Undergroundsquare: Recent Topics

Undergroundsquare: Recent Topics http://undergroundsquare.com/ Talking where the sun don't shine en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:04:42 +0000 Samsi on "There. Is. A. Pony." http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=500#post-5623 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:16:06 +0000 Samsi 5623@http://undergroundsquare.com/ Courtesy of HackerNews [Cedric deviated me from my senseless past-time of reading E-online to Hackernews].... <a href="http://blog.frankchimero.com/post/1059696119/there-is-a-horse-in-the-apple-store">There's a Pony in the Apple Store</a> <blockquote>Play it cool, Frank. Play it cool. THERE IS A LITTLE PONY IN THE APPLE STORE. What the hell? A beautiful little pony, with a flowing mane, the likes of which my sister would have killed to get for Christmas when she was 7 or 8. And, NOONE is looking at this thing. I wondered: if there were kids in the Apple Store, would they notice? “Yes,” I say. “Yes, they would.” Kids have a magnetic connection to animals. But there are no children in the Apple Store, for the same reason you would not see a child in a jewelry store: things are small and fragile and expensive and shiny. And if you have a child, you probably can not afford Apple products.</blockquote> What I can't get over is... ZOMG THAT IS ONE FRIGGIN CUTE PONY. I WANT ONE! MiSeLoCiN on "The Person Above Me" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=26#post-340 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:42:22 +0000 MiSeLoCiN 340@http://undergroundsquare.com/ Just something to remind everyone about what the OLD UGS always did! :) Let's start! Hahah.. wait. there isn't anyone above me :) dienasty on "The Cute Thread" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=280#post-3715 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:24:02 +0000 dienasty 3715@http://undergroundsquare.com/ The only rule: you must post cute things. =3 =3 =3 <img src="http://whi.s3.prod.lg1x8.simplecdn.net/images/1584781/Baby-Animals-26_large.jpg?1267303163"> Samsi on "Taib's insecurities" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=499#post-5616 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:27:05 +0000 Samsi 5616@http://undergroundsquare.com/ <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/sabah-and-sarawak/9860-taibs-family-punishes-editors-over-article">Action has been taken against any hint of doubt towards ability our affectionally nicknamed "white hair" or "pek mo" to perhaps, reign over our state....Forever.</a> <a href="http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/taibs-family-suspends-new-sarawak-tribune-editor">In the place of relatively established journalists, the newly revived Tribune is now under the domination of his daughter.</a> <blockquote>Si’s suspension appears to be a reflection of the concern Taib’s camp has over public perception about him in the state. The state’s media is tightly controlled by his administration with the Internet and national newspapers having very little influence over public opinion. The publication of the Bernama story was seen by the Tribune’s owners as a major infraction because of Taib’s sensitivity to criticisms or dissent.</blockquote> Such monopoly is a blatant infringement of free speech and media which we as a supposedly "democratic country" are supposed to have. [My politics teacher did give a derisive snort when he said Malaysia was democratic.] What's Sarawak to do? one_gurl16 on "UGS Recommends Music, September 2010" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=495#post-5606 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:46:36 +0000 one_gurl16 5606@http://undergroundsquare.com/ "Pretty Visitors" - Arctic Monkeys. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pnvD2Zx7y8" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pnvD2Zx7y8</a> "Politics in Space" - Kate Miller-Heidke <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5magGQ3ID0" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5magGQ3ID0</a> kimmmmmmm on "Romantic happy birthday" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=498#post-5613 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:42:02 +0000 kimmmmmmm 5613@http://undergroundsquare.com/ This guy has set the bar for all husbands/boyfriends/whatever. Haha. Anyway, so sweet. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZMyHpmhJU&feature=player_embedded" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZMyHpmhJU&feature=player_embedded</a> Who is he? He is Kristian Anderson who is battling cancer and is father of two children 3 years and below. Anyway, more info at his<a href="http://howthelightgetsin.net/"> blog</a>. kimmmmmmm on "The Human Camera" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=496#post-5609 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:07:20 +0000 kimmmmmmm 5609@http://undergroundsquare.com/ Didn't think it was humanly possible.. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU</a> dienasty on "New Zealand declares state of emergency" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=497#post-5612 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:11:36 +0000 dienasty 5612@http://undergroundsquare.com/ From <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/New_Zealand_Declares_State_Of_Emergency_After_Massive_Quake/2148283.html">here</a>: <blockquote>Authorities in New Zealand have declared a state of emergency after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, the country's second-biggest city. The powerful quake ripped up roads, damaged buildings, and brought down power lines. "The whole building felt as if it was actually going to fall over sideways," one woman said. "It was shaking back and forward as if it had been hit by something." No casualties were reported, although the earthquake had the same magnitude as the one that devastated Haiti in January, killing an estimated 230,000 people. News New Zealand