The 4 horsewomen

So the vegan gets her day and in (approximately) exactly 2 years time the day of my dreams since forever ago will happen.
I knew the ring was coming. One could say my boyfriend, now fiancé, was under duress and being continually pushed to deliver the goods but let's be honest all he had to do was pay, he got out of it quite easily, my want to have a stone on my finger symbolising that I am in the mad process of planning a wedding just allowed him to escape planning a romantic and expensive trip to propose in an old fashioned surprising way.
Looking back I don't regret it.
Colin and I are not one of the great romantics of the past, we are just best friends who love each other. We except each other for who we are and we cry, smile and laugh together. Every time i have to spend even a night away from him I ache, this is what our marriage will be built on; friendship. I cannot ever express how lucky I am that I found a man who completely respects me, who never makes me cry and believes what I believe. Remembering how much I wanted to wed since I was young makes me shudder at the thought that I could have, quite easily, married the wrong person.
But this is it.
My proposal was done when in our pjs in our apartment in Poland with our cats and laughter. It was beautiful.

As I crazily wedding plan I cannot help but be happy with the bridesmaids I have chosen. I wanted 4 or more but Colin should have somewhat of a say and so I compromised and chose 4. The girls individually are beautiful people and together they represent important parts and groups of friends in my life.

Jen has been there for me since I began my travels in Australia. As I wedding plan I realise how much more she needed me when planning her own wedding and I failed as a bridesmaid. I chose her because, first, it was a foregone conclusion but also because I need her. Even in Australia it seemed I couldn't quite function without her and she was my guardian and quite possibly THE funniest girlfriend in my life.
I hope she forgives me for being a terrible friend but deep down I know she knows what to expect from me and that she is my rock.
I love her and that is all.
Alison and I have known each other since competing in netball. I was always better than her and luckily she still loved me :)
When she chose me to be a bridesmaid for her beautiful day I think I was more shocked than anything. Although we are close we had lived 2 separate lives for a very long time and I wasn't expecting her to choose me.
I was completely and utterly moved.
I believe Alison and I have a relationship that isn't much to see on the surface but when you look underneath it is unwavering. She goes above and beyond for me whenever she can and I couldn't imagine this event without her.
Still the cutest girl in the world!
Jenelle is my representation from Changwon, a place that challenged me more emotionally than anywhere else in my life. I had incredible heartache and incredible happiness whilst there. I grew and there were wonderful girls who were there for me in this time.
Jenelle, however, is hands down one of the most beautiful women I have ever met and I am sad that she doesn't always realise it. She always puts others first and even if they hurt her she blames herself and works effortlessly to put everything right. She works to help the planet and tries always to be a better person. I want her to stand beside me representing the beauty of the world and because she was the girl who told me I was unhappy when I was unhappy and also was there when I got so blind drunk and met my future husband!
An angel.
Sarah, a girl who represents my time and the beautiful people I met in Incheon and my first year in Korea. Always emailing me her life and so interested in mine, I cannot see our future without each other in it. Genuinely always bursting with happiness for me whatever happens in my life and the coolest girl I know. I am still baffled why she is single and hasn't fallen into the arms of a musician yet but I bide my time and keep her invitation open for 2 because it is only a matter of time.
I am always grateful for her words and her understanding and can't wait to have a party, a glass of champagne and a dance with her on my perfect day.

These girls will be beautiful on my day and I know that I need them to look my best! 

I have my guy but I need my girls.

Why I am who I am

I haven’t written an entry for a while. A lot has happened.

Today I will concentrate on addressing a very personal issue. An issue that others do not seem to understand or are able to get their heads around, ironically I can’t get my head around the fact that they can’t get their head around it....

A while ago, a few years back actually, I toyed with the notion of becoming a vegan but at that time I was not ready and I continued to label myself a vegetarian and was content. A few months ago I became a vegan, I was ready but sadly the world around me wasn’t.

