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Doris Lim Writes Gratitude
Go From A Scarcity To Abundance With A Gratitude Mindset
Have you ever thought of how you can go from Scarcity to Abundance with a Gratitude Mindset?
Have you paid much attention to that track record that’s running at the back of your mind daily?
Are your thoughts focused on lack instead of offering Thanksgiving for what you already have?
Do you feel fearful and see everything in a negative light?
Maybe your focus is on what you don’t have instead of practicing an attitude of gratitude.
Being happy, hopeful, and positive affect us on a deep level.
We want to improve all aspects of our lives to realize our full potential – as women.
It may seem that everything goes well for someone positive and motivated – they receive all the blessings.
Whereas someone positive and motivated, whereas things seem to work against you for you.
Do you feel like the Universe is silent, and no one is here to help you?
Sometimes we feel like we don’t have the support of family and friends.
Or we lack the resources to fulfill our purpose.
In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen Covey explains that when we live in a world of scarcity, we need to compete for resources.
We lack a mindset of gratitude.
We have no awareness that there is an abundance of resources available in the world for everyone.
Does this sound familiar?
The Scarcity Principle
The Scarcity Principle works on Reactance – increases its perceived attractiveness and value.
- Rare only the first 3 people
- Unique – just for family and friends only
- Time-limited Black Friday sale
A Scarcity Mindset
A scarcity mindset believes that there is lacking, and nothing is ever enough.
When a mind thinks this way, we fill it with anxious thoughts.
Feelings of fear and stress will make us act selfishly.
Remember, people, rushing to buy masks and toilet paper at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic?
A grateful mindset flows out of a deep inner sense of security grounded in the belief there is more than enough for everyone.
How can we heal our Scarcity Mindset?
I first learned about the Scarcity Mindset from Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The book says explains the scarcity mindset:
“Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality.
They see life as having only so much, as though there was only one pie out there.
And if someone were to get a sizeable piece of the apple pie, it would mean everybody else gets lesser.
The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life.
People with a Scarcity Mentality have a hard time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit–even with those who help in the production.
They have a hard time being happy when other people are successful.”
The Scarcity Mindset
A Scarcity Mindset revolves around that there will never be enough, resulting in feelings of fear, stress, and anxiety. It makes a person feel insecure, inadequate, and jealous of others.
It also makes you think if one person gets it, everyone else can’t have it.
The Scarcity Mindset focuses on the short term of every decision.
It’s like going to a restaurant without finding the food but deciding to order every item on the entire menu.
Sometimes you hear of women comparing each other’s bodies, outfits, sex lives, promotions, and successes.
You probably heard of people who remove the entire tray of oysters from the buffet line to their table for the same purpose I don’t want to be left out.
I must have it right now so they can’t be taken away later.
The Scarcity Mindset ignores the long term of every choice; everything is short term gain.
There is no progress where you grow from improving a little bit at a time on a regular basis.
What are the 3 types of Scarcity?
Scarcity falls into three distinctive categories :
- demand-induced
- supply induced
- structural
Demand-induced scarcity happens when the demand for the resource increases and the supply stays the same.
Fast-growing national populations put pressure on natural resources (water scarcity) in urban areas.
Rising prosperity (shown by higher per capita incomes) leads to increased ownership of properties and the use of resource-intensive consumer durables.
What are the three effects of Scarcity?
The Scarcity Effect is the cognitive bias that makes people place a higher value on a scarce object.
This lowers value on something that is abundantly available.
Scarce objects immediately become more desirable than a readily available product.
Scarcity increases negative emotions, which affect our decisions.
They link socioeconomic scarcity to negative emotions like anxiety and depression.
How does Scarcity affect my life?
The scarcity of resources can affect us just because we can’t always have what we want.
If you don’t have a job, lack of money and funds means you may not buy the dream car you want.
To adjust, we have to either earn more money or adjust our dream car to afford something more realistic.
These changes can affect thought processes and behaviors and affect families and communities.
To adjust, we have to either earn more money or adjust our dream car to afford something more realistic.
The effects of scarcity contribute to the cycle of poverty.
“What would men be without women? Scarce, sir…mighty scarce.” ― Mark Twain
The Abundance Mindset
Covey illustrates the Abundance Mindset flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security – grounded in the belief there is more than enough for everyone.
