Will It Still Matter?

Will it matter, after all is said and done? The hydrangea shrub has its leaves and stems roasted after three days of extraordinary temperatures in summer. I cut the damaged parts off and await new growth. There are moments when one does not feel like having a full meal. This is an opportunity to fast and do other things away from the kitchen. There are also occasions when our appetite is spiking up so well, that we eat more than usual. We have found the optimal time to treat our culinary desires, so why not? We may not have all the ingredients on hand when cooking, so we improvise with substitutes and experiment with other techniques. We may create a new recipe, or we make do with whatever on hand to use up what is available right now. What does it matter, when we open our mindset and just move on? When our known and usual routes we take are blocked or hindered, we can go on the path less trodden. When we have unexpected spare time, we can dabble in something our inner longings have pondered upon. When wifi supply breaks down, we can read a book instead of device screens. We can walk when the car is not available. We can consciously choose to have fresh produce instead of manufactured and processed packaged food. We can opt for not following the masses and not worry about missing out on what a herd mentality demands. What matters at a single point of time can differ in various individuals, but when we take a longer view over time, a lot of things truly do not matter. At the end of the day, many things are forgotten, the heat of opinions dissipitated, the relevance of matters no longer there. This is especially for transactional matters in micro politics, social interactions and irritating inconveniences. Like delays at airports, machine breakdowns and on the road. When touchy episodes involve religions, there is a different kettle of fish. Things that then matter can fester in individuals because of long held beliefs, so called education and hardened attitudes. While one realises that some matters do not matter due to the grace of time and distance, such matters dissolve into less and zilch importance. When and where it still matters, the human pysche and wiring makes us do something about it - challenge, flee or accept. #yongkevthoughts

Assuredly Reliable

is the embrace of family. Perhaps it is stirring competition. Sometimes it feels like the fear of missing out. Or is it the special someone who always stirs our hearts and constantly nurtures our inner joy. Can it be having a passion and interest? Having a good social network makes us enjoy each day. Is it having a purposeful preoccupation each new day? Or coming across an unexpected, delightful encounter? Or returning to embrace Nature, soaking and swimming in the ocean and feeling the fresh vibes of the outdoors? Things, experiences and opinions can be fleeting. The human condition can be to grasp the ever changing, especially of matters inherently external to our inner selves. Human societies create wealth no longer from just tangible stuff, but make financial gains and create floating values out of churning, differences and speculaton. We no longer in contemporary society can interact in life's routine with the same human being at the shop, clinic, service provider and so forth. Constancy, familiarity and comfort can take a plunge as to whom we can rely. What we can really depend upon are all found within ourselves. Our own integrity, values, character and personality. Our realisation of our core strengths and to think for ourselves despite accelerating changes outside us. Our ability built up to recognise diversions and distractions in our personal journey. Our effort to step back and see what really is meaningful in the long term. #yongkevthoughts

At the Cinemaplex

I have not been to cinemaplexes for a long time. From being devoted to super embracing screens, some of us have instead moved on to watch videos on smaller screens, trying to multi task while doing something else - taking long commutes, while having a meal or when waiting for something. There can be no focus on just savouring a movie, with nothing else to distract us, except maybe for the crackle of popcorn and the hum of airconditioning in a large darkened hall. There were the years when audiences could sit through a few hours of a movie that knew how to combine music, artistry, emotion, expression, sensibilities and audio - all to stir our thoughts, enjoyment, speculation, amazement and questions in the way characters, storyline and inspiration were portrayed. Being able to stop a playing movie somewhere in between can be convenient, but does not provide the completeness watching it all in one sitting. Strangers, spouses, partners and friends watching together at one same venue gave a shared collective experience. Very few now bother with looking at the rather useful trove of information in rolling credits. Data about a particular movie and cast can be checked on the internet. Spectacular and well made movies were scheduled during festive seasons, school holidays and community events - but they still are.

Personal Boundaries

The Obvious Cannot be Hidden by the Silence, the Silence Cannot be Hidden by the Obvious. Every detail, every sweep and every nook are so clearly revealed when the tide goes down. When you always take, you get some - give and you receive much more. That is the Law of the Universe. When greed permeates a human being, every new comfort is never enough - and that person is trapped in a spiral of attachment. It is not worth an iota to waste energy on a person who cannot rise beyond the fog embedded hopelessly inside. There are individuals who can see when injustice is inflicted on them - but not when they carry out the act of injustice on to others ( or they pretend about it). Those who can sleep soundly after stepping on you deserve to be ignored. Step back from the noise, hype and distraction. The world will carry on no matter what - but honestly, are you going to remain silent in the face of obvious incivility? What you do not practice can be lost forever. Time is not like money. There is no return on more time stowed away, it simply passes and that time is literally lost. So value your own time and the people who give up on their time for you. One can be polite, but not at the expense of our integrity. #yongkevthoughts

Apparently Weird

 The Seemingly Weird Things I Observe

Individuals with agitated facial expressions talking loud to themselves in public - as they cleverly hide their ear pods, they are really chatting loud on their mobile phones.

High tech wifi service that breaks down more often than landline telephones from 40 years ago.

So called annual flora breeds that go umderground each cold season and rise again in the warm season.

Prices of shares and other investments which cause a media uproar with a violent rise or fall but really keep on growing in value over the long term.

People who remarkably recall what I uttered many years ago, but in a good way.

To be in the right place at the right moment - and catch up with someone truly missed.

To hear or witness governments or authorities express regret over unresolved matters when any one could already see the proverbial train wreck coming.

To see the delusion of addiction of several things in society being encouraged in media - and to continue to see the spiral such addicts find themselves in without care by society.

To observe the over the top obsession with weather forecasts in some cultures.

To not realise the best things in life are already right infront of us every day.

To not be mindful that when an aircraft crashes, it does not matter which class of seating one is in.

Individuals who emphatically must use a particular seat on public transport.

#yongkevthoughts