I have had numerous debates, confrontations, arguments, tears have fallen, and all because I don’t want to eat dairy anymore. I am not harming anyone else, I still sacrifice myself for those I love, if a dear friend wants to eat meat I never have and never will say a word and will even accompany them to a restaurant. Throughout my time in Korea I did nothing but attend BBQ restaurants with exes and girlfriends so that I never was an annoyance to anyone and because I love them dearly. I am not a confrontational person, I wither under the stress of it and I know that those who love me know I am here if they want a serious discussion on the issue.

**Friends, if any of you really, truly want to ask me questions about my lifestyle choices it would warm my heart to discuss it with you**

Sadly, those who I considered friends and loved ones have attacked me and I dare say they do not understand the affect this has had on me.

I cannot help the person I have become. I am grateful for what I know and how I deal with it, I am sure it would be easier for those around me if I was a human rights advocate. This is something people respect and understand, I admire those who use their life to help other human beings. Colin and I made it a goal to always give money to those we pass on the streets, whether we think it is a good idea or not I still believe that given a choice NO ONE would beg for money. I can spare it. Today I bought a bag of clothes, a mish mash of unnecessary crap and because I do that I have no right to walk past a person and not offer some comfort.

But I am not a human rights activist, I am not a non-human rights activist, but it is not how my brain is programmed. I am an animal rights activist (or wish I was) I have sympathy with those without a voice, I weep for them and I wish their pain would go away. If this truly makes me a bad person then I apologize now but I will never be able to switch off to the suffering that happens every 12 seconds! 

I am not here to prove something but I really want those who know me to try and wear my non-leather shoes for 2 seconds. Every time someone asks me a question in relation to being a vegan it is clear to me the answer is not what they seek, they seek justification for what they do. I don’t want to give this anymore. I do not judge but I can not mother you and tell you what you do is fine because I know how the world has become corrupt and how the human ego is too big for the future to be able to handle.

Why am I vegan?

Recently I was asked this question and it brought me to tears because as I was saying my answer I know it was being interpreted and changed so that the ear it was funneling into could feel satisfaction that I am simply an abnormal loon.

Dairy is natural. Yes of course it is, for cows. For humans it is not. We are the only species that consume milk beyond our childhood and it isn’t even our own mothers. 

Would you care for a glass of dog milk? When I ask this question is seems ridiculous but to a vegan this is synonymous to would you like a glass of cow milk? What about monkey milk, the closest animal to us, wouldn’t this make more logical sense?

“Osteoporosis is a condition of abnormal porousness of bone resulting from gradual bone loss, leading to increased fractures, loss of height, hip and back pain, and spinal curvature. The disease affects about 25% of postmenopausal women in the US. Since osteoporosis is a disease of bone loss, and since 99% of the body's calcium is found in bone, it certainly seems logical that if people eat as much calcium as possible, osteoporosis risk may be diminished. The Dairy People capitalize on this idea by constantly reminding us that dairy products constitute some of the richest sources of calcium in the supermarket (never mind that calcium is found in varying amounts in all fruits, vegetables, and grains). But this "you need your milk" idea is not universally accepted.The truth is, there has been little or no success in preventing osteoporosis by eating dairy products. Plainly and simply, when enough calcium is consumed to prevent deficiency (which is much lower than the Recommended Dietary Allowance), taking in excess does little more than put a person at risk for kidney stones. In fact, Americans consume excessively large quantities of calcium, yet risk of osteoporosis continues to threaten millions of Americans. Most people are not aware that the US already has one of the highest calcium intakes in the world. Calcium deficiency caused by an insufficient amount of calcium is not known to occur in humans, even though most people in the world don't drink milk after weaning because of custom, lactose intolerance, or unavailability. In fact, nations with the highest levels of dairy consumption are the same nations with the highest rates of osteoporosis.” Taken from an article by the Michigan state University.