Declares State Of Emergency After Massive Quake Machines work on moving rubble blocking Victoria Street in Christchurch after a powerful earthquake. Machines work on moving rubble blocking Victoria Street in Christchurch after a powerful earthquake. September 04, 2010 Authorities in New Zealand have declared a state of emergency after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, the country's second-biggest city. The powerful quake ripped up roads, damaged buildings, and brought down power lines. "The whole building felt as if it was actually going to fall over sideways," one woman said. "It was shaking back and forward as if it had been hit by something." No casualties were reported, although the earthquake had the same magnitude as the one that devastated Haiti in January, killing an estimated 230,000 people. Two men so far have been hospitalized with severe injuries, one hit by a falling chimney and the other cut by glass. The low levels of injury reflect the strict building codes in New Zealand, where more than 14,000 earthquakes are recorded every year. Nonetheless, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said it was "extraordinarily lucky" no one was killed, "but in terms of the scale of the damage, I think it is absolutely immense. We are really just beginning to come to terms with the scale of what we have got in front of us at the moment."</blockquote> I really really hope nobody was hurt as they claimed in the article. I have friends there. :( Samsi on "Middle Income Trap" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=494#post-5604 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:55:00 +0000 Samsi 5604@http://undergroundsquare.com/ As an economics student, I actually understood t<a href="http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/08/10/escaping-the-middle-income-trap/">his article in the Times</a> that talks about how Malaysia was caught in a middle-income trap, above the impoverished category, below the booming economies that South Korea and China have become. The <a href="http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/09/01/escaping-the-middle-income-trap-part-2/">second part of this expose</a> is pretty critical of our Prime Minister and while I've not paid him much attention in the past [we change PM's too often], his capabilities are certainly not being praised in these articles. <blockquote>Basically, he's trying to refocus resources on eradicating poverty and eliminate the worst abuses of the current affirmative action regime in order to open up more opportunities for minorities, while at the same time maintaining some support for bumiputras to develop a Malay managerial class. My personal opinion is that he's not going far enough for Malaysia to break out of the “middle income trap.” The affirmative action program needs to be entirely phased out if Malaysia is to progress.</blockquote> And finally, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2013695-1,00.html">an article on the state of Malaysia </a>that was probably written in conjunction with our national day. It's backdated and clearly illustrates the state of our beloved, broken nation. <blockquote>Malaysia's economic miracle has stalled, and while the nation is, indeed, somewhat pluralistic, it is no melting pot. Indeed, it is a society where people define themselves first and foremost by race.</blockquote> <blockquote>Some Malaysia experts expect the final package to be underwhelming. Najib "doesn't have the strength to follow through, whether politically or personally," says John Malott, a former U.S. ambassador to Malaysia. "He's not a transformational figure."</blockquote> dienasty on "Wild Inception Mashup Trailer" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=493#post-5603 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:45:02 +0000 dienasty 5603@http://undergroundsquare.com/ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY69-AgUmDQ" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY69-AgUmDQ</a> This is 500 times awesome. Inception as seen through the eyes of Up! Samsi on "World News Headlines" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=492#post-5601 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:29:45 +0000 Samsi 5601@http://undergroundsquare.com/ I love newspapers. I love how each of them contains every archetypal event possible, from epic tragedies to domestic stupidity. My mum [who seems more tech advanced than me at times] emailed me this page. <a href="http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/">A summary of all the Headlines in the world </a>accessed through the dots on the maps. Hey look! Scandals on the front of the West Australian =D Sheryl on "Half The Sky" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=491#post-5600 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:10:45 +0000 Sheryl 5600@http://undergroundsquare.com/ <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/sheryl_wudunn_our_century_s_greatest_injustice.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.ted.com/talks/sheryl_wudunn_our_century_s_greatest_injustice.html</a> After getting addicted to TED, I came across this and was...captured. I don't know how to do the thing where the video is automatically here. Sorry. dienasty on "We Were Once Malaysians" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=487#post-5582 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:48:59 +0000 dienasty 5582@http://undergroundsquare.com/ My aunt sent me this - I hope it touches you as much as it did me. Speech delivered on Saturday, July 31 at the Fourth Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit, Nikko Hotel, Kuala Lumpur Thank you for inviting me to speak with you. I am truly honoured. I have played some small role in the life of this nation, but having been on the wrong side of one or two political fights with the powers that be, I am not as close to the young people of this country as I would hope to be. History, and the 