June 26 marks the day in which the United Nations sets for the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Drugs is something for which there are many misconceptions about. It’s terribly sad that many individuals do not have an enough knowledge on drugs, especially when it’s so dangerous. It’s something for which the general person would know is dangerous but would not understand in totality how dangerous it is. Among the beliefs people have upon drugs would be as follows:

• You’ll get hooked the first time you try it

This is basically something for which parents or educators try to educate their children into. This is a misconception. You do not get hooked straight away from taking drugs. Is only from taking some drugs that you would get hooked instantly, but majority of the drugs would not let you get hooked instantly. Most of the synthetic drugs falls into the category in which you could get hooked instantly.

However, although some drugs would not instantly make you hooked, there should be an awareness of what drug does. Drug takes the role of what I call a “distractor”. That is, whenever you feel down, disappointed or slightly tired; it becomes a tool for you to forget about something. It’s through this consistent cycle of using this drugs as a distractor that an individual becomes hooked upon it. Individuals taking drugs which might seem mild would also be exposed to higher risk drugs like ecstacy or crystal meth (“ice”). This makes drugs a problem.  It might be true that you would not get hooked the first time you take it, but we should all be  aware that drugs is dangerous in a sense that it leads to other drugs and it could become habitual, which could after a long run become an addiction.

• Drug Addicts Are Bad People

You tell anyone that you are on drugs and you could see that they would avoid you instantaneously. We are all taught to associate people on  drugs to be bad people. Yes, I would agree that those who are on drugs have a tendency to perform unkind acts like fighting, stealing, bullying and other things; but have we ever taught why they started on drugs at the first place.

It’s very sad that we fail to give these individuals a chance. A chance for us to even understand why they used drugs the first place. I have been lucky to know some ex-drug addicts, drug addicts and drug dealers. It’s great to be able to get some perspective on what they  think. Try asking them about what got them into drugs. You could talk to them for hours and realise that they actually suffered a lot in their life. It’s because of this suffering that they needed to find an avenue, and they found it through the use of drugs.

I once met this ex-addict and I asked about his life story. He told me how much pain he had to go through last time. He was a successful businessman who lost his entire family. He lost his wife and his three kids through a car accident. What’s worse was that he was actually the one who drove the car in the accident. He blames himself for the lost of his family members. During the conversation with him, I could sense the lost in his eyes as he talks about his guilt. I could emphatise with him on how he felt. It was through this incident that got him starting on drugs. He was deep in guilt and as a result went bankrupt and subsequently got addicted to drugs.

I try to put myself into his shoes and I think that I would have probably have done the same if I was him. I couldn’t really blame him for trying to find solace in drugs. My key point is this: Try thinking about why these individuals would probably have even started on drugs on the first place. Try putting yourself in their shoes. Most of us just form assumptions and unfair on these individuals. These individuals have already their tough situations in life to go through, lets not burden them by our unfair judgement on them. Some are just doing such things because of the product of  their enviroment.

• Drug Users are few and rare

   

Statistic: According to an article I read two years ago, there are 300000 known drug users in Malaysia. For every known drug user, there are four undetected drug users. This means that there are 300000 known users and 1.2 million undetected drug users. This mean that there are basically 1.5 million drug users in Malaysia. Having a population of around 28 million, this represents 5 percent.

This means that in every 20 people in Malaysia, there is a drug user inside that group of people. I’m not sure about you, but to me, this represent a staggering statistic. Would you care to do something for this people ?

Key Pointers

1. Give them a chance. Nothing means more to a drug addict than a chance to turn over a new leaf. Most of them wants to change and live a normal life, but the main thing that is always stopping them are the perception other people have upon them. Lets just treat what they have done as mistakes. Mistakes which we would have probably have done if we were in their position.

1. Get more understanding on drugs. Learn more about how it harms us if we were to use it. This helps us educate others, to avoid them falling into drugs.

1. Live a better life. Drug addicts are not just found in poor families. It is also found in affluent families. I have met people who used drugs and I didn’t really understand why they would take drugs. Their life seems like there is no tough situation to go through and yet they end up using drugs. But, it slowly dawned upon me that the reason why they would end up taking drugs is because they are not living life that they want. They live in a job and a life that do not inspire them and live day-to-day without any purpose and meaning. I believe that this is the similar reason why people would end up being smokers; because they couldn’t find joy in living. Live a better life. Find for the things that inspire you and move towards it.