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-calcium.php

If you look at the above link you will note that cheese is ranked number 2 as highest foods rich in calcium, and yes that goes against my argument, but does it? really? Other dairy products are number 7 and cheese has a lot done to it before it gets to our table. Flax seeds, herbs, almonds, tofu and sesame seeds are all above milk and guess what? that is exactly what vegans eat!!  It angers me that when we are growing up all ads are veered towards dairy. ‘drink milk’ and the (in)famous white mustache when there are no ads telling parents to feed their children fruits, vegetables and seeds! Doesn’t that make anyone else pissed? *sigh* probably not.

Aside from the fact that I believe all this above, dairy is also considered a more brutal process than meat consumption. Don’t get me wrong we all know how I feel about meat consumption but the agricultural dairy factory farms in most countries has become a dark and dismal torture chamber. To get milk one must be pregnant, the cows are artificially inseminated and once they give birth the calf is dragged away. The mother bellows for her calf for weeks and the calf doesn’t get any of her mother’s milk. 

We do.

The calf’s fate, well what is the profitable use for a baby?
I have had people hate on me for saying this about the dairy farming industry and I know there are some ethical farms left but while there are some that are not, you can keep your milk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BPRq7wVpkY

One last comment, I have had numerous people unable to comprehend the fact that vegetarians/ vegans desire the taste of meat. I cannot comprehend how this is not comprehendible.
I am not going to even begin to argue that meat is not delicious. Although it has been 11 years since I tasted any I still salivate at the smell of a BBQ. I am human after all and the restaurants use the spices and herbs, sauces and ingredients available to them to make food as appealing as possible.
I loved the taste of meat but I cannot allow an animals to be abused the way it is just because I want a burger for a 30 second thrill.

I do not NEED meat, simply put, and so I choose not to eat it and instead I replace it with food that makes me feel that I am ‘normal’ and part of the majority. 
Please feel free to contact me if you truly desire more information and not just to attack me but other than that there are sources available to everyone (Information is FREE) and if you really want to know the answers than you can find them.

Yin Yang of the mind

I want to fill my friends in on my life in Poland, but be warned the philosopher that lurks within will sum up with a chilling note.

About a month ago I was employed by Queen’s school of English, a reputable language school that I adore. Before this I was working for a fiend and so I escaped relatively unhurt but well and truly unpaid, the thought of those 5am wake ups that I could have spent in my warm bed annoys me but alas, one lives and one learns. I teach just under 20 hours and as the summer approaches I will be working less but as September roles around I am pretty sure that my hours will increase and that summer will be a glorious blur for which I will wish to return.

I am busy, extremely, I feel very out of my depth and to avoid drowning I am spending my days, between classes, planning and prepping and trying to avoid any pitfalls of grammar and vocabulary. 

We study Polish twice a week and it is safe to say if I was my own student there would be blood spilt. Homework is rarely done and progress is slow from lack of self-study, too busy, too tired and too unmotivated!
Our cats are amazing we rescued Pierogi (Piggy) from a shelter. She was actually in a pet store and when Colin saw her his eyes turned to mush, I had to become the tough one *sigh*

My first thought was why was she in a pet store? I don’t believe in buying from a pet store when abused, neglected, abandoned animals need us more. We enquired, it was a way of advertising the shelter, getting a home for the cat (they put a different cat in the pet store every fortnight or so) and the pet store sells the food at the time of adoption everyone is a winner, especially Colin, I had no excuse, we wanted a cat she needed humans. We could always provide for her, even if things got too tough. So we packed her up and she moved in. It took a few days but she was definitely our cat and she definitely felt at home. Numerous occasions we had to put the sofa and bedding in the washing machine!! And as Pierogi started her 3am play sessions we knew it was time to adopt a second. I desperately wanted another, I feared that I wanted another because the excitement of Pierogi had warn off, like a kid with their Christmas toys 3 days later, but I now know that is rubbish! I also wanted another cat for Pierogi. She was an indoor cat and her excitement and energy was completely reliant on 2 humans who came home, drank a beer, and sleepwalked into bed every night. I felt guilty every day and needed a feline to take my burden!
James, aka Jimmy. It took weeks before we got him and we longed for him all that time. We asked for a black female and we got a white, with some black, male. We couldn’t be happier, he is our baby and our family is complete.He came from a sad background that can be summed up in a picture that was taken of him as a kitten all together with bloody nose and a dirty body. Pierogi found things hard at first, a stranger moving in but now that she can play and chase and fight for hours then she is content.
Also, so far, she hasn’t pee’d where she shouldn’t. We, of course, take lots of precautions but it still could be a sign that all she needed was her friend.

