we cherish those only when they aren't here with us, dear michael, your songs have brought joy and change to the entire world. rest in peace my brother, now the world will leave you alone in peace...

a phrase in this song struck me real hard: "smile though your heart is aching.".

in my life, i took my friends, my family, the ones i loved for granted. it is only when i lose them, i start to reminisce the times when we were together. i often told myself, if i had a time machine, i would make sure everything would be in the right place at the right time. God takes control of our lives, who are we to determine our fate? we cannot even predict when the color of our hair would turn white, God is in control of it. who are we to judge people when we ourselves are imperfect?

i was very touched by the speech from paris jackson at the memorial concert for mj last night, just when the world thought they needed him back, God needed him even more. everything happens for a reason, rest in peace mj.

till now, i have the habit of criticizing people, and judging them for their flaws. when i look at myself and reflected, actually i am just like one of them. i am looking at my reflection through this people, at least i know about it.

characteristics and personalities of people often change, due to their problems in life. some change because they seek self-identity, some change because they want to feel self-assured, some change to blend into the group so that they will not feel outkast. at the end of day, their hearts are still filled with emptiness. some resort to violence, some resort to temporary fulfilment such as smoking, clubbing, fighting, or even prosituting. hey i remember mentioning this once, but somehow it just came across my mind again.

i want to lend people a listening ear. i picked this phrase from somewhere which i found very interesting: knowledge speaks, wisdom listens.

instead of providing solutions to people whom might not heed or listen, why not just spend time listening to their woes and troubles? it helps actually, i have a lot of friends who loved sharing problems with me. rather than giving them solutions, i try to create jokes, or munch power pack snacks with them, and spend time with them. this is a much better idea right? you should try it sometime...

flight simulator's training tomorrow. wish me luck.