1. Guide others who are ignorant of the facts and dangers of drugs.

1. You can make a difference by knowing more. You never know when you’ll meet a friend who is on the verge of trying drugs. You could make a difference in his life if you were to be there to warn him/her on the danger. You are saving a life if he doesn’t take the drug.

I hope and pray for people around the world to open up their hearts to these group of people and give them a chance. We might think that what we do is minimal, but we never how much it could mean to them. Thank you for reading.

I’ll be heading for New Zealand in two weeks time. I’m not sure if I could consider this a holiday because I plan to stay there for a few months. There are several things up in my mind as to what I intent to do while I’m there. My main purpose of heading down south is to break away from the patterns that have been holding me back. I believe is crucial to once in a while step back from all the habits and patterns that you have been used to, and look at life at a different way. Basically, what I’m saying is to gain a sense of perspective. I need a new “lense”.

I intent to use this journey to give me a sense of direction. I realise how much of my thinking and beliefs are shaped by people around me (parents, elders, friends, media). I intent to use my journey there to best use. I want to think about the big questions in life. I want to use this trip to chart my journey of life.

I realise that I’ve already reached the age of 20. If I were to live till the age of 80, a quarter of  my life is already gone. I realise how fast time flies. Before I know it, I have already graduated from college and embarking on my working life. Many are so caught up with working and living life, that they do not stop to think. To think of where they are heading. To think of what matters to them. To think if what they are doing day-to-day is really worth it. To think if whether what they are working so hard and spending so much time on is really worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one tries to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

-George Bernard Shaw-

There is an inner seed of greatness in each of us. The seed to really achieve great things. To achieve things that totally surpasses our wildest imagination of what we are capable of. We are all infinite intelligence with the capability to achieve anything in life. We have the capacity to achieve anything we want; be it financially, success, or happiness. We are beings with the incredible ability to overcome all odds and to live life large.

We all have the capacity to live life great, but few of us really are living the kind of life we desire. Few of us are really living the kind of life which inspire others. Lives which brings enthusiasm to us. Lives that brings extreme joy to us. Some are even struggling day-to-day; working in careers that are not fulfilling or in relationships which are dead. They struggle to pass each living day they have, believing that life was supposed to be tough and it’s normal for us to go through all this pre-supposed routine.

I often wonder, why do some people achieve so much in life and why some people live medicore lives. Why do individuals like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela and Tiger Woods live amazing lives. Lives that inspire and contribute to society in ways that many of us could only dream of. Are we less capable than this people ?

I refuse to believe that they are of any different to us. I feel they are just individuals who are desperate to make an impact with their life. They are the people who are interested in playing the game of life, while many of us are just mere spectators watching this great people achieve great things. The game of life is certainly not limited to only certain people. It’s meant to be played by each and every single one of us. However, most of us don’t because we are afraid. We buy into that fear of losing. We fear.

We fear that if we think big and fail, we will be laughed at. We fear of being ridiculed. So what we do is that we play small in the game of life. Everything we do, we play small. We set small goals. We live small careers, careers that don’t inspire us. We fear to ask the big questions in life. We fear to say something to our loved ones, for fear of being vulnerable. We fear saying how much we love someone, for fear of the pain that it entails when we do not get it back.

We fear a hundred thousand things, that are realistically situations which we created. Created out of negativity, out of fear, out of a lack of faith.

That is probably another big reason why many people are afraid to live life large: The fear of not being loved.

We all want to be loved. But, playing the game of life and thinking big require us to step out from the crowd and live life based upon our own opinions, views and ideas. We have to be bold. Before living a large life, we have to first WANT to live it. For us to want to live a large life, it requires us  to step out of the crowd and form our opinions on what our lives should be.

We all have to avoid any connotation which wants us to play small. During the process when we are forming our opinions or ideas on what our lives would be, there would be undoubtedly individuals who would think that you are being arrogant, because your ideas are so large that it might seem that you are belittling them.

Avoid wasting time NOW. Don’t get caught up in the pursuits of small things in life. Stop listening to the voice of others telling you that it’s wrong to think and dream big. Get significant with your life now.