Despite Ourselves

I hope that you, the reader, shall be inspired to go forward feeling positively inspired and be encouraged to take positive steps to further realise your own personal dreams and ideals. It may be a gradual step as to stop procrastination and deal with a problem in small but effective steps to resolution; or you may decide to visit a place that you have always hoped for; or it may instinctively point you to view matters from a different but helpful perspective.

I believe every human being we interact with – either as a person or as a group – affects us in various ways, but I believe in learning the best from every encounter. Sometimes negativity can overwhelm us, but if we snap out of it and realise the good that comes from the bad, the hope from the disappointment, and the calm after the storm, then every experience is offered to us to help us clarify our thoughts, sharpen our attitudes and move our hearts and minds to more liberating dimensions.

Each of us has different needs and expectations, but I hope you conserve and expend your energy on expanding and living your potential, and we have different drivers at various stages of life. Try to always move out of your comfort zone to feel the adrenalin of new experiences and tamper unknown or uncomfortable situations with a dose of humour and sharing.

Delightfully surprise friends when least expected. I appreciate friends who do not assume or presume, but communicate and keep in touch. You have the power to transform a difficult situation to an easier one. The love you offer a special someone may not be returned, but do not despair that the good feelings you have in love are wasted – your magical power of care can be channelled to those who appreciate it, even if in another form. When the love you have for the object of your admiration returns you the favour, then you are extra blessed.

Give to others when you can, for not sharing them with another human being is wasting what has been given to you. You decide to be happy, and continue to be happy. I believe in the law of karma – if others trample me now, they are generating the cycle for themselves to be trampled, but maybe later. Life is not meant to be made use by others in an inconsiderate way, and such relationships wither away, for the good of both parties. On the other hand, each of us is thought about dearly by at least some one every night, even if we ourselves do not know about it.

I go out at night to look at the stars on a clear night sky. I try to do something different each day – and also tackle that irritating task that does not inspire but has to be done. I am especially thankful for politeness from strangers and friendliness from persons whom we may never see again. I cherish special moments true friends have provided me. Memories are like moonbeams into our inner soul and help us face the future. The most comforting friendships are those that can be picked up quickly, even with obstacles of lost time, distance and circumstance, and those that continue despite drama and challenges. Make the best of any weather – and do enjoy the cosiness of listening to dripping rain outside the window. Focus on what nurtures and motivates, rather than on what hinders and complicates – and let go of the latter, despite apparent requirements, our initial feelings and ourselves.

Where Can I Go

What did I do, what did I not
The scenery that envelopes me is beautiful
But some things do not turn out as I hoped and thought
from relying on surface impressions given by a surprising few

What I should let go, what I cannot
Even in the face of the obvious renewed
You can put your hand and heart to share the lot
It still does not mean there are no more stitches to sew

Where can I go, where I do not want to
When faced with passing ships, day or night
I am torn between wanting to come and go
But I know it's best to detach, to be able to see the light

Where can I float,where can I cling to hope
I look into my inner self, I look into my true friends
It then dawns on me these have always given me a rope
To scramble upon, to realise dreams and to say I can

Numbers

Numbers were conceptualised to help mankind grasp more effectively with time, distance and the relationships inherent in Nature. This year we have 777 to fascinate us - and for business, philosophers, numerologists and the media to speculate and rave about. The series of sevens refer to the 7th of July, when my dear friend Eu Hock from school days reaches a landmark birthday as well. The new Modern Seven Wonders of the World are, as this is posted, due to be announced.

Next year the magical number eight grabs its hold on East Asian populations, with their obsession with that specific digit, that rhymes with the pronunciation for the word for prosperity. The Beijing Summer Olympics shall be launched at 8pm eastern China time on the eighth night of August of 2008. The most recent time when 8 figured fascinatingly in the calender was in 1988, which coincided with the Oriental Year of the Dragon, and when the last Olympics were also held in Asia.

Next year proves to be a bountiful year for eight combinations, whatever you make of it. Hold parties or have vehicle rego plates with 118, 228, 338, 668, 888, 998, 11118 and 128.

