A Day To Reflect About Life And Oneself

Often times we get so caught up in life itself that we forget how special it really is and how special everybody and everything within it is. Today is one of those days for me.

I woke up today after having the craziest dreams. I can't remember even one of them, but I know there were several. My dreams are peculiar in their own ways. I sometimes remember them right away, but then strangely I remember them at a certain point of the day. It is kind of like, "Hey now I remember what that dream was about!" Do you ever do that?

I have had the same dream about 10 times since I came here. In the dream, I am writing my final exam at university and I turn to my professor and tell him that I didn't study the correct material for the exam. I tell him in my dream that I need to pass this test to get my degree. I am really stressed out in the dream and I can feel myself having a panic attack and starting to almost cry! I wonder what that is all about? Maybe I thought I wasn't smart enough to get a university degree?

The other dream that I often have is being in all kinds of weird situations, which I can't remember, but I am butt naked!!!! I don't remember where it was or who was in the situation, but I remember knowing in my dream that I have no underpants on! It is quite funny really, but again I am stressed out in the dream. I told you that I was weird, didn't I?

Anyway, back to the original subject at hand. Try not to wander too much, okay Paul? I want to talk today about embracing life and everything that it has to offer us.

In some of my blogs or should I say a lot of my blogs, I sound a little negative towards Korea. That is really not my intention, instead I want to point out some of the major cultural differences between the East and the West. Sometimes, I cannot hold myself back from being annoyed or downright pissed off at some of the things that I encounter, but I try to look at things from a pure 'sociological' point of view.

The pure sociologist tells things or does his utmost to explain them simply, logically and with the least amount of bias possible. I hope that I do things in the same spirit, but have felt that maybe I am recounting events and situations with too much negativity. I promised myself today that I will try to just explain things the way they are, but add some positive aspects to each situational event and not just all the negative points. I will try my best, I promise!!!!

Korea is a wondeful country with so many unique and cultural aspects. As I have said before, to the foreigner from the West, some are good and some are great, some are not so good and some are offensive. One thing a 'visitor' or 'guest' should always remember is that this is Korea, developed by Koreans and built with their sweat and labour. Korea by the way, is one of the most autonomous nations in the world, with a very small percentage of foreign residents compared to many other top economic countries in the world. The last statistic that I heard was that Korea is one of the top 10 economies in the world.

With that reflection in mind, I also want to try and do the same thing when it comes to people in general. I have to accept them for who they are and not get caught up in finding their faults all the time. Don't get me wrong, I don't do this 24/7, but I sometimes find myself being too negative towards people also. People will always disappoint you, my Mum and Dad always told me. This is true, but by disappointing you, don't allow them to make you do things that will make you disappointed in youself.

Don't let a friend's bad mood or mistake ruin your friendship. Don't be a judge! You have faults too and as long as your friendship is pure and you or your friend don't do anything 'immoral' to each other, then there is no reason to 'keep score!'

I guess what I am saying is that each of us are very special and have our own unique qualities. Let's try to embrace each other for those differences, good and bad, not criticize and hate and hope that this will transfer into our own thoughts about life itself.

The age old question, 'What is the meaning of life?' This question has been asked over the centuries and now the millenniums and will continue to be asked in the same vane in the future. There is no definitive answer, but there is a way to understand its meaning with reference to our own individual life.

In my opinion, life is here to be lived. People are here to be nice to and vice-versa. You are here on this earth to make a difference to the people that you encounter daily. Your soul is within you, but you need to show and give your soul to others in order to understand the meaning of life and maybe by doing so you can help them understand it too! Always give when you can and try your best to never give to get back.

I hope that I don't sound like I am preaching? I know I am a little! I just want to express what I am thinking today and what goes through my mind from time to time. I hope that all of you take a moment to ponder and enjoy this wonderful world that we live in.

Positive things lead to negative things, negative things lead to positive things, but life is ours to live. The only alternative is death. We are going there eventually anyway, so why quicken things up!

I would like to wish Rob, one of my best friends, strength, courage and hope at this time in his life. Rob left suddenly on Wednesday from Korea, to go back to Canada, to see his father who is gravelly ill.

I hope that he remembers his life with his father and embraces the memories that his father has given him.

My thoughts and all of your friends thoughts are with you and your family, Rob.