It is the paradigm where there is plenty to spare out there for everyone.
The Abundance Mindset results in a sharing of profits recognition, prestige, and decision-making, which opens creativity, options, alternatives, and endless possibilities.
The focus is on the long-term stem from a deep understanding that even though you may not get something now, it doesn’t mean you can’t have it after that.
Someone else getting that promotion does not mean you will never be promoted or get a better job.
When we have positive feelings towards others, it is easier to feel happy for someone else.
There is no internal pain or jealousy of someone else’s success you too can be successful; it takes nothing away from you.
For personal finance, having an abundance mindset means you can invest confidently and become neutral about taxes.
The two sureties in life are death and taxes.
What does it mean to have an Abundance Mindset?
Someone with an abundant mentality is an optimist and is genuinely happy for others when they achieve success.
Conversely, those with a Scarcity Mindset are competitive and resent other’s success.
What does it mean to have Abundance?
The definition of abundance is to have a sizeable amount of something or have more than you need.
It’s often used to describe positive qualities, such as “an abundance of love.” Abundance is the opposite of scarcity.
An example of abundance would have a huge bumper crop of wheat for the year.
An abundance of wealth is having a ton of cash.
What God says about Abundance Is What We Say About Having a Gratitude Mindset?
The origin of the term “abundant life” comes from the Bible verse John 10:10b “I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” “More abundantly” means to have a superabundance of a thing.
“Abundant life” refers to life in its abounding fullness of joy and strength for spirit, soul, and body.
What is the difference between Scarcity and Abundance?
Abundance means knowing that you are enough.
You know that you will have enough.
Instead of the darkness and hopelessness of a Scarcity Mindset, Abundance is a feeling of excitement, positivity, and hopefulness in life.
What is the difference between Scarcity and Abundance?
Abundance means knowing that you are enough.
You know that you will have enough.
Instead of the darkness and hopelessness of a Scarcity Mindset, Abundance is a feeling of excitement, positivity, and hopefulness in life.
How do you go from scarcity to an abundance mindset?
- Focus on what you have.
- Surround yourself with people that have an abundance mindset.
- Create win-win situations.
- Incorporate gratitude into your daily life.
- Train your mind to recognize the possibilities.
The Law of Balance
“Abundance means being generous with others and grateful when others give to you.”
According to this law, whatever you give to the world will give back to you.
How to Switch to an Abundance Mindset and Cultivate Growth
Naturally, it makes sense to cultivate and adopt an abundance mindset.
Frugal living makes little sense if there is no joy in life’s important aspects, such as friendships, romance, career success, and skill-building.
When you push the Scarcity Mentality out of your life, you can open up and start building an Abundance Mindset to cultivate growth.
Here are some ways you can start with.
Have Appreciative Conversations About Gratitude
When you engage in conversations with friends and family, ask about things that have gone well for them in the last week.
Please focus on the things they are working on or building.
If they need encouragement or help, make an offer, and share.
Talk about personal successes and celebrate your achievements.
Leave out the pains and failures—all the things that don’t augur well, you can edit and leave those bits out of the conversation.
Keep ideas in mind and look forward to spending positive and enriching conversations.
Declutter Your Home and Organize Your Life
Over the years, we accumulate a lot of clutter in our life.
Look at your closet; it may surprise you to see you no longer wear your old clothes but still keep them around.
The simple process of decluttering, taking charge of organizing your possessions, and your time will help with your workflow—and ultimately create an abundance mindset.
Organizing things exposes you directly to the riches you already have that you can grow more or repurpose.
“If you don’t need it – Junk it” – Doris Lim
Reduce Your Consumption of Advertising – Social Media Shows a Filtered View.
Most forms of media get their revenue from the sale of advertising space.
You will be constantly bombarded with advertisements taunting a desire for things you don’t have.
The best way is to read books or listen to music instead of watch television or go on YouTube.
You can make better use of your time, gardening, or making crafts.
Use that time out to do something meaningful, like exercising or learning to cook a new recipe.
Share What Your Gratitude Mindset With Others.
When you share, a few things happen.
First is the feel-good feeling that you can help improve another person’s life.
Second, the item that is sitting at home is being used by someone else.
Third, when you regularly share, you will find others willing to share with you, too it can be information and help.
