Question: What are the differences between you and I?
Answer: You and I are the differences.
Simple Bear 26.12.2014.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Progression or Regression?
Progression or Regression?
"While we may perceived that we had progressed as a society; paradoxically, we may have also at the same time, regressed as humanity."
Simple Bear 18.12.2014.
"While we may perceived that we had progressed as a society; paradoxically, we may have also at the same time, regressed as humanity."
Simple Bear 18.12.2014.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Patience is a gift
Patience is a gift
Rainy morning didn't dampen my mood. In fact, it added another contemplative dimension.
On my way to volunteer at a camp for children with special needs, hoping to bring a little sunshine to them. No matter how heavy is the rain, there is always sunlight at the end of the dark clouds; we all need patience, a gift of joy and happiness, to wait out the rain and for the sunlight.
Patience, as a gift to oneself and others
Patience, to understand one and other's pain;
Patience, to empathise with each other;
Patience, to protect oneself and others from anger and sadness;
Patience, to protect oneself and others from each other's ego
Patience, to be patient with oneself and others
I may not be contactable for the next few days so please I seek your kind understanding that my replies to your messages and posts may be delayed till late Sunday.
Have a good week and weekend everyone smile emoticon
In the meanwhile, be patient with the rain and you will appreciate the sunlight better later.
May all be well and happy.
Love,
Simple Bear
Rainy morning didn't dampen my mood. In fact, it added another contemplative dimension.
On my way to volunteer at a camp for children with special needs, hoping to bring a little sunshine to them. No matter how heavy is the rain, there is always sunlight at the end of the dark clouds; we all need patience, a gift of joy and happiness, to wait out the rain and for the sunlight.
Patience, as a gift to oneself and others
Patience, to understand one and other's pain;
Patience, to empathise with each other;
Patience, to protect oneself and others from anger and sadness;
Patience, to protect oneself and others from each other's ego
Patience, to be patient with oneself and others
I may not be contactable for the next few days so please I seek your kind understanding that my replies to your messages and posts may be delayed till late Sunday.
Have a good week and weekend everyone smile emoticon
In the meanwhile, be patient with the rain and you will appreciate the sunlight better later.
May all be well and happy.
Love,
Simple Bear
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Suffering, which awakens
"It is suffering that awakens you."
Ajahn Chah
(as mentioned by Ajahn Sumedho)
The phrase which struck a chord in me. A very good, humorous, straight forward Dharma talk by Ajahn Sumedho on his reflections on Ajahn Chah, on his experiences living with him.
Thank you Bro Richmond Tan for sharing.
To all my fellow brothers and sisters in suffering, aging, sickness and death, may everyone have the conditions to be awaken, may all have the conditions to be free from those ropes which binds us to Samsara.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2toDDXdKUg&feature=youtu.be
Ajahn Chah
(as mentioned by Ajahn Sumedho)
The phrase which struck a chord in me. A very good, humorous, straight forward Dharma talk by Ajahn Sumedho on his reflections on Ajahn Chah, on his experiences living with him.
Thank you Bro Richmond Tan for sharing.
To all my fellow brothers and sisters in suffering, aging, sickness and death, may everyone have the conditions to be awaken, may all have the conditions to be free from those ropes which binds us to Samsara.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2toDDXdKUg&feature=youtu.be
Friday, October 17, 2014
Wasn't Ready for the End
I wasn't ready for the end
Was feeling bouts of giddiness after dinner yesterday night. As I was struggling to keep myself steady on the road and in the MRT, this thought arises, if it is time for me to go, I am ready. There was no fear of death, just worries over those I may leave behind.
The dizziness got progressively worse as I got home, I decided to sleep it off and that is when it all went downhill. As I lie on the bed, the whole world spins around me. I was experiencing vertigo (and I think I can understand the song by U2 better). I quickly sat up, fear arose in me, the fear of losing control over my world, the fear of having the world spins so fast around me that my existence seems unreal.
