With the recent wave of recall of the cars by their makers, this sign becomes significant.

THINK………….a beautiful quote read in CAR-SHOWROOM.—–

“Drive Carefully.

It’s not only cars that can be “recalled” by their makers.”

This is a post from re:kuwait, which I could not help, but borrow.

What would happen if it costs 18KD to fill up your SUV? Would your life be ruined? I don’t think so. What will happen is that you will adjust your lifestyle to meet this new reality. You might reconsider buying a new SUV, and maybe get a car with better mileage. People might decide not to buy a car at all, and you’ll find that there’s less traffic on the street because people who can’t afford to drive are now willing to carpool and use public transportation. 18KD is a reasonable amount to pay because that’s the true price of the petrol.

What if you had to pay over 1000KD every year to pay for you electricity consumption? What would change? You would obviously think twice about leaving the air conditioning on all the time even when no one is home. You will think about how much a house consumes energy before buying it. You decide that maybe a small house with a bigger garden makes more sense than a three floor mansion. We might find that we don’t have blackouts anymore. The KOC will be able to sell more oil instead of burning it to make more electricity for Kuwait.

What if water cost you 50KD a month? Will you stand idly by as your driver sprays you car with a hose to clean it, when a sponge will do the same thing for a fraction of the water? Will you decide against a lawn and maybe plant more appropriate landscaping for the region?

If resources are priced according to their true value, without subsidies or manipulation, then human behavior will revert to a mode of living that is both efficient and ‘sustainable’. People will never change because of morality and the desire to feel ‘green’. That’s bullshit. The only way we can ever change is if it hurts us in our wallets if we don’t change. We’re not pricing in what’s called the negative externalities; the unpriced cost of traffic, pollution, blackouts and wasted finite resources.

This might seem politically impossible in Kuwait, but what if there was a way to make it work? What if all the savings and revenue generated was given back to Kuwaitis as a form of energy rebate? That way we can reward good behavior while we punish wasteful people by punching them with the invisible hand. We can have our cake and eat it too.

Well, wouldn’t we be all very conservative, if we had to pay the ‘true’ price of the products and services? Things which are given ‘almost free’ tend to be overconsumed, just for the fact that you are not paying ‘too much’ for it. We would not be ashamed to be called ‘misers’, had we been paying thru our noses for the ‘true value’ of the service.

Well, its no longer the ‘green’ factor, but has to be the ‘conscious’ factor, that should determine the consumption pattern of people.

A woman baked bread for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby.

She kept the extra bread on the window sill, for whosoever would take it away.

Everyday, a hunchback came and took away the bread. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following words as he went his way:

“The evil you do remains with you:   The good you do, comes back to you!”

This went on, day after day. Everyday, the hunchback came, picked up the bread and uttered the words:

“The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!”

The woman felt irritated. “Not a word of gratitude,” she said to herself…

“Everyday this hunchback utters this jingle! What does he mean?”

One day, exasperated, she decided to do away with him.

“I shall get rid of this hunchback,” she said. And what did she do?

She added poison to the bread she prepared for him!

As she was about to keep it on the window sill, her hands trembled.

“What is this I am doing?” she said.  Immediately, she threw the bread into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window sill.

As usual, the hunchback came, picked up the bread and muttered the words:

“The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!”

The hunchback proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman.

Everyday, as the woman placed the bread on the window sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe return. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway.  He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak.

As he saw his mother, he said, “Mom, it’s a miracle I’m here. While I was but a mile away, I was so famished that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunchback passed by. I begged of him for a morsel of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole bread. As he gave it to me, he said, “This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!” “

As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale.

She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life!

It was then that she realized the significance of the words:

“The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!”

Do good and don’t ever stop doing good, even if it’s not appreciated at that time.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’
The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but
not on the other pot’s side?’
‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’
For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You’ve just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered:
“I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night..
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added,

“Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.“

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.

Happiness is more a matter of attitude and perception.

Do you wanna please somebody? How do you do it? Gifts?

How about making him / her the next SUPERHERO and sending him / her on a ego trip?

Well, now you can make the person a superhero. Just visit this site and paste his photo here (adjust / pan / zoom so that the face is seen clearly). After you have applied the photo here, a film starts wherein the photo that you put in appears as a superhero throughout the film. After the film ends, you will find a link, which you can email, tweet or Facebook to that person and make him / her the SUPERHERO.

So, go ahead and make his / her day.

A superb form of flattery and an excellent idea for a romantic time. Imagine putting your spouse’s photo in here and sending him / her the link with he / she as the next SUPERHERO.

So grab a photo of that someone who matters (even a little) in your life and make him HAPPY.

(PS – Do let me know, who and how many did you make HAPPY by putting their photos.)

Waiting for company on the path to heaven?

Its not the destination that matter, it the company on the journey that makes the trip more enjoyable.

The constitution of Kuwait gives all residents the right to practice their own religion.

Why then there are so many mosques, a few churches and absolutely no other religious architecture?

Then why is the Bohri community in Kuwait, who are devout Muslims, are fighting for a mosque dedicated to their sect of faith.

As for temples, gurudwaras, synagogues, there are absolutely no such identities that freely allowed to exist.

I then ask, why are the law keepers & enforcers not acting by the words of the law makers (or is it that I have the wrong info)? Or is it also the case of are double standards (as in Wasta, Human Rights, & other issues)? There’s a popular Hindi proverb “Haathi ke daant, khane ke aur, aur dikhane ke aur” (which means that the Elephant has two sets of teeth; one for showing off and other for eating).

