Today is Glutinous Rice Dumplings and the Dragon Boat Festival

Qu Yuan, who lived in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period, was the first great patriotic poet in Chinese history.

Qu Yuan was an erudite scholar who had a good grasp of the political situation of his time, and was a distinguished diplomat. King Huai of Chu had a deep trust in him and appointed him to the highest office in the country. Qu Yuan had the ear of the King and was authorized to issue orders and receive envoys from other states. Those were the days when the seven states of Qin, Chu, Qi, Zhao, Han, Wei and Yan were striving against each other for hegemony. And since Qin, Chu and Qi were the three stronger states, every one of them wanted to unify China in its own name. Such being the situation, there had emerged at the court of Chu two factions: one standing for an alliance with the State of Qi to resist Qin, the others, out of fear, for maintaining friendly relations with Qin. Qu Yuan's determined stand for political reform, for building up the economy and a strong army, and for an alliance with Qi to resist Qin, won the approval and support of King Huai. For this reason, he had incurred the jealousy and hatred of the pro-Qin faction, who were not only opposed to, Qu Yuan's policies but said many evil things about him before the king. Swayed by their preposterous tales, the king relegated Qu Yuan to a minor position.

The State of Qin took advantage of this to destroy the alliance of Qi and Chu by a ruse. When King Huai of Chu realized that he had been deceived, he sent his troops to attack Qin. But they were repeatedly defeated, and the State of Chu was seriously weakened. Thus, King Huai of Chu was compelled to reinstate Qu Yuan, who was sent to Qi to reestablish friendly relations between the two countries. Qu Yuan's proposals, however, were once again opposed and pooh-poohed by the pro-Qin faction, and the muddle-headed king exiled him to a place north of the Han River. As a result of ignoring Qu Yuans admonitions, King Huai was tricked into visiting the State of Qin where he was forcibly detained for over a year and finally died.

When King Hua's son King Qinxiang succeeded to the throne, Qu Yuan was allowed to return to the court. But since the pro-Qin faction was in control of the country's affairs, Qu Yuan was still in disfavor an eventually was again exiled by King Qinxiang to an area in present-day Hunan Province.

Qu Yuan wrote many excellent poems in his life, a large number of which were composed in his exile when he was especially concerned about the fate of his country and people, hoping that he would be able to do more for Chu. His patriotic feelings and desire were crystallized in his poems, the most famous of which was a long one, The Lament (Li Sao). In this poem, which is imbued with romanticism, Qu Yuan relates many moving fairy tales, gives expression to his lofty ideal and his determination to fight for its realization, and denounces the treacherous traitors of his country. The style of Qu Yuan's poems is different from that of The Book of Songs. It is called "poetic prose of Chu," or "the Sao style", in the history of Chinese literature.

In the year 278 B.C. when he was 62 and staying at the side of River Miluo, Qu Yuan herd that Qin troops had finally conquered Chu's capital. Overwhelmed with grief and despair, he plunged himself into the river, clasping in his arms a large stone. That day happened to be he fifth of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

The people of Chu had a great esteem and love for Qu Yuan. On hearing the news of his suicide, people in the vicinity came hurriedly in boats, and, armed with long bamboo poles, attempted to retrieve his body, but their great distress, without avail. Filled with a deep sense of loss and worried that his body might be eaten up by fish and shrimps, they sailed up and down the river, throwing into the water pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves to divert possible attackers from the body. Since then, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year, each household in China would make glutinous rice dumplings and eat them to commemorate the great poet Qu Yuan. This is the traditional Chinese festival known as "the Dragon Boat Festival."

On that day, the Chinese people also have the custom of holding dragon boat races. Tradition has it that the dragon boat race symbolizes the eagerness of all to salvage Qu Yuan's body. It was believed that ordinary boats would be no use since the river abounded with monsters. So later people made boats that had the shape of a dragon, and by beating drums and gongs, tried to scare away monsters who would think that the Dragon King of the Sea was coming. In this way, it would be easier for them to retrieve Qu Yuan's body.

More than 2,000 years have passed since Qu Yuan's death, yet he has felt mankind some rich cultural gifts. His poems have been translated into many different languages and published all over the world. In 1953, on the 2,230th anniversary of Qu Yuan's death, the World Peace Congress decided to honor him as one of the four famous world cultural figures of the year. Qu Yuan will live forever in the heart of the people of the world.

