Gratitude (1) Hello my fellow pals. I'm happy today ! I think we should always consider the bright side of the life. There are always green grass out there, but also dirty in the same time. The world is what we make of it. Be the change you want to this world (as Gandhi said). The world is full of joy, full of pain. You may contribute a verse to this prodigious show (as Robin Williams said). You should make it positively, while you still can. We are in this world for a limited period of time. Some decades ? Some years ? Some weeks ? We don't know how many. Our life could certainly end this century or maybe this month. So, I urge you to always act positively around you. Be the kind drop in the ocean of water. Be compassionate. Be aware of the weak that surrounds you. Not only in the cold winter when it's freezing outside, but at any moment. Be present, feel alive, and most important : have gratitude ! Gratitude is important ! I read it in the Magic Book of Rhonda Byrne. We should be happy and grateful about what we have, while we have it, unless it would be removed from us. Gratitude is a wonderful feeling because it brings joy into us. We feel alive, happy to have what we have. Thank you, thank you, thank you ! Thank you for the love I can give to and receive from my father, my wife, my friends. Thanks for the health. Thanks for the sun that shines (even rarely in the cold winter, it shines). Thanks for the morning. Thanks for the coffee. Thanks for the water I can drink. I had a water outage (failure?) yesterday in my street, I know what it means to not have water to drink. I feel aware of it and I tell myself that a lot of people are facing this each day, especially Palestinians which whom I have a lot of thoughts and positive waves. I understand also that facing an electrical outage could cause much more troubles. In our occidental way of life, to face a lack of electricity means not to be able to prepare dinner, to warm our house's rooms… So, thank you, thank you, thank you ! Thank you for having such a beautiful life, with friends, family, love, health. I still don't have found work for several months but I feel useful and happy with my volunteer actions. I am in awe with the nature, the birds, the sun shining and people that cares for me.

Carpe Diem When we doubt, when we are afraid Think about all you can do within a day Whatever other people may have said Just enjoy your life, day after day after day! Enjoy each day as it would be the last one!

One week without Italki It was one week without Italki. I decided to make a break. But Italki missed to me. I'm glad to be back and to feel useful. I'm so happy to feel useful, in a period which I search a job. I'm volunteer in a nice association, which aim to help deaf kids's parents. I wish to feel useful. After 27 months of workless period, I would like to wake up on the morning and be happy about what I could do this day for a nice job Thank you for correcting me. I'm hungry of new words in English! I wonder about what could happen in my magic day. My mood is full of joy and awe, of flittering birds and I recommand you the Magic book of Rhonda Byrne! I could send you a pdf file of it if you pm me. Could you help me in English? I would be happy to improve it! I finish my note with my usual favorite quote from Robbin Williams: "... that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

... and you may contribute a verse! What will your verse be? Thirty years have passed since my first memories I had already a wonderful life and have still to come I recall the past, all the moments that was awesome When I were a kid, full of innocence, joy and cherries Since, time have flown and I lost a lot of persons beloved And I learnt to enjoy each instant, to not stick to the past And cherish my beloved that still remain: time flies fast But I have memories, gloom will remain on you sticked I still have to bear it but I'm no more alone: I found love And so unpredictable, I did wait it more than twenty years With my love aside me, I'm more confident, no more fears! And my heart is full of joy, and will be always in a glove Life is not a poem, it's light and dark, hard, sweet moments There are sadness and joy coated on it, Yang and Yin But I will live and enjoy it, intensely, my heart is shinin' What will my verse be? Carpe Diem, taste each instant What will my verse be? It'll be for my love, Nathalie And I recall those words, from dead poets society: "That you are here - That life exists... That the powerful play goes on And you may contribute a verse What will your verse be?"

