Whose opinion is right?
Aus May 2013
by Alan Bailey
It’s amazing how many opinions and words of advice are being aimed toward us today. Television brings a constant stream of sure-fire diets, get-rich-quick schemes, cures for everything under the sun and expertise on almost any topic.
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Swimmers display the “gradual revolution”
Aus April 2013
by Alan Bailey
Headlines recently shocked readers with the revelation that an Olympic swimming team had been in a toxic environment during the London games.
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The TV interviewer asks:
How are you feeling now?
Aus March 2013
by Alan Bailey
It’s an inevitable question with TV interviewers. ‘How did you feel when you realized your parachute wouldn’t open?’ ‘How did you feel when you heard that all your money had been ripped off you?’ ‘How did you feel when you lost the match?’
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Internet scams reveal our need for love
Aus February 2013
by Alan Bailey
Lately, it has been sad to see real life stories on television about women who have been conned via the Internet. The usual plot is that a lonely person has met a man on the social media who has cultivated her friendship and developed what has seemed to be a full-blown romance. The man finds his way into the lady’s heart and then into her bank account. Some victims have parted with tens of thousands of dollars as a result.
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MAKING A FRESH START
Aus December 2012
by Alan Bailey
This time of the year makes us think about change. Is it to be a new house, job or a new place to study? For many, there is a desperate effort to make a new home in Australia.
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Can time rescue us from ourselves?
Aus November 2012
by Alan Bailey
Are you amazed and baffled by the enormous confusion and moral dilemma of our “modern” era?
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WHAT DID YOU GET?
GOLD? SILVER? OR BRONZE?
Aus September 2012
by Alan Bailey
You can bet your life many TV viewers qualified for a medal in the recent games. They sat up into the small hours, cheering Aussie heroes between mouthfuls of coffee, then, after a nap, headed off to work trying vainly to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
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Unlikey contestants in the games
Aus August 2012
by Alan Bailey
So you are not going to London to participate in the Games? Well, you had better take note — you are in the contest right now. Think of it. You may not be a professional hurdler but there are a few hurdles in front of you to get over.
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Our most serious disease
Aus July 2012
by Alan Bailey
The cry of the present day seems to be “Get outta my way!”
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Are you hanging by a thread?
Aus June 2012
by Alan Bailey
How scary is that! I saw it on television just the other day. A young couple suspended over a huge ravine in New Zealand, meant to be experiencing a bungy jump—but something was going very wrong.
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HAVING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
Aus May 2012
Alan Bailey
So much of life seems to be a network of relationships. Apparently we are built to relate to others around us. It is part of being human. It means so much to have a friend, a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a wife or a husband. Happy is the person who can experience the nearness of others who have an interest in them and even a stake in their lives.
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MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE
Aus April 2012
By Alan Bailey
Every now and then we hear of someone being released from prison after wrongfully serving part of a lengthy sentence. It is a sad situation when an innocent man suffers the indignity, the pain and the loss of reputation that goes with being declared guilty and then locked away. It is hard to imagine how you would feel in that situation
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Beware: anger is boiling everywhere!
Aus March 2012
by Alan Bailey
It’s not hard to see. For some reason, anger is alive and well, roaring like an escaped lion.
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WHY NOT TIE THE KNOT?
Aus February 2012
by Alan Bailey
The institution of marriage has taken quite a beating in recent years.
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KEEPING THOSE NEW RESOLUTIONS
Aus December 2011
by Alan Bailey
Just about everybody wants to change something about themselves. It seems that New Year is a good time as it is a kind of milestone, a marker that can keep us honest.
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READ THIS — IF YOU HAVE THE TIME!
Aus November 2011
by Alan Bailey
‘Time flies when you’re having fun!’ So the common saying goes — and doesn’t it fly!
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NO-ONE CARES FOR ME!
Aus October 2011
by Alan Bailey
I think it is fair to say that life can be described as a struggle. Survival seems to be the name of the game. People appear to look after themselves as best they can, leaving everyone else to find their own way.
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ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST?
Aus September 2011
by Alan Bailey
Everyone has heard of Murphy’s Law. This paper recently published ten aspects of the law, such as “In any field of scientific endeavour, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
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SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Aus August 2011
By Alan Bailey
Being enthusiastic about life seems mainly to spring from eagerly looking forward to something like a birthday, a wedding, a graduation or going on a date. If there are some things, even one pleasant thing up ahead, there is enough incentive to keep us living enthusiastically. When there is nothing, just a blank, life is humdrum to say the least.
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Guilty, or not guilty?
