Standard Chartered sees continuation of Asia growth story
Asia's economy will continue to grow although it will not be immune from the impact of the global credit crunch which was "far from over", according to Peter Sands, Standard Chartered group ...
Today we have higher buildings and wider highways, but shorter temperaments and narrower points of view; We spend more, but enjoy less; We have bigger houses, but smaller families; We have more compromises, but less time; We have more knowledge, but less judgment; We have more medicines, but less health; We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; We talk much, we love only a little, and we hate too much; We reached the Moon and came back, but we find it troublesome to cross our own street and meet our neighbors; We have conquered the outer space, but not our inner space; We have higher income, but less morals; These are times with more liberty, but less joy; We have much more food, but less nutrition; These are the days in which it takes two salaries for each home, but divorces increase; These are times of finer houses, but more broken homes;
You do not keep anything for a special occasion, because every day that you live is a SPECIAL OCCASION. Search for knowledge, read more, sit on your front porch and admire the view without paying attention to your needs; Spend more time with your family and friends, eat your favorite foods, visit the places you love; Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment; not only about survival; Use your crystal goblets. Do not save your best perfume, and use it every time you feel you want it. Remove from your vocabulary phrases like "one of these days" or "someday"; Let's wirte that letter we thought of writing "one of these days"! Let's tell our families and friends how much we love them; Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life; Every day, every hour, and every minute is special; And you don't know if it will be your last.
A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night; it was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear him; he was more contented in making shoes, than was any of the seven sages. His neighbor, on the contrary, who was rolling in wealth, sung but little, and slept less. He was a banker; when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break, the cobbler awoke him with his song. The banker complained sadly that Providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity, like edibles or drinkables. Having at length sent for the songster, he said to him, "How much a year do you earn, Master Gregory?"
"How much a year, sir?" said the merry cobbler laughing, "I never reckon in that way, living as I do from one day to another; somehow I manage to reach the end of the year; each day brings its meal."
