Ever since I stopped working, my reading habit came back. I read and I write. I think it is better than bottle it up in my mind. Gratitude... When is the last time you said you are grateful to someone? My last job.. How about you? Being grateful is one of the key to success. I used to being grateful but life getting more and more stressful, I forget about it. Maybe it's time to really think about the people around us. Friends, family, colleagues, subordinates, teachers and the list just goes on. We should be grateful to everyone and even your foes. Without everyone in our life chapter, we will never be who we are now.

When too many problems in life, we tend to complain and grumble. Maybe change our mindset, be thankful to all these problems, it made us grown up and learnt from mistakes. When we are grateful to our parents, we will be filial to them; grateful our job, we do our best; grateful to our friends, we appreciate and cherish them.

A short story of Nelson Mandela. He is one of the great political leaders of our time. He began a twenty-seven year stay in prison in 1962 for his opposition to apartheid. Most of his confinement was spent during hard labor at the notorious Robben Island maximum-security prison and released in February 1990. "I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place my life in your hands." On his release from prison, 11 February 1990. He expressed no bitterness towards his tormentors. Nobody knew that , in 1994 he was elected as South Africa's first black president. 'We can neither heal nor build,' said Mandela in his opening speech to parliament, 'with the victims of past injustices forgiving and the beneficiaries merely content in gratitude.' In the Robben Island, tormentors had trained him for his discipline and tolerance, and continued fighting. If he haven't been to Robben Island, he would not what he is now. Gratitude.

Another story.. I read this book on "The richest man in town." The story about cashier at Wal-mart. His name is Marty, an affable-looking man in his seventies. To every customer that came to his line, he was genuine. He listened to everyone in the line. When every customer left, he gave a firm handshake. He loved his job. Everyone came in Wal-mart, had been touched by his simple gesture. No one was a stranger in his line, merely a friend waiting. Just a simple gratitude, he touches everyone in a small town of Tracy, Minesota. You don't have to say out loud you are grateful, it could be just a smile, a handshake or even a hug. It is not just gratitude, it is the key to success. Marty just did a simple thing and he had taught us, 'thankful to your job, relationships matter most in life, no matter who you are, try to do a little more and it is you that you happy.'

Gratitude: thankful to friends when they are there for you; when you feel love and happiness, thankful to the pain you experience,; it's your tears that made you stronger, grateful to your tears; when you success, grateful to your failure. Even when is your last breathe, thanks god for your life. Grateful to what we have, inner peace is what we gain, experience happiness is what we have and unknow surprises are waiting for us.

At my current age, I tried to recall how many jobs I had actually worked before. Waitress, customer service, hp lab researcher, part time retail sales executive, graphic designer and last but not least a project coordinator... Wow! that is quite a list. After all these years of job searching, is it what I am looking for? I am in a lost. I can't see my future in any jobs which I can think of. Pessimistic? I really don't know. I worked for money and not for passion. The thing is when I see money, I am not happy. It is so contradicting.

I asked around some of my friends "do you work for passion or money?" Some said passion and some said money. There were few that have both, passion and money. You can be practical at the same time passionate for your job. If you really know what you are looking for, you are happy with it; when comes to salary if it is attractive, it becomes a bonus. This is what my teacher friends told me. They found satisfaction, passion and happy with the amount they were getting. Finding a job is just like finding a good relationship. People always say " love or bread?" If you can have both, great. If you can't, you must choose either one.

When passion comes in, it is not so much of the amount you are getting but love and passion of the job that you desire. It is tough. Just like artist don't really earn much cause they work for passion. My friend, Shavy, worked for passion. We knew each other through stage acting camp before we went to different schools. He still followed his heart while I lost mine. I had forgotten I used to have a passion for stage performance too.

We know that Singapore has a high standard of living. When replied "money", okay... It is practical which I would not deny at all. It is the fact. In Asia country, it is important of able to support a family. Family becomes the most important reason to be practical. To be responsible, to support and have a stable, comfortable life. Lastly, it's the value of life each and everyone of us is looking at of how we value ourselves, what we want to achieve.

In the end, it is about choices. The choice of choosing whether to go for passion or money? In part of you, you might want to follow your heart. But when comes to reality, it is really not so much of follow your heart anymore. Family, diapers, loans, bills, etc... they are the one that do the talking. It is about money.