Tomorrow the 1st november: I feel the winter coming! Hello everyone! I feel already the winter coming, here, in Belgium. We have still sunny and not so cold days, but two months ago, sun was still shining at 8pm. 30minutes ago (5.30pm), sun was declining and now it is dark. We will loose softly but surely one other hour of light unti the mid-december. Now it is 12 to 18°C, and it will be colder in the next weeks. Indian summer is ending. Leaves are already down. I'm happy and grateful to have found my love into my life, but I hope soon to find a job, 2 years without is too long. But I don't care too much as long I can handle it. Health is more important. Last year in the same period, I got stuck 5 days in the hospital, due to stress, flu and sadness (I got pneumothorax... Ouchh!). I don't want to live that anymore so I ease off. Have a wonderful weekend. I will not celebrate Halloween because this is a commercial stuff... But I will celebrate a nice evening with my love, with a glass of Spumante and [censored] (lol)

What you reap is what you sow Everyday, when you wake up, you have the choice! Maybe you had a bad day yesterday. Maybe you have a headache now, but it's better to not impact other people with your problems. A smile is free. Kindness, to care for people. To be happy and to contaminate the world with your positiveness. Each problem has its solution. This would not be easy but life is like that! We have ups, downs, but we live. If life would not have any ups and downs, it's called death (cf encephalogram). Just be happy with what you have. Express your gratitude. Whom that have gratitude would live in a world of abundance, happiness and all the things would be given to. Whom that have not, even what he have will be taken from him. What you get is what you give. The Queen of the Universe will dance with you if you understand to have gratitude! Thanks for correcting me! In addition with this article, I recommand you some links/books Books: Magic (Rhonda Byrne, Secret/Power), Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom), My end is my beginning (Terzani), Mutant message down under (Morgan), some books of Barefoot Dr. And these video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EX5NzqNXc (Mr Happy Man) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcnL2o385Gw (Morrie Schwartz) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXOXsolDhKE (30y ago this bill has been paid)

Respect the nature and we will (maybe) save ourselves Recently, I see many disasters in this world. Some are usual: it's the nature (and it's just because we are in those places that makes a lot of troubles)! But some are the consequences of our actions. We destroy, we pollute, we modify our world to our image, our desire... We want control our world, for our needs. But we are only here since thirty thousands years and... We impact our world since two hundreds and fifty years! Thousands generations of humans and primates lived in this planet, and it just requires TEN generations to impact so deeply our world! We have already destroyed/modified 60% of our landscapes and extinguished 50 to 60% of the animals/vegetals! Are we blind? We must consider we are only a fragment of all the nature, and that we must respect it in order to continue to live within it! We always reap what we sow! All the plastic particles within fishes are already in our stomach! We need to reduce our trash (a good trash is one that doesn't exist!) and we need to be more compassionate and respectful towards our environnment, our brothers, humans or animals... Each act we take have (positive or negative) consequences. We need to stop to pollute, to use natural product, less packaging (reusable or nature-friendly instead). Our future is upon us! Upon each one of us! Me, you and my neighbours Thank you to correct me and to comment my post :)

Learning japanese with occidental alphabet?

Hello everyone! Konishiwa!

I would be happy to learn japanese, but firstly orally! I would be happy, later, to learn kanji (and a lot later Katakana/Hiragana), but first, I would be happy to learn japanese with occidental alphabet, so I can begin with the basic words.
I know already some (few) words, konishiwa, arigato, yorokonde, sayonara... Thanks to some movies and anime! (for example, I learnt yorokonde with Chobits)

Is it ok for japanese people if I learn first with the occidental alphabet, or is it "blasphematory"? For me it sounds really difficult to first begin through kanji...

Arigato for your feedback!

Learning new languages: when asking help to someone (at which level)?

Hello everyone!

I'm asking this interresting question because I would like to learn new languages. I already "master" (I feel never mastering a language possible, except my native one) English, Dutch and Italian, but I would like to learn Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Japanese... but I know just a few words in these languages.

At this point, I feel uncomfortable to ask someone to help me, because I need to learn the basis of the basis (alphabet, articles, sentences, basic tenses)... But, in your opinion, at which level could I ask help?

http://www.arenalingua.de/data/arenalingua2010/media/img_big/cef_levels.jpg

Thank you for your reply!