Sharing is not always about sharing possessions or giving away money.
The best sharing is time and knowledge well spent to connect with the people in your circle or community.
You can spend an afternoon catching up or helping a neighbor.
Attempt to connect with people and also to introduce like-minded people to each other who share common goals.
When you have an abundant mindset, you have plenty more where that came from, so sharing isn’t a big deal at all.
Grateful people are always happy even when they have to face difficult circumstances.
Try to create “Win-Win” Situations.
A Positive Mindset creates “Win-Win” Situations as there is so much to go around.
A Scarcity Mindset believes that for every winner, there must be a loser.
The false belief that not everyone can win because there isn’t enough to go around.
When you create situations where everyone gets to shine and everyone gets to share, everyone wins.
There are no losers, only opportunities for growth.
Sharing A Gratitude Mindset – Look for Positives in Every Loss (The WIN comes after)
Sometimes life gives you a lemon.
Instead of having questions after questions about how unfair life is and bemoaning your fortunes look at the “luckier ones”; they are lucky because they have made sacrifices.
They might suffer some losses too, but they aren’t overwhelmed by the negatives but continue to strive to get better.
Reflect on those positives events.
You can read books on how people have overcome adversities in their lives.
It is good to keep in mind and have the awareness that at least something good came out of every challenging circumstance we encounter.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others – You will attract a Scarcity Mindset.
For the Scarcity Mindset, everything hinges on how you compare to others.
It is as if only your wellbeing and suffering matters.
With a gratitude mindset, you count your blessings, how much personal growth you have made this matter most in living out your own ideas in your day-to-day life.
Social media, Instagram, and even Tweets often highlight a reel of someone’s life, showing off all the good things glossed over and shiny.
Do you ask questions about the bad, the failures, and the mundane that are hidden from the scrutiny of prying eyes?
You will naturally feel ingratitude if you compare your life with others.
If you’re struggling with comparing yourself to others, cut back on Facebook and other forms of social media.
The strategy on social media only serves to make you feel worst off.
Besides who can live their life on Instagram? It’s not real, even the traffic can be bought.
Instead, focus on thinking about what you can do right now to improve your life.
When you believe and are grateful everything will flow into place.
- Believe you are worthy of happiness.
- Focus on what you have right now.
- End the cycle of learned helplessness.
- Purge jealousies.
- Respect the power of money.
- Study of wealth.
- Give your money away.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
Spend a bit of time each day being grateful for the moments that fill us with joy and lift our spirits.
- Record all the things that go well in your life.
- Things you are grateful for.
- Even if you can’t think of anything be thankful for your strong heart beating to keep you alive.
That little constant reminder of the good things that happen, done at the end of each day teaches us humility and gratitude.
We grow from Scarcity To Abundance with a Gratitude Mindset this way because our life is already full of good things.
When we have an abundance mindset, investing seems like we are giving a gift to our future self – and that feels good.
Remember, ours is full of wonderful things, places, and experiences more than you can ever explore, and each moment is something worth celebrating.
I celebrate my moments with my Bae. We want to live a purpose-driven life with our goals in line with our core values and beliefs.
If you’ve never written out your goals in the past, now is the time to do so – it allows you to materialize your genuine desires in front of your mind’s eye.
Final Word on Living a Life of Growth with A Gratitude Mindset
- Smile.
- Be thankful for what you have.
- Start your days right.
- Prepare yourself for opportunities.
- Make the most out of every opportunity.
- Build friendships along the way.
- Build upon what you’ve established.
Ultimately, remember when you move from Scarcity To Abundance with a Gratitude Mindset – what you believe is what you receive, and this is a brilliant strategy for happiness.
Doris Lim Writes Gratitude – Little Inspiration Blog Writes Gratitude Story To Inspire Women Watch Incredible Things Happen To Change People One Experience At A Time.
Are Our Relationships For a Reason Season Lifetime?
When we meet someone new, would they come in for a reason, season, lifetime?
A long time ago, someone said to me.
From strangers to friends to lovers—this is how love began.
People always come into our life all the time.
Just as quickly and quietly, some will leave like ships that pass in the night.
They come for a reason.
Sometimes for a season.
The best, they stay for a lifetime.
It is almost impossible to figure out which is what during the time we spend together.
