When the lack of direction plagues our life, we are absolutely paralysed, either directly or obliquely. When we allow our future to dangle in thin air, to be open to bid by others like in an auction, we are subjecting it to the play of unscrupulous elements in a materialistic world. We feel restless at times, I admit, and our souls just wander around, literally window shopping. The inertia to start moving on again seems to be insurmountable. There seems to be no activation energy and motivation. How we wish there were a gust of wind, a tinge of inspiration, some little perks to lift us out. But as we going on wishing, we feel that that the sense of doom is reinforced, overwhelming our minds at every possible opportunity. Maybe that’s what they say about the law of attraction. We attract what we think of. And once again, I hate to explain the idea about changing our mindsets, for no matter how its easy to put in words, its always a billion times harder to put into practice.
I know that as many people say we empower ourselves, we control our own destiny, or maybe something more definite is that at least we are conscious that we live our own lives. However, facing the reality, how many people actually possess the capability to analyse themselves from a third party neutral view, and holistically head for a prudent journey of life? In our daily doings, our emotions dictate our demeanor. We often find ourselves having to take remedial actions for what we do. We often have this humongous time-bomb in us. Humans are governed by their feel. We are supposed to be rational creatures, but more often displaying temperamental stints. We seem to have little grip on the sentiments emanating. This might be subtle for some but magnified in others. Humans display a graded mixture of rationality.
But just as a side topic, I often wonder if rationale and emotional people mix well. Or rather, is it always the case where like attract like? Or does it resembles magnetic repulsion btw the like poles? Are rational people superior over emotional people? I’d think the entire human race can just be placed somewhere along the emotional-rational scale. Though I would refuse to conclude that whichever side is superior, I am more inclined to believe that each individual, regardless of where he stands in the scale, exhibits individual traits that would also be integral in his interaction with others. So in conclusion, to each his own. Individual isolation should not be encouraged, but at the same time, one must not blindly follow the crowd. 所谓出人头地，出类拔萃，是完全有顾及全体的. 如果没有群众，那我们只能算是一意孤行. 这是没什么好自豪的.
March 31, 2007
March 26, 2007
6 Weird Things - Including THis Post
"this is what you are supposed to cut and paste if you decide to participate in the tagging game.. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things about themselves as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog."
Hm ok..so i guess all the randomness has just fallen onto me. 6 weird things?
I'll try.
1)Blogging so "philosophically" during like 4am in the morning. Of course during my duties la.
2)Wearing VJ uniform back to school to collect my 'A' level cert.(hey in fact i do take pride in it :)
3)Keep thinking about a concept for a few days until i understand. (i had this experience with math just before prelims. how scary)
4)Competiting with friends to see how fast we can chant our memorised social studies topics (weird right? that was really a fanatic thing)
5)sitting in front of a computer thinking of what to do.
6) Spending so much time in army uniform thinking about the 6 weird things that have happened to me during office hours and blogging this :)
I am breaking the rule now, i wont pass it down to the next six people. So just treat this post as a casually leisure one.
Hm ok..so i guess all the randomness has just fallen onto me. 6 weird things?
I'll try.
1)Blogging so "philosophically" during like 4am in the morning. Of course during my duties la.
2)Wearing VJ uniform back to school to collect my 'A' level cert.(hey in fact i do take pride in it :)
3)Keep thinking about a concept for a few days until i understand. (i had this experience with math just before prelims. how scary)
4)Competiting with friends to see how fast we can chant our memorised social studies topics (weird right? that was really a fanatic thing)
5)sitting in front of a computer thinking of what to do.
6) Spending so much time in army uniform thinking about the 6 weird things that have happened to me during office hours and blogging this :)
I am breaking the rule now, i wont pass it down to the next six people. So just treat this post as a casually leisure one.
March 23, 2007
The Rule That Never Change
Everything is never stagnant. The earth never cease to rotate, seismic movements never stop to create devastating earthquakes, and for all other natural workings of life, including the involuntarily trudging to work in the mornings, life has never been able to ever appear exactly the same. Similar, but never congruent. As history puts it, something done can never be undone. Placing something back to its original position will never be the same as untouching the object. And even if u categorically deny all these changes in life, there is one domain for sure, which will incontrovertibly move on, even if u hate to. And that’s time. And probably for what I’ve said so much, you would recognize that the only probably rule that never change is change itself.