After a few hours, the feeling of losing control progressively got worse, the dizziness was consuming me and I decided to check myself in the Accident and Emergency department of Singapore General Hospital. At the hospital, the nurses were persistent in asking me to be on the wheelchair. They saw me struggling to keep myself from falling over, I relented in the end, and was ushered in the doctor fairly quickly. Blood tests were conducted. My blood pressure was measured again and again, for consistency. And I was eventually put on the drip and under observation for hours.
In the hours that followed, I was falling in and out of sleep, and I was aware that the thoughts which arises in the moments that I was awake were the work in office that I have not finished, the budget which I was supposed to submit, the plans for the camps, activities that I am supposed to conduct for the next few days. And also, if anything serious was to happen to me, the implications I have on my family.
I wasn't afraid of death, but I wasn't able to let go of the commitments that I have, the promises that I made, the people that I love. I wasn't ready for the end just yet. Fortunately for me, the results of the blood tests didn't show any abnormalities, and the doctor told me that it was just a more serious case of viral infection and I should be taking more rest. I was discharged from the hospital.
The episode lead to this reflection, perhaps I was ready for death itself but I wasn't ready to let go of the many things which binds me to this world. There are still much work to be done before I can truly be free from, those which binds.
In the meanwhile, I need to sleep.
Apologies to my friends who had to take over my duties over my commitments for today and the weekend at work, school and my volunteering activities. Thank you for being so understanding. And for those who had messaged me to ask after me, I am truly appreciative of the care and concern.
May all be well, healthy and happy.
With Love
Simple Bear 17.10.2014.
Was feeling bouts of giddiness after dinner yesterday night. As I was struggling to keep myself steady on the road and in the MRT, this thought arises, if it is time for me to go, I am ready. There was no fear of death, just worries over those I may leave behind.
The dizziness got progressively worse as I got home, I decided to sleep it off and that is when it all went downhill. As I lie on the bed, the whole world spins around me. I was experiencing vertigo (and I think I can understand the song by U2 better). I quickly sat up, fear arose in me, the fear of losing control over my world, the fear of having the world spins so fast around me that my existence seems unreal.
After a few hours, the feeling of losing control progressively got worse, the dizziness was consuming me and I decided to check myself in the Accident and Emergency department of Singapore General Hospital. At the hospital, the nurses were persistent in asking me to be on the wheelchair. They saw me struggling to keep myself from falling over, I relented in the end, and was ushered in the doctor fairly quickly. Blood tests were conducted. My blood pressure was measured again and again, for consistency. And I was eventually put on the drip and under observation for hours.
In the hours that followed, I was falling in and out of sleep, and I was aware that the thoughts which arises in the moments that I was awake were the work in office that I have not finished, the budget which I was supposed to submit, the plans for the camps, activities that I am supposed to conduct for the next few days. And also, if anything serious was to happen to me, the implications I have on my family.
I wasn't afraid of death, but I wasn't able to let go of the commitments that I have, the promises that I made, the people that I love. I wasn't ready for the end just yet. Fortunately for me, the results of the blood tests didn't show any abnormalities, and the doctor told me that it was just a more serious case of viral infection and I should be taking more rest. I was discharged from the hospital.
The episode lead to this reflection, perhaps I was ready for death itself but I wasn't ready to let go of the many things which binds me to this world. There are still much work to be done before I can truly be free from, those which binds.
In the meanwhile, I need to sleep.
Apologies to my friends who had to take over my duties over my commitments for today and the weekend at work, school and my volunteering activities. Thank you for being so understanding. And for those who had messaged me to ask after me, I am truly appreciative of the care and concern.
May all be well, healthy and happy.
With Love
Simple Bear 17.10.2014.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Maybe they won't but I will
Maybe they won't notice but I did
In life, we often underestimate the impact of, at first glance, insignificant thoughts, actions which later proved to be significant to our lives.
I was rushing from the Institute of Mