Reflections

The water supply to my neighbourhood was cut off unexpectedly last night. This unplanned event had several of my neighbours talking to each other. Not that they do not in otherwise normal circumstances. There was a Sydney Water website live update on this supply interruption, but it was more fulfiling with chat amongst the neighbours.

Have you ever written a letter to your Prime Minister?

When was the most recent time you gathered with family or friends just to talk of happy things?

Do you have a chill out from screen time regularly to admire Nature, smell the roses or dabble in some artistic pursuit?

Does it really matter if you did not know about significant happening in news from the media?

How did you stay in touch with your mates before apps like Facebook?

When was the last time you walked with your pet to the beach?

What is the most impressionable thing that gives a glow in your heart, despite the clutter and rush of contemporary routine?

How was your walk doing nothing today, and yet who or what did you come across?

Did you just do something, big or small, that you normally would not, with positive vibes for yourself or others?

For once, do you consciously recognise the ability of your own body and mind to self heal?

Can you reflect and choose one thing, habit or act, that commercial society expects of you, but which you and family do not need?

Have you got into touch with a long lost friend or family member still deep in your heart but somehow not been communicating with?

Have you allowed yourself to fly, not literally, but with your own possibilities?

Do you occasionally ask yourself, "Why Not", and proceed at times with your gut feel?

Other people may offer a sympathetic and listening ear, but in the end, it is only you, and you alone, who can liberate yourself.

My house water supply was restored this morning. For a fleeting moment, I realised how I had long taken for granted the gush of still clean water from the turn of a tap - and how rare such a cut off in residential water supply occurs in suburban Australia.

To close, I have one more question for you ........

Is it more upsetting to have your wifi connections cut off for a longer time than you had to do without water or electricity supply?

#yongkevthoughts

Selective Reasoning

Selective reasoning....

My cause is more important than yours. I hurt more as a victim than other clamaints.The masses cannot do this due to breach of institutional and constititional laws, but the most powerful in the land can do anything.

We have to accept collateral damage for the greater good of our nation. Read: We can sacrifice the small fry to protect the big man, me, the one in power.What happens in state election outcomes does not apply to the national level, due to state issues.

What happens in state election outcomes will be echoed at national level elections, it is a warning sign.

Research can produce engineered outcomes, as long as we do not detail the sample size, pre-existing conditions, test limitations and who really sponsors the activity.I shall dish out my advice which is good for you, but I will not in practice follow what I say to you when I face the same situation.

To distract the masses within your own disrupted nation, make negative accusations of foreign leaders and nations in what you have already done yourself as a leader.Ensure your own top level renumeration and get rid of dispensible people who actually do the work to cut costs, as to meet the agreed indicators for getting more incentives for yourself.

Socio-political victors rewriting history, forgetting specific parties who helped them win and destroying any evidence of help from the perceived opposition.

Twisting the positive intents of people you want to destroy, while over stacking and exagerating your own postive virtues and achievements. This can include unfairly belittling people you do not like and basking in your own bizzare personal glory.

Biting the hand of the one who feeds you. Even dogs do not stoop so low, or at least those I have come across.

Not realising that it takes both hands to work in a marriage - and forgetting that magical moment when the romance started.

#yongkevthoughts

The Past Twelve Months

CHRISTMAS  2018

Reflecting beside the lapping waves of a remote bay…….

It has been a year different from others, but yet rewarding and eye opening.

I have had an opportunity, albeit unexpected, to look more into my inner self,

clear the decks of past practices, letting go of temporal distractions and

enhance my appreciation of life.

The mind and the heart synchronized better, like the stars in an alignment to

reaffirm and learn more important things.

Time is relative and the passing of time by itself, a man made concept.   I got more in tune with my biological clock.  I realized how much more our body can heal itself, how our potential is much unutilized, to avoid inflammation (in the widest meaning of the word) and to savour oxidation  ( in all implications of the word).

Some things are never done and seem repetitive in a cyclic process, but it does

add to the transformation.   Other things are done once and we move on.   Some things will never be and others yet can be “Why Not?”

To break free, I woke up to stop accumulating things that add to bother, diversion, hesitancy and clutter.   Yet I acknowledged why I had been attracted to such things.   A want or a need has to be fed, but once I cut off the want, I am liberated to do other things.

Cyberspace and physical reality merged more on all fronts  - work, business, down time and social time.   The ease with which virtual reality offers can be a two edged sword, as there is nothing more refreshing than meeting up face to face and chatting vocally.

I appreciated more the removal of clutter.   I value more the ability to be independent, to be more patient, to be cognizant of higher things.

Society, with a larger population and more demands put upon it, can have its seams breaking down in lowered standards and practice of ethics.   I watched with bewilderment the blatant disregard in how corporations mistreated customers, how individuals in business and politics just took care of the very selfish needs of themselves  - and how compliance requirements are disregarded when they should not be.

I continue to observe the greater intensity with which, in my own country, excessive drinking, drug addiction, rude driving, uncontrolled gambling with the dice and a coddled and dependent mentality can wreck havoc and malfeasance for my society and community.   I acknowledge the dangerous addiction with smart phone apps and social media.

Yet there have been magical moments of being able to catch up with friends and relatives from far and near…….London, Hong Kong, Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Auckland, George Town, Brisbane and Melbourne.   It was a wedding, it was a dinner and drinks, it was shopping, it was a home meal, it was a car ride.

I never take for granted the cool breezes coming form the ocean where I live.  I accept with a renewed gratitude that there is still a shared sense of community where I choose to reside.   I treasure the option of meeting new people.   I do not take for granted the cocoon supported by reliable friends.   I have tried new culinary dishes  - maybe more by consuming them than cooking them.  

I am more eager to try natural food to feed my body than swallow manufactured tablets and the hype of fake news nutrition.    The way that moderation has not been practiced is more observed by me, whether it is in the shopping malls, reactions of negative people, the manner some people carry on their shoulders and in my not using all of my capability and capacity.

There have been iconic moments this past year……walking along the river at Port Macquarie at dawn, spending time with beautiful souls, missing the company of significant individuals, being able to try diverse cooking and more.   Challenges have been taken by the bull’s horns, outcomes enjoyed like with a doggie on my lap and the passion not reduced for life.

Kindly yours,

Kevin Yong