A beautiful world

This post is dedicated to Ming Guang, for he understood.

I had my Bahasa Indonesia oral examination today. The sky is dark, gloomy and heavy with moist. Occasional thunderclaps nagged at my subconscious mind, bringing my attention to the impending rain or rather, my impending gloomy mood. However, taking a deep breath of the heavy air, there is a certain peace within me. I relax.

This brings to mind a story I cannot remember who wrote, nor the exact storyline. Nevertheless, I try:
There was an Art painting competition themed "Peace". While most other paintings depicted scenes of nature, greenery and calm rivers, one painting depicted an aeroplane in a thunderstorm. Through a window, a baby sleeps peacefully in its mother's arms.

I take a deep breath again. This is a beautiful world. It is amazing and wonderful. It is powerful. It is artificial.

I write about relationships today, having witnessed another incident where previous friends have split into rival cliques.

I do my best to connect at a simple level, with anyone at all. Simple yet daunting. This simple connection is best illustrated by two best of friends isolated from the rest of society. They will interact mutually without regard for each other's flaws, instead choosing to laugh it away. Person to person; man to man; human to human.

However, Life is never that simple. Consider two groups, each with their own opposing identities created by the group members, themselves. Two individuals, each from the opposing group may have a mutual liking for each other. However, the adherence to the identities creates a strain within these two individuals. Drained of energy, a side is taken, influenced by the identities. Identities are brought to life, not unlike a Man and his thoughts.

The gap between the rich and the poor is widening. I wonder if the day may come when the divide is so great to the extent that the poor refuses money and returns to barter trading. Keeping the scenario simple, a new currency may be created for the poor, by the poor. Money, this inanimate object holds value because it is valued. It is created by Man, and controls Man. Money and Economics are brought to life, not unlike a Man and his thoughts.

A new statute is written by Man, after a man is trialed, having committed an offence unprecedented. Future offenders of the same offence are trialed under the statute. Law is written by Man to control Man. Law is alive.

Bureaucratic redtapes are written by Man to enforce a certain order or efficiency, and tell Man his course of actions. Redtapes is alive.

Political ideology is created by Man. In turn, the ideology tells Man his course of action. Politics is alive.

My dear readers, these powerful "beings" are "real". To challenge them head-on proves impossible. However, they cease to exist when their presence are disregarded. It is a pity when simple and true relationships are destroyed, or prevented from forming, due to barriers created by unnecessary identities.

I take a final deep breath. The only things real are the air I breathe in and the cool breeze on my face; so are my simple connections with my friends and acquaintances.

You create your destiny

This post is dedicated to Wanzi, Terry and Alvin.

I had a wonderful Standard Dance partnership with Wanzi. It was perfect. This post traces events backwards to recall how we became partners. I have to do this because I do not understand why most other events in my Life do not turn out as great. More importantly, I am that close to taking this relationship for granted since I cannot even recall how we became partners. Thank you Wanzi :)

It was about 10 months back when I took my first Standard dance class, the Foxtrot. The first lesson was miserable. I was alone and had to borrow someone else's fixed partner. It was extremely awkward. Soon, I found myself a partner for the second and third lesson, after which, due to other commitments she could not continue lessons with me.

I was desperate as I wanted to continue with Foxtrot. Therefore, on the day before the fourth lesson, I literally scampered around the Business canteen for a good 15 minutes looking for Fel, whom I thought might be interested. Running into Ed, he told me I needed to ask Fel's boyfriend. "Heck," I thought, "nothing's going to stop me from getting myself a partner and I am going to at least ask Fel."

And then, I ran into Wanzi.

Just like that.

Two Saturdays back, during lunch, Alvin asked me whether Man can control his destiny, or can't. My answer to him is an affirmative. It is clearly demonstrated by my partnership with Wanzi. I did not merely partner someone. I partnered a dancer who had a background in ballet, who is already highly commended by our Latin dance instructors, and who subsequently is highly commended by our Standard dance instructors.

For the majority, Life is a statistics as it is. Holding a passive role in society, most are controlled by it. How many times have we heard phrases such as "Life's just like that" or "Life sucks"? (By the way, my dear readers, unless your conscious attention has been brought to this problem, your mind is socially constructed by society to think in this manner. Time to start thinking otherwise.)

Here's another incident:

I was rushing off to class one day when I ran into Terry. He is a stranger except that I recognised him from my "Childhood and Youth" tutorial. Thinking that he probably recognised me as well, I decided to greet him with a smile. The smile was reciprocated.

In lecture today, we finally introduced ourselves proper and I was surprised when he mentioned about the greeting which I have long forgotten. It was significant to him because he thought that I was one of the few people who wears a smile, in the sea of indifferent faces in school. We had a great conversation today and I appreciate it lots. I have a new friend in him, just like that, simply because of a positive "misunderstanding". Thank you Terry :)

Of course, I am not active in my own Life to the other extreme, yet, that I am able to tell you whether despite all active actions taken, I am still controlled by fate. In my "Einstein's Universe and Quantum Weirdness" module, I learnt that because I actively chose to do, maybe somewhere else in another Universe, my counterpart, "I", have passively chosen not to do. I cannot imagine the consequences I face now if I had not spent the 15 minutes of extra effort to look for my partner.

Therefore, playing a passive role for too long, I am sure that if you, my dear readers, take an action out of the norm right now, you take the first step to steering your directions in Life. You create your destiny, my friend.

Action

This post is dedicated to Wilfred. Coincidentally, on the day I decided to write about an sms he sent me on the 31st July 2007, he sent me another of the same positive nature, today. Amazing is the power of fate. Rushed this out to due Wilfred my respect for him.

Waking up on the 31st July 2007, I was pleasantly greeted with an SMS from Wilfred. I have not deleted it. Thank you Wilfred for the SMS :) It is important to me.

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." - Henry Thoreau

These wise words by Henry Thoreau hold the essence as in:
1. "Begin with the end in mind" by Stephen R. Covey, as well as
2. "Dare to dream", and most importantly
3. Action

These wise words are coined by, followed and practised with fervour by the elites at the top of the hierarchy, wherever the hierarchy may be rooted. Trickling from the top downwards, the quotes are often repeated verbally by the masses. However, they are seldom grasped nor practised with their originality. When results do not match the promises in these quotes, they are dismissed as cliche.

Knowledge is rampant. As per all other hierarchies, great knowledge is few and at the tip of the triangle. Further, in another hierarchy, effective users of knowledge also remain at the top. It is with the unity between great knowledge and action that dreams come true.

I share the quote that Wilfred shared with me because it speaks about action and is great knowledge that I believe in. Your action on this great knowledge about action, my dear readers, will unlock the secret in these open secrets of these successful men, and you will succeed too :)