How to Know If Our Relationships Last For a Reason Season Lifetime?
I feel that it is the energy that we exude that draws season people to us.
For many years, I am drawn to others.
Some are drawn to me.
I always believe that we recognize each other.
Are we soulmates?
Do we hold on to this false belief that our spiritual half has been determined even before we were born?
That each soul has a perfect match – our soulmate.
Our true spiritual soulmate is the one person who is here to help us “complete ourselves.”
If we buy the idea that God creates our half and not whole.
Do we believe that a person cannot complete his or her mission in life alone?
Or that everyone needs a special someone to help them become a better person?
Different people knock at our doors at other times in our lifetime.
Once we realize that they enter our lives to fulfill a need or a purpose—to teach us or learn from us; they stay for a reason, season, or a lifetime.
Although most people think of a soulmate as a perfectly harmonious union of bliss, our true spiritual soulmate is the person who should help us “complete ourselves.”
Jerry McGuire was right—soul mates complete each other.
This is not always a blissful experience.
Relationships For a Reason
Relationships can help us be better a person.
I have the energy to do things for others that I wouldn’t do for myself.
I have learned to be an encourager in recent years—not because I am so positive myself.
Or that I am a born motivator, but I mirror someone who does this effortlessly daily.
Often when someone is in our life for a REASON, this is because of a need we have expressed in our heart or vocalized.
When we figure out which it is, we know exactly what to do.
The people who drop in for a reason enter our world to fulfill a purpose—then we part ways.
A lot of times, we don’t even know the reason until after they leave.
Sometimes years later.
I met two women who encouraged me on my journey to write.
For one woman, I was her “Pet Project”—someone to fix.
I remember these years later with great humor, the reason we parted ways, I have long since forgotten.
I no longer remember.
For me, this was a life-transforming moment.
The intensity of the bond we shared was superficial and shallow.
However, the situation brought about changes in my aptitude, attitude, behavior, and lifestyle for good.
“Be with someone who wants to see you grow.” – Toni Payne
Relationships For a Season
All of us want to find our happily ever after.
We want to choose and attract healthy, happy, non-toxic dates, and relationships.
How long is a season? A year? A decade?
Like the seasons, there are four seasons to every relationship.
And just like the weather, all relationships go through several changes, shifts, and unique seasons.
All the phases work together to help stretch us and grow us.
Fulfilling relationships contain harmony and discord.
As we grow in a relationship, we embrace the changes and accept these for what they are.
We want to grow closer together, build on each other’s strengths rather than fall apart.
Spring of Relationships
The first season and the blossom of a new relationship are often the happiest and most harmonious.
Everything is new and exciting.
Have you met your lifetime friend?
We get to know each other, learn more about both ourselves and our partners during this time.
Spring is the time to delight in new experiences.
The first time we hold hands.
Our first kisses.
Meeting each other’s friends.
Traveling together for the first time.
We’re hungry for the other person during this spring season of a relationship.
More often than not, we are more willing to look past things we usually don’t find acceptable.
Summer of Relationships
We know the season as the “honeymoon period” when we put each other on the pedestal, and our partners could do no wrong during this rose-colored phase.
Just as the budding spring of a new romance, we like to keep the peace and the intimacy flowing.
We excuse little things that annoy us, making every event an opportunity to make happy memories that sustain us both through the hard times.
In our eagerness to fall in love, many of us play up when we found out the other person to be interesting and we are both interested in each other.
Autumn of Relationships
The autumn season signals a time of death but also a rebirth for our relationship.
Are the cracks beginning to show?
Your lifetime friend may not last a lifetime.
Do we see our partner’s flaws and faults and point these out?
There could be complex emotions surfacing, from either running into a former partner to spending time with an elderly parent.
The nagging starts. The bickering and fighting begin – these lead to judgment, arguments, withholding love, and giving the cold shoulders.
It’s the first warning horn of the next season—winter.
Winter of Relationships
Don’t be afraid of winter.
Winter is the season when we let go of perfection’s ideals and reveal the depth of our feelings and emotions with our partners.
If you are prepared, winter can be a time of authenticity, bonding, and transformative growth with your lifetime friend.
Those who find it hard to let go of the need to see our partners only in the best light.
We might explode, lashing out, mudslinging, belittling as being perfect is unrealistic and not achievable.
