'You Were There'

When you listen to it 101 times continuously, you know it struck a chord somewhere in you.
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There Is No Such Thing As 'Good Sorrow'

How many times had I picked myself up again and again after falling? I had not intended to fall on the hard pavement that many times.

Do I go blaming myself for the fall? Or do I caress my fragile self and tell it's okay. Perhaps I did neither.

Do I go blaming and cursing the world and the heaven and the universe for my ill-befallen karma? Perhaps I did.

Well - I definitely did - aplenty times. It is much easier to place the blame on the unseen, untouchable, intangible force. Let's blame God?

Nobody wants to go through tough times. There's no such thing as wanting to experience the 'hurt or pain' first before meeting happiness. No such thing as willingly accepting 'hurt and pain' as the inevitable you have to endure, each and every time before you can rise up again. No such thing as a 'good sorrow'. No such thing as a 'sorrow with a positive vibe'.

But .... there are quite a many who feels this way. Is it unfortunate? Or is it just plain dumb? Or is it that they don't know any better? What about me?

I feel - I had felt, good karma was always eluding me. Would it be too dramatic - if I use the cliche words 'I felt like I was being cursed, or in a curse' - to describe the feelings I had at that particular period of time? It engulfed me, the supposedly curse, I mean. That much suffocation I can say.

That period of time was hell. And it was a very long period of time.

I did eventually come out from the fury darkness. And will never go back again to that phase of my life. A phase where I constantly hailed the 'sorrow' as something I have to go through before calm and joy can arrive. Unwittingly, I had made it a 'good sorrow'?

Was it dumb? Well, if it was - then fortunately, I am now no longer.



image credit - marjaana pato (flickr)

The ‘Nature’ That I Need

pic - @eve

I was feeling sickly for the past couple of weeks. A migraine what won't cease, lethargy strikes, a gastric problem affecting.. overall, my health was being menaced by the imbalance of my ‘impure’ body cells. (I can't believe I'm speaking biology here). I reckon I must have over-exerted myself – mentally and physically. Maybe.

And I didn't want to go anywhere, be near anyone or be involved in anything. I wanted to be just alone. Solace was all that I seek. Times like this, there are only a handful (and will always stay this way) of people that I will permit myself to spend time with. I am not being arrogant, I am merely protecting myself - or my psyche to be more apt. Cause if you are with the wrong company when you are at your weakest or lowest self, energy being sucked out from you to/for them, is indeed hard to get back instantly, and to think that positive energy is what you need the most at that time to lift yourself up.

Going back to nature is one of the things I would normally do to feed my soul, sort of replenishing back the mental and physical, or perhaps even emotional energy. I can't say that this is what others do too to get their vitality back but this works for me.

pic - @terencetan

Forests, hills – with tall trees, gardens – with vast greens and colourful flowers , woods – with large tree trunks, seawater - with sandy beach , waterfalls, etc, anything that has elements of nature in it – feeds me and my soul. It’s hard for me to put into words. I forget everything when I'm with Mother Nature.

I can't run away from this over-worked over-concreted over-conceited over-hostile world (by the look of the ongoing racial/religion/power struggles - it’s getting to there) that we are currently living. Unless I hitch a ride with a visiting three-eye alien’s spacecraft into the infinity universe? :-)

pic - @eve

But at least, when life gets too much on me, I have a solace that I can always seek whenever I want or need, and that is to lose myself in Nature. In that, I'm grateful that there is still an escape for me to run away to.

Is There An 'Enough' ?

How much is enough in life? How much more we want for love, money, possessions, power, status until we can say its enough? Or will it ever be enough? Or is there ever an 'enough'?

Why push yourself so hard to achieve the invincible 'enough' if you yourself don't know how to measure or cap the peak of your 'enough'?!! That's how stress and tension set in to create havoc in your balance of life!

And so, to some - if you already know about it, why are you still continuing this insanity path? Why are you still having this 'woe is me' mentally? You already know the enlightened 'answer' to your woes but still choose to continue the same old insanity path!

'Take your hand off the hot kettle if you do not wish to scald your hand.'

Crossroad

Many times I have come to a crossroad. That’s when I am at a point I am not sure on the decisions that I have to make in my life. There are always the cluttered mind, uneasiness, fear, lost, helpless feeling. The fear of making a decision that later on I will regret I ever made it.

Coming to a crossroad is like having lost the intuition guide that’s always there to call upon whenever I need it. That’s when fear engulfed my conscience. And I will feel utterly hopeless.

