Chew On It – My Travels
I have been travelling for the past two months. First, I journeyed through Asia to Europe, and then to South America — so I’ve been constantly jet-lagged!
I was in Bali in early October to celebrate our member Shafira Yahya’s birthday. I had visited her there a few years earlier to attend her wedding with Geordie Oaks. They first met as members at Elixr. And they were the first members to meet at the club and end up at the altar!
After the birthday party in Bali, I went to the 50th anniversary of my dad’s karate organisation in Cardiff, Wales. I attended the gala, taught a workshop, and awarded an 8th– degree black belt to Mike Tan, the Chief Instructor of Karate Budokan Europe. It was a major achievement for Mike, who had been teaching karate for over 50 years after landing in Cardiff to become a civil engineer.
Karate was my life for decades. It led me to the fitness industry and Australian citizenship back in the 1980s, after representing the country at the World Karate Championships. Family and business then took precedence in the early 1990s, and I had to greatly reduce my involvement in the karate world.
When my dad passed away in 1997, I was meant to take over his very successful Budokan karate organisation. But by then my passion for karate had dissipated. I appointed various people to head up the organisation in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Sadly, it is no longer what it used to be. But there are still many dedicated Budokan instructors and practitioners.
After the karate anniversary in Wales, I set off for Buenos Aires. From there, I boarded a Ponant ship to South Georgia and Antarctica. South Georgia is an island in the South Atlantic filled with stunning giant emperor penguins, elephant seals, and fur seals. It was a spectacular sight, despite the overwhelming smell from the droppings of thousands of penguins.
While on the cruise, I offered to teach the same Core-rect workshop that I present at Elixr. Surprisingly, the cruise director accepted. As the Ponant is a French company, half the passengers were French, so the workshop was translated by the cruise director.
Just before the peninsula of Antarctica, I saw a gigantic iceberg of 70km x 40km (the size of five Manhattan islands) that broke off in 1986. The peninsula itself was a wondrous sight — the majestic pure white glaciers and ice mountains of Antarctica.
I have seen many amazing sights around the world including Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu, Victoria Falls, Alaska, and Patagonia. Antarctica simply tops the list.
I am at the stage in life where my priority is spending time with family and friends, and experiencing the joy and beauty that our world offers.
This Christmas, my family from Malaysia, Singapore, and England will be visiting Sydney for a reunion. It will be delightful catching up with cousins who I grew up with and now have their own children.
My sister Angie will also be coming. She founded the Brahm Centres in Singapore, a charity dedicated to mindfulness and mental health. This led her to be named Singaporean of the Year 2019. Angie teaches mindfulness-based courses at the centres and at the National University of Singapore. She will be presenting a workshop at Elixr during her visit. The workshop is complimentary to members and friends. If you’re interested, please book soon as spaces are limited.
Take advantage of this coming festive season to catch up with family and friends and strengthen these wonderful relationships. With people who are challenging to be around, the advice I really like is: If you can’t make things better, don’t make them worse!
Be mindful of your words, as words matter. It’s sad that we sometimes say the worst things to the people we care about the most.
To foster harmony in your life, think before speaking or acting. Be careful not to say or do anything that might be perceived as a personal attack. Sometimes it is wiser to keep our opinions to ourselves.
Have a delightful and fun festive season… be smart and be safe!