In the ever changing sphere of life, I would like to question the existence of the word “routine”. It seems like the word monotonous is a misnomer. Standard Operating Procedures, or SOP, for all organizations who employ this term, is very much falsified. There can never be a standard way to respond to a different scenario that occurs everyday. Adaptability sounds more correct. It is uncommon to hear grievances that work is dull and boring. And believe ever so deeply that it is inherently so. Why not take a look at interesting jobs then? These “palatable tasks” that sparks our excitement has found a way to sow seeds of satisfaction and joy, and thus we innately believe so. These sparks are generated very easily as a matter of fact, because we perceptibly welcome it. We open the gate to the gardener who sows the seeds. And this explanation is for the positive responses about work being engaging, exciting, likeable.
So how is routine work founded on? It occurs when our attention giving to a specific task stagnates at a particular unchanged purpose, thereby generating a responsive mechanism to an “outdated bug” which resides in our mind. It dictates our mind to view it in a repetitive way, that we are doing something that what we have already done many times. It focuses on the frequency, and not on the quality. And being an insidious bug, it soon spreads like wildfire, infecting our emotions, our perceptions, and sadly, our action. We find it hard to resist defiant acts of demonstration against routine activities, and our pent-up desire to rid these “routine” works simply adds fuel to the fire.
So the fundamental reason why humans dread routine is because we don’t recognize changes. We don’t inject differences to our lives. We don’t identify ourselves with different purposes of doing a common daily chore. We don’t give ourselves a chance to relook things from different perspectives. We are so reluctant to changes. If you realize, we made a grave mistake. We did not obey the sacred rule, the rule that never changes.
In the ever changing sphere of life, I would like to question the existence of the word “routine”. It seems like the word monotonous is a misnomer. Standard Operating Procedures, or SOP, for all organizations who employ this term, is very much falsified. There can never be a standard way to respond to a different scenario that occurs everyday. Adaptability sounds more correct. It is uncommon to hear grievances that work is dull and boring. And believe ever so deeply that it is inherently so. Why not take a look at interesting jobs then? These “palatable tasks” that sparks our excitement has found a way to sow seeds of satisfaction and joy, and thus we innately believe so. These sparks are generated very easily as a matter of fact, because we perceptibly welcome it. We open the gate to the gardener who sows the seeds. And this explanation is for the positive responses about work being engaging, exciting, likeable.
So how is routine work founded on? It occurs when our attention giving to a specific task stagnates at a particular unchanged purpose, thereby generating a responsive mechanism to an “outdated bug” which resides in our mind. It dictates our mind to view it in a repetitive way, that we are doing something that what we have already done many times. It focuses on the frequency, and not on the quality. And being an insidious bug, it soon spreads like wildfire, infecting our emotions, our perceptions, and sadly, our action. We find it hard to resist defiant acts of demonstration against routine activities, and our pent-up desire to rid these “routine” works simply adds fuel to the fire.
So the fundamental reason why humans dread routine is because we don’t recognize changes. We don’t inject differences to our lives. We don’t identify ourselves with different purposes of doing a common daily chore. We don’t give ourselves a chance to relook things from different perspectives. We are so reluctant to changes. If you realize, we made a grave mistake. We did not obey the sacred rule, the rule that never changes.
March 20, 2007
Benign Manifestations
I sincerely thank those who stumbled onto my blog and do appreciate the intricacies of my posts. Some are philosophical, some are unabashedly written, yet some may trigger parallel imaginations. Whatever the reason, i welcome skepticism. And i love opinions, cynical ones inclusive. When there's discussion there's engagement, through engagement we form common understanding, and from there it paves a way towards the very meaning of what i truly believe is the sole existence of my blog, benign manifestations.