Wroclaw is a really great city, there are always things to see and do but sadly we don’t really have the time or energy to always see and do these things, but at least we know they exist and when wonderful people come to visit over the summer we will partake. We will meet each others parents and we will sit in the Rynek (market square) drinking a beer and loving things, even if money is tight. Money is a necessity, sadly, but will never make me as happy as my life right now does.
I do not dread my job every time the alarm rings, like I did in Korea, but I long for the evenings and weekends so I can spend them with my ‘family’. 

________________________________________________________________________

 Things are going really swimmingly in my life right now but as I write my face book status’ I always feel a huge pang of guilt. I am being melodramatic of course but why on earth should I be this lucky? and why on earth should I be proud of it?

It is maybe politically incorrect for me to say this next statement but, as always, I will. I am lucky first and foremost for being born white and secondly I speak English as my first language. It is a sad world that we live in when these happen to be partial reasons for my wide set grin.

Of course I have had heartbreak and financial panic, I have had times of deep set depression that covered me like a thick blanket and chocked me. I have had tears and blood, sweat, and nerves.
I have had, what seems to be the new coined term, first world problems. Maybe I should boast that I am lucky because it fills me with appreciation for what I have and what I never had to have. I am still a million miles away from knowing or understanding the inevitable results of poverty. I can watch t.v or read newspapers, I could even volunteer and help, but I will still be wearing clothes, eating, and even if I decide to ‘camp’ to try and open my eyes to the life of others I know that this isn’t ‘it’ for me. 

‘The American dream’ is; knowing every day you can afford to hope. What if you went to sleep every night and knew that life will never get better, would you bother to dream ?

I am not sure when society became a twisted checkers match but humans abused humans and my beaming smile that appears when I wake up next to Colin, hear my cats purr, or await an impending trip just adds to the inequality of the game. 

I do not need to prove my luck or happiness because I was born into it.

My ex boyfriend was a rat bag, but to be honest these words are not even said with venom, I still have everything I went into the relationship with. I still had the opportunity to ‘have’ that relationship. Everything I do must be appreciated rather than taken for granted.

I will never wish my hand was dealt differently but I know there are thousands upon thousands of people who would give anything and everything, an ironic statement in itself, for a day in my shoes. Isn’t that tragic and yet guiltily fulfilling all at the same time?

I am lucky and I am happy and I will cease to declare it, there is little necessity for obvious passionate vents.

In response

To the girl who is me,

A week or so ago I received an email from a girl who I was with in Korea. She told me that she had included me in her blog and hopes that I didn't mind. HA, of course I didn't I love myself and when people talk about me I love it even more. 

To summarise, she wrote how we had never been emotionally close in Korea (true) and that it may be due to the fact that we are very similar (true) and also making bad choices on both parts (true)

I cannot remember a time, in my past, when I didn't make bad choices. It seems at the golden age of 28 I am becoming wiser but for the duration of my existence I did the wrong thing. I learnt and I am here today happier and healthier, but I still have my regrets.

