Surviving in a Chemical World (Part 1)

Allow me to share in detail how I survive everyday.

Food

1. As you know, I cannot eat anything from the restaurants, delis, cafes or even the bread vendor. Anything that contains preservatives, flavourings, colourings, additives, sauces and MSG is definitely forbidden for me. Now which food outlet sells food without any of the above? Even the organic shops use sauces. And these sauces could contain a small amount of salicylate in it. And yes, I have reacted to the food from organic stores. Even vegetables and fruits contain salicylate naturally. 
2. Everything that I cook, bake, steam, roast, fry, deep fry, grill or boil has only salt and sometimes a teeny-weeny bit of pepper in them. I do not use sugar in my cooking UNLESS I have a severe sugar craving that cause me light-headedness, then yes. If not it's only salt and sometimes pepper. Of course when it comes to pastries or desserts, yes I use sugar. I use only organic brown sugar. The salt that I use is sea salt and the Himalayan rock salt. And I use sunflower oil for my cooking. 30 months back I could only use the Clearspring organic sunflower oil. But as I grew stronger, I could use other brands of sunflower oil. 
3. In order for the dishes to be 'edible', I had to crack my brains on how to 'flavour' my dishes. I could not use any spice or herbs or flavourings or sauces. Someone once remarked, 'How awful it must be to be eating bland food everyday for the rest of your life.' I refused to accept that! I guess that's how I am. I am a very strong willed person. Now that is an understatement. Let me rephrase that. I am an EXCEEDINGLY strong willed person. I guess in this situation it's good as I won't give up without a fight. Thus, I had to come up with new ways to cook my food. During the first few months where my condition was very volatile and dangerous, I only ate a handful of dishes, day in and day out. Even before the next meal came, my system would revolt at the thought of eating the same food again! It was steamed salt chicken, fried rice with minced pork (pork - which I am unable to tolerate today) and lettuce iceberg, steamed white pomfret, lettuce iceberg, AND steamed salt chicken AND lettuce iceberg. You get my drift. I was sick from being sick. So I willed myself and set my mind to be stronger and then when I was indeed stronger, I tried out new types of vegetables, fruits, cooking in a different style, and mixing different types of fresh ingredients. Of course it's still strictly no sauces, colourings, additives, MSG or flavourings, spices and herbs. There was a point I could tolerate a certain brand of white sauce. But today, I am intolerant towards it again. It's ok. I'll build myself back up again and TRY again. Hey, maybe one day I might create a new and unique sauce which is salicylate free and chemical free that is totally yummy-licious! What we can do is limitless. Someone once said the sky is the limit. I say the galaxy is the limit!!! To quote from my son's favourite cartoon at the moment, 'Nothing's impossible for Animal Mechanicals! Animal Mechanicals can do ANYTHING!' Well, we too can do anything if we set our heart, will, mind and soul to it. And saying a little prayer too helps sometimes. 
4. And so my journey for this 30 months where food is concerned, has been like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes it's just sheer adrenaline rush. Sometimes I get paralysed with fear. What if my experimentation goes wrong and trigger another anaphylactic attack and I drop dead from it and no one is at home? So my experiments are usually done when my family is around. Especially my hubby. And yes, my family members have been taught to use the Epi-Pen. Hopefully in the state of panic they'll remember how to inject me! (This one is for your mom and dad!) Haha!!
5. My body has developed a way on how to alert me when the components of a fragrance, a dish, vegetables or even fruits has something that would trigger a reaction. The smells or taste would 'transform' into a 'chlorine smell/taste/ that will burn my mouth, throat or sinus. I would then either spit it out and run to the bathroom and rinse my mouth till nothing is left in it or leave the scene immediately. Sometimes the smell is so overpowering that even a face-mask cannot block it. So you'll see me fleeing from the restaurants or washrooms or from someone whose over-powering perfume is like walking through the fogging done at dawn or dusk to kill the aedes mosquitoes. And if the reaction is exceedingly bad, I'll swallow a double dose of medication on the spot.
6. I am currently practicing a rotation diet today, This means that whatever I eat today, I do not eat the same thing in the next 3 to 4 days or even a week. This is to prevent the accumulation of salicylates in my system from building up that could cause another major anaphylactic attack. I have had many near-anaphylaxis attacks in the months of August and September 2011. I did not practice the rotation diet then. And I guess the salicylates had build-up to a very potent level. For more than a week, it was just simple chicken soup with rice and simple stir-fried vegetables to bring the salicylate levels down. And when I was stronger, I tried new foods again. 
7. My only form of supplement is the LactoGG probiotics.
8. To understand more on salicylate, you can click on the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid

I will share more on what I use in my daily products, household detergents and how I build my immune system up. I am not a doctor or a person in the medical line. I'm just sharing my experience. See an immunologist/allergist to get a better view of your ailment. And never give up. Of course it's easier said than done. But that's the only way to live. Have a great week.