It is quite frequent – of me meeting this crossroad, that at times, I become quite harsh on myself. Berating to my own – my little inner me, “Shouldn't this get easier to decide as you have been at this crossroad many many times before? Haven't you learn a thing or by now already?”

But often times I get ashamed, ashamed of my intellectual self when the little inner soft voice residing in me – almost like small hurt child questioning back, “How would I have known? If I have all the answers, do you think I will still let you go through this pain? It pains me more.”

At this crossroad – of the decisions I finally made, sometimes I triumphed, other times I crumbled. And when I crumbled, even with feelings of lost, hurt, dejection – I tell myself to get right back up again, always. Its is not easy to pick myself up, there are usually emotional, mental and spiritual bruises to show. But I tell myself, always tell myself – it’s okay. And that is how I always persevered, right up to this day.



Images courtesy of David Niblack

Do You See What I See ?

Do you see what I see?

I see smiles. I see laughs. I see chuckles.

I see sadness and bad days are always not permanent.

I see many had rise up from failures, stronger than before.

I see strength. I know you have it if you would just believed it.

I see faith. I choose to have faith.

I see those who are in hardships at the moment, still choose not to give up.

I still see hope. I still see light at the end of the tunnel. I still believe..

I see beauty and charm. I know it will shine out if you let it.

I see love. I still believe in love.

I still see compassion. I see that many do possess it.

I see caring. I know it’s in all of us.

I still see humanity. I believe everybody has it though it may be buried deep.

Do you?

Do you see what I see?

- eve

photo credit - www

Rejoicing at St Anne’s – Year 2013

Exactly twelve months before, I came here with a heavy heart. At that time I had almost forgotten the meaning of joy and was moping around with days spent likened to a directionless soul. It was not like a dead-end unhappiness I was feeling, but more to like outright dead flat down emotions.

St Anne's old church in Bukit Mertajam, Penang

St Anne's new church - just next to the old church

Things weren’t going as the way I had wanted during that period. And when it further involved person(s), it makes healing a little more complicated, harder and takes a longer period of time.

Mary at the grotto

Inside the new church
Here where I had placed my wishes, hopes and aspirations to Him

That time, at the church of St Anne’s and at the grotto, I was praying fervently to Mother Mary and lastly to the good Lord. Prayers which was pretty much more like telling, asking, demanding Him to take away and erase the heaviness in me. My heart.

I had hoped for an instant healing.

How silly.

Lord Jesus' grandmother ; Holy Mother Mary's mother ~ our St Anne (left)

St Anne's grotto

Now twelve months after, it’s a testament of the phrase ‘time will heal’. And it did heal. Though it took many months.

This year - I stood before the same Perpetual Mary & our good Lord again. But this time however – I was feeling blissful. I was feeling contentment. I was feeling joy. And I had not forgotten to thank the Lord for the many times He had helped to carry my cross so that my burden wouldn’t be too heavy on me.

Flower offerings and prayers at Mary's grotto

I told Him I could feel His presence all the time during my hard days. I told Him I’m grateful. I told Him I will live life better from now. I bowed and I thanked Him again.

Take It Easy

Beautiful day, people-watching, sipping flat-white, in Dome cafe

Wondrous day.

I feel relief.

Things are going quite smooth. Though the on-going insomnia still attacks.

Sometimes I feel the hard mental and physical work has finally paid off.

But at times, I feel there's still so much more I haven't done and should do.

Today is a quiet day. Pretty much laid back.

Or is it because I'm making a conscious decision not to complain about just anything?

Whatever.

I am taking it easy, just for today.

I'll make it special. Just for myself. And perhaps for anybody that will be crossing my path.

And if I could make today as special and contented as I had plan to ....

Then, perhaps, I can extend it over to tomorrow too.

*LOVE*

Peace Is All We Need & Strive For In Life

Sha and Jen were visiting from Kuala Lumpur (KL). While Sha is a frequent visitor to this retro Penang island (that I can almost crown her as a half Penangite by now), Jen had not been up here close to a decade already. And so one of the places Jen wished to visit for this trip (she wants to visit again), was the Kek-Lok-Si temple.

Clockwise from left :
The pagoda of Kek-Lok-Si ; View from inside the incline-lift looking down from top ;
The Omnipresent Bodhisatva deity statue ; Stone carved rabbit from the 12 Chinese zodiac animals

The towering 30.2m Goddess of Mercy statue

Kek-Lok-Si with its famous pagoda, temples and of course, the definite star attraction – the Goddess of Mercy bronze tall statue.

Some of the deities' statues...

