Bucky Group 33 - Play

Here is a letter from a member from the Bucky Group...

Hi Bucky Fellows

Yesterday, I meet up with 2 kids ( above 50 years old ). Kid JH was telling Kid R, "I like to show off my toys to you." Then, he booted up his notebook and showed Kid R his blog and the web sites he goes to...

What I observed:

We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing - George Bernard Shaw
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Toys that are build for sharing gets shared.

What is the connection to me as a Bucky Group member?
Bucky Group members should play to stop being old. Instead of Jim Collin's build to last, think build to share.We should think of how to build toys that can allow playing to be shared. Bucky Group is a toy build to share.

Regards :-)

WhatIDiscover

ps. Someone else subsequently commented that "share to build" would be a full-cycle complement to "build to share".

Autumn Colours 2

My first autumn was spent in Australia. Then, a group of us city-slickers who are born in the tropics, drove all the way from Sydney to Canberra to see the beautiful autumn colours, which it is known for. There, we were fascinated by the breathtaking scenaries of varied shades of autumn, of carefully selected types of trees planted next to each other to show their colour contrasts and accentuate the beauty of autumn.

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One of my housemates was so amazed he brought back a selected leaf, which he carefully held between his thumb and index finger throughout the 1,000 km trip back to Sydney.

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When we reached home, he realised that we had the same type of tree right in our own garden! The leaf looks like this one below... :)

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Maple Leaf

The moral of the story is that it pays for us to open our eyes and admire the moment wherever we are, otherwise there will be much that escape right before our very own eyes.

Kids Play 17 - Belief

Vic (12 years old) believes that he will be super rich. He believes that it is already happening and the path ahead of him is already laid. He shows enthusiasm for everything and therefore always get what he wants. As to why he thinks like this, it surely beats me. He is just a natural optimist. He told me he is going to make money and love people.

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The other day, he told me he is going to be rich selling oxygen to space going vessels, as fuel. He will make CO2-O2 converter machines, and they will have to buy from him because rockets need oxygen, as fuel. Though I know rockets run on hydrogen rather than oxygen and also that he will have to face the tedium of commercialising such technologies, among many other problems, I encouraged him with his dream.

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I know that with a strong belief, he will overcome all associated problems and also will sort out the technicalities and find out that he needs hydrogen instead, or may be he will discover a technology that uses oxygen. We don't know what may come in the house that the children of today will live in, in their future. We can't even see this house in our dreams now. So what we can do is only to encourage them to do their best and believe in what they want to do.

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Actually, if you look into it, it is not very far off from the way religious people place their absolute trust in God, in whatever they do. Replace the word 'God' with 'Self' and the concept is identical.

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This is very different from how I was brought up. For some reason, Chinese parents love to discourage their children and make them feel small. Subconsciously, they are transfering their fears to their children. May be to them, it is also a way of protecting their children - that just in case they do not make it, it won't be so hard on the kids, since they have been 'forewarned'. So, unless such parents have very strong minded kids, they would succeed in cowing the children's dreams into oblivion.

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That's probably one reason why I had such a bad temper. I had many ideas and things that I love to do as a kid, but was always discouraged. Even after I had my driver's licence, I was consistently spoken into fear about the dangers of driving. And eventually, they succeeded, and I almost got into a serious accident, which becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy that proved that driving a motor vehicle was dangerous.

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We must always be careful with what we burn into the minds of people, especially young minds. Once burned in, they will be conditioned to be fearful instead of feeling the omnipresent and mighty glory to succeed, which is our true nature. So nowadays, I choose my words carefully when I speak. I would always ask, "Does this encourage Love or Fear?"

Autumn Colours

Kid's Play 16 - Boarding School

Attended a talk by the principal of a boarding school recently, that welcomes its students for the new semester In it, he says that the school is not one that promotes elitism and would accept students from all backgrounds that are willing to learn. It is true as it has a means-tested fee structure, such that both the rich and poor can afford to attend the school.

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In true Catholic fashion, he said that the school is not a place that teaches students to earn a lot of money in the future, but rather to be educated and responsible human-beings. I differ with him a little on the part about money, in that, children should be taught about abundance and financial prudence early in their life, so that they can have a life comfortable enough to focus on spiritualism. Also, emphasising that the school is not a place to learn about making money, gives a negative impression about money to those young minds. They might grow up thinking that money is evil. I believe that we can be well-moneyed and spiritual. We don't have to be poor in order to be spiritual.

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Further, he enumerated two directions which the school takes, akin to the two recent Olympic Gold Medals Belgium has won in High Jump and 4x100m relay. That is, though the students may come from varying educational backgrounds, the school endeavours to bring the standards as high as possible, just like in High Jump. Then, as each student is stretched to their highest standard possible, there shall be no prima donna, but team players who will excel together, just like in 4x100m relays.

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The compounds and the buildings can do with some refurbishment, but then I think they would not have enough funds as they do not want to charge high fees such that only the rich can study there. They take students from all races and religions, like Muslims, Christians, Buddhists,...etc. As I departed, I could see families leave in big Mercedes and Porsche, but also Toyotas and other ordinary cars. There are also some who walked down the slopes from the school and departed by train. I think the school has set its priorities to love all and serve all. My blessings to them.

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Cat's Play 3

Go play with a cat when you have time. It is a great escape from the daily grind if you are a busy person forgetting about yourself.

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I know of someone who was very depressed until one day when she saw three kittens in a cardboard box outside the supermarket, with a sign, "Please take one". The three kittens were lovely and were shivering in the cold, or perhaps also out of fear in the strange surroundings waiting for someone to adopt them. She picked up one of the kittens, and since then, has gradually recovered from her depression. When we 'turn the other cheek' to face love, in this case, of loving the kitten, the darkness and depression disappears. We can't move darkness, but by shining light on it, the darkness disappears.

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The kitten was her saviour. Saviours do not have to come with supernatural powers, a bolt of lightning and a deep thunderous voice that echoes across the skies. They can be as simple as an abandoned and helpless kitten. Actually, if we look around in our daily life, there are many seemingly ordinary mundane entities that have much to offer us, waiting for us to respond and acknowledge,... that is, if we really listen hard enough.

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Daily Contemplation

Did you ever see the Law that causes a plant to grow? Of course, you did not, and yet you believed in the hidden Law of growth. Why did you believe? Simply because, every year, out of the seed time comes the harvest. To these souls who have dared to believe, has come a definite answer.
-- Ernest Holmes
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Autumn is here again, and so is the chestnut season...
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yummy.... :)

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