8 o’clock news, are written by the victors. In recent years the government’s monopoly of the media has been destroyed by the technology revolution. You could say I was also a member of the UKEC. Well I was, except that belonged to the predecessor of the UKEC by more than fifty years, The Malayan Students Union of the UK and Eire. I led this organisation in 1958/59. I was then a student of Queen’s University at Belfast, in a rather cooler climate than Kota Bharu’s. Your invitation to participate in the MSLS was prefaced by an essay which calls for an intellectually informed activism. I congratulate you on this. The Youth of today, you note, “will chart the future of Malaysia.” You say you “no longer want to be ignored and leave the future of our Malaysia at the hands of the current generation.” You “want to grab the bull by the horns... and have a say in where we go as a society and as a nation.”I feel the same, actually. A lot of Malaysians feel the same. They are tired of being ignored and talked down to by swaggering mediocrities. You are right. The present generation in power has let Malaysia down. But also you cite two things as testimony of the importance of youth and of student activism to this country, the election results of 2008 and “the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of the role of youth in the development of the country.” So perhaps you are a little way yet from thinking for yourselves. The first step in “grabbing the bull by the horns” is not to required the endorsement of the Prime Minister, or any Minister, for your activism. Politicians are not your parents. They are your servants. You don’t need a government slogan coined by a foreign PR agency to wrap your project in. You just go ahead and do it. When I was a student our newly formed country was already a leader in the postcolonial world. We were sought out as a leader in the Afro-Asian Conference which inaugurated the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77. The Afro-Asian movement was led by such luminaries as Zhou En-lai, Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah, Soekarno. Malaysians were seen as moderate leaders capable of mediating between these more radical leaders and the West. We were known for our moderation, good sense and reliability. We were a leader in the Islamic world as ourselves and as we were, without our leaders having to put up false displays of piety. His memory has been scrubbed out quite systematically from our national consciousness, so you might not know this or much else about him, but it was Tengku Abdul Rahman established our leadership in the Islamic world by coming up with the idea of the OIC and making it happen. Under his leadership Malaysia led the way in taking up the anti-apartheid cause in the Commonwealth and in the United Nations, resulting in South Africa’s expulsion from these bodies. Here was a man at ease with himself, made it a policy goal that Malaysia be “a happy country”. He loved sport and encouraged sporting achievement among Malaysians. He was owner of many a fine race horse. He called a press conference and had a beer with his stewards when his horse won at the Melbourne Cup. He had nothing to hide because his great integrity in service was clear to all. Now we have religious and moral hypocrites who cheat, lie and steal in office but never have a drink, who propagate an ideologically shackled education system for all Malaysians while they send their own kids to elite academies in the West. Speaking of football. You’re too young to have experienced the Merdeka Cup, which Tunku started. We had a respectable side in the sixties and seventies. Teams from across Asia would come to play in Kuala Lumpur. Teams such as South Korea and Japan, whom we defeated routinely. We were one of the better sides in Asia. We won the Bronze medal at the Asian games in 1974 and qualified for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. Today our FIFA ranking is 157 out of 203 countries. That puts us in the lowest quartile, below Maldives (149), the smallest country in Asia, with just 400,000 people living about 1.5 metres above sea level who have to worry that their country may soon be swallowed up by climate change. Here in ASEAN we are behind Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, whom we used to dominate, and our one spot above basketball-playing Philippines. The captain of our illustrious 1970’s side was Soh Chin Aun. Arumugam, Isa Bakar, Santokh Singh, James Wong and Mokhtar Dahari were heroes whose names rolled off the tongues of our schoolchildren as they copied them on the school field. It wasn’t about being the best in the world, but about being passionate and united and devoted to the game. It was the same in Badminton, except at one time we were the best in the world. I remember Wong Peng Soon, the first Asian to win the All-England Championship, and then just dominated it throughout the 1950. Back home every kid who played badminton in every little kampong wanted to call himself Wong Peng Soon. There was no tinge of anybody identifying themselves exclusively as Chinese, Malays, Indian. Peng Soon was a Malaysian hero. Just like each of our football heroes. Now we do not have an iota of that feeling. Where has it all gone? I don’t think it’s mere nostalgia that that makes us think there was a time when the sun shone more brightly upon Malaysia. I bring up sport because it has been a mirror of our more general performance as nation. When we were at ease with who we were and didn’t need slogans to do our best together, we did well. When race and money entered our game, we declined. The same applies to our political and economic life Soon after independence we were already a highly successful developing country. We had begun the infrastructure building and diversification of our economy that would be the foundation for further growth. We carried out an import-substitution programme that stimulated local productive capacity. From there we started