How to Be Happy in Life - The 9 Paths to Happiness

Sometimes it appears that life throws more obstacles in our path than we can handle. However, even in the face of the most challenging circumstances, you can make the choice to be happy by following these 9 paths to happiness.

1. Honor Yourself: Remember what the flight attendant says, "Put your own oxygen mask on first." You are of no use to anyone else if you have not taken care of your own needs first - this includes your own emotional, as well as physical, well-being.

2. Forgive Everyone For Everything: Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. YOU created the stress in your life by getting angry, and YOU can instantly remove that stress by granting forgiveness. Expressing your forgiveness to the other is optional - internalizing that forgiveness is required in order to live a joyful life. Don't forget to also forgive yourself for everything you regret ever having done or not done.

3. Have Gratitude For All Of Life: As with forgiveness, gratitude is a gift to yourself. Saying "thank you" is a powerful way to create great relationships, but the real power of gratitude is internalizing an immense thankfulness for your very existence - everything that has ever occurred or failed to occur in your life.

4. Respect Your Mind: Faith is powerful, but it is no substitute for observing, paying attention, weighing alternatives, and choosing with intention. Without conscious choice, there is no freedom or happiness.

5. Design Your Future: Don't be a passive tumbleweed blown by the winds of life. Envision the future you want, and then take action to create that future. Often, you will fail. Plan again and take action again.

6. Begin Today, and Never Give Up: There is no better time to begin than today - each and every "today." When obstacles stop you, think of new ways to reach your goals. In the words of the Oriental proverb, "Fall seven times, stand up eight."

7. Be Of Service To Others By Radiating Happiness: Being of service is one of the greatest paths to happiness, but remember that your greatest service to others is the person that you are, rather than the tasks you accomplish. Your greatest gift to others is to give them happiness, and by far the most powerful way to do that is to be an example of happiness and to radiate that happiness to others.

8. Dance Lightly With Life: Life does not have to be a serious undertaking. You will make mistakes, you will feel regrets, and eventually, you will die - so what? Happiness comes from dancing lightly with life - playing hopscotch on the river of life - leaping gracefully from joy to joy while laughing at the threats of calamity - even laughing hysterically at our human frailness when we do fall into the muddy torrent.

9. Know Unity With Spirit: There are as many ways to connect with Spirit as there are people - each of us has our own way to receive strength and serenity from the Infinite. Your life will be happier if you acknowledge that you are not alone, become open to that presence, and create ritual to celebrate your connection. You may feel your bond with Spirit at the Lord's Supper, in Songs of Praise, in Calls to Prayer, in Meditation, while doing Yoga or Qigong, or while walking in the woods. However you connect with Spirit, do it today.

How to Be Happy in Life???

Happiness, we say, is a choice. Happy people understand this, while unhappy people struggle with judging themselves for not being able to easily shift to a happy state of mind.

The first step towards moving into a happy state is to understand that happiness is something we need to learn and, for some reason (that we will not discuss here), school teaches everything else but happiness. Use the “school of life” to practice happiness and remember that your “choice muscle” needs to be active all the time. Always notice you have options in everything you do, think or feel, and that you choose the things that are best for you.Here are some specific tips you can blend into your every day:

Step 1
SMILE
Smile a lot - If smiling is too hard for you, take a pencil and hold it with your teeth. There are enough smiling muscles involved for your brain to think you are smiling and start producing “happy” chemicals.

Step 2
SING
Sing! - Singing works just like smiling, causing your body to produce “feeling good” chemicals. Sing in the car, sing in the shower, sing when you prepare dinner and sing when you feel frustrated and notice how the negative feelings melt away.

Step 3
HAPPY PEOPLE
Hang around positive people - Having happy people around you will make it easy to learn happiness. Happy people have fun around them and their ability to overcome challenges is higher than that of unhappy people who tend to lay blame and feel victimised. Choose the people you hang out with to suit your needs.

Step 4
LAUGH
Laugh - Much like smiling, laughter is a great way to overcome physical and emotional challenges. If it does not happen naturally, try laughter therapy.


Step 5
BE ACTIVE
Get a move on - Being physically active makes you happy. Find some activity you like to do and notice how it changes your mood: sex (yes, of course!), any kind of sport, dance and yoga. Make a habit of being active in any way you feel like.