Aus July 2011
by Alan Bailey
What a tense moment when the jury spokesperson prepares to deliver the verdict. All the evidence has been weighed, arguments put forward — the prosecution and defence have had their last say. The judge has made his summary. Then the words are spoken and sighs, perhaps groans, are heard throughout the court. A head bows, tears may flow.
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Who can know the way?
Aus June 2011
by Alan Bailey
It is amazing just how many different ways of life are shown to us today. Television brings a constant stream of sure-fire diets, get-rich-quick schemes, cures for everything under the sun and advice on almost any topic. If the TV fails, try the Internet; it has endlessly more.
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Success in every way
Aus April 2011
by Alan Bailey
If you asked someone in the street what they think success is, the chances are that you would hear statements like ‘getting rich’, ‘making the big time’, ‘being in demand’, ‘achieving something great’, ‘winning’, ‘having everything go right for you’, ‘enjoying a lucky streak’, or any number of answers like that.
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Peeping into the future
Aus March 2011
by Alan Bailey
No doubt we are all curious about what lies ahead for this world — and our own part in it. Around the globe people consult mediums, palm readers and the horoscope, trying to get what they hope is an authentic look. Futurists have always been busy writing books and scaring people about dire days ahead.
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When memory is a minefield
Aus February 2011
by Alan Bailey
Everyone seems to have problems with remembering, not so much with what is there in the memory cells, but what doesn’t seem to be there when we want it. This is especially evident as we grow older.
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The planet’s celestial visitor
Aus December 2010
by Alan Bailey
UFOs and aliens are back in the news, perhaps more than ever. People in high places are giving a good deal of credit to alleged sightings and reports of alien activity at nuclear and military establishments. Are we being visited by completely unknown creatures? Are they going to do us good or harm? Or is it all hocus -pocus?
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Children deserve something better
Aus November 2010
by Alan Bailey
It’s a long time since Socrates said that if he could get to the highest point in Athens he would cry, “What do you mean, fellow citizens, that you scrape every stone to get wealth together and take so little care of your children to whom you must one day relinquish it all.”
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GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF LIFE
Aus October 2010
by Alan Bailey
More and more, our way of life, especially in the Western world, seems to be centred on and around things. To possess a good house, furniture, cars, clothes and a growing array of consumer items is what life is all about, or so it seems.
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How to stay in love
Aus September 2010
by Alan Bailey
In September we have a date for dads. A time to let them know they’re special. A few kisses and a little pile of masculine- looking gifts mark the morning.
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Learning to look forward
Aus August 2010
by Alan Bailey
Enthusiasm for life seems to come from what we can eagerly look forward to.
The birthday, or the wedding, or holidays, or graduation, or going on a date.
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Dealing with disappointment
Aus July 2010
By Alan Bailey
Anyone who hasn’t felt keen disappointment in life hasn’t lived. In some ways we even set ourselves up for it. I saw some soccer fans on screen saying that winning or losing wasn’t a matter of life and death — it was more serious than that!
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The earth is shaking — hang on!
Aus June 2010
by Alan Bailey
They are constantly in the news. Earthquakes of differing magnitudes reported from many areas around the planet. We have seen how devastating some of them are, as with the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile recently.
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WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
Aus May 2010
by Alan Bailey
Today we hear voices coming from all directions. Communication is at an all-time high. Many of these voices are trying to persuade us about something. What we ought to buy, who we should vote for, what we should give our loyalty to, and so much more.
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The most significant event in the world
Aus April 2010
by Alan Bailey
How would you answer the question, “What has been the most significant event in the history of mankind?’ Would it be a huge natural disaster? The Magna Carta? The Enlightenment? The harnessing of electricity? The electronic revolution? The splitting of the atom?
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Cleaning our window on the world
Aus March 2010
by Alan Bailey
Shocking newspaper reports are fearfully common. Today I read of a mother who drowned her two infants and then threw herself off a bridge. We almost become used to hearing of people who are at their wits end, desperate, trapped, hating their circumstances. We don’t envy them.
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Dogged by depression?
Aus February 2010
by Alan Bailey
People from all walks of life seem to be haunted by the black dog. That’s what Winston Churchill called depression, something that troubled him for many years. Today it appears that this disorder is reaching epidemic proportions world wide and the figures quoted are disturbing. People with the comforts of life are no less likely to have the problem — they seem to be even more prone to it!
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Starting over again
Aus December 2009
by Alan Bailey
The end of a year and the beginning of a new one, usually cause people to reflect on what has passed and look forward to better things in the future. Of course, we all know that broken resolutions are proverbial. Can we break this cycle?
