Being positive

There is nothing in particular that I'd like to share with you... but I came to realise a very important point about life just recently...

The key to a happy life is really and truly having a positive attitude and mindset. I know it sounds very very cliche but I find that I often forget that too easily, and life becomes more and more bitter and miserable for no apparent reason.

So for the whole of this week, I promised myself to be positive, to think happy and smile all the time. This is what I have been consciously and purposely reminding myself of constantly and really, it did help brighten up my day and it makes you realise that when you're down, you bring others around you down as well and that is a very selfish attitude.

Today I was sourcing online for materials on fair trade and other global social issues so that I can produce some materials to be used on the exhibition board and I came across Book Aid International, a charitable organization who deliver donated books to Africa, support and collaborate with local organisations in Africa and make it possible for children in Africa to be able to enjoy reading and borrowing books. On their website, there are stories told by a few African children on how the books have changed and enriched their lives. These are stories that change your perspectives of life, take you 'out of your normal context' and make you appreciate your life and your surroundings. Simple things in life that we take for granted for, more often than not make so much difference to another human being on another part of the world.

When you read the facts and figures, it's unbelievable the kind of social and economical injustice that exist in our world. For example, something that I read not long ago read like this (a rough estimation but it gives you an idea).. For every cup of coffee that you pay for at a cafe, only 0.05% of the profit goes to the coffee grower... is that fair? How about banana growers in Ecuador who had to subject themselves to harmful substances used in the pesticides at all times which caused major problems like organ failures, impotency or even blindness? Or those poor children in the Ivory Coast who got sold into child slavery to work in cocoa plantations so that they can help produce cocoa beans used in chocolate that they have never had chance to taste all their lives?

Anyway, sorry for straying off the topic so much.

Like I said, it's nothing in particular I would like to share.. just some random thoughts and reflections...