Nothing Matters, Life Goes On

It takes a lot of courage and determination to stand on your own.

You have to do a lot of thinking.

You have to control your many feelings.

And you have to do many things... on your own.

Some move to the far ends of the earth to become recluse with strangers.

Some find temporary shelter to avoid the prying eyes of others.

But escapism is never a good thing.

Some dare themselves to stand up and withstand pressure and heat in the work of everyday life.... But it is never easy....

But as experiences accumulate and with time, you become used to the water, and you will get use to them.

It just needs a little time and patience....

And with time... and practices... some self-motivation and social action....

It becomes a daily routine.... nothing more.

It is just the usual everyday life.... nothing more....

As the wave approaches the beach, as the wind rustles the trees, as the cicadas, the bullfrogs..... break the silence of a dark night... So is life....

Nothing seems to disturb the inner joy and love... peace and tranquility, and the thought of being alive....

It is all there... and still there... all the while.

And no one will be able to take them away.... or snatch them away.... from you.

The peace that you enjoy with your God....

The peace that you enjoy with the nature....

The peace that you enjoy with your surrounding and people....

They are beautiful, ready and welcoming...

And the satisfying long breaths... with the vitality of the whole self.... all seem so wonderful.... when we are immersed in the consoling vastness of the universe....

Just see and behold....

Just touch and feel...

Just hear and listen....

Just taste and sense....

.... And your peace, your joy, your hope, your love...... will once again return to you....

Just like the metal springy, so flexible and so well adapted to everything....

And so we move and have our being, adapting to every change, while continue to keep our own.......

Nothing matters, so long as you continue to be a man of commitment, dedication, resolution and integrity....

Nothing matters, life goes on.......

Yah! Time To Go Home!

It was late afternoon.

The construction workers had stopped working....

They had packed their bags with their tools and equipments....

They had bought provisions for the family....

And the various gifts and requests....

"It is time to go home." They slowly told themselves.

Dragging their tired body, they approached their age-old motorbike....

Starting the engine, sometimes waiting for a friend as pillion rider....

Blowing the engine, they went slowly and carefully on their way home....

*******

Then came a raging thunderstorm.

The rain was pouring cats and dogs.

The lightning flashed incessantly and the thunder cracked and rumbled very loudly and continuously.

They had to stop and looked for shelter....

Then they sat, crouched, squatted, stood... in bus station or outside a building, shivering cold, waiting for the rain to stop.

*******

Some were puffing sticks of cigarettes.

They were seen chattering away with many stories and tales....

Then they smiled away and laughed aloud.

Some stayed in a corner, staring at the dark sky and stormy clouds.... sometimes talking to themselves, mumbling, grumbling, singing, praying (I presumed)....

Then I noticed some older folks looking very worried, frustrated, anxious, angry and sad....

It could be because of some celebrations in the family or village....

It could be because of the children waiting for their birthday cake, their gifts and requests....

It could be because of the worrying look on the wife's face who was deeply concerned about them....

Then they sighed.... and sighed.... Shaking their heads.

*******

It is a long journey from village to town / city.

Rain or shine, there will always be that few hours trip to travel.

They have to leave the wife and children when they are sound asleep....

They have to leave the village when it is still dark, cold and quiet....

And when they come home....

The wife and children will be waiting....

And the village is again dark, cold and quiet....

*******

Then with the economic crisis....

With the heavier workload....

The meager pay....

The poor and risky working conditions....

Then the price hikes on goods....

The higher cost of living....

And... the heavy rains and thunderstorms....

The many flood and landslides....

Oh! Millions of headaches and heartaches....

Everything seemed to crack their minds and break their wills....

"Everything will be alright....."

They silently told themselves....

And smiled ruefully....

A hard and harsh life was evident on their weathered faces and soiled garments....

*******

The rain finally stopped.

The wind stilled.

No more lightning flashes and thunderbolts.

It was very dark and cold....

But the heart was warm with excitement and anticipation....

Yah! It's time to go home!

Building Up Ourselves

Building up Lego blocks to match each frame seems easy to many of us. But to children, it requires patience and skill, and a wide range of learning processes.

When it comes to building up relationships, many of us have a hard time getting ourselves into the game compare to youngsters and teenagers or compare to the time when we are younger.

In fact, building up wisdom and knowledge among those with unpolluted mind, unselfish heart, and supportive will is always easier and better than teaching those having a certain mindset, a rebellious heart and a stubborn will.

When we are building up Lego blocks, we can always dismantle everything and start all over again.

But when we start building up our career, our relationship, our family, our life....., we can't.

We can only mend our way, correct and improve ourselves...

But we can never restart or start all over again....

Instead, our every decision or action continues to leave behind feelings of regrets, disappointments, guilt, fear, indecision, and .... to ourselves and others.

Sometimes I wonder whether this is the main reason why we hesitate and avoid to accept more people as friends or partners....

Oh! How careful and sensitive we must be when building up ourselves.... and others....

Break Away

Walking through a new city or township, a new neighborhood or community, a new mall, store or building....., everything everywhere looks so strange and unfamiliar.

Some of us like and love these wonderful and refreshing experiences!

And we look forward to them with yearning love and desire, with sparkling eyes and hearty smiles....

For a change, we can escape from the boring routine or the long hours of working and doing the same thing day after day.... that is slowly draining and killing us.

And we feel relief and release as we step into a whole new world, seeing new things, and doing a whole new thing in a whole new way.

And the usual greetings and salutations, the cordial or grave handshakings, the monotonous and boring exchange of words, smiles and laughter, the small and petty talks, comments and criticisms.... have all disappeared and gone.

Ho ho ho...

We can now have the time, the money, the energy, the peace, the joy, the fun .... to ourselves to immerse in our dreamland and enjoy all we aspire, desire and admire, without any restraints, regards and rules, and away from the prying eyes and ears of others....

It is wonderfully nice to break away and enjoy a well-deserved rest or vacation, and go to a whole new place to enjoy a whole new life.

Oh! what a break away.... and relax

Free like a bird in the air, having got rid of the chains....

Oh! Break Away....

If I Had Been More Friendly....

I was watching my friend as he enjoyed puffing and blowing a stick of cigarette.

I observed him a few times as he took deep and long drags on his cigarette and expelled the smoke slowly, with style....

He looked blankly, and he was quiet and in deep thought; his mind might have wandered millions of miles away.

He had aged fast with white patches of short hairs.

And he looked dejected and rather tired.

He was more sad and blue than before....

I wondered whether he still spent many late nights over games of mahjong.

I used to mix around with him and his family in the past.

His wife was from Taiwan and to my knowledge all his children had grown up by now....

I looked at him again....

He was holding a cup of hot brewed coffee to his lips.

I could smell the nice aroma coming from my big mug of hot brewed coffee that was in my grip.

The fragrant and rich smell of coffee had really woken me up from my sleep and slumber.

I was once again ready to write my blog.

And he was ready to run his motorbike repair shop....

Then he turned around and looked at me.

We greeted one another, started some small talks, and smiled and laughed....

My coffee tasted really nice this morning after taking a big bowl of hot dried kuey teow.

And my friend had taken a plate of "long life mee" fried with cangkuk manis (a dark green leafy vegetable that tastes sweet and usually is fried with egg)....

It's amazing how life has challenged and changed all of us, making us what we are today....

But the passing encounters and the fleeting moments that we have with our family, relatives, neighbors, friends and colleagues, make us find great values, meanings, yearnings, joy and satisfaction in our lives and our love and care for one another....

If I had been more friendly....