Probably My Last Post for 2005 =)

A year has almost come and gone. Don't think i'll be blogging any entry on 31st Dec, so this is likely to be my last post for the year. Haha, i'll be posting more entires for sure in the next year but for now, let's all take a break from me. (",)

Overall, 2005 had been a good year for me. Of course, no path in life is always and ever smooth. We all had our fair share of falls and hurtful moments but there were also times that left us a sense of wonder and sweetness in our hearts.

Nothing is forever - all things, good and bad, come and go. What's more important is that i had good people around me all these while! That's what makes the year good for me! =)

At the same time, I'll like to make use of this opportunity to wish all of you out there:

"Happy New Year! May you and your loved ones be blessed, well and happy always! =)"

Impermanence - A Contemporary View

Impermanence - the true nature of all conditioned phenomena lies deeply rooted as one of the core teachings in Zen. As Ven. Mahinda mentioned during one of his dhamma talks, "What is in the nature to rise, is in the nature to fall."

This line of thought sparked off when i had a cup of coffee with MM some days back. One of MM's friends mentioned something in the past that MM felt true till today. "In difficult times, ya just have to wait it out." (in comparison to the classic line by Bhante, this version have somewhat more modernised feel to it)

Within this simple sentence lies an universal truth, all phenomena, be it mental or physical, pass with time. Nothing is permanent, be it good or bad. Bad times like good times, come and go. In times of suffering, wait it out. It's not gonna last forever. That's the point this profound yet simple statement is stating.

How to wait it out then? There is no one fixed way to go about it. Some just grit their teeth and move on through sheer determination. Some choose to pick up something to do to enrich their life while distracting themselves from the suffering. Some simply sit it out. Some choose to simply let it go.

Bottomline, there's one thing in common for all these people. They chose to move on, to stop suffering. One has to start somewhere. As Buddha once said, "You are the child of your past, parent of your future, the captain of your ship."

You cannot change anything that is of the past but you can decide where to go for your next moment. The very minimum ~ you decide how you want to feel about things. That's freewill and no one can take that away from you. =)

Beware!! Cutie Bites!! =)

My bro found and brought back a cage with a dwarf campbell hamster in it two days ago. Here's a sample image from the web how it looks like ->

Found it at the void deck, saving it from a certain death ~ a street cat was prying the top of the cage in search for its next meal. Close shave for the little fella. =)

It looks fully grown to me, probably an adult ~ don't be fooled by their size. These cuties are still very tiny even upon reaching their maturity size. It's so small that a pair can sit comfortably on your palm. While you are wondering how can anyone abandon such cute fellas, i did too.

Well... i got my answers ~ it nibs (just speculating that this might be the reason why it's abandoned ~ parents dumped it since it nibs which can scare a kid esp if they are only around 2 to 3 years old)... Haha! My dad, bro and i all got nibbed by the little fella.

It's a bit aggressive for campbells. The last time i had a pair in my care, they were so docile that you can stroke them and hold them in your hands. =) Not only it's feisty, it's also ultra-active, keeps running the wheel in the middle of the nite.

Hmm... me mum doesn't like furry friends around the house, so it's up for adoption. Meantime, it will be in my family's care. Hopefully, the next owner is a responsible one. =)

Blues of A Fellow Blogger..

It's late into the nite, had a good full day earlier on. Just went to a couple of friends blog site for their recent updates. Kinda of sad to read the some of the recent blog entries (from a friend) and to find them to be full of frustrations and pain.

Seems like my friend couldn't let go of the past and resulting in the current torments. A lot of questions going through my friend's mind. Hope you'll be able to find your answers that you so badly need in order to move on. Maybe the following paragraphs can help to point you in the right directions.

Why can't we let go of the past? Bottom line, it is due to the attachment of a self ~ be it, myself, yourself, himself or herself. As long as you have an attachment to self, it is difficult to move on. With such attachments, you'll constantly replay past events, not allowing it to fade into part of your memory as it should be and the story will never unfold into a new chapter.

Why are we so attached to certain people, objects and events. Ignorance is the word. It's a huge subject and my writing skills is inadequate. So, i'll be a bit more specific for my friend's case. If we are not ignorant of the fact that there are a lot others that care for us, we'll not do things to hurt them and to harp on a certain person or event. These people (including our parents) only wish us well and hope to see us move on in life.

If you truly love these people and yourself, you'll move on and do whatever is in the best interests for them. Let me put it plainly ~ If you do not do things in their best interests, they get hurt and cos they are hurt, you'll feel bad or guilty. Both parties suffers. In that way, you do not love them and yourself since you let them and you get hurt. That's not the art of love.

