Hi guys, just got back from a week of travelling in Perth and i'll be writing a few blog entries on the days i spent there. So here's the entry for first day that i spent there. Er, if you are looking for photos, i'm afraid you'll have to wait awhile till i processed them.
Before going any further, i like to give thanks to the people who made my stay there as wonderful as it can be. First on the list - Dy, for sharing whatever space he had with me, allowing me to save quite a fair bit on accomodations. Not only that, also for easing some of my transportation needs as well. =) Secondly to Dy's housemates and neighbours - Ga, Ri, Se, Ja, Fe, An. Really warm people with lots of laughters and joy. =)
Took a early 9 a.m. flight to Perth and on board the plane, had a good chat with an Aussie guy, presumably in his fifites, seated right next to me. Poor bloke was on his way back home from london and this was his transit flight back. Says he couldn't get to sleep on flight, so hadn't any rest the last 24 hours. Made worse by the fact that the inflight system was cranky on the plane before this, kept restarting. Decided to give up the entertainment. Whew... 13 hrs without inflight...
Landed very much on time but the customs took quite a while to clear though. It's really due to their strict quarantine measures but the officers did their best to ease the traffic and speed up the process. Cleared everything in less than an hour and was greeted by Dy rite at the gates. Not only that, i was greeted by lots of flies as well. It's a common thing in late spring and summer. Haha, they are pratically harmless, just that they keep buzzing around you.
Had my first meal in Perth and it's drive thru at Chicken Treat (a fast food restuarant). It's somewhat like KFC. By the way, they do have KFC there but according to Dy, it tastes sort of funny unlike the ones we enjoy back home. See that time was early after the snack we had, we headed down to Mill Point (which is along Swan River) for a skate. Hey guys, just to let you know - Perth's no place to skate and you got to really appreciate East Coast Park. The tracks at ECP's so much smoother.
Later in the nite, we headed to a chinese resturant in "Chinatown" for dinner and to celebrate Se's birthday as well. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
PS. Guys, I'll send you a disc with the rest of the photos i taken once i'm completely done processing them.
That's day one! =)
Who's Erinne? She's a lovely little 4 year old girl that used to run excitedly around me and shout, "Gan Die (Godpa)! Gan Die (Godpa)!" at the top of her voice. Like any other kids, a pure source of joy to the adults that she surrounds. =)
Like a little lotus that has started to bloom, her actions used to unfold with lots of love and with the purest intention. Such pureness that she used to look right into my eyes and say, "Gan Die, i like you very much!" and hearing that, my face of course, will beam with joy. Not only that, she used to giggle and laugh a lot with everyone around.
All these started to change about 2, 3 months back. She became easily irritable, frustrated. She started to say unkind words and insisted on doing things that will irritate people around her and she really surprised me today. She did not look directly at me and she kept saying how angry is she with her home, the people at home and even now, how angry she is with everything that is happening at this very moment. It saddens me to see how such a wonderful girl like her can be so wrapped up with anger.
I recalled having a conversation with my buddy WC about some of his worries once his son is born. It seems that his worries were not unfounded and it is unfolding right before him bit by bit everday. You see, Erinne is used to having all the attention from her parents and grandparents since she was the only grandchild of the family back then. Now that her newborn brother has come into this world, she no longer commands the full attention of the family. It is little wonder that she will feel insecure and fearful that she is no longer loved.
I hope one day, the dear little girl will realise her brother is not here to snatch her parents' love away but is here to share the joy of life with her. All i can do now is to remind my buddy to be more endearing to her. To find within himself a greater inner strength to show more patience and understanding in times like this. Hopefully this will help to water the seeds of goodness in her and she will grow out of all these negative thoughts soon.
This little act happened last week and i've been meaning to put it down in words but didn't manage to do so till now.
Let me do so now and we can all share that in the merits and joys that this act of kindness has brought about. If you know me well enough, you will know that it is in these little acts and things that i find most joy and happiness in. If not, now you know. =)
MM and i hopped on the bus at the interchange after having a game of pool last week. Think it was around 11 or so in the nite. It was relatively empty at the time of boarding but two stops later and to our surprise, there was a sudden surge of crowd.
Amongst the crowd, there were 3 elders in their seventies and MM, being the lovely soul, gave up her seat for them. Oh my, how that soul shone at that moment! People may brush such little acts off but i believe that these are some of the most precious moments of life and it really is.
This may be the first time i'm putting it down in words but my dear friends, there are some of you whom have done such kind acts and i told you that how you shine in my heart. Even though there may not be anyone to tell you how much your kindness mean to them at this moment now, please do keep shining and may all blessings be with you!
Company held a lunch at Pan Pacific today to celebrate the bagging of award "Best Reinsurer of The Year" in Asia. As we have two full time vegetarian in the company, i decided to have vegetarian for lunch as well.
Not surprising, some colleagues asked if i've turned vegetarian? I replied them that i'm not a full time vegetarian but i take vegetarian food whenever it is convenient and of course, i do encourage people to take as many vegetarian meals as possible.
This leads to one of my colleagues saying that eating mock meat defeats the purpose of vegetarian, might as well not turn vegetarian. I'm quite sadden upon hearing such comments from him especially from one so well travelled and who's already in his fifties.
We can only make such comments when we are ignorant about some of the main reasons why people turn vegetarian. So, let me just explain some of the reasons and you might have a better insight to why it is better to take mock meat than real meat.
One of the foremost reasons why some people turn vegetarian is to promote non-violence towards other living beings and to cultivate a compassionate heart which is essential to those on the path of bodhisattva's teachings.
Of course, it will be better if one can even give up mock meat as it will mean that the person had truly eradiacted any form of desire for meat eating. If the person has yet to eradicate such cravings but wish to stop the suffering of other beings, saying such comments will only greatly undermine the person's effort to develop a loving heart for others that share this planet with us.
One of the other reason why people turn vegetarian is for good health. Studies have shown that people who are on a vegetarian diet are less likely to have cancer since vegetables and fruits tend to have anti-cancer agents. For more info, please refer to the
http://www.vegetarian-society.org/revamp/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=FAQ&file=index&myfaq=yes&id_cat=1
"If we really understood and remembered that life was impermanent, we would do everything we could to make the other person happy right here and right now. If we spend twenty-four hours being angry at our beloved, it is because we are ignorant of impermanence"
"Whatever you do or say in a state of anger will only cause more damage in the relationship. Instead, try not to do anything or say anything when you are angry." ~ Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
How often have we cause hurt to another person by saying something unkind in a fit of the moment? It may not be a lot of times but i'm sure most of them could have been avoided if we reflect upon our words before it comes out from our mouths.
Reflection before speaking may not come easy but it is just like learning to walk all over again. When we took our first steps, we fumble and we had to concentrate very hard just to walk. Once we are okay with it, we don't fumble easily though we still need to concentrate. Once we are good at it, we don't even have to think too much about walking itself and we can start to notice all the wonderful things that surround us.
Thus, it is the same for mindful speech. We need to put in tremendous effort first and as things fall into place, it will become second-nature to us, just like walking. Wonderful things will then start to appear in front of us. :)
I'm still learning, what about you? =)