Given the fact that there are more expats in Kuwait than locals, it is natural that the expat community is a mix of different faiths. So why are there not any place of worship for them, considering the fact that the constitution give them the rights.

Leave aside temples, gurudwaras, synagogues. There are not even multi-faith prayer halls, where the faith believers can be with their GODS.

Well, even if there is only ONE GOD (who goes by different names of Allah, Jesus, and others), believers are more comfortable with someone who they have known for all this times.

Every individual is born free of any religion or faith. It is the upkeepers of that child that impose on them the faith that they have to follow.

So give everyone a place to worship where they are comfortable with their OWN GOD.

Ahmed, a rich guy, loved fast cars and he did have a few in his
possession. He loved to speed and could not be bothered about breaking
speed limits. Many a times he was caught by the cops and speed radars,
fined, but still he never bothered until. One day as he was driving at
a very high speed as usual, he saw a cop following him. The cop
overtook him finally and asked him to stop and checked his license. He
then took out his pad and started writing, and then handed over the
sheet of paper to Ahmed. How much was this one going to cost?!!! Wait
a minute. What was this???? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a ticket.

Ahmed began to read:

“Dear Ahmed,

Once upon a time I had a lovely daughter. She was six when killed by a car.You
guessed it – a speeding driver’s car. A fine and three months in jail,
and the man was free. Free to hug his three daughters. I only had one,
and I’m going to have to wait until Heaven, before I can ever hug her again.

A thousand times I’ve tried to forgive that man. A thousand times
I thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray
for me.. And be careful, Ahmed, my son is all I have left.”

Ahmed turned around in time to see the cop’s car pull away and head
down the road. He watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes
later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for
forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived. Life
is precious. Handle it with care.

So drive safe. Definitely speed thrill, but remember, IT ALSO KILLS.

What is the level of intimacy you share with your partner? Have you tried something different to do, together?

Well then it time you try out this Love Exercises. Do take care to spend enough time for this, preferably on a weekend or a vacation.

Art by Rikuko

Art by Hirokazu

1. Two as One. Embracing each other gently, begin to sense your partner’s breathing and gradually try to synchronize your breathing with his or hers. After a few minutes, you might feel that the two of you have merged.

Inhibitions. Countless millions of relationships have probably started with a glass of wine. Inhibitions block feelings of vulnerability, so lowering inhibitions can indeed help people bond. Getting drunk, however, is blinding and debilitating. Instead of alcohol, try the Two as One exercise above.

2. Soul Gazing. Standing or sitting about two feet away from each other, look deeply into each other’s eyes, trying to look into the very core of your beings. Do this for about two minutes and then talk about what you saw.

Art by Jayun

3. Monkey Love. Standing or sitting fairly near each other, start moving your hands, arms and legs any way you like—but in a fashion that perfectly imitates your partner. This is fun but also challenging. You will both feel as if you are moving voluntarily, but your actions are also linked to those of your partner.

Similarity. Opposites sometimes attract, but research by behavioral economist Dan Ariely of Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others shows that people usually tend to pair off with those who are similar to themselves—in intelligence, background and level of attractiveness. Some research even suggests that merely imitating someone can increase closeness. See the Monkey Love exercise above.

4. Falling in Love. This is a trust exercise, one of many that increase mutual feelings of vulnerability. From a standing position, simply let yourself fall backward into the arms of your partner. Then trade places. Repeat several times and then talk about your feelings. Strangers who do this exercise sometimes feel connected to each other for years.

Arousal. Studies by researchers such as psychologist Arthur Aron of Stony Brook University show that people tend to bond emotionally when aroused, say, through exercise, adventures or exposure to dangerous situations. Roller coaster, anyone? See the Falling in Love exercise above.

5. Secret Swap. Write down a deep secret and have your partner do the same. Then trade papers and talk about what you read. You can continue this process until you have run out of secrets. Better yet, save some of your secrets for another day

Self-disclosure. Research by Aron, Sprecher and others indicates that people tend to bond when they share secrets with each other. Once again, the key here is allowing oneself to be vulnerable. See the Secret Swap exercise above.

Art by Fujisawa Machi

6. Mind-Reading Game. Write down a thought that you want to convey to your partner. Then spend a few minutes wordlessly trying to broadcast that thought to him or her, as he or she tries to guess what it is. If he or she cannot guess, reveal what you were thinking. Then switch roles.

Art by Nariyuki

7. Let Me Inside. Stand about four feet away from each other and focus on each other. Every 10 seconds or so move a bit closer until, after several shifts, you are well inside each other’s personal space (the boundary is about 18 inches). Get as close as you can without touching. (This exercise often ends with kissing.)

Proximity and familiarity. Studies by Stanford University social psychologists Leon Festinger and Robert Zajonc and others conclude that simply being around someone tends to produce positive feelings. When two people consciously and deliberately allow each other to invade their personal space, feelings of intimacy can grow quickly. See the Let Me Inside exercise above.

Art by Tetsukuzu Tetsuko

8. Love Aura. Place the palm of your hand as close as possible to your partner’s palm without actually touching. Do this for several minutes, during which you will feel not only heat but also, sometimes, eerie kinds of sparks.

Original here – Thanks, Kitsune