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Reading good news related to relaxing of some rules in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) makes many people feel happy for sure. I know that it is the happiness of all residents, local and expatriates, that the government is aiming to achieve. According to Khaleej Times, "Dr. Ali Humaid bin Khatim, counselor, advocate-general and chief of naturalization and residency prosecution said that if the prosecutor deems that the defendant deserves to be released on bail, he will gain his freedom without having his passport seized." This is parallel to the Smart Bail System, which has somehow reduced the number of prisoners in Dubai by 70%, with the government aim to 'uphold people's rights and freedom'. One of my friends owes a bank a certain amount and when she came back after a vacation in the Philippines, she was held by authorities at the airport due to her dues, and her passport was seized. The creditor bank then asked her to sign a guarantee cheque amountin

We want to live and age with dignity. Always, with dignity. But many of us are so judgmental that they disrespect others due to some mistakes in the past or unfavorable circumstances -- as if they do not have dignity at all. Rick Bragg says, "Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it." When I read articles published in UAE-based newspapers, I notice that when there are sensitive issues about a person/group, the writers do not specify the name / s unless he/they are a serious threat to society.  There is no name-shame thing. They just mention the regional origin, say, "an Asian man".  It is called respect in every life that 'deserves a certain amount of dignity' -- and it extends to family members who will feel hurt and get damaged despite their innocence if they do otherwise. The government recently introduced a smart reporting program for those with financial problems, facing some m

We see the praying hands in different forms of arts but most of us do not know the story behind it . It is about the love and sacrifices of a brother for the success of his sibling. In the 15th century, two eldest brothers among 18 children tossed a coin with an agreement that the winner would enroll in an art course, and the loser would work in the mines to support the other.  Then after he graduates, the loser would study and the winner would provide for his needs by selling his artworks. The toss winner was Albrecht Durer, and the loser was Albert. Long story short, Albrecht finished his studies, commissioned some art projects and earned wealth. After some years he returned home to celebrate the success and tell the brother that it was his turn to pursue the studies, make his dream come true. and he would support him.  But Albert said -- "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bone

Have you experienced stagnation when you feel that you are stuck somewhere for some time due to reason/s beyond control? You feel like you were a tree that cannot move from where you are then you think that tree is better -- it grows, it gives shadows thru its leaves and foods from fruits. This is felt when you are in the middle age, between 40 to 64 years old, when you feel that your body is not as strong as before. But as a saying goes, "Life begins at 40."  I belong to that middle-aged group. My children told me to take a rest at home but I have missed a lot of opportunities while rising to some personal challenges for my family members to get through in the past. I want to do more in my remaining life on earth. I know the 'Big Why' and I am chasing it, whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes. Our life here on earth is limited. The doctor who attended to my father while he was fighting for his life told me that the average lifespan is 65 year

"Share it" is a common line particularly in social media. When you think something is worth sharing because you feel joy or you learn a lesson, you immediately click your SHARE button so others can feel the same way. In a world with growing population and growing number of things to commercialize and buy, but with spaces getting smaller and smaller each day, sharing is a trend. My doctor who performed a surgery to me a decade ago shared a clinic with four (4) other doctors in one of the popular hospitals in Manila. They each had a cubicle in one room, each with a long list of patients. She also owns and runs some clinics in her hometown and in the capital city of the province. Condominium investing is one of the best wealth creation and generation opportunities today. The buyers or investors enjoy living like rich ones in places with five-star hotel amenities -- 24/7 security services, swimming pool, parks, lobby, and other amenities shared with other co-owners and t

The virtual reality technology has changed how people learn and live lives.  Two primary senses are being simulated to send messages to brains that they look and sound like real -- eyes and ears -- which have different pathways and processing centers in the brains. The son of my dear friend learned how to fly an airplane via simulation methods initially. Well, we see some simulation games in children's play hubs in the malls -- and they are no different. I saw this website on simulation flight training through which one can experience flying within the comfort of his home. There are also online platforms that allow one to travel without spending a fortune and that is thru simulated methods. Consumers can get away without leaving their places but get entertained in a cost-effective way.  Read more here . Some VR applications also let healthcare practitioners experience solving medical problems through simulation. Watch this video -- This generation is really a pri

Sometimes we ask ourselves: Why do others create a massive wealth but we are more intelligent and hardworking than them? I have attended many seminars related to this and they always say the same thing -- "Let your money work for you". What about if you don't have enough money to work for you? They say, "Save."  But what if your expenses cannot even meet your revenues, and at certain challenging times, you lost your job or your business collapses, so what is there to save? It is very important to have a healthy mind and body because you cannot think of strategies to survive and thrive if your brains shrink and you cannot do what must be done if your body is weak. If there is an illness in the family, it means opportunity costs for a supposedly productive member of the family and additional expenses for hospitalization and medicines. There are many overseas Filipino workers who have many jobs particularly in places where they are allowed to do multipl