Actually i have questioned myself infinite number of times the reason for my blogging. I've asked people about their opinions of blogging too. Some told me its just casual fun, some hoped to share their live experiences with others, some just drift with the digital trend. Some are addicted, some are indifferent. Some view blogging as a waste of time, some cherish their posts and always adore them with colourful pictures. To me, quintessentially, i blog because i feel that there are many common affairs which need to be thought deeper. Failing to do so does depreciate the value of our life. Either we havent gave serious reflections on our past deeds, or that we do not bother about what we had just spent our day on. I dont think its a manifestation of indifference, or any departure from the norms of "daily life" blogging. So regardless of the various external opinions, here i am, always humble in sharing my views, dedicated to those that would potentially benefit from my benign manifestations.
I seek you to join me in this journey.
Actually i have questioned myself infinite number of times the reason for my blogging. I've asked people about their opinions of blogging too. Some told me its just casual fun, some hoped to share their live experiences with others, some just drift with the digital trend. Some are addicted, some are indifferent. Some view blogging as a waste of time, some cherish their posts and always adore them with colourful pictures. To me, quintessentially, i blog because i feel that there are many common affairs which need to be thought deeper. Failing to do so does depreciate the value of our life. Either we havent gave serious reflections on our past deeds, or that we do not bother about what we had just spent our day on. I dont think its a manifestation of indifference, or any departure from the norms of "daily life" blogging. So regardless of the various external opinions, here i am, always humble in sharing my views, dedicated to those that would potentially benefit from my benign manifestations.
I seek you to join me in this journey.
March 14, 2007
Filtrating EXAMINATION
When the word EXAMINATION was first made an english term, never did it anticipate that it could unleash so much horror upon the world. It can be used with almost any word u like: EXAMINATION hall, room, paper, board.. so many combinations. And it literally makes a student freak out, a teacher gets worried about his rice bowl, the parents frantic... etc. It is really like pandemonium, especially in schools. It is like an endemic, so indiscriminating in its spread. It is similar to a disease, with sypmtoms first appearing, then a myriad of effects taking its toll on us. There is the pre and the post. How intimidating is that. Somehow examination is inextricably linked to fear.
Ok. Maybe when i attempt to dissect EXAMINATION you may get more relieved about it. If i were to pass EXAMINATION through an emotional filter paper, and when all human emotions are clearly residued, whats left behind are those meaningless exam questions, exam results, exam answers, exam grades, etc. But its easy said than done right? if i tell u to empty your mind of such apprehension, i am merely wasting my efforts as it is virtually impossible to do so. Come on, will u tend to look at residue trapped in the filter paper or the filtrate that passes through the filter paper more naturally? Or to rephrase my question, how much of your time spent observing the filtration process would you be focusing on the filtrate rather than the residue. My bet is most would just give a cursory glance at the filtrate, while devoting most of their time on what is gonna be left on the filter paper.
You say its natural tendency. Yes, this is an incontrovertible fact of life. It is our inborn tendency, our innate inclinations. It is involuntarily. Our minds tend to be more preoccupied towards the conspicuous, and the "all-encompassing". So how do we make this change? To put it simply, its just a mere alteration of our view to that of the filtrate. Simple, but is it really so? No it isnt. It is a forceful change. A test of our mental flexibility to take on new perspectives. We need to look at things from a new dimension. We have to look at the glass of water which is half filled as half empty. Its easy for the glass of water but not easy for the pile of books in front of u isnt it? This is because the glass of water is something tangible, while fear is intangible. Emotions are our greatest enemies because we feel absolutey impotent to have complete control over them. That is why people say the greatest fear is not others, but oneself.
You need the tenacity, the hunger, and the sheer will to change it. In short, you must be more fearful of the outcome of not changing your mindset than the fear towards the examinations itself. Then there is a chance. HOw, How, How... My answer to you is: when you are desperate enough, you will find an answer to it.
As the cliche goes, it's all in the mind. But in order to execute it, it takes much more than just being "cliche".
Ok. Maybe when i attempt to dissect EXAMINATION you may get more relieved about it. If i were to pass EXAMINATION through an emotional filter paper, and when all human emotions are clearly residued, whats left behind are those meaningless exam questions, exam results, exam answers, exam grades, etc. But its easy said than done right? if i tell u to empty your mind of such apprehension, i am merely wasting my efforts as it is virtually impossible to do so. Come on, will u tend to look at residue trapped in the filter paper or the filtrate that passes through the filter paper more naturally? Or to rephrase my question, how much of your time spent observing the filtration process would you be focusing on the filtrate rather than the residue. My bet is most would just give a cursory glance at the filtrate, while devoting most of their time on what is gonna be left on the filter paper.