I remember the girl in question backing my decisions to date my ex boyfriend. He was a bad egg and I have said, on numerous occasions, that he is possibly the biggest regret of my life (more on him when i can be bothered). The girl said that you cannot regret decisions that become mistakes but learn from them. I still do not believe this, I don't believe that if I hadn't dated my ex than I wouldn't have become who I am today. I still could have found myself and the wonderful man I am with now just without the trauma of the past. Who knows? 

Anyway, I was bullied in school a lot ( I have mentioned this in a previous blog and won't dwell on it too much) because of my looks. A ridiculous notion really, looks do not maketh the man..idiots! However, when I left school my mother did a marvellous thing, she said that if I so wished I could have contact lenses. WOOOOOT..oh and then I dyed (and subsequently damaged) my hair, blonde! It was the new me and I was excited. I got attention. It still took a while. Beauty is not only in how you look but how you act and present yourself. You cannot hope to put some makeup on and meet the boys. You must ooze confidence then the men shall come, like bees to honey (yes, I totally hear myself ..gross). 

This post is going crazy right now and I am losing track.

What I am trying to say is, I got the confidence and I became someone I didn't respect anymore. I could see this in the other girl. I feared she was making the same mistakes I had. She too was bullied and now was getting a lot of attention. It is enjoyable until it is not enjoyable anymore. I feared she would be stung like I had been many-a-time. 

Unfortunately, I had not finished my silly behaviour and when I dumped the ex, I again birthed the monster I had worked so hard to kill. This is how and when me and the girl came to truly 'hate' each other. 

We were each other and there is only room for one.

It is all very childish, regrettable and unnecessary but it happened and I hope we have both moved past the hate for each other and ourselves.

Not everyone can be friends but they can find the goodness in each other. Hate is such an exhausting emotion and I am over it.

The shallow reasons for my choices

There are 4 reasons why people teach ESL in another country. 
1) Professional experience
2) Cultural enlightenment
3) Gap year
4) Escape life and get drunk
I was the 4th and after 5 years and too many hangovers I have become the 2nd.
I blame the education system ( well, I have to blame someone) at 18 years old I still relied on my mother to make onion gravy the way I like it and I had no idea what a penis looked like, other than the porno my brother left in his VCR one day. “Summer Girls get hot” It is safe to say 10 years later, I now know how to make onion gravy and am severely disappointed in the latter.
So if one is unable to know what life is about, how is it ever possible to decide on your future? To spend a lot of money, that you could possibly spend a life time paying back, and a lot of time studying something that does not interest you or make any kind of sense. I don’t believe the system works and am sad that it fails so many people every year.
I decided that because I was ok at English throughout school I should do English at University, if I had my time again I think only now would I really appreciate the choices that I had, the different courses I could have sunk my teeth into and been able to gorge on every piece of information. Journalism, creative writing, media I would have wanted to do it all, but I was rushed and I chose to study Dickens and Poe. Great writers that I used as coasters for my beer.
So what should one do when they study English? Travel the world and talk, a lot!
I have collected a plethora of memories from my experience and I will say that I am satisfied with my life’s journey, I am proud of how I used my ‘mistake’ to explore my mind and discover what and who I want to be.
My 4 tips to ESL teaching (all spawned from true and satirical incidents)
1) Do not, under any circumstances, judge a family by how they dress their child. Do not laugh out-loud at a kid when their second language is English, and more importantly, never explain his shirt to him.
Walking through the halls of the second Korean school I taught at, a child, knee high, ran up to me and pulled at my top. I looked down at the 5 year old who adored his teacher and whose teacher could think of a thousand places she would rather be right now (on a beach, in a bar on a beach, in a bar on a beach with Ryan Gosling) but I bit my tongue and smiled and looked down at the child. He wanted to show me his classwork, I could not stop reading his shirt. The desire to run to my computer and update my facebook status was too great and I left the child in mid-sentence
Facebook status - A 5 year old’s t.shirt reads; ‘it won’t lick itself’