The Epi-Pen on the LEFT has been used. The one on the RIGHT  has not been used. 

Another of my homemade dishes:
Chicken noodle soup with homemade dumplings, prawns and baby pak choy vege.

Luke 6:41-42

“Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your brother’s eye, but you don’t see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? You say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye.’ Why do you say this? You can’t see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You are a hypocrite. First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother’s eye.” (ERV)

It was during the time before the Pentecostal Movement, that there were two birds that were good friends. One was a Mynah. And the other was a Peahen. They both believed in God, in goodwill and in being good friends despite of their differences. As the years went by, Mynah met her mate and left to nest at another place. Peahen too met her mate and left to be at another place.

They maintained their friendship throughout the years and brought each other’s family over to mingle. Mynah’s children never ceased to be amazed by Uncle Peacock’s magnificent feathers. And Peahen’s children loved the beautiful songs that Aunty and Uncle Mynah sang in unison. And boy, could they both sing!

One day, as Mynah was looking for food for her young, a terrible accident happened. She was attacked by a cobra. The moment those fangs sank into her small body, she saw Death. The other mynahs in her community started screeching the moment they saw what had happened. They threw down whatever they could find to get the cobra to release Mynah. Mynah’s husband torpedoed himself into the cobra’s eye. The pain blinded the cobra. And the cobra released Mynah from its clutches and quickly slithered away. Mynah’s husband felt his blood turn cold when he saw Death in her eyes. He cried to the Heavens to give Mynah back to him. In his desperation, he swore to God, he made oaths, he promised everything and anything to have his Mynah back in his life. And the children were still so young.

The moment Peahen heard of what had happened, she packed her bags and ran to be with Mynah and her family. For 40 days and 40 nights, Mynah was in a coma. You could literally see Death cocooning Mynah. It would take a miracle for Mynah to escape the clutches of Death.

A miracle did happen. Mynah miraculously woke up from the coma. But for the first three years after the cobra attack, she struggled to regain her health. The venom had paralyzed her left wing. She could no longer fly. And her whole body was wrecked with pain. She could no longer be the mother and wife that she was. Her movements were restricted. Migraine attacks that caused aura debilitated her. She lost half her weight. And she became depressed and suicidal. Even the songs of the mynah community drove her insane. The pain just wouldn’t leave her. The smell of the fresh worms that her husband brought home made her sick. And she spent most of the days sleeping in the nest. Mynah became very bitter and angry. She cursed the community. She cursed her husband. She cursed God. ‘Why didn’t You save me from the snake since you are such a POWERFUL God!!!’ She would tell her husband that he should have let her died, instead of saving her and letting her suffer. She would go crazy and have screaming fits at her children and at her husband. She couldn’t deal with the pain in her body and in her soul.

Meanwhile, Peahen had returned home after Mynah had woken up from the coma and was out of danger. She had been away from her family for 40 days. It was during the second week after she had gotten home, that she bumped into another group of peahens at the market which were extremely excited, chattering about the miracle that they had just witnessed. When they saw Peahen’s interest, they shared the good news with her. ‘A group of birds were gathered in the upper bird-house praying when the sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole bird-house where they were sitting. And tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of them. And they all chirped in tongues. Many mocked them, saying that they must have gone to the birdbath that was filled with wine instead of water. But the Eagle stood up with the Eleven and started preaching about what Joel the prophet said. And they performed miracles, signs and wonders!’ explained one of the peahens.

Peahen was extremely excited. She thought about Mynah. Maybe Mynah could obtain her healing in this manner. She sent Pigeon the messenger many times to Mynah’s nest with the message. But whenever Pigeon returned, he shook his head and told her that Mynah turned him away again and said that she needed to be alone. Peahen joined the Pentecostal Movement and was swept away by the phenomena and the signs and wonders. And she got more and more involved in the Church and with the newfound group of friends.

