All, in relation to nothing

"Sometimes we forget what we believed in, and other times, we forget what we believe in."

"Know our bearings when we stand, as courage comes to those standing for truth in the right direction. And if you are to see your feet in the clear waters, have patience. The sand takes time to settle."

"The archetypal 'X' on our treasure map is the point where we stop questioning everyone and everything else. It lies within. Things get progressively unclear when we have layered decorations for what we want to feel, achieve and receive. It creates a gap between one's real and declared aims, turning it into a breeding ground for shrouded insincerity. And when visitors come knocking on our sanctuary, it's all swept under the rug. At times, reasons which seem justifiable with a fingersnap cause us to cringe when we recall about it. But slowly, we naturally grow to be better at things. Call it maturity. Yes. But essentially, isn't it the achievement of lucidity? It gets clearer when our lenses are clean. It doesn't make sense to walk away from our inner selves or distract our eyes with what we fabricate to see. Observe the veiled battle between the conscious and the subconscious, and pick both sides."

"It's amazing how complexity pays attention to itself and silently jades into simplicity. So dream, and trace the roots. Have the dignity of a fallen leaf when autumn's due. Come back, and crawl through the gates again. Progress, not perfection."

"Behold the belittled lily, purple heather and burgundy rose, for they give us hope to find contentment in our own novelty."

"Fly, little wing
Ride the waves of abiding faith
Across the old slumbering shore
With voiceless emotions of the setting sun
Till the heart finds a familiar cure"

"Our heart is filled with beautiful abstractness that we should learn to understand its rightful design before anything else. It isn't our duty to question other people's sincerity. And if it's ours that is doubted, take it as internal guidance. Nobody's perfect - A beautiful phrase of tremendous honesty, yet we can't accept it when others present it to us. Rather than questioning their rights, give honest thanks to them. They don't control what we lose, neither do we control what they lose. Keep a polite distance if you wish and let the light of your heart shine truth in what they're permitted to see."

"Moonlight: Oh sweet-toothed society. Don't let the ants crawl onto our black stones."

"Pride blinds the ability to see the truth in us. This realization and admittance can never be forced; only independence grants us freedom to our true needs."

"It is the nature of man to appreciate this beauty of inner perfection. He'll dedicate a personal trust in his judgement on what he sees, but what if he discovers a flaw in it? The way he responds, tilts on the equilibrium of his emotions. If he feels that his trust was betrayed, he'll question his judgement and becomes blind to everything else. While if he chooses to only be disappointed on the illusory perfection, he'll see the major goodness which still remains. If permitted to, I'll choose the latter."

"I've flipped my canvas into an empty page. Last year, I learnt that perfection can never be shown, only discovered. And only discovery itself, defines perfection in this world."

"Perfection in a team can never exist. As long as we physically share a different set of heart, body and brain, perfection itself becomes an ideal. To strive towards it as a team, a group, and even as a family - I learn that patience, wisdom, trust and commitment are truly needed. Leading is like giving a paper boat a push, with hope that it reaches a specific destination at the other side of the lake. The slightest bit of action defines the present, and it determines the future. O Almighty, I believe in Your Guidance."

"I don't think a leader would seek for sympathy. Instead he should search for himself in times of adversity. I'm lost. But I'm actually glad I feel like a wanderer at this present moment."

"There's something uniquely peaceful about this midnight rain. It makes us understand."

"Everyone's given a compass. Some may have lost it, but it's an excuse to lose ourselves in this one time journey. Anything can be a form of guidance when you walk with an open mind. A fallen twig's shadow can show you the way in the morning. Navigate after the Big Dipper or the Polaris at night and you'll do fine. Life's hidden beauty is unlocked by a humble heart, a pristine will and nothing else. Some seek for gold treasures at a far away island, while all the treasures that they need are sitting at their own backyard. Some see it, others don't. It's a unique set of treasure that can never be shared but can only be tasted alone. A treasure that can't be measured by weight or gold - words don't describe it, only experiences do."

"O night, bring to the earth the quiet charm of your mystery."

"At the end of the day, it's simply being who I am at the moment."

Reverie

Even in Kyoto
when I hear the cuckoo
I long for Kyoto

This is my favourite from Matsuo Basho.

What do we know about guidance and being guided

This morning, I gathered courage to queue for the teh o and kuih. I also played catching with Samurai. I hope for the same pleasant and meaningful morning for everyone.

The most potentially dangerous form of arrogance, is within humility itself.

I am in good company

The wind greets with a smile.
The wind speaks in poems.
The wind makes us feel like we're time travellers.

Please feel the wind, friends!

It is a blessing.

My life was spent staring at the night waves
Clasping the soul of the shifting sands
With an enduring tide that proudly raves
Of a lunar grip and its unseen hands

My life was spent studying a vermilion star
Slowly setting on the bare horizon
Like an abiding, gentle kiss from afar;
The humble scent of a noble mission!

My life was spent trusting the voiceless tears
Of weighted clouds, embracing the swaying greens
As they reach for the roots and buried fears
With ethereal allusions of what sincerity means

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Remember

It's raining. I recognize this rain. I like this rain.

The little that I am

Brown. Green. Pink. Blue.

and White.

It's so loud and silent at the same time.

Have a listen.

Sincerity

The moon's humility has left me speechless yet again at this hour.

I shall go to sleep.

And let my soul relearn what it truly means to be horizontal.

Everybody's walkin' like the new kid in town

For strength, we seek for our weaknesses.
In strength, we see our weaknesses.
With strength, we understand our weaknesses.

- - - 

There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar
Great expectations, everybody's watching you
People you meet, they all seem to know you
Even your old friends treat you like you're something new

Johnny come lately, the new kid in town
Everybody loves you, so don't let them down

There's talk on the street, it's there to
Remind you, that it doesn't really matter which side you're on.
You're walking away and they're talking behind you
They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along

Oh, my, my
There's a new kid in town
Just another new kid in town

I tried. I shall do better.

Yesterday was a tiring day for me. I think, and I hope, I was sincere. Perhaps I just didn't know how to remind them of the reason why I volunteered to open up my place. I didn't know how to explain the things they should or shouldn't do. My patience was being tested. I got offended multiple times. Please be kind and mindful. You don't know what's going on. It was draining.

My apologies, friends.

But thank you (:

I feel

I feel young, and I feel old.
I feel like a stranger, and a familiar soul!

What a blessing.

Speaking of blessings, the semester's starting. It's time to hit the road. I'll use my feet this time. I wonder what it feels like being barefooted again.

Today, I turned back time with the sound of music.

The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears

My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze

To laugh like a brook when it trips
and falls over stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark
who is learning to pray

I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more

- - -

I remember now, the hills are alive! Very much alive!

2015 - Alive, with the one who lives

I learned a little something last year. I truly learned a little something. I learned that there are lots to be learned, about living, and dying. I also learned that 2015 is the most significant year in my life thus far.

It is. It really is.

My apologies, words are failing me. If you truly want to understand, here:

 

Hope it helps.