You say its natural tendency. Yes, this is an incontrovertible fact of life. It is our inborn tendency, our innate inclinations. It is involuntarily. Our minds tend to be more preoccupied towards the conspicuous, and the "all-encompassing". So how do we make this change? To put it simply, its just a mere alteration of our view to that of the filtrate. Simple, but is it really so? No it isnt. It is a forceful change. A test of our mental flexibility to take on new perspectives. We need to look at things from a new dimension. We have to look at the glass of water which is half filled as half empty. Its easy for the glass of water but not easy for the pile of books in front of u isnt it? This is because the glass of water is something tangible, while fear is intangible. Emotions are our greatest enemies because we feel absolutey impotent to have complete control over them. That is why people say the greatest fear is not others, but oneself.
You need the tenacity, the hunger, and the sheer will to change it. In short, you must be more fearful of the outcome of not changing your mindset than the fear towards the examinations itself. Then there is a chance. HOw, How, How... My answer to you is: when you are desperate enough, you will find an answer to it.
As the cliche goes, it's all in the mind. But in order to execute it, it takes much more than just being "cliche".
March 11, 2007
为何难以活出理性？
理性的根本描述着出污泥而不染的现状，是一种少数人类的非凡特征. 活在一个多姿多彩，诱惑百般缠身的世界里，人，身为感性动物，是难以卸下此面貌的. 古人曰: 知己知彼，百战百胜.我们之所以屈服于精神压力，之所以打感情败仗，完全归咎于对自己对自己内涵的了解不渗透. 其实，我们不时会听到这句话“你不了解你自己”. 在反复斟酌之后，我们有时会茅塞顿开，顿时大悟. 其实，客观的事实无形的影响了我们感性的主观，使我们在第一时间接触到它时，情不自禁地投入它的怀抱，结果忽略了大局. 而正当我们越陷越深，丧失理智时，旁人才指点迷津。我们这才发现当局则迷，旁观者清. 浪子回头之际，才忏悔自己当时的愚蠢. 我说我们人为何这么傻呢?
Ok, sorry to put some of you through the above agony. Haha this brings me to another issue. To some chinese, chinese language has offically been wrote off as their native language, and i think its very pathetic. Havent written or read a full chinese article since like 2 years, i have already felt a certain sense of guilt. You know its really sad that many singaporeans have adhere by evolution, adapting to our new english environment and compromised our precious culture that we have brought along with us. To me, chinese will always remain a beautiful language. Its meaning can be simple yet thought provoking, creating emotional imprints in our mind. To be frank, I took quite a while to construct the entire chinese paragraph above, and i am really feeling like a disgraceful chinese. Haha. But nevertheless, i'm still glad that my mind still somehow managed to churn proper chinese sentences out.
Ok, what a post.
Ok, sorry to put some of you through the above agony. Haha this brings me to another issue. To some chinese, chinese language has offically been wrote off as their native language, and i think its very pathetic. Havent written or read a full chinese article since like 2 years, i have already felt a certain sense of guilt. You know its really sad that many singaporeans have adhere by evolution, adapting to our new english environment and compromised our precious culture that we have brought along with us. To me, chinese will always remain a beautiful language. Its meaning can be simple yet thought provoking, creating emotional imprints in our mind. To be frank, I took quite a while to construct the entire chinese paragraph above, and i am really feeling like a disgraceful chinese. Haha. But nevertheless, i'm still glad that my mind still somehow managed to churn proper chinese sentences out.
Ok, what a post.