an infrastructure buildup which enabled a diversification of the economy leading to rapid industrialisation. We carried out effective programmes to raise rural income and help with landless with programmes such as FELDA. Our achievements in achieving growth with equity were recognised around the world. We were ahead of Our peer group in economic development were South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, and we led the pack. I remember we used to send technical consultants to advise the South Koreans. By the lates nineties, however, we had fallen far behind this group and were competing with Thailand and Indonesia. Today, according to the latest World Investment Report, FDI into Malaysia is at about a twenty year low. We are entering the peer group of Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines as an investment destination. Thailand, despite a month long siege of the capital, attracted more FDI than we did last year. Indonesia and Vietnam far outperform us, not as a statistical blip but consistently. Soon we shall have difficulty keeping up with The Philippines. This, I believe, is called relegation. If we take into account FDI outflow, the picture is even more interesting. Last year we received US$1.38 billion (RM4.40 billion) in investments but US$ 8.04 billion flowed out. We are the only country in Southeast Asia which has suffered nett FDI outflow. I am not against outward investment. It can be a good thing for the country. But an imbalance on this scale indicates capital flight, not mere investment overseas. Without a doubt, Malaysia is slipping. Billions have been looted from this country, and billions more are being siphoned out as our entire political structure crumbles. Yet we are gathered here in comfort, in a country that still seems to ‘work.’ Most of the time. This is due less to good management than to the extraordinary wealth of this country. You were born into a country of immense resources both natural and cultural and social. We have been wearing down this advantage with mismanagement and corruption. With lies, tall tales and theft. We have a political class unwilling or unable to address the central issue of the day because they have grown fat and comfortable with a system built on lies and theft. It is easy to fall into the lull caused by the combination of whatever wealth has not been plundered and removed and political class that lives in a bubble of sycophancy. I urge you not to fall into that complacency. It is time to wake up. That waking up can begin here, right here, at this conference. Not tomorrow or the day after but today. So let me, as I have the honour of opening this conference, suggest the following: * Overcome the urge to have our hopes for the future endorsed by the Prime Minister. He will have retired, and I’ll be long gone when your future arrives. The shape of your future is being determined now. * Resist the temptation to say “in line with” when we do something. Your projects, believe it or not, don’t have to be in line with any government campaign for them to be meaningful. You don’t need to polish anyone’s apple. Just get on with what you plan to do. * Do not put a lid on certain issues as “sensitive” because someone said they are. Or it is against the Social Contract. Or it is “politicisation”. You don’t need to have your conversation delimited by the hyper-sensitive among us. Sensitivity is often a club people use to hit each other with. Reasoned discussion of contentious issues builds understanding and trust. Test this idea. * It’s not “uber-liberal” to ask for an end to having politics, economic policy, education policy and everything and the kitchen sink determined by race. It’s called growing up. Go look up “liberal” in a dictionary. * Please resist the temptation to say Salam 1 malaysia, or Salam Vision 2020 or Salam Malaysia Boleh, or anything like that. Not even when you are reading the news. It’s embarrassing. I think it’s OK to say plain old salam the way the Holy Prophet did, wishing peace unto all humanity. You say you want to “promote intellectual discourse.” I take that to mean you want to have reasonable, thought-through and critical discussions, and slogans are the enemy of thought. Banish them. * Don’t let the politicians you have invited here talk down to you. * Don’t let them tell you how bright and “exuberant” you are, that you are the future of the nation, etc. If you close your eyes and flow with their flattery you have safely joined the caravan, a caravan taking the nation down a sink hole. If they tell you the future is in your hands kindly request that they hand that future over first. Ask them how come the youngest member of our cabinet is 45 and is full of discredited hacks? Our Merdeka cabinet had an average age below thirty. You’re not the first generation to be bright. Mine wasn’t too stupid. But you could be the first generation of students and young graduates in fifty years to push this nation through a major transformation. And it is a transformation we need desperately. * You will be told that much is expected of you, much has been given to you, and so forth. This is all true. Actually much has also been stolen from you. Over the last twenty five years, much of the immense wealth generated by our productive people and our vast resources has been looted. This was supposed to have been your patrimony. The uncomplicated sense of belonging fully, wholeheartedly, unreservedly, to this country, in all it diversity, that has been taken from you. Our sense of ourselves as Malaysians, a free and united people, has been replaced by a tale of racial strife and resentment that continues to haunt us. The thing is, this tale is false. The most precious thing you have been deprived of has been your history. Someone of my generation finds it hard to describe what must seem like a completely different country to you now. Malaysia was not born in strife but in unity. Our independence was achieved through a demonstration of