Happy New Years People.

This one is about being grateful for all the things you take for granted. As usual on my social blogging I like to share pictures of the meals I eat and my friend (who is went on a expensive Detox trip to a resort in Bali) told me to "take it easy" on the food pics. I know he's probably starved to death just having vitamins shakes 3 times a day in his luxurious tropical villa while I'm freezing my ass off in -4*C Shanghai with not much money to my name but can you blame him? He then tells me that there are more to life than a few dishes of food which then starts of a wildfire on my micro-blog. My friend is in the Advertising biz for many years, he's 3 years younger than me but looks 10 years older, over stressed, drinks more alcohol than water and smokes like a chimney. He went on this trip because he had a heart attack and liver failure just 2 weeks before. Of course now he's realizing that "there are more than life than a few dishes of food" (his comment to me) because he didn't even enjoy those things when he was well do to from his high paying and high stress job. This made him blind to the simpler pleasures of life. But because he is wealthy, his basic needs of food, water and shelter is also met, therefore he has the money to blow on expensive trips to fancy tropical places and live in pricy villas. But these are merely distractions from real problems in his life that he refuses to solve.

I really do feel sorry for a man who has everything (money, wife, kid, friends, and a home) who almost died, to start to realize that there are greater things in life than the basic necessities when he himself don't realize that he should've given thanks for what he had taken for granted. If he was grateful with the simpler things he would not have bothered with the illusions of achieving those things that are not healthy for him. In ending, I told him maybe he should think about doing another line of work that causing him all that stress. As usual he makes fun of me being some sort of pastor while avoiding the real issues of his heart and when he goes back to his high stress job, its most likely he will return to his old pattern. It's sad and I pray for this guy, because he was my only friend when I came to Shanghai and we were great buddies until his job took over his life and we went our separate ways and get less contact over the years.

In closing I leave you this:

A well fed man has the time and energy to ponder about the greater things in life. Take away his food and he will kill you and eat your body just to survive another day. - Life of Pi.

To start of the New Year I wanted to give Thanks to all my supporters who encouraged me and gave me advise on everything that I do.
To my haters who show that I am doing something right if I make you jealous of what I have and what you don't, which makes me appreciate my talent more and not take it for granted
To my fans who pay attention on what I do and always make sure I am on the right path and being honest when I produce garbage
and also the wonderful folks at Deviant Art for setting up such a great platform for struggling artists like me who don't have the funds to do a proper website which if I did no one would visit it.

Most of all my wife and my family for all the support they have given me. Even though I have more debt than profit they still believe that someday I will make it!