2) Read through your notes the day before you teach. Don’t wing it because sometimes things come up that you were not expecting and it could get awkward and, somewhat, embarrassing.
Teaching the phrase ‘It turns out’ needs more preparation. A group of Polish adults looked blankly at me as I tried to explain how it means ‘finally’ or as ‘conclusion’ to something, when one woman turns to me and says ‘to turn on someone?!’ Oh the horror, as I go red I feel that is my duty to tell this woman that she must NEVER use this phrase in Business with an English speaking company!
3)Always enjoy the moments that make you laugh out loud, the students may never understand your seemingly loss of sanity but it will, in the end, keep you sane.
Conducting a role play, I gave each student a job description for themselves. One man was from a law firm, called ‘Black and White’ and he worked on mergers and acquisitions. Introducing himself he says ‘Hello I am a liar’
Possibly the smartest student in my class!
4)Expect the awkward moments when things that we say do not translate into other languages so easily.
Having a party at my home, I decided to invite a co-teacher who seemed lonely and in need of friends being the extremely wonderful person I am I went and met her on the street to direct her to the place.
Me ‘ah, I am so happy you came!!’ 
Her ‘why?’
*silence* 

Eating my words!

Something wonderful happened to me recently whilst living in Wroclaw
(question; can I still write 'whilst?' because I sincerely love that word!)
Anyway I heard about a relatively new English newspaper made in Wroclaw. The Wroclaw International.
 This is not only amazing for knowing the great, cool things that happen here but, of course, I really wanted to have the opportunity to write for them!
I begged in emails, attended a monthly party, and then I was invited to a meeting.
Yes, I was in !


My first piece has been submitted, shockingly I am writing about animal things (as well as anything else I can think of submitting along the way).  I am very grateful for this opportunity.
I have just interviewed a wonderful woman who spends her days rescuing animals and she, and her organisation, will be the focus of my next piece. But until then here is my small article on Vegan ice cream, now selling in the middle of my awesome city!

The natural taste of Italy

The dark skies are lifting from over Wroclaw and people are coming out from hibernation, it is the start of the summer time. Clothes are getting lighter, smiles are getting wider, and the demand for refreshments is rising.  Although the majority of people in Poland, and the world, do not yet follow a ‘meat free’ lifestyle it is safe to say that the masses are now demanding healthier products on the market. Chowing down on a chocolate bar is a temporary satisfaction and many, especially us women, feel guilty about what was an extremely short lived pleasure.  But alas, a genius has been born, Giuseppe Lamardini, the creator of an all natural ice cream.  The Vegans are rubbing their hands together in glee as yet another completely cruelty-free product emerges, defying all skepticism. 

Giuseppe uses, not only, 100% natural ingredients to make his gelato taste unique but seemingly defies the laws of ‘ice cream’ physics by using: carrot, beet, tomato, pumpkin, and even Spirulina.  Spirulina, in some circles, is known as a superfood with it’s richness in proteins, vitamins, and minerals. It has even been placed as number one on a list of the five foods that can add years to your life (by the AARP). It seems Lamardini knows what he is doing; rejuvenating a classic.  At the age of 20, Lamardini moved to Italy where he learned how to produce Gelato (Italian for Ice cream). He and his Polish wife’s dream was to create an ice cream that does not exploit animals. He created the “Gelati Giuseppe” and began to sell it from a quaint little shop in Sopot, Poland. 

Luckily for Wroclaw, the considerate people at VEGA have brought the ice cream to the Rynek for 4 zloty a scoop!

VEGA, an establishment set picturesquely on Sukiennice street next to the city hall, has been serving health conscience people for 25 years. Of course, in 1987 Poland, it was a little more difficult to start a business selling salads instead of vodka and sausages but it has survived and every year Rafal Patkowski (Manager of VEGA) has witnessed a consistent rise in the vegetarian ideals of both young and old. Everything served at VEGA is homemade and this ice cream is no exception.