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Now is the time for hope
USA November 2009
by Alan Bailey
There is a great feeling around a Christmas tree. The kid’s faces are eager and their parents love to sit back and watch while the presents are unwrapped. When I was a child I wished that the same good feelings would last through the year. As you could easily guess, they never did.
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BEING BLISSFULLY UNAWARE
Aus November 2009
by Alan Bailey
Peoples’ lives are often violently interrupted. News has gone around the world in recent days of earthquakes and a tsunami which have caused many deaths and huge devastation. We almost get used to hearing such reports.
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Sport — The magnificent obsession
Aus October 2009
by Alan Bailey
Among the news reports of earthquakes, wars, floods and fires, there is sure to be a solid segment of the latest sporting events won and lost. Then, a run-down on all the up-coming contests for trophies and glory.
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Being a great dad
Aus September 2009
by Alan Bailey
“What dads leave in life is more significant than what they leave in death.”
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Trying to fill the emptiness
Aus August 2009
by Alan Bailey
Empty stomachs seem to plead for something to be swallowed down to them. They won’t be satisfied until their call is answered. Delay can mean hunger pains which grow worse over time. How good it feels when the need is met!
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Happiness — A universal hope
Aus July 2009
by Alan Bailey
It’s something everybody looks for. I can’t imagine anyone climbing out of bed in the morning saying to themselves, ‘I hope today turns out to be unhappy.’
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The proof of the pudding
Aus June 2009
by Alan Bailey
Yes, the pudding may look good, even smell good, but the proof of what it promises to be is found by eating it. The one who partakes uses his taste buds and then gives an assessment.
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Criminal set free
Aus April 2009
by Alan Bailey
This man was a real outlaw. For years he got away with it. His main grudge was against the government and he made his feelings known. Demonstrations in the street were no quiet affair for him. Under his shirt was a knife, always ready for action.
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What’s the point to all this?
Aus March 2009
by Alan Bailey
For most of us, life’s a struggle. Work can mean endless hassles and even holidays can bring on more struggle. Men, women and children are working and playing their way through life. But after all the perspiration and the parties, the question persists: What’s the point?
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Finding a bargain
Aus February 2009
by Alan Bailey
After the Christmas rush comes another rush: the New Year sales. Doorbusters as they are often called. I don’t go to them but I see hundreds of people on the TV news literally breaking down doors and almost trampling others underfoot to get at bargains inside some department store.
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Wanting something new?
Aus December 2008
by Alan Bailey
Many new things come into our homes and our lives around Christmas. And what excitement it all generates! Hot on the heels of all the new things is a new year with all its hopes and prospects. Probably some new joys, new experiences, new faces — and new problems.
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There’s a rough ride ahead!
Aus November 2008
by Alan Bailey
No doubt you’ve heard the question, ‘I’ve got good news and bad news; which do you want first?’
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Revenge is sweet - so they say!
Aus October 2008
by Alan Bailey
Right now there are a lot of people hell-bent on getting even. A wrong has been done to them and they won’t rest until there is some pay-back.
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Success in every sense of the word
Aus September 2008
by Alan Bailey
Success comes in all fields of human endeavour. Wouldn’t
you mind a dollar for every time you read the word in the daily press?
If you’re at all like me,
you sometimes feel anything but a success in comparison with other people and their achievements.
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Basking in the glory
Aus August 2008
by Alan Bailey
The greatest moments in the life of an Olympic athlete are spent on the winners’ podium.
This is the ultimate.
The world is watching, the lights are focussed, the familiar national anthem is booming out
its message of triumphant patriotism.
A thrill runs up the spine.
It feels like a coronation. Words can’t describe the joy of basking in the glory. Just awesome.
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What price for a life?
Aus July 2008
by Alan Bailey
Youth suicide appears to be dropping, but self-harm is taking over.
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Can’t help noticing all the notices
Aus June 2008
by Alan Bailey
We seem surrounded by signs wherever we go these days. The shops are full of them, guiding us to all the bargains they want us to buy. Go to a park or garden and signs will tell you all the things you can’t do.
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Keeping love alive and well
Aus May 2008
by Alan Bailey
As I stood admiring a lovely home the other day I was told that the
previous owners, in their seventies, had split up and were going their separate ways.
How often do we hear of couples who have lived together for most of their lives,
deciding that they can’t stand each other any more.
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Winners and losers - life’s like that
Aus April 2008
by Alan Bailey
Everybody loves a winner. As they say ‘winners are grinners.’
And striving to win is the reason for the expenditure of a great amount of energy at
any given moment.
It is a good feeling to win.