Along The Way

Grapefruit,they must be that, all of them fat, with rounded plum bottoms and the unmistakable green colour that should then yellow, if left uneaten for too long.
We had momentarily disembarked at a convenience stop along the highway, and other coaches also disgorged their passengers to use toilets and visit fruit stalls. The majority of the vendors were brown-skinned, but the sellers of the supposedly grapefruit outlet were fairer, and elderly, older than the others.

Passing rain showers broke the monotony of the ride from a capital city to this tropical island enclave that we were heading to. The experience was not unpleasant, starting right after lunch hour and we expected to have a seafood dinner under palm trees with our toes massaging into warm sand. It was humid outside, but not in the cocooned comfort of air-conditioning inside.

The only irritating thing was a loud woman mouthing a variety of languages on to her hand phone, English included. From what was forced for the others to hear, we reckoned that she was moving to either Melbourne or Perth later in the year, although right now this was no where near those cities. Her voice competed with the audio from a movie playing on a screen near the coach driver.

Palm trees gave way to rubber plantations. The flat alluvial plains on both sides soon changed to a climb up through a mountainous area, thick with equatorial forests. Is it true that life happens while we are waiting for someone or something better? Is life going on when travelling on a coach in a foreign land? Is time better spent eating and dancing with family and friends, or being submerged in some personally obsessive cultural pursuit? Another afternoon passes, and soon we saw the setting sun behind the hills of the isle we were travelling to.

The Lure

The vongole had dark blue-black shells, that opened up like gaping mouths. as they cooked in the braised concoction. I rarely have had crispy potato cubes mixed with marinara portions of such mussels, flavourful limbs of crab, tomato gravy and garlic marination, but there they were - reminding me of the penchant for small potatoes cooked in South Indian chicken curry.

Here I was on a mid-week night, along Victoria Road in Drummoyne, a convenient fifteen minutes drive away from Sydney CBD's George Street, dining with good friends on a rather balmy night in a so-called August winter. The question was then raised: do I plan to come back to commercial life in the Big Smoke?

Yes, Sydney is getting crowded, more expensive and impersonal. Young families are relocating away to other parts of Australia; established families are finding the cost of living going up while the paper value of their assets are doing likewise; the changing ethnic character of whole neighbourhoods is transforming the greater Sydney area into more of pockets of the diverse world in greater intensity than what Dubai's isles of The World can lay claim to; and just going to work is becoming a more challenging ritual of patience and rising costs.

At the same time, the lure of bigger market potential, more attractive salary packages and higher prospects of making a big gain within a shorter time combine to dazzle and captivate new entrants rushing in as fast as others flee outwards. Maybe these new adventurers coming into Sydney do not plan to stay forever. Some do, perhaps seduced by its lifestyle after hours, the variety of cuisines and cultural events available and perhaps just by the sheer dynamism of possibilities. Westfield plans to refurbish the shopping experience along Pitt Street Mall. CBD residents throng the pavements at night with as much gusto as train commuters walk with purposeful gaits in their hurry to their office blocks in the early mornings.

I always wonder what in the world are business-jacketed males doing at 10pm on week nights in bus stops in Sydney's night spots? Don't they go home and change before coming down for the city centre's night life? It is a definitely long day and evening for such creatures from the suburbs. If they go home, they do go home and stay put, not coming back again to the CBD. So I reckon if they have after-work functions and events, they try to catch the last bus or train of the night, and then spring back in time to ride on the first scheduled public transport the next day back to the city centre. That sounds to me like literally burning the candle at both ends.

The wiser ones, usually younger and with less family commitments, stay as near as possible to their place of work. A whole demographic sub-culture has been built around such denizens, usually featuring essential things like gym, power breakfasts, iPods, laptops, smart dressing, job hopping, weekend getaways, cafes, alternative choices and periodic visits back to the parents. For some of this sub-set, it is just a training ground and prelude to the same lifestyle they relish when they move to London, New York, Shanghai or Singapore.

So it was not easy to respond to the question posed earlier- it's a mixed bag. My mind may be open, half-mouth gaping at the quicker pace of possibilities, but also with my feet grounded in the harsh realities of having to commute in the winter connumdrum of experiencing going to work and coming home both under the mooonlight.

It can be akin to having potatoes in the same dish with whole crabs. Whether the results are delicious or not, it's up to how each of us takes this dichotomy, and whether we already have a better lifestyle to begin with.