Relationship For a Lifetime
Lifetime people stay.
The most romantic quote from the film Jerry McGuire was the words that melt our hearts.
It wasn’t the cliché,
“I Love You.”
But it was one that spells soulmate and a relationship that would last a lifetime.
“You Complete Me.”
When Jerry confessed his love for Dorothy for romantics, we think we will never be happy, complete, or whole until we find our soulmate.
When the lights go up, the credits roll, we fall with a thud into the actual world—searching for our soulmates.
Would we recognize each other?
Will we know the answer?
It goes beyond meeting our true friends.
Do we even live in the same city, zip code, or so far across the world—that our days and nights are opposites.
At the beginning of any relationship, we won’t think it will last a lifetime.
Years later, real-life puts everything into perspective.
I hate to live with regret.
I want to live with happiness.
Are you like me?
The eternal optimist only wants to believe that relationship is going to be everlasting for a lifetime.
For instance, sometimes we meet someone we fall in love with.
This person is happy, full of life, and live with a zest-free-spirited person who trusts God completely.
We worry a lot or may feel anxious.
So, we also learn to become free like them and have more fun with life.
Lifetime relationships are an integral part of our lives as they are with us for a long time.
Often these are family relationships or long-term relations that accept and love us unconditionally.
Our parents are with us for decades and are there with us in our thick and thin times.
We learn to accept the lesson and apply it to our life.
Parents, siblings, lifelong friends, help develop a reliable support system and contribute to who we are as a person.
Why Are They Here For a Reason Season Lifetime?
Our partners come to us to fulfill a need, teach a lesson, or help us to apply those lessons in our lives.
Our job is to accept the lessons and be grateful to the person who blesses us with this learning gift.
Whether they are there for a reason, season, or a lifetime, we must realize one thing – their role in our lives is indispensable.
We must value their presence as they are God sent.
Sometimes They Leave…
When they leave, we need to see separation positively rather than perceiving it as a tragic event.
Sometimes I wrestle with the thought of how our friends leave.
I have had friends who leave suddenly.
I never saw them alive again.
Sometimes I find out years later. Sometimes not at all.
Is it better that we saw no one grow old sick and leave?
How we respond to the separation makes us grow mentally, emotionally, and physically.
This poem inspired me “Reason, Season, or Lifetime” which teaches us about accepting the impermanence of relationships and recognizing the lessons that affect our lives.
Sometimes, they appear to teach us a valuable lesson.
Maybe they too drop by to learn from us.
Reason Season Lifetime Poem
People come into our life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When we figure out which it is, we know exactly what to do especially in family relationships.
When someone is in our life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need we have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They assist us through difficulty, provide us with guidance and support, and aid us physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for a reason.
We need them to be.
Then, with no wrongdoing on our part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force us to take a stand.
We realize that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, and their work is done.
The prayer we sent up has been answered, and it is now time to move on.
When people come into our life for a SEASON, our turn shares grows or learns.
They may bring us an experience of peace or make us laugh. They may teach us something we have never done.
They usually give us an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach our lifetime lessons; those things we must build upon to have a solid emotional foundation.
Our job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway), and put what we have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of our life.
It is said that LOVE is blind, but FRIENDSHIP is clairvoyant.
— Traci Smith
Reason Season Lifetime Summary
What is the meaning of relationships for a reason, season, or lifetime?
People come into our lives for a Reason, Season, or Lifetime.
Some people come into our lives for a reason.
Like our Godsent guide, they help us physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Their presence completely transforms our lives.
They might be there to fulfill our needs or offer us something new to learn.
They can open an all-new doorway in our life—things we may have never discovered by ourselves.
Once the purpose for which they came into our life is served – they leave.
They may no longer feel connected to us anymore and leave us.
Sometimes they die.
No one lives forever.
The end of this relationship might leave us too devastated to mourn.
However, once we can see the truth, we can let it go quickly.
I have many people who enter my life to make me realize my strengths.
They see my potential and show me possibilities.
I have changed my career path just because someone helped me recognize my gift.
Some are there to journey along and share and celebrate my life with me in all my moments.
They entered my life for a particular season and helped us do something we have never done or taken me to a place I have never been to before.
They inspire us and aid us in realizing our true potential.
It is during these times, we learn, grow, and expand further.
