Operation Thailand: Tim Hortons comes to Shanghai

Took a little writing break but that can’t go on forever. March is a time for

writing and by God I’m going to write. It’s 2019! It’s almost spring! I live in China. What a time to be alive. What’s the point of this post? Trending towards no point…

I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about how important community is in our lives. A big reason people are unhappy and unsatisfied is because they don’t feel valued in their jobs, don’t feel like they have a purpose or aren't engaged with a community. If you are not feeling 100%, ask yourself who is in your community, how to expand it and how to help others. I’m realizing the key to feeling better isn’t to focus even more on yourself and your own needs but to play a bigger role in the lives of those that surround you.

It’s easy to blame others for past relationships, bad situations or not getting the result you want. I’ve been asking myself lately, How might I be wrong? Or what could I have done differently? In almost any case, blame can usually be shifted to some minor or major way to me. Consider the role you have played in the outcomes you have received.

I’m reading a book titled ‘How to Stop Worrying and Start Living’ by Dale Carnegie.

Quotes I like so far:

One grain of sand at a time. One task at a time.

At one time, half of all the beds in our hospitals were reserved for patients who had collapsed under the crushing burden of accumulated yesterdays and fearful tomorrows.

You and I are standing this very second at the meeting place of two eternities: the vast past that has endured forever, and the future that is plunging on to the last syllable of recorded time. We can’t possibly live in either of those eternities-no, not even for one split second. But by trying to do so we can wreck both our bodies and our minds. So let’s be content to live the only time we can possibly live: from now until bedtime.

One of the most tragic things that I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.

If you have a worry you should:

1- Ask yourself, ‘What is the worst thing that can possibly happen?’

2- Prepare to accept it if you have to.

3- Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.

Another book I’m reading is by Russell Brand about addiction and recovery. Points he makes I like are:

You can never quench your spiritual craving through material means.

Gratitude for where you are and what you have is one important coordinate for returning our consciousness. Similarly acceptance. We are where we are supposed to be.

If we want forgiveness, we must forgive.

I can see now that if I am physically using a woman, when I know that it will be of no benefit to either of us, beyond short-term pleasure-which is, let’s face it, an extremely effective and diverting reward system-then I am participating in ‘bad faith’ activity. That is because I now know that I cannot be fulfilled by transient pleasures and that as an awakening man, my attitude towards women is to be one of nurture, kindness and generosity.

Love is the answer.

I was supposed to be in Laos for two weeks then Thailand for about 10 days. In a shocking turn of events, I only spent 5 days in Laos and the remaining time in Thailand. Long story short, I had to take a bus to the northeast part of Laos. Bus was supposed to take 22 hours. Got to my guesthouse 35 hours later. After I did the Gibbon Experience (3 day zip-lining through the jungle) I decided that since Thailand was a twenty minute drive away, it would be irresponsible not go there.

I essentially spent a week on an island and spent a total time of talking to other staff/Thai people and random tourists on taxi boats for about 5 minutes. I made a few phone calls to my family and friends in Canada but I basically didn’t talk to anyone for a week. Part of me really enjoyed the solitude. The other part was - unsurprisingly- loneliness. I do not like approaching strangers and I don’t want to eat with a bunch of random people. After my second day of not approaching or meeting anyone new, I thought I might never talk to another new human again so I continued the experiment. Almost a week went by before I came out of my Bert shell. Feels good to be back to a reality that involves social interaction. Community people. Community.

I’ve been watching Ray Donavan lately on Netflix. It is kind of a mix of Californication, and Sopranos. Ray Donavan fixes problems; he’s a fixer. I also just watched Friends from College which was good and recommend A Typical.

I’m back to real life in Shanghai. I have nothing to complain about.

Save your money. Live within your means. Get your steps in. Oh and Tim Hortons is now in Shanghai.

I wish you good health and good fortune.