Mynah fell into a state of depression so deep, that even she herself began to feel afraid of the depth of it. She had lost her song and her soul. Her body was so weak and she was just so tired of waking up everyday to face her battles all over again. She became a recluse. She did not want to meet anyone. She did not want to talk to anyone. Her spirit was broken. And she needed to be alone to find herself again. Besides, the other birds that she met did not have anything good to say. It was either, ‘You do not have enough faith.’ ‘The reason you are like this is because you have not prayed enough and you’re not regularly attending church.’ ‘Are you sure your wing is really paralyzed?’ ‘Poor thing! If I were you I would wish that I was dead!’ ‘I think you should talk about God more. I hardly hear you mentioning God in your conversations.’

And it was during this time of reclusiveness that she cried out to God with all that was in her. And He heard. And He answered. Not in the way that she expected. But nevertheless He responded. She began to hear Him talking to her. And He was with her. And she began to heal. And she began to see things in a different perspective. She realized that she could be a better person. She realized that the things of this world did not matter. What mattered was in her heart and in her soul. Mynah changed. She could no longer bear the hypocrisy of the other birds that so proudly proclaim themselves as ‘Creatures of God,’ but yet could not show her genuine concern and support during her time of crisis. ‘Friends’ who chirped nothing EXCEPT about GOD, GOD and GOD but rebuked her when they realized that she became friends with the crows, sparrows, the one-eye Parrot, the owls, the chickens, the magpies and the BATS! And they quickly shook the dust of their feet and left in a hurry when one of her magpie friends dropped by. And so Mynah knew who were her real friends, who genuinely cared for her and who were the hypocrites. Though she did not regain the use of her wing, she learned to glide with one wing. And all her ‘assorted’ bird-friends cheered and went crazy when she did it for the first time. And her children and husband were so proud of her. But the ‘Creatures of God’ said that she had no faith. If she did, she would have fully regained the use of her left wing. But she was now a creature of steel. Her soul was strong. She knew what she was. What her worth was. And WHO she was. So what if her friends were magpies, and believed in the god with four-heads? So what if the crows caw 4-letter-curses? So what if the bats were gay? So what if the chickens’ poop were the smelliest poop of all? The important thing was they were genuine and sincere. They did not judge Mynah to be a ‘Creature of God’ and thus not one of them and rejected her. Of course they did not agree with everything. They had their arguments, their disagreements and their bird-fights! But they agreed to disagree. And they learned to RESPECT each other’s decisions. And they did all of this from their hearts. And that was what mattered the most.

During the duration of the 3 years, Mynah did think of Peahen and never ceased to be grateful for a friend like her. But Mynah had to go through ‘her hell’ alone before she could be the strong Mynah that she was today. She never did forget about Peahen. And so after 3 years, she contacted Peahen. She sent a message and gifts through Dove. But Dove returned with the message unopened and with all the gifts. ‘She was not home?’ asked Mynah. ‘No one answered the bell,' replied Dove.  Mynah sent Dove a few more times to look for Peahen but Peahen never seemed to be home. One day, Mynah decided to go and see Peahen herself. She was worried that something might have happened to her good friend.

When she arrived at Peahen’s house, she marveled at the beauty and splendour of the majestic house. It was built for a king! Mynah was very happy that her friend had prospered. And she heard excited conversations coming from the compound. She rang the bell. The door opened and Peahen stood in front of her. ‘Peahen! How are you? How is everything? I have missed you so much.’ Peahen just gazed at her coldly and did not respond. Awkward silence ensued. ‘It’s me Mynah. I know I don’t look the same anymore. But it’s me.’ Peahen still did not open her mouth. ‘Are you alright? Is everything alright? How is your husband? The children….? ‘I AM alright! Don’t you see me standing in front of you? I’m breathing and talking to you which means I am still ALIVE!!’ snapped Peahen. ‘I’m very tired. What is it that you want?!’ ‘I sent Dove here a few times, but you were never home. I got very worried. Well, now that I have seen that you are ALIVE, I’ll leave you. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Take care my friend,’ said Mynah. Peahen went back inside and slammed the door shut. Mynah was shocked. But she understood if Peahen needed some time by herself as she had gone through the same thing. But she could not understand the coldness and rudeness that Peahen had given her.