unity by the people in supporting a multiracial government led by Tengku Abdul Rahman. That show of unity, demonstrated first through the municipal elections of 1952 and then through the Alliance’s landslide victory in the elections of 1955, showed that the people of Malaya were united in wanting their freedom. We surprised the British, who thought we could not do this. Today we are no longer as united as we were then. We are also less free. I don’t think this is a coincidence. It takes free people to have the psychological strength to overcome the confines of a racialised worldview. It takes free people to overcome those politicians bent on hanging on to power gained by racialising every feature of our life including our football teams. Hence while you are at this conference, let me argue, that as an absolute minimum, we should call for the repeal of unjust and much abused Acts which are reversals of freedoms that we won at Merdeka. I ask you in joining me in calling for the repeal of the ISA and the OSA. These draconian laws have been used, more often than not, as political tools rather than instruments of national security. They create a climate of fear. These days there is a trend among right wing nationalist groups to identify the ISA with the defence of Malay rights. This is a self-inflicted insult on Malay rights. As if our Constitutional protections needed draconian laws to enforce them. I wish they were as zealous in defending our right not to be robbed by a corrupt ruling elite. We don’t seem to be applying the law of the land there, let alone the ISA. I ask you to join me in calling for the repeal of the Printing and Publications Act, and above all, the Universities and Colleges Act. I don’t see how you can pursue your student activism with such freedom and support in the UK and Eire while forgetting that your brethren at home are deprived of their basic rights of association and expression by the UCA. The UCA has done immense harm in dumbing down our universities. We must have freedom as guaranteed under our Constitution. Freedom to assemble, associate, speak, write, move. This is basic. Even on matters of race and even on religious matters we should be able to speak freely, and we shall educate each other. It is time to realise the dream of Dato’ Onn and the spirit of the Alliance, of Tunku Abdul Rahman. That dream was one of unity and a single Malaysian people. They went as far as they could with it in their time. Instead of taking on the torch we have reversed course. The next step for us as a country is to move beyond the infancy of race-based parties to a non-racial party system. Our race-based party system is the key political reason why we are a sick country, declining before our own eyes, with money fleeing and people telling their children not to come home after their studies. So let us try to take 1 Malaysia seriously. Millions have been spent putting up billboards and adding the term to every conceivable thing. We even have cuti-cuti 1 Malaysia. Can’t take a normal holiday anymore. This is all fine. Now let us see if it means anything. Let us see the Government of the day lead by example. 1 Malaysia is empty because it is propagated by a Government that promotes the racially-based party system that is the chief cause of our inability to grow up in our race relations. Our inability to grow up in our race relations is the chief reason why investors, and we ourselves, no longer have confidence in our economy. The reasons why we are behind Maldives in football, and behind the Philippines in FDI, are linked. So let us take 1 Malaysia seriously, and convert Barisan Nasional into a party open to all citizens. Let it be a multiracial party open to direct membership. PR will be forced to do the same or be left behind the times. Then we shall have the vehicles for a two party, non-race-based system. If Umno, MIC or MCA are afraid of losing supporters, let them get their members to join this new multiracial party. PR should do the same. Nobody need feel left out. Umno members can join en masse. The Hainanese Kopitiam Association can join whichever party they want, or both parties en masse if they like. We can maintain our cherished civil associations, however we choose to associate. But we drop all communalism when we compete for the ballot. When our candidates stand for Elections, let them ever after stand only as Malaysians, better or worse. Now let’s have a discussion. dienasty on "50cent's most favourited tweets" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=490#post-5597 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:45:30 +0000 dienasty 5597@http://undergroundsquare.com/ <a href="http://favstar.fm/users/50cent">Absolutely hilarious</a>, especially now that he types his own tweets! My favourites: <blockquote>My grandma pregnant again trying to talk her out of keeping it</blockquote> Uhh, what? <blockquote>I can't belive my grand mothers making me take Out the garbage I'm rich fuck this I'm going home I don't need this shit</blockquote> HEHEHEHE <blockquote>You get perks when ur a fine white women in america they gave lindsay lohan 90 days da bitch did 4 how come when I get 90 days I do 90 days</blockquote> Oh mannnn! dienasty on "Regrets of the dying" http://undergroundsquare.com/topic.php?id=489#post-5595 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:22:22 +0000 dienasty 5595@http://undergroundsquare.com/ From <a href="http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html">Inspiration and Chai</a>: <blockquote>For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it. 2. I wish I didn't work so hard. This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle. 3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result. We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win. 4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying. It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships. 5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying. </blockquote>