March 03, 2007
Maybe Thats How Relationships Work
I've been pondering how some people are able to get along with each other just so well that they hang along with almost that same bunch of friends with undying fervour and countless outings. I've also contemplated about why some of us do not really a wide circle of friends... is it merely attributed to the lack of social skills? poor PR? There are people who really get frustrated by being so "friendless".. while some dont bother cos they are living in a world of their own. There was once i received a chinese sms. It was as follow:
朋友的价值观不是每天都要见面，而是大家在忙碌的生活里彼此还记得，也会抽空关心慰问及传送信息
Does this encapsulates the meaning of friendship? I didnt find it enlightening to my doubts. But what i thought could hold more sense is that a relationship, be it friendship, BGR, or even btw family members, conforms to an "induced fit" hypothesis which isnt alien to a biology student learning how enzymes work.
Just as scientists postulated that specificity of enzymes are not restricted to a lock and key hypothesis, i believe not all friends, kins, or even spouses are made for each other. As much as perfection is an illusion, to attain so called "best friends" or "buddy" isnt so unless we define it to be. Is a relation only good if both parties are able to fully empathise and care for each other? Or to put it in an unpalatable way, are friendships mere facades for mutual exploitation? Actually i am inclined to believe the latter. But the fact that we always exploit each other doesnt really cause the other party to hate us.. in fact it strengthens the relationship. isn't that the irony of it all?
We ask for help, and our so called best friend acquiesce. This small act doesnt connote with it the notion of exploitation because both parties do not view it as such. What i am driving at is that friendship is all about mutual perception. "induced fit". If you try to accommodate something, you most likely look at its plus points. You would try to dissolve the drawbacks, minimise the negative thoughts, and learn to look optimistic about it. Maybe one day we could try fitting on a shirt in the dressing room and tell ourself like hey, i'm so gonna shine in this attire. But you know our mind is playing a hell load of tricks on us? We feel what we feel because we feel that this should be what we feel.
Applying it to friendship, maybe that guy who just ignored you aint a poor friend, while the guy who whom you just went out with might not be an excellent one either. Maybe that is why human relations are complex and multi-faceted. So sometimes its good to sit back and reconsider our perspectives about people, though ur friends might not do likewise to you. But let them be. When we do that, we are giving ourselves more opportunities to interact with them, befriend and influence them. When our perspective is correct, our world is correct.
一个人的思想如果是正确的，他的世界就是正确的
And maybe thats how relationships work.
朋友的价值观不是每天都要见面，而是大家在忙碌的生活里彼此还记得，也会抽空关心慰问及传送信息
Does this encapsulates the meaning of friendship? I didnt find it enlightening to my doubts. But what i thought could hold more sense is that a relationship, be it friendship, BGR, or even btw family members, conforms to an "induced fit" hypothesis which isnt alien to a biology student learning how enzymes work.
Just as scientists postulated that specificity of enzymes are not restricted to a lock and key hypothesis, i believe not all friends, kins, or even spouses are made for each other. As much as perfection is an illusion, to attain so called "best friends" or "buddy" isnt so unless we define it to be. Is a relation only good if both parties are able to fully empathise and care for each other? Or to put it in an unpalatable way, are friendships mere facades for mutual exploitation? Actually i am inclined to believe the latter. But the fact that we always exploit each other doesnt really cause the other party to hate us.. in fact it strengthens the relationship. isn't that the irony of it all?
We ask for help, and our so called best friend acquiesce. This small act doesnt connote with it the notion of exploitation because both parties do not view it as such. What i am driving at is that friendship is all about mutual perception. "induced fit". If you try to accommodate something, you most likely look at its plus points. You would try to dissolve the drawbacks, minimise the negative thoughts, and learn to look optimistic about it. Maybe one day we could try fitting on a shirt in the dressing room and tell ourself like hey, i'm so gonna shine in this attire. But you know our mind is playing a hell load of tricks on us? We feel what we feel because we feel that this should be what we feel.
Applying it to friendship, maybe that guy who just ignored you aint a poor friend, while the guy who whom you just went out with might not be an excellent one either. Maybe that is why human relations are complex and multi-faceted. So sometimes its good to sit back and reconsider our perspectives about people, though ur friends might not do likewise to you. But let them be. When we do that, we are giving ourselves more opportunities to interact with them, befriend and influence them. When our perspective is correct, our world is correct.
一个人的思想如果是正确的，他的世界就是正确的
And maybe thats how relationships work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)