Such people are also there for a limited period.
They also come and go, just like a season.
Once a season gets over, it’s time for them to take off.
Our job is to learn from our experience with them and be grateful for what they taught us.
The Giraffe Story – Real or Otherwise
A long time ago, in a continent called Africa, my dear friends, giraffes had very short necks.
(The giraffe is an African artiodactyl mammal. The tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant.)
For this reason, its neck has grown longer and longer.
The Giraffe Story Centered On How The Creatures Got Long Neck (a myth or story)
A long time ago, in a continent called Africa, giraffes had very short necks.
Their necks are about an inch shorter than an average human’s neck, to be precise.
All the giraffes thought this was normal – at that time.
But here is the story about how giraffes have long necks.
It was a hot summer’s day. (Africa’s weather is all year summer, I didn’t write this, okay?)
All the giraffe families came together to have a picnic.
All the little giraffes were playing games, and the mothers and fathers were talking.
A few young giraffes, George and his cousins Gina and Grace, were playing with a ball.
They were passing it by bouncing it on their heads.
There was a naughty little giraffe named Giovanni.
Why Giovanni, you ask.
Aren’t we in Africa?
Why not some story about Penguins or Dinosaurs since you’re going on about Creator Club here?
Yes, but of course, Pepé.
Giovanni is a meaningful name.
Giovanni means God Is Gracious.
Giovanni liked to get George and other little giraffes into trouble.
After a while, George, Grace, and Gina were tired and thirsty, so they rested.
Giovanni snuck up on the trio and yelled, “Nah, Nah, you don’t have a ball!”
“What do you mean?” Gina said.
Giovanni pointed to a nearby tree, with the ball stuck between two top branches.
“Oh, no!” George cried, looking at the ball high in the tree.
George had an idea and approached Gina.
“How about you carry me so I can get the ball?” George said to Gina
“Ok,” she replied.
Grace just stood and watched.
The ball was still too high even when Gina carried George.
Then George called Grace to come and help.
The next thing you know, Gina was carrying Grace, and Grace was taking George.
It was the funniest sight ever!
Finally, George could almost reach the ball BUT, then Gina lost her balance and fell over.
So did Grace.
The only little giraffe that didn’t fall was George.
This was because his neck got stuck between the two branches that it held the ball in.
Luckily, the ball fell off the tree, but George got stuck!
” Ouch!” George thought.
Gina and Grace went to get some help.
They gathered all the giraffes around that tree.
Every single giraffe was pulling on one of George’s legs.
Poor George was being pulled so much!
The entire family of giraffes was pulling and pulling and pulling!
While they were pulling, something very odd was happening.
George’s neck was getting longer and longer and longer.
Finally, after a few hours of pulling, George’s head slipped through the branches.
All the giraffes looked at his odd-looking neck.
George’s NEW Neck Was Making Headlines As the Giraffe Story
- He could eat leaves off of a tree without jumping for them.
- He loved the view of Africa from up there.
- All the giraffes saw how George’s neck came in handy.
So all the giraffes took turns to go up that tree to get their necks pulled.
Soon enough, all the giraffes had longer necks than ever.
So when you giraffes with long necks and wondered – That is the Giraffe Story and how they got long necks.
Giraffe woman – the beauty of a woman lies in the length of her neck!
For the Pandung tribe in Burma, having a long neck makes women more beautiful and be physically attractive.
“Padaung,” in the Shan language, means “long neck.”
The Padaung tribe, a subgroup of the Karenni, Burma (Myanmar), is where you will find women moving around with heavy brass and gold alloy coils on their necks to extend it.
The tribeswomen wear the coils as early as five years old, and as they get older, they add up more coils to their necks.
Culturally, For women, having a long neck is the symbol of wealth, position, and beauty.
Apart from being a beauty tradition, it is also said that many myths or histories lie behind the long-neck custom.
Sydney V. Smith the Giraffe Woman
IN the USA, a woman ‘obsessed’ with giraffes has given up on her dream of stretching her neck after spending five years wearing a stack of painful, heavy metal rings.
At its heaviest, they made the stack up of 15 rings and weighed an incredible 5lbs.
Sydney Smith, 30, from Los Angeles, California, who calls herself ‘the giraffe woman,’ wanted to be known worldwide for her long neck.