Out of 38 of Giuseppe’s ice creams VEGA provides 8, and the flavors will vary over the course of the summer. In an interview, Patkowski announced boldly that his favorite flavor was grapefruit and I couldn’t help but grimace because grapefruit, in it’s natural form, is incredibly sour and the ice cream is a perfect replica. Luckily for me Patkowski allowed me to sample the other, less sour, flavors such as chocolate, mango, pineapple, and I will say that I may return for Lemon with spirulina more than a few times, it is light, fresh, healthy and perfect for a sunny day walking around the beautiful city of Wroclaw.

Can ice cream be dairy-free and still be delicious? It seems so.

The second beating

So, after my last blog, about bullying, Colin told me that maybe I should try and be more clear in my message. I deviate very easily from the topic but that is just how I write. 

I wrote this piece about 6 months ago and I think it sums up what I was trying to say in my last post..

I was a victim of bullying but I, in no way believe that gives me any excuse to bully others. Whether it be to physically hurt another living creature, say mean words to a friend, or to even gossip.

Of course, what girl hasn't gossiped in her life? Age will mature me and hopefully eliminate the need to do this in my future.

Buddhism:

It has always been a challenge for me to discipline myself to do any kind of research on anything. It is an even greater challenge for me to discipline myself to do research on the major religions of this world. I believe this is because of fear and ignorance but most of all because of loyalty, Loyalty to the religion that I have known since I was a child. A religion that cradled me when my dear Grampa left, a religion that gave me friendship when I lacked that in school

However, if I am ever going to find the best course for me, discover the 'answer' to what life is All about .. then surely this IS the only way to do it! 

I read 'the essence of Buddhism' on my plane ride between Kuala Lumpar and London. A 13 hour journey thats boredom screamed the need to be annihilated. I slept a lot so I tried to find my enlightenment there but, after a serious ache in my knees and a realization that if I keep sleeping then jet lag is gonna really rear its ugly head, I decided to pull myself together and pass the time another way…Religious study ! 

I am pleasantly surprised by Buddhist study , geeez my mother would pull out her hair (then mine) if she heard me! But yep, buddhism or the 'essence' of it, at least, is pretty beautiful!

It deals more with ones self than the requirement to please another (such as a god) I am not sure about the golden fat buddha and how he relates to the 'story' but once I gain internet connection on solid ground I will find that out.

The self and it's connection to suffering, addressing the fact that the world is essentially evil because of human choices. Suffering is inevitable but if one leads a life of that fully accepts the idea that they will suffer at one stage or another than one can live in a peaceful existence. 

For example. John loves his rich lifestyle. He loves to entertain his friends and prepares huge dinners whenever they come over.

John avoids knowledge of  the suffering of the world. He enjoys expensive vacations, he has a great health plan, he is ignorant to the misery of the poor.

John will encounter suffering at one time or another, it is unavoidable, yet John has worked so tirelessly to ignore it, that when it comes it is like an earthquake, an electric current through his entire body. He cannot handle it and begins to fall apart. His attachment to the ego has caused his mind to be shut off from the reality of the world. If he had prepared himself, if he had listened to those that suffer everyday from the animals to the children to the adults and lived a life that, in no way, causes unnecessary pain to others he would be able to concentrate on life's simple pleasures. Instead, in hard times, he cries out 'why me?' rather than 'why not me? Which question has a more positive answer?

In some ways I should be thankful that I do not have riches like John, it is actually a great starting block. It gives me the ability that John does not have, the ability to suffer and to slowly adapt to it. If I gain riches I hope that I am prepared to facilitate them in ways that can end some suffering.

My favourite aspect of buddhism lies in the devotion to living a life that is morally 'right.'

Channel ones mind on the reality of the world rather than being distracted by temptations or the mind's interpretation of what is real. 

Do nothing that will cause suffering to others. Use actions and speech that are not used for sexual gratification, used to be malicious or are driven by hate.

In other words, live a life that leaves the smallest negative imprint on others.