation you are in, but stick with the main plan. Believe in yourself…..

That’s zooming in, how about zooming out? Looking the world with lenses…

- Know your equipments and tools
Make a time to understand more about your equipments. Your camera, your lenses, filters, flashes, softwares to edit , etc. Master them.

- Visualize what you want to draw
Have a vision on what you are going to take. Visualize the light that you will draw. Just know what you are going to take.

- Click on the camera
And…take action by clicking your camera…

3 Steps for Zooming Out and 3 Steps for Zooming In…balance…

Enjoy