Step 6
GET CREATIVE
Get creative - Creativity is a great way to find happiness. Think of creative things people do for a living or as hobby and notice how much happiness it gives them. Paint, draw, dance, sculpt, do some craft, invent a gadget, cook something new, write poetry or tend the garden. Tap into your creative abilities and find your “happy spot”.

Step 7
HUG
Hug - Hugging is a way to give and receive happiness. Physical touch is essential to your development and hugging is a great way to get that physical touch in a positive way. Hug a lot!

Step 8
BE HAPPY
When in a conflict situation, remember that being happy and being right do not necessarily go hand in hand. When in doubt, choose happiness over being right.


Step 9
When feeling down, recite to yourself “This too shall pass” and imagine a brighter future.



Step 10
BE CHILDISH
Act like a child - Do childish things to feel young and fresh: jump on a trampoline, sit on a swing and skip. Remember, “We do not stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing”.

Step 11
BE KIND
Be kind - Do random acts of kindness every day. It can be as simple as saying something nice, offering help, giving up your place in a queue or allowing another driver to enter a busy road.

Step 12
BE GRATEFUL
Be grateful - Practice gratitude: say thank you for everything you have and appreciate in your life. Gratitude is a way to increase happiness and eliminate taking life for granted.

Step 13
MEDITATE
Meditate! - Find a relaxation you feel comfortable with. Meditation relaxes the mind. You can listen to music, use crystals, take a bath, use candles or repeat a mantra. All of these do the same thing to your mind. Take the time off every day to regenerate yourself.

Story of Mr. Sticky

No one knew how Mr. Sticky got in the fish tank.

"He's very small," Mum said as she peered at the tiny water snail. "Just a black dot."

"He'll grow," said Abby and pulled her pyjama bottoms up again before she got into bed. They were always falling down.

In the morning Abby jumped out of bed and switched on the light in her fish tank.
Gerry, the fat orange goldfish, was dozing inside the stone archway. Jaws was already awake, swimming along the front of the tank with his white tail floating and twitching. It took Abby a while to find Mr. Sticky because he was clinging to the glass near the bottom, right next to the gravel.

At school that day she wrote about the mysterious Mr. Sticky who was so small you could mistake him for a piece of gravel. Some of the girls in her class said he seemed an ideal pet for her and kept giggling about it.

That night Abby turned on the light to find Mr. Sticky clinging to the very tiniest, waviest tip of the pond weed. It was near the water filter so he was bobbing about in the air bubbles.

"That looks fun," Abby said. She tried to imagine what it must be like to have to hang on to things all day and decided it was probably very tiring. She fed the fish then lay on her bed and watched them chase each other round and round the archway. When they stopped Gerry began nibbling at the pond weed with his big pouty lips. He sucked Mr. Sticky into his mouth then blew him back out again in a stream of water. The snail floated down to the bottom of the tank among the coloured gravel.

"I think he's grown a bit," Abby told her Mum at breakfast the next day.

"Just as well if he's going to be gobbled up like that," her Mum said, trying to put on her coat and eat toast at the same time.

"But I don't want him to get too big or he won't be cute anymore. Small things are cute aren't they?"

"Yes they are. But big things can be cute too. Now hurry up, I'm going to miss my train."

At school that day, Abby drew an elephant. She needed two pieces of expensive paper to do both ends but the teacher didn't mind because she was pleased with the drawing and wanted it on the wall. They sellotaped them together, right across the elephant's middle. In the corner of the picture, Abby wrote her full name, Abigail, and drew tiny snails for the dots on the 'i's The teacher said that was very creative.

At the weekend they cleaned out the tank. "There's a lot of algae on the sides," Mum said. "I'm not sure Mr. Sticky's quite up to the job yet."

They scooped the fish out and put them in a bowl while they emptied some of the water. Mr. Sticky stayed out of the way, clinging to the glass while Mum used the special 'vacuum cleaner' to clean the gravel. Abby trimmed the new pieces of pond weed down to size and scrubbed the archway and the filter tube. Mum poured new water into the tank.

"Where's Mr. Sticky?" Abby asked.

"On the side," Mum said. She was busy concentrating on the water. "Don't worry I was careful."