Hope friend you are reading this and you get what i'm stating and you'll be able to let go both the person and the habits soon. Please be soon before any more people dear to you gets hurt.

Btw, i remembered reading this somewhere ~ "we are here to succeed in life, there's no failure". There's dual meaning and i'm sure you get the first meaning. The second ~ being born of our parents, we succeed (inherit) their love, one of the greatest in this world. If so, how can we fail when we have the greatest in life.

Amarantine by Enya

I can still clearly remember the day when i first heard Enya. It was early 1995, a chalet a couple of close friends held, during the break after our 'O' levels. How can i forget that voice of hers? It was rich and soothing beyond anything i heard in my first 16 years of life.

You can credit her for starting me on New Age music. Yet her style is unlike any others that i have heard over the years. They include some of the best composers like Nicholas Gunn, Tim Janis, Frank Steiner Jr, Loren Gold, etc..

Pick up this album, listen to it. If you've heard her works before, i'm quite sure you'll agree with me that it is just so "Enya". An excellent album by any standards. Great for listening anytime of the day. Music in one of its best forms. Favourite tracks? All of them! =)

A Good Death

Some people think that it is really morbid, inauspicious to touch on such subjects. I think otherwise. It is good if we can approach it with an open-minded attitude. Afterall, being born and conditioned, we are subjected to death and decay, an undeniable fact.

Came across a good article on it and i'll take this chance to share it with you. A Good Death

Approached on the right footing, it can help in the betterment of ourselves. Thereby, improving the quality of life with the living around you. Of course, if it is approached on the other footing, you will find it depressing ~ Why think about death when you are alive and kicking?

Yet that is precisely all the more why we should approach it. Befriend it and you find yourself constantly reminded to be more mindful of the present moment. And that is where true happiness lies in, in this very moment itself. Without being in the present moment, you will never enjoy the future since the future will one day, be your present and you have no knowledge on the art of living here and now.

Now, i thank you for being here and now with me. =)

人生無常

Occasionally, i'll visit websites of my friends, read their blog entries for their recent developments in life. Seems that one of them isn't doing so well and feeling the blues. I'll do a little reflection here and my friend, if you do read this, i hope it will provide you some comfort and that you may start off on a new journey as a better person. ~ for the rest, haha, it's no harm reading!=)

Maybe i'll start off with a quote from Thay Thich Nhat Hanh ~

"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."

I hope this quote from Thay will help to awaken the innate positive strength that is within you. Strength and answers that you need comes from within you, not outside. If you think you do not have the ability to do what's possible and need help from some external source to make your beloved happy, it's because you forgotten faith.

Here's an extract (it's some paragraphs from a book read earlier) from one of my earlier post ~ "Faith does not require a belief system, and it is not necessarily connected to a deity or God, though it doesn't deny one. This faith is not a commodity we either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

Faith is the beginning of all good things. No matter what we encounter in life, it is faith that enables us to try again, to trust again, to love again. Even in times of immense suffering , it is faith that enables us to relate to the present moment in such a way that we can go on, we can move forward, instead of becoming lost in resignation or despair. Faith links our present day experience, whether wonderful or terrible, to the underlying pulse of life itself.

A capacity for this type of faith is inherent in every human being. We might not recognise it or know how to nuture it, but we can learn to do both."
Friend, have faith! I'm sure you can uncover the answers that you need. It's all in you. =)

At the same time, i had a small talk with a couple of colleagues earlier in the day. I'm putting this down as we started with the above quote. I felt this saying by Thay is very true and down to earth. In my readings, i came across the fact that some people on their deathbed, mostly regret the last moments they have with some of their loved ones were not happy ones. Otherwise, it's the lack of quality time together, regretting not spending enough time with the people they loved.

I'm sure most of us knows all these but do we actualise it? That's the crux. Answer, usually "No". What happens? People can't let go and they suffer. So, the next question that i popped to them ~ Can you truly let go when it is time to go? Their answers, a very firm "Yes". This part sank my heart - self-delusion seems to be strong with them. It is good they felt confident to do so but the important word here is "truly".

There are people who practised the art of letting go in their whole lifetime and still failed the test when the time comes. What makes it possible for these colleagues of mine to pass the test without practising? I'm not saying that it is impossible but liken to any student taking their exams ~ what are the rates of a student passing without studying? You and i know, it's one in a million.

I'm still practising.=) What about you?