Month: February 2021

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Live Locally, Shop Locally

The pandemic has turned many lives upside down. In the past few months we’ve seen new vaccines start to roll out and are made available to the general public in some parts of the world. But will life return to normal again? That’s everyone’s guess.

Collectively, if the community is safe, we’re all safe. We know how quickly community transmission can spread. Especially those cases with no known source, that’s what makes health authorities nervous.

Fortunately, as I write this, our state NSW has hit a new record – 28 consecutive days of no locally acquired coronavirus cases. That’s a good news. Having said that, we also know there’s no place for complacency at this stage. The results we’ve already seen are the second or third wave of the coronavirus wrecking the previous efforts, causing governments to re-impose more lockdowns, in an attempt to stop a growing number of new cases.

While we’re eager to see light at the end of the tunnel, it’s more important than ever to look after ourselves – physical health and mental health. Be kind, reach out and support the local community. Now is the time to bounce back!

Easier said than done. But where do we begin? That’s where the concept of Love Local comes in. It’s simple: Live locally, shop locally.

Recently I had a chance to explore the neighbourhood and I was amazed to discover some cool places near where I live. Not all of them I knew existed. It was quite a fun experience. A few days later, I decided to go back and make a video out of it. Crazy huh?

If interested, below is the link to the video on my YouTube channel. I’ve literally just posted it. The total length is a little bit over 3 minutes. It’s short and sweet. I hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, wherever you reside in, I encourage you to spend time to get to know your area. You might be surprised to find a hidden gem just around the corner.

Take care.

Ted

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Be Adventurous

Are you ready to fly solo? The idea may scare some people off, but for me, it’s freedom.

I guess it’s to do with my personality. Being an introvert, I feel free, comfortable, alive and energised when I am by myself. When I looked back, It’s no surprise that I got my creative juices flowing when I was in a state of solitude.

For some reason, there seems to be a few misconceptions around about introverts, that they are less likely to take risks compared with people who are more extroverted by nature. I don’t wish to start a fight between introverts and extroverts or anything in between. I think personality may play a part, small or big, but it doesn’t matter who you are, because at the end of the day, it’s really about whether you have the guts to bear the consequences of your own actions.

Without doubt, it takes courage to put your stuff out to the world. Be prepared! Getting zero response at first in normal. As a content creator, later when you start to grow in the creative spaces, getting a mixed bag of responses is all in a day’s work. Sometimes we have to ignore the naysayers. Our job isn’t to shut them up. We can’t anyway. Our job is to keep producing materials that’ll be useful for others.

For now, it’s about getting down to business. Below is a link to my fourth YouTube video. The theme is Be Adventurous.

Every time I come to Balmoral Beach, I tend to stay at the quieter end – less visited by people and away from the crowd. It’s funny, for years I didn’t know it existed until one day I took a bold step to venture into the unfamiliar territory. The results were quite pleasing.

Here, I’ll take you to a few sites where I usually hang out. There’s a personal story to tell in this video but I’ll leave it with the imagination of the viewers. If you watch it till the end, you might see why Balmoral Beach holds a special place in my heart. All in all, I’m just glad to share this video with the audience – wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for watching!

Ted

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What’s The Use Of Fear?

Sitting on the edge of the ocean, just feeling the breeze, listening to the waves and watching the clouds. It was so relaxing and peaceful. No need to fight or flight. There was nothing to run up against anyway. Soon after the sun was set, we then proceeded to the near by park, about 0.7 km from Curl Curl beach.

They say always expect the unexpected. Sure, I agree 100%. I learned the ropes and learned the hard way.

Things started to get a bit out of ordinary when we got there. A woman roughly in her late 30’s, was on her bike, circling the park as if she was looking for something. Believe it or not, she was the only person I talked to the whole weekend.

I saw her coming towards us in a rather mad, ruthless manner. It was kind of annoying that she didn’t stay on the right (left) side of the shared path. What the hell was she thinking?

She stopped in front of us. Her shortness of breath was quite noticeable even from a distance. But more so was she looked like she was about to cry. Have you seen my boy? She asked. He was out for a jog, was supposed to be home half an hour ago. Tears quickly fell down on her face.

I felt her worries, a mother’s anguish at what might happen to her son. I wanted to offer my sympathy but decided to say nothing and just listen. A little 5 minutes later, her mobile phone started to ring. It changed everything for her.

It was a call she’d been waiting for. A sign of relief was written all over her face. She smiled fondly at the news that her 12 year old son had arrived home safe and sound. I told her to give him a big hug! I WILL – she said with a big grin – a sharp contrast to her earlier state of distress.

After we parted, I thought for a minute, really, the biggest fear we can experience is possibly the fear of losing the ones we love.

Living life fearlessly doesn’t mean getting rid of fear. Realising this type of fear is not meant to go away but serves one purpose – to cherish people we love and never take their presence for granted.

The pandemic is a wake up call for many of us. It’s caused fear on an unprecedented scale. We don’t know if history will repeat itself, do we?

But what now? It’s a good question. For me, after losing my job, my dog and smashing my car, a series of unfortunate events in 2020, I had enough. I just want to do what I love to do and do it now, today, not tomorrow. Because tomorrow may never come.

If lucky, when tomorrow comes, expect it’ll come with a new price tag, a new development. A well thought out Plan B or a shiny crystal ball may not be enough to keep up with change that’s coming at you. That’s life.

What’s the underlying message of fear? It’s loud and clear, isn’t it? If we can’t lose it, well, perhaps it’s time we use it…