Sydney has now given up on her quest, admitting her life had become ruled by the rings.
She couldn’t function properly as a long neck woman with fifteen rings around her neck in the U.S.A.
It was a feat that made her an introvert, and she began isolating herself.
Soon she felt like the rings were taking over her life in every way.
‘Unless you will isolate yourself completely and you’re a trust fund baby and don’t even need to leave the house, never need to drive, then maybe you can pull it off.
When Sydney took the necklace off, she had severe bruising around her collarbone and said her’ neck felt very weak, kind of like arms on a toothpick.
Conversations with a Giraffe Woman
“Allow me to order for us,” that perfectly manicured hand circles my arm with her fire-engine red talons. I grimaced.
A little too intimate, I complain to Pepé LAH Pew.
“You’ve got to meet your HOT client next time and not send me.”
This one turns out to be a model turn extra-on-TV turn advertising woman of certain clout: too many turns, my head’s spinning.
She calls her appearance– ca ameo. I nearly choke on my Earl Grey.
A cameo is a brief appearance of a known person in performing arts, such as pin lays or films, appearing as themselves. Think of Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock.
We are having high tea. And what could be more British than scones?
Ma’Â dam’s treat happens at a mock Tudor restaurant in Bangsar. The one that serves delicious buttery scones, freshly made when you lock in order and bake them in a hot oven.
I have evil thoughts. How do you stuff a Ma’ dam into an oven? Take the elephants out first, of course!
“Nothing quite hits you like the smell of freshly baked scones; it fills the entire restaurant,” she roars for all to hear.
How does one develop a clipped English accent without actually setting foot on Her Majesty’s soil?
“It sets tummy growling; this scent just grows on you,” Ma’ dam says charmingly.
Sssssss said the snake in the grass: Sure, honey, come on closer.
It’s that heady light-headed sensation. I was feeling faint, too much sun.
Walking the site with Ma’ dam without breakfast and lunch, save for a small bottle of imported mineral water, plays havoc with my mind.
When hungry with low blood sugar, I feel challenged in polite company.
She says the best water comes from France. Bah!
Ma’ dam rattled on about the scones she makes.
Rose Petal Scones,salls them lovingly, like her little “children.”
More patting with that cold, smooth hand again.
This time on my knee.
“It’s just tweaking the recipe a little with the right ingredients that give you such wonderful results,” Ma’ dam gushes.
“But, I’ll indulge you and tell you my secrets,” she winks and leans over to whisper in that raspy little girl’s voice.
I stiffened and plastered a fake smile on my face to stop myself from puking.
Everything sounds wrong!
“It’s rose water and dried rose petals and,” she paused for dramatic effect, “fresh lemonade and cream.”
“Err, doesn’t lemon, which is acidic, curdle the cream?” I ask, a little surprised.
I did, after all, study some science subjects. Domestic science counts,too, surely.
Ma’ dam replies, angry in her posh English accent.
“I know a fair bit about British food!” she holds herself in very high regard to everything English.
This girl remembers the scones she loves, the ones that turn out fluffy, almost a delicious melt-in-the-mouth biscuit that her Godmother has been making for decades.
These scones are giraffe-high, almost voluptuous looking.
Godmother bakes them in the hottest part of her oven, placing them quite close together when they rise rapidly. The scones mesh up into each other like mini flower buns.
However, back to PepĂ© LAH Pew’s HOT client.
Ma’ dam changes architects mid-stream.
She found a HOTTER female Interior Designer more talented and with strong inclinations to design state-of-the-art ovens!
And the kitchen too, of course.
This leaves us with The Giraffe Test: Are You Qualified to be a “Professional?”
(something that conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.)
Which Pepé LAH Pew insists I take off the Internet.
#1 How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door.
This question tests whether you do simple things in an overly complicated way.
#2 How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, “Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator?” (Wrong Answer)
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant, and close the door.
This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.
#3 The King of the Forest is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is still in the refrigerator. You just put him in there.
This tests your memory.
OK, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities; as a design professional.
#4 There is a river you must cross, but crocodiles inhabit it. How do you manage it without a boat?
Correct Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference.
Bah! And double Bah! I feel like a lamb (or was that giraffe – no he’s in the refrigerator) lead to the slaughter. Again!
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