His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great on Saturday urged Thais to take the flood crisis as a lesson to remind them to be sensible, live prudently and always be prepared to respond to unexpected circumstances.
Apart from delivering his 2012 New Year’s message to the people, HM the King also gave a New Year’s card to Thai subjects which showed a photograph of HM the King with his beloved pet dog, Khun Thong Daeng, lying down on the floor by his chair.
In his traditional New Year’s televised address broadcast Saturday night, Dec. 31, HM the King thanked Thais for celebrating his seventh-cycle birthday properly and gracefully on December 5.
HM the King said the country’s general situation was normal until the second half of the year when Thailand faced a flood crisis which affected people in many provinces and the disaster was a most severe crisis.
He said the disaster should be an important lesson for all Thais.
HM the King said that throughout one’s entire life, everyone would experience agony, peril and obstacles, and that no one could experience only happiness. Therefore, everybody should prepare themselves, and be ready to tackle, resolve and respond to unfortunate incidents or hardships that they would encounter in their lives.
They should face such unusual incidents with prudence, sensibility, rationale and unity, he said.
HM the King urged that during this New Year, Thais should be prudent, sensible and perform their duties with responsibility, which would eventually help them to be successful and to help nation to be prosper.
He also blessed all Thais to have happiness in the year of 2012.
In his traditional New Year card this year, HM the King appeared in a photograph on a chair with his pet dog “Khun Thong Daeng” lying down on the floor by his chair on his left-hand side.
On the left side of the card was a quotation from his book, “Phra Maha Chanok”: “Although I cannot see the coast, I must keep swimming in the ocean because nothing can be achieved merely through thinking.” On the right side of the card, his message says: “May you be blessed with happiness and prosperity in 2555” in Thai and “Happy New Year 2012” in English.