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Amazing acts of courage
Aus March 2008
by Alan Bailey
In a world where greed and selfishness seem so prevalent, it is heartening to hear of something very different. Now and again a courageous and unselfish act takes the headlines. In recent days we have heard of someone risking his life by running into a burning house to rescue a small child. Another case saw a man furiously working to save a person trapped in a burning vehicle, dragging him free and in the process taking the chance on being badly injured.
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Something for life’s headaches
Aus February 2008
by Alan Bailey
Recently, my wife and I enjoyed a day walking around the Singapore Zoo.
It’s an excellent setting for the animals.
Best of all, we enjoyed seeing the show on stage where various
clever creatures performed. Everyone was fascinated with those animals and their
antics, but I wonder what the beasts would think of us if they had the chance to look at some of our ways?
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Does anyone understand my grief?
Aus December 2007
by Alan Bailey
Countless people enjoy leisure and pleasure around the Christmas and New Year period. But the obvious and uncomfortable truth is that there are many others who live with grief, loss and heartache. You don’t need to look very far to find souls battling with huge burdens or families that are broken and bleeding.
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That magnificent obsession: sport
Aus November 2007
by Alan Bailey
In a world where empires collapse, earthquakes devastate, assassins slay and armies crush, no news is as important to many people as who won the last sporting world cup. Sport for many is a craze. At least, it could easily look that way to an outside observer.
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To forgive — or not? (Part 2) Is it worth it?
USA October 2007
by Alan Bailey
When you’re not happy inside, it makes it worse to see that the person who wronged you remains light-hearted, as though they haven’t a care in the world.
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What it takes to be a man
Aus October 2007
by Alan Bailey
As I grew up I learned that to be a man meant to take all of life’s hard knocks without looking for sympathy and certainly never cry.
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An appointment you will keep
Aus September 2007
by Alan Bailey
Though this column is headed ‘Tips for Life’, we are faced by the fact that every day people die in the 100’s of thousands. It is strange that we can obtain so much help to live our lives but little help on how to die.
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Getting to the heart of the matter
Aus August 2007
by Alan Bailey
When life seems a bit mundane, a bit ordinary, think about what is going on inside your body. One of the many things we take for granted is that wonderful pump, the heart. We don’t even feel its action most of the time but it is working away day and night keeping us alive.
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Looking through a window at the world
Aus July 2007
by Alan Bailey
You can see a great deal from a window. At times, things you are not meant to see. It is a means of spying on others. But then, a better use of a window is to look at the natural world around you and appreciate it. A pleasant view is worth a lot.
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To forgive — or not to forgive
USA June 2007
by Alan Bailey
When someone does you a good turn, it leaves you feeling warm inside. But when you’ve been delivered a nasty blow, or a series of them, you’re left feeling angry, hurt and vengeful. Especially if what happened was deliberate and caused by someone close—someone you would have preferred to love.
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Stay close to your friend
Aus June 2007
by Alan Bailey
One of the greatest things in life is to relate to a special person who is very near and dear. For some, it will be just one friend or loved one, for others, several of that kind. Whatever it is for us, we treasure them as people and cherish their closeness.
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We can’t live without it
Aus May 2007
by Alan Bailey
Every day of our lives we use it. In fact, we are mostly made of it. I believe elephants consist of 70% of it. Yes, we are talking about water. Where it’s plentiful, we wash everything including ourselves in it, drink it, and grow our crops with it. And you can think of many other uses we make of water.
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That elusive thing — truth
Aus April 2007
by Alan Bailey
We all know that you can’t believe everything you read — or see on television, or the internet.
In a world of unending advertising, political propaganda and serial scandals, it is very difficult to know what the real facts are.
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Where now world?
USA March 2007
by Alan Bailey
At the beginning of a new year, predictions come from various wise heads about where we are all going. Some are currently talking about terrorism, some outbreak of war, others natural disasters and then there is the inevitable topic of global warming.
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Keeping your head above water
Aus March 2007
by Alan Bailey
Having made several flights to overseas destinations over the past few weeks, I have been powerfully confronted with one of humanity’s basic instincts: survival.
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Getting on with ‘in-laws’
Aus May 2006
by Alan Bailey
Human beings are funny creatures. Some are like sheep, some are like goats. The sheep meekly follow one another and fall into line. The goats butt one another, hurting and being hurt.
Among in-laws there are sheep and goats.
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The joys of dreaming
Aus May 2005
by Alan Baily
Have you had any exciting dreams lately? Did something really good happen in any of them?
There are other kinds of dreams that are best forgotten with their twisted story lines, and bad emotions. But we also dream while we are wide-awake, don’t we?
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