One thing I remember on our back-to-basic seminar in 1990's was this question asked by our resource speaker -- "What is the thing that you consider as your inner sanctum?"  We gave different answers. He said, "It is your wallet." I am grateful to my mother the way she raised me and my brother -- never touch or open things not ours including letters and wallets. Every one of us has his own private or secret something, which we consider as sacred. We allow no one to touch or enter it. I value my privacy highly. I do not want others to invade it. Even my own family members cannot touch my mobile phone nor my laptop, nor open my email and social media accounts. According to Findlaw.com , there are four (4) kinds of invading privacy, which can be punishable by law, depending upon your territory -- appropriation of name or likeness; intrusion upon seclusion; false light, and; public disclosure of private facts. When a person shares his story with y

When you think that nobody understands you even if you use the right communicator's words, you feel like you were trapped in a room without any window. My personal experience? It was like something claustrophobic. I got suffocated and there was an anxiety attack. How do you handle this? I learned somehow to visualize my hands changing the connections in the circuit of my brains. Always the first thing to do is to accept things as they are. Nobody can understand you better than yourself. Other people do not know about your past and even your present. They can see you, the outer you, but not all can read you. If you are in pain and you share it with people you think are close to you, most of them will start to be invisible to you. You will be branded as 'negative' or 'toxic' and they will avoid you as they must be surrounded with 'positive' people only. But when they are in a bad situation they will definitely remember you. People who understood you

When our air conditioner malfunctioned, I watched a Youtube video showing nature with the sounds of raindrops and thunder.  My eyes and ears sent the messages to my brains which sent signals to my body to feel cool. I love nature. The sight and feel of it, the sounds of it, connect me with my higher level of awareness and spirituality -- when matter does not matter and when I feel full in emptiness. The modern technology with men's innovative minds created rains through cloud seeding and man-made farms and gardens. I hope to see one day that in the middle of blocks of high-rise buildings there would be nature-themed parks or wooded areas which will be accessible by feet to many local residents. Evan Fleisher in the article on 12 October 2018 writes that "doctors in Scotland can now prescribe nature to their patients -- Take one long strong, at least four times a week."   Isn't this wonderful? Because of the numerous mental and physical health benefits of nat

The Year of Tolerance is celebrated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to live the legacy of its father, Sheikh Zayed. With more than 200+ nationalities in the country, tolerance must indeed be considered as a valuable key to maintaining peace. For me, tolerance is acceptance. If you cannot accept the differences, it will take a toll on you. Differences in people and things have been there since time immemorial. We cannot transform other people to be and become the persons totally acceptable to us. Have you ever experienced that when you gave instructions to two people, they both did not follow you? Then you got mad at one but with the other, you did not? So you got angry and yelled at the first person, but not at the second. It is subjective, right? Peace is possible, which means, their actions can be tolerable within your parameters of acceptance. In the workplace, there are differences of opinions and approaches in handling certain tasks but all for the same vision and miss

So they say that money is the root of all evils. Imagine weeding out the root so we would go back to old times of exchanging products via barter system. I watched a documentary, "How to Live Mortgage Free by Sarah Beeny", which features a couple parking their mobile truck that serves as their home in a warehouse whose owner offers them free space in return for services to look after his farm. They save a lot and are happy about the ex-deal. Have been thinking about this bartering thing for some days,  as I heard many people talking about hard life, the skyrocketing costs of living and some economic challenges particularly in our country, the Philippines. A friend who arrived from her vacation shared her story that with PhP3K only a few items could be bought, compared here that with AED206.86 you can buy many of your basic needs already. To tame inflation, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte wants to revive an ancient form of economic activity -- barter , with S

While I was sitting on the sofa in a mall, exchanging pleasantries with a female friend, a man in late 50's and a woman in late 20's sat near us. The woman said that her friend, her upline in a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, noticed my reddish face. True, it was itchy and some areas of my facial skin started to peel off maybe due to allergy.  My right hand was itchy, too -- because of the dishwashing liquid. He explained about the miracle cream and gave me a sample without pushing me to buy from him. He did not also insist on getting my contact number when I told him that I knew about the product through my flatmate. Sampling is really effective because I already forgot it and there was a stranger who was sharing a cream for free, maybe worth AED20 in a small container, reminding me of its benefits, and motivating me to explore more. Again I heard about the nanotechnology which makes it both a preventive and curative cream, hence, it was called as a miracle cream.