Abby looked on all sides of the tank. There was no sign of the water snail.

"He's probably in the gravel then," her mum said. "Come on let's get this finished. I've got work to do." She plopped the fish back in the clean water where they swam round and round, looking puzzled.

That evening Abby went up to her bedroom to check the tank. The water had settled and looked lovely and clear but there was no sign of Mr. Sticky. She lay on her bed and did some exercises, stretching out her legs and feet and pointing her toes. Stretching was good for your muscles and made you look tall a model had said on the t.v. and she looked enormous. When Abby had finished, she kneeled down to have another look in the tank but there was still no sign of Mr. Sticky. She went downstairs.

Her mum was in the study surrounded by papers. She had her glasses on and her hair was all over the place where she'd been running her hands through it. She looked impatient when she saw Abby in the doorway and even more impatient when she heard the bad news.

"He'll turn up." was all she said. "Now off to bed Abby. I've got masses of work to catch up on."

Abby felt her face go hot and red. It always happened when she was angry or upset.

"You've hoovered him up haven't you," she said. You were in such a rush you hoovered him up."

"I have not. I was very careful. But he is extremely small."

"What's wrong with being small?"

"Nothing at all. But it makes things hard to find."

"Or notice," Abby said and ran from the room.

The door to the bedroom opened and Mum's face appeared around the crack. Abby tried to ignore her but it was hard when she walked over to the bed and sat next to her. She was holding her glasses in her hand. She waved them at Abby.

"These are my new pair," she said. "Extra powerful, for snail hunting." She smiled at Abby. Abby tried not to smile back.

"And I've got a magnifying glass," Abby suddenly remembered and rushed off to find it.

They sat beside each other on the floor. On their knees they shuffled around the tank, peering into the corners among the big pebbles, at the gravel and the pondweed.

"Ah ha!" Mum suddenly cried.

"What?" Abby moved her magnifying glass to where her mum was pointing.

There, tucked in the curve of the archway, perfectly hidden against the dark stone, sat Mr. Sticky. And right next to him was another water snail, even smaller than him.

"Mrs Sticky!" Abby breathed. "But where did she come from?"

"I'm beginning to suspect the pond weed don't you think?"

They both laughed and climbed into Abby's bed together, cuddling down under the duvet. It was cozy but a bit of a squeeze.

"Budge up," Mum said, giving Abby a push with her bottom.

"I can't, I'm already on the edge."

"My goodness you've grown then. When did that happen? You could have put an elephant in here last time we did this."

Abby put her head on her mum's chest and smiled.

Very Nice Song - Enjoy it......

Meaning of FRIENDSHIP

Meaning of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.H.I.P

"F” is for Fun…………That friends share when they are together.

“R” is for Reliability….A true friend is someone that you can always rely on.

“I” is for Interest…….Someone who is genuinely interested in you, your fears, joys, and life.

“E” is for Energy………They pick you up when you are down, and give you the energy to go on and believe in yourself.

“N” is for Nothing……..Nothing is ever too much, no matter what time it is, night or day.

“D” is for Distance…….Although the miles may separate you, a true friend is never far away.

“S” is for Secrets……..Your feelings and personal/private thoughts that you can only share with a friend.

“H” is for Happiness……The way I feel when we are together.

“I” is for Inseparable….Through good times and bad, tears and laughter. A friend will always be there for you.

“P” is for Perfect……..The friendship

The Meaning of a Friend

The Meaning of a Friend

Someone turned to me and asked
"How many friends have you?"
Why 10 or 20 friends I believe
And began to named a few...

A blessed one you are
To have so many friends
But think of what you're saying...
A friend is just not someone
To whom you say "Hello"

A friend is a tender shoulder
On which to softly cry
A well to pour your troubles down
And raise your spirits high

A friend is a hand to pull you up
From darkness and despair...
When all your other "so called" friends
Have helped to put you there

A true friend is an ally
Who can't be moved or bought
A voice to keep your name alive
When others have forgot

But most of all a friend has a true heart
For from the hearts of friends
There comes the greatest love of all!

So think about all this
For every word is true
And once again answer please...
How many friends have you?

After much thought I answered
I really only have just one
"It's You!"

A Friend Is Always Special
Because Friends Love You
Just Because You're You!