Dove who stood in a distance, approached her and asked her whether she was ready for the ride home. Mynah suggested that they have some refreshments before the flight home. They stopped by a quaint birdbath and there were some crumbs that were scattered on the ground. As Dove and Mynah rested under the shade of a large tree after the refreshments, Peahen and her other peahen friends passed by the birdbath. One of them remarked, ‘Urgh, how can they even think of drinking from such a low-class birdbath? We simply must not allow ourselves to mingle with all these low-life creatures. Let’s go to the one we saw the other day, the one made of marble and has gold-trimmings all around. Our fellow believers go there quite often. The water taste splendid there. Even our pastor and his wife drinks from there.’ Another one then exclaimed, ‘Oh really? Well, praise the Lord! Yes, we shall go there.’ And as they walked on, a magpie accidentally bumped into them. ‘How dare you touch us, you filthy creature! Are you trying to give us bad luck?!’ shrieked another peahen. And they made such a big commotion over a small thing. The magpie apologized and flew away in haste. Peahen said, ‘Well, we’d better go ask our pastor to bless us and pray for us. We wouldn’t want any bad luck to befall us. I already have one bad luck today in the form of a Mynah! I wouldn’t want another one.’ Another peahen said, ‘We creatures of God of the same faith must always stay together. We are His children! God be praised! Oh, how I love God! I am so blessed to have you as my sisters!’ ‘Amen!’ chorused all the other peahens. And off they went to their ‘high-class’ birdbath.

Mynah was sad that her friend had changed so drastically. No wonder Peahen was so cold towards her. She wasn’t a ‘creature of God’ to Peahen. She was just another ‘unbelieving low-life’ bird. Mynah prayed for her friend and then she and Dove went home.

7 years later

Mynah was a successful gliding coach. She would teach all the chicks in her community how to glide.  She even found other birds with the same belief as hers. And the ‘assorted’ bird community lived happily ever after. What about Peahen you asked? Well, her husband left her to be with 3 of her ‘godly’ peahen ‘sisters’. And when she was struck with cancer, all of them left saying that she did not have enough faith. And she died alone.

Fantabulous Food-i-licious!

Warning: View this blog with a full stomach. Not doing so will cause it to rumble. You have been warned!

Since we are a society who just loves food, here are more CHEMICALLY-free food. Happy viewing!

Potato pork pie

Moist chocolate cake

Rich butter cake with crushed biscuits base

Red bean buns!

Pizza!

Oat & chocolate chip cookies

Sesame seeds buns!

Egg Tarts!

Sunflower Seeds Buns

Potato Pancakes

6-Jeweled Fried Rice with Fried Egg

The Midnight Sun

There's Ketotifen,
Puriton, Zrytec, Xyzal, Aerius and many more
Some are able to take Ibuprofen
Some take so many that it seeps out of their pores

Then there's Claritin
And the Zyrtec - D
It supposedly helps your excessive sneezing
But they all make you zzzzz.

The king of it all
Is called Prednisolone
It causes you gastritis, weight gain,
Osteoporosis, paper-thin-skin and makes you look like a ball
Oh, one can feel so alone

No longer do I ask, 'WHY?'
'Will I get better by and by?'
'When will I be able to wean of the meds?'
Or be bothered about the people's stares

I will be tough as nails
Though on some days I am as soft as tofu
On some days I will sail
And I will be as risilient like the bamboo

Yes, it may be incurable
But there is this thing called hope
Of course the doctors say it's totally not probable
One thing's for sure: I will certainly not mope!

So I say to you Idiopathic Anaphylaxis
This life is like a metamorphosis
The ending IS beautiful and glorious
Though the battle may be fierce
I will fight you like a matador
And it is you that I will gore

So spread out the table for me
Where I will drink, feast and be merry
Nasi Lemak, Tortillas, Prawn Mee, Iced Lemon Tea and Sashimi
I will look to the West
And see it at its best
And proclaim, 'How glorious is the Midnight Sun!'

Queen of Pain

It comes like a total eclipse
Blocking out all rays of light
It is so hard to fight
When I am drowning in darkness

This pain that is engulfing my mind
It is as pungent as turpentine
What is there to gain?
Except that I've become the Queen of Pain

Altered frequency
Surrounded by an aura
Life feels like a broken kaleidoscope
Where art Thou, O my Hope?

One step forward and a thousand no more
It should have been a progress
But it feels more like a regress
Where is that day?
Where I can look at Pain and say,
"As the Queen of Pain, OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!'

