As 2012 begins, these what I have learned in 2011…
About me
I have to “BE” first before I can “DO” and “DO” before I can “HAVE.”
I own my own life, mistakes and all.
I must endure to make any difference.
I am not free from criticism and blame.
I can create a better community little by little by passing ideas and skills to others.
I can’t be all things to all people.
I can’t fix everything but can help most things.
I teach who I am.
I help others to help themselves.
I simply can’t make good decision if I worry what others think.
I am the only one who can make my dream comes true.
I let go because everything is impermanent.
I've gotten to get out there and make my dreams happen. Dreams don’t just happen. They are the product of labor, hard work, and commitment.
If anything comes easily, it is not engender good worth.
If I can’t help 100 persons, I just help one today.
If I want people to be dedicated to me, I have to be dedicated to them.
Actions are always better than words.
Any greatness doesn’t come until I put in my own sweat.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone I meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Don’t fight darkness. Bring the light, and darkness will disappear.
Forgiving, knowing that people do harmful things because they are unhappy.
Freedom is having a chance to be better.
It is possible to teach students who are not internally motivated.
It is when I forget myself that I do things that are remembered.
My life is more about giving than receiving.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If I love what I am doing, I will be successful.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds. A part of me has died; that’s the way it is.
There is not secret to real success other than hard work, perseverance, and learning from failure.
Winning at all cost is to create more suffering and misery to others.
There is no situation so bad that I cannot be accepted patiently with an open accommodating heart and mind.
About Cambodia
Most people are tired of the dictates of one MAN.
The more people learn the freer they are (Liberationist Education).
True peace cannot be achieved unless poverty has been alleviated.
Everyone wants big rewards for not too much efforts and works.
False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance.
Our present leader solves one problem only to create many more.
Justice is advantageous to the stronger.
The most basic tool available to the reconstruction of Cambodian society is the quality education of its children.
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, Cambodia will know real peace.
The tragedy of life is what dies in the hearts and souls of the vulnerable people of Cambodia while they live.
Nothing has changed much. I wish we could stand here today and say everything is moving forward. It is not. The “Money Is Everything” can be seen and felt in Cambodia. The government doesn’t provide the basic needs to the people.
This is the voice of one Cambodian woman on good governance: “A good government is a government that does not abuse the people, that gives the people the land back, and that allows people to earn a living.”
The fact that we have schools doesn’t mean we have education. The fact that we have pagodas doesn’t mean we have faith. The fact that we have courts doesn’t mean we have justice and egalitarian law. The fact we have functioning government doesn’t mean we have democracy.
There comes a point where I have to accept that the system is not working. The land grabbing is only the latest example of the state’s struggling to meet the needs of its citizens, needs as basic as providing water, housing, health care, and education.
Influential people and high-ranking officials have the ‘license’ to pursue their own desires regardless of the consequences.
What powerful people say will always be right, and what the weak say will be wrong. Justice is the interest of the stronger, not the weaker.
We can succeed if our leaders can give up their “Position Power” and keep their “Personal Power.”
We needs millions of dollars from domestic and foreign investors, but endemic corruption, red tape, and an unpredictable legal system all serve as deterrents.
Today if all the children of Cambodia are provided with primary health care, good nutrition, quality basic education, access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and the protection from neglect, abuse, and violence, 10 years down the road, Cambodia society will be completely different from being today.
