Good Values Through The Power of Story Telling - Make It R.E.A.L

Good day friends.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there live a family of Onions.

Interval Notes:
In the old days I was told, all plants could talk.... maybe it was true.., because even now, some people talk back to their plant & flowers...!!
The plants & flowers also have hands & feet!
But now, all the hands & feet are gone, and they also lost the ability to talk. Don't know why, but if you wish to know more, then I'd suggest that u look up the internet ...It's there somewhere...i think...!!

Anyway, the father Onion was known as Bawang Besar (Big Onion), the mother Onion was known as Bawang Putih (White Onion), their only son was known as Bawang Kecik & their only daughter was known as Bawang Merah (Red Onion).

They were a very happy family.
Bawang Besar & Bawang Putih always respect each other in their talk.
They hold hands and stayed close to each other in their walk.
There were lots of love in the family of Mr. Bawang Besar.
Bawang Besar the husband, never fail to kiss his wife before leaving for work, and in return, Bawang Putih, the wife never fail to kiss her husband's right hand.

There were also lots of happiness & smiles too in the family....
Always respecting each other in the way they communicate.
Always hugging each other whenever they meet & to show affection.

The children, Bawang Kecik the son & Bawang Merah the daughter, would hug & kiss their parents before going off to school.

As brother and sister, Bawang Kecik & Bawang Merah always willingly help one another, always sharing toys, and never fighting over small matters.

Being family of Onions, shedding tears of joy or tears of happiness come naturally to all of them...obviously!!

The moral of the above story..... through the eyes of my children, are many!!

You see, through simple parables, the above is one of the ways that I knew then, to instill human values in my children. I read parables to Danial and Amin when they were kids. When they grew up, it was then to Nabil & Zalikha.

It was through bedtime stories like this that I too, learned from my father and mother how to to be the person that I am now. Parables simulate interest, in adults as well as children. Parables could be use to provide strong messages. Parables also provide simple guiding principles in our everyday action and decision making. And parables are easily remembered for many many years.

Values can be taught, and could be learn through simple means. One of the means is through the power of parables. I found that values cannot be enforced but they need to be instilled, internalized, inculcated and integrated via the application of R.E.A.L action and examples.

Those were my simple routine, just before calling it a day, lying in bed with my child in each arm, and their heads resting on my chest close to my heart, the story telling begin and the world of fantasy came alive!!

It was almost the same characters everynight, but I never fail to get questions like:
"Did Bawang Merah help her mom in the kitchen?"
"Did Bawang Kecik have many friends?"
"When the their mom is sick, who cook for them?"
"Did they sweep the floor everyday?"
and etc...etc.... and many much more about stimulating questions, sometimes until I FELL ASLEEP...hehehe!!

Then they would wake me up and asked me to continue... or just shake me up until i was sober enough to give them the answer that they want..... such was the power of parables!!

And what are R.E.A.L actions and examples?
It is the application of Respond, Etiquette, Alive, Love in our daily interactions and activities with others, or in the performance of a task.

R is for a sincere RESPOND & show of RESPECT to others with simple greeting and/or with a smile. When we acknowledge the presence of others, it makes them feel at home!

E is for Etiquette, by acknowledging / addressing others with due formality when required or affectionately when due. It also about our attitude...how we carry ourselves...with pleasantries or with a snobbish outlook.

A is for Alive!. Deliver our speech, conversation and tasks with zest & enthusiasm...show it! It makes others feel that they are important and that you care to go that extra mile willingly and with great sincerity.

L is for Love & Compassion (..dengan kasih dan sayang)! When we internalize and intergrate love & compassion in all our activities and the things that we do, we tend to do it from the bottom of our heart.
The spirit of caring for others and delivering it with sincerity is part of communication. It also makes us more human..!!

As human beings we are not perfect. We make mistake, learn from it & stand to be corrected. We must therefore strive to be a better human being, have good relationship with other human beings.

I hope that I am always reminded of those positive Human Values every time I talk and write about them. And today I hope I have manage to share this reminder with all readers, through the 'Power of Story Telling & R.E.A.L'

Last but not least, always remember..
The VALUES that we carry with us…
& how we manifest (demonstrate) them in our life & our work….
Those are LEGACIES that we will leave behind…
…& Will always be remembered
even after we have been long gone ….


This is a picture of my mother (She passed away in July 2007). A source of inspiration & compassion for the family. She left behind a legacy, touching the hearts of many who are not as fortunate as many of us. She had a generous smile and always ever willing to listen. At the age of 80, She learned to speak English at the age of 80. Joined Cosway as an agent when she was 70 or 75 yrs old. I think she must have been the oldest MLM agent that I know...



That's my loving wife & me.



This is my 1st born son, Danial Aizat. He is the 1st protector to all his siblings.



My other children (from left), Nabil Aizat, Zalikha Aliah & Amin Aizat.



Zalikha with Shazmeen Hashim, affectionately known as Meen, our daughter-in-law.



We are one as a family and together, we are pillars of love & strength to each other...