Life IS...

A box of chocolates for some. It makes some fat, gives some migraine and euphoria and ecstasy in others. Who said that fat is not fabulous? Migraines? Just swallow some aspirin. Euphoria and ecstasy need no explanation.

Breaking an egg for a lot of us. On some days we get a rotten egg or even eggs! On other days, we might get an egg with twin yolks. Some get turned off by the rotten egg smell and refuse to break any more eggs in their lives. But they forget that there can be ‘twin blessings’ on good days.

Wearing a pair of Manolo Blahniks or Loubutins to others. These shoes make others green with envy but give the person who wears them back pain, knee pain, heel pain, bunions, toe deformities, suffer from Metatarsalgia and higher risk of injuries. Beauty that comes with a steep price indeed. Beautiful shoes that is, until the stilettos get stuck in the drain grating. Or the red Loubutins get covered in dung.

Buying an item which has been long awaited and highly anticipated, to some people.  Once the hype has died down, some then wonder why on earth they bought it and that it was such a waste of money. But then it brought them happiness for a fleeting sense of time. Even if it was for a week or less.

Being told after paying for groceries that you're entitled to a free mystery gift because you've spent quite a fortune on that day. Surprise! Surprise! You've gotten a packet of 2-ply 8 pieces tissue paper which costs 20 cents. @@?!$!?@!!!!! Cheapskate you say. You'll be grateful when you are struck with bowel 'disturbances' in a ‘makeshift toilet’ with no toilet paper.

Dancing to a lot of people. They can dance even when the skies are grey. They dance in their hearts. They dance with their instruments be it the scalpel, the spatula or the skillet, the pen, the painting brush, the hammer and saw, their voice or a musical instrument. Though some dance awkwardly, you can see that their hearts are all out in the open, dancing with wild abandon. And there are no words to describe the beauty of the dances of these people.

To me, life is being a clay vase. On some days I like the way the potter is fashioning me. Some days I hate him for making me into a shape that is totally out of my comfort zone. And being in the kiln is the worst place ever! And not forgetting at the times when I think I'm in perfect shape, I get broken and remolded from scratch! And this is an ongoing process everyday.

And yes, at times life is like an unresolved cadence. We expect it to resolve from a dominant to a tonic but in life it is not so. We feel like we’re hanging in the air, waiting for a finale, THE big finale. Waiting for the glorious ending. Life can be an imperfect cadence instead of a perfect cadence. Who says it isn't beautiful? It can be an acquired taste. And that is how life should be viewed.

Life is not always fair. Sometimes you get a splinter even when sliding down a rainbow. – Terri Guillemets

Life is like a blanket too short.  You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night.  ~Marion Howard

My 'Chemical & Salicylate Free' Gastronomic Creations

I have been told so many times that the kind of life that I am living is not a life because of my limited food intake that I've lost count. 

And then I have been told that I am losing out so much in life because I can't eat all the 'wonderful' food which is sold outside.

I won't deny that I do feel very tired with cooking everyday. I won't deny that I do long for all the 'forbidden' food! Sometimes there are long stretches where I can't push myself to cook at all, thus it's chicken soup with all-sorts-of-ingredients for a few days 'till my son tells me that the food is boring! Haha!


One of the benefits that I have reaped from this diet, is that my scalp which was sickly and hair that dropped in clumps AND a severe amount of white hair became healthy and turned so black and thick that my hairdresser thought I had actually gone for a hair dye and some extremely expensive hair treatment! I told her that I'm so allergic to everything that a hair dye is the last thing on my mind. 

For those of you who are in the same boat as I am in, I will share with you how I have been surviving for this past 30 months.

As of today, I am practicing the rotation diet. This means I do not eat the same food twice in a row. What I have eaten today, I'll eat it again next week or 3 or 4 days later. By doing this, the Salicylates which have accumulated in my body do not over-accumulate and cause another attack which could result in anaphylaxis.

My diet consists of chicken (which is free of antibiotics), fish, a selected group of vegetables and fruits and some beans and peas.

I usually cook with just salt and sunflower oil and sometimes pepper. I hardly use sugar anymore because by using natural ingredients, the food is naturally sweet and thus, I do not need to add sugar. It's healthy too! 

I make my own pastries, biscuits and bread too. I use a small amount of sugar for pastries. What are pastries without sugar right? Hehe...

