Solar Eclipse

A full solar eclipse occurred less than 24 hrs ago in some of the most populated places on Earth and for many, it was once in a lifetime event. Prior to the occurrence, much media attention has been given to this rare natural phenomenon as it will be the longest full eclipse of the century lasting a full 6 mins, providing lots of hype and excitement in anticipation of its coming.

Although it was a rare event, an event that allows the scientists to better study the outer rims of the Sun but there were even more happenings beyond the walls of the scientific world. Speculations from astrologers and fortune tellers predicting disasters and calamities, common folk readying themselves to perform rituals necessary to ward off evil or enhance the good fortune that can be brought about by this natural event. All these brought about with the sole reason that people are ignorant. Ignorance gave rise to the fears and these fears were being played upon.

Sad enough to say, disaster did strike during the eclipse. At least an Indian woman has been reported to have died during the stampede with several others left injured when thousands rushed to witness the phenomenon on the banks of River Ganges.

This is where i found it somewhat saddening. People reading so much into a natural phenomenon, so much to the extend that they are reading signs that are non-existing, building fears where there should be none and placing false hopes where it should not be. They have placed too much importance to something material and transient and in the process forgetten about their own internal cultivation.

I was somewhat reminded of a little story that i read some years back. A teacher asked the class of students, "Children, can you name me the 7 wonders of the world?" One child stood up and said, " They are Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Colosseum, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra, Taj Mahal and Giza Pyramid Complex." "Very well done" the teacher replied. A little girl stood up and said, "Sir but aren't the 7 wonders the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to touch, to taste, to smell and to breathe?"

Sometimes in the midst of so much excitement, we forget that the most wondrous phenomenon is the ability to live and breathe in the present moment and cherish all the real gifts we are bestowed with. So my dear friends, let us take a deep breathe right now, let go of everything and just relish in this intake of fresh air, to enjoy this present living moment. =)

Tune In to Recovery

Caught a bad cold couple of days back and was sneezing and coughing quite a bit, accompanied with a blocked nose (ears are blocked too). Not to mention that it came with lots of aches all over the body and that sudden hot/cold feelings.

During these times, most of us will feel lousy and probably not in a mood for anything at all, much less a chat with a total stranger. It was the cab uncle that drove me home after knocking off at ard 2 in the morning. He needed a chat and so when we reached my destination, he pulled over, turned around and talked to me for a bit. We had a quick chat for abt 20 mins and he was mostly expressing his views about how humans are destroying the natural order of earth and some stuff about his daughter, how unsensitive she is and also how nowadays youngsters do not know how to respect the elders and also an incident how he managed to point a young chap in the right direction.

As you can see it was mostly a listening session with minimum input from me. And just before i got off, i mentioned to the uncle that we need not have such a negative outlook to life and we ought to (if possible) see all these situations as trainings, to train ourselves to be a better person esp if we truly feel that the things around us are not that well. Afterall, all changes starts from within and the smallest change may someday amount to a big change given the right conditions. The mind can only be well if we keep infusing it will loving kindness, keeping it calm and joyful. Hearing this, he smiled a little and said yes, just like trees, if you water it and take good care of it, only then it will grow green and healthy. Hearing that and seeing uncle smiled, i smiled back feeling happier, said my byes and got off.

Since feeling happy is a good factor when it comes to recovering from any illness, i'm sure i was more tuned in to recovery than i was before i took the cab. For all my friends who are not feeling well right now, let's tune in to recovery together.

Macau & HongKong Aug'08

Some photographs to share from the short trip to Macau and HongKong last year in Aug'08. Not much keepers and did not really have the time to do the selection and the necessary post processing until the last 2 weeks. A little different this time round is that i experimented a little with the colours =)