When we celebrated Su’s birthday last week, we made a detour to the beach before dinner to enjoy the sunset and take in what’s left of the sea (which is yet to be reclaimed).

We are constantly reminded of the reason people make a beeline for our beautiful island and why grace and gratitude is so important for being blessed to wake up each day to either paintings in the sky or endless beauty at sea.

We counted our blessings to be able to enjoy this little slice of heaven on an isle where development and reclamation are fast altering the turtle-shaped silhouette of the coastline.

Several days later, Lin and I took in the calming and peaceful sight of the sea during our morning stroll on the drive.

The simple act of driving along the coast and the many sights of nature-in-blue are treats not enjoyed by those surrounded by plastic, steel and chrome in other cities.

Some of us like Betsy, Thamby, Cuteness and my sistas-and-dudes-in-the-tower, continue to stay blessed waking up to views like these and we pray that our little slices of heaven on earth are not sacrificed in the name of further greed and so-called progress.