Here are a few examples of the food that I am able to take:
*Some of the food here contain slight amounts of Salicylates which I am able to tolerate (on good days that is).

Roast chicken with salt

Chicken stew with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes (which were from my garden), big onions and celery. This was cooked with just salt and pepper. The rice in the background was cooked with garlic and butter.

Banana cupcakes

Curry puffs (Without the spice and curry that is!)

Egg Tarts

Fried bittergourd with egg

Stir fried mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots and brocolli) with chopped garlic

Fried corn fritters

Wholemeal bread

Butter cookies

 Vermicelli fried with choy sum vege and prawns with shallots and garlic

Baked oat crunchies (made with brown sugar, sunflower oil and eggs)

Deep fried baby white pomfret! *Yummy!!*

Steamed chick peas

Stir fried okra with garlic and shallots! Okra's from my garden.

Biscuit bread

Butter cake

An example of my meal: Fried egg, fish cake, and lettuce iceberg with rice.

Dear God

Dear God,

How are you feeling today? Hope that you're feeling good today. Me? Well, I'm sure you know that things have not been very well of late. Although life is now bearable with a double dose of Xyzal, two months of  continuos attack can be very taxing for one's body, not to mention the soul and mind.

I know that there are people out there who are worse off than me and that there are people better off than me. But I am not happy at where I am. 

I want to be able to go out on a whim and to not worry and having to rush home after a certain time because I do not have anything to eat. I want to have days where when I don't feel like cooking, I am able to go to the coffee shop down the road  to buy a packet of economy rice and just enjoy. I'd want to travel to countries that I have never been before. I would like to eat Char Kuay Teow with all the delicious sauces and ingredients. I would like to pig out on Spaghetti Bolognese and Hawaiian Delight Pizza and not react. I would like to able to go to the toilets out there without running out of the place the moment I step in and having to hold my pee looking for another toilet because the previous one reeked with bleach, Dettol and air-freshener. I would like to live a life where I do not need to freak out when 'smells' waft over to my air-space.

That being said, I would like to thank you for giving me such great parents, though I've scared the shit out of them many times! Thank you for my hubby who helped me out with the house chores, and in taking on my load when I was totally out of action. Thank you for my only sibling who helped in whatever way that he could. And thank you for my son who at six years old is more mature than a 10 year old kid. He helps me all the time and gives me non-stop Herculean-strength hugs and tells me he loves me frequently everyday.

I also would like to thank you for the friends who have been supporting, encouraging and pushing me to go on. Their messages, e-mails and SMS-es have greatly encouraged me and kept me going on when difficult times came.

So God, here's what I want. I want my life back. I won't say that I have not learnt anything during this 30 months. In fact I've learned far more than I've learned in my entire life. Christmas is coming, so I'm asking you in advance for my 'gift'. Perfect health with no meds, no need to carry Epi-Pens, steroids, meds, no need to wear a Medic Alert bracelet or run from smells and can-eat-and-use anything and everything with no reaction whatsoever.

I thank you in advance for my 'gift' and thank you for not stopping me abruptly like some of the GP doctors who asked me in an irritated tone, 'So what is it that you want?!' I'm grateful for your time and in letting me rant out my frustrations.

Forever Grateful,
Girl, Alive

The Glorious Heavens

Someone once asked me to why I am always taking pictures of the sky above. The only response that I could reply was that the sky above us will ALWAYS be the sky no matter the colour, the weather, the mood, the season or the time. The sky is timeless. The sky is steadfast. The sky tells us of the beauty of this world. And the skies have been here since the beginning of time. And taking pictures of the skies reminds me of how blessed I am to have a second chance to enjoy their beauty.

There are days where there will be storms, hurricanes, typhoons or even blizzards. But after the heavens have vented out its wrath and fury, the sky will return to its glorious splendour.

Sometimes the storm that we see on the horizon never reaches us. And by preparing to face the 'storms' in our lives, we learn many things. We learn how to prepare for combat. We learn how to be vigilant. We learn how to be strong.

And when the storms do come, we stay strong, are strong and continue to be strong. We do not give up. And if we fall down, we get back up. Because the storm will never go on forever. And after every storm, the sun will always come back out to shine. Even though at times it may take awhile for it to come back out! But it will eventually. 

Does this not remind you of an elephant and its trunk?

'The sky is the daily bread of the eye.' - Ralph Waldo Emerson