'Wishing-Ribbons' - purchase a strip of ribbon, different color represents
different wishes-offerings, write a person's name on it, tied it on the wishing-tree'

I've always like to play tour guide to newbie explorers coming to this historical and cultural place of interest. Explaining the history, touring every floor leading up to the temples, going in to every memorabilia shops - in short, checking out every corner of the huge multi-tiered pagoda and clustered temples. And all these activities will usually eat up 2-3 hours if I do make the ‘tourists’ aka friends, to really explore, admire, snap photos and taking short rests in between.

The pavilion built over a man-made pond with its beautiful koi fish

The serene and well-kept lawn beside the pavilion

By then, I usually don't have the time or energy left anymore to take in the beauty and serenity of the place for myself. And I don’t go visiting on my own unless I have an unofficial ‘tour guide’ task to perform.

But, this time around, Sha was there and had been to Kek-Lok-Si a few times. She knew the way around. So she guided Jen with her. With that, I had time – actually quite much time to myself. And I took the chance to do some quiet reminiscences and retrospections while walking around.

Candles offering area, just outside the prayer hall where i was in.

I ended up strolling into one of the prayer halls located at the mid level of the temple area leading to the main pagoda. The prayer hall was empty. The monks had already finished their chanting I guess. They do that a few times a day as I understand – prayers and blessings for the devotees.

A photo file from a few years back - taken when the monks were chanting prayers
in the exact same prayer hall.

The moderate spacious hall felt quiet and remote amidst the noises, hustle and bustle of people’s interactions just outside. The visitors and tourists were all slow-walking around the hall but no one step a foot in although some did peep inside but that was all. And of course by then I realised I was the only one in there. I decided to ignore the outside distractions. So I chose a spot at a corner of the hall to sit. I sat facing the deities.

I captured this moment, from where I was sitting, at the corner

I had wanted to relax, to meditate a bit. I almost succeeded when someone, just at the exact moment, had to hit the temple’s suspended gong nearby. And the resulting gong’s sound-wave reverberated into the hall, ending in echoes. I could feel my eyes darting around the hall, up at ceiling and down to the tiled floor, resonating with the echoes. I lost focus.

Somehow I decided I didn't want to be at present with the moment anymore. So I let my thoughts fly - aimlessly. And it wandered briefly before settling on a distant memory of some 15 years ago. My heart sorrowed and I debated whether I should dig in on the memory further. I relented.

Why did the memory came back so clearly after such long years had passed? Well actually, I caught the sight of a few kneeling-stools lined in a horizontal row - right in the middle of the hall - directly facing the Gods. The stools.

It brought me back to that precise day – where he was kneeling on one of the similar stools, placing his palms together upright, head bowed with eyes closed in prayer mode.

I asked him after he had finished praying, “Why did you kneel and pray to the Gods – Chinese pagan Gods!” I wanted him to explain, also in part wanting to chastise him because he’s a Christ follower. And so am I. Only difference is, he was a born Christian, while I, a convert - from the same Chinese pagan Gods religion – the exact same one which I’m chastising him for.

He looked at me blankly. He was still in kneeling position. He stood up and said ‘‘They are all the same. When I pray, I’m not praying to the statues. I’m praying to the omnipresent force which is beyond the statues, in which the latter is only an embodiment of the force, nothing more.”

Some sense had been put in me. Somehow deep in me, I knew it was a truth, a truth I knew almost all along.  But I was still livid. Maybe my newly self-superiority ego had been put in place. And I didn’t like it, cause I was a new convert at that time. I had to ‘show’ something of myself to prove it.’

But also at the same time, came a little silent question that bugged me in my head. Had I turned into one of ‘them’? ‘Them’ - the exact kind of people, the-holier-than-thou attitude that had once repelled and deter me from converting in the first place? …….

Time must have elapsed quite much. My mind had flew too far, too deep, causing me to jolt when my phone buzzed. A message from Sha, prompting me to head to the main entrance of the main temple outside. She and Jen had finished their walkabout in the temples and pagodas and they were waiting for me.

I got up. Before I put my foot out from the hall, I turned around and looked once again to the stool and thought, I've grown so much mentally, emotionally and spiritually since. And yet I've still so much to learn.

Though my journey with EW, the very man that knelt on that stool, had far long ended. But my journey with omnipresent God is still a beautiful on-going journey. A story that has so much more still to be told.

The resident chubby cat of Kek Lok Si - staying close with its owner in one of the
memorabilia shops.

(will be continued - Snippet 2 …)

Soul Nurturing - My Top Three Songs For The Year

*LOVE*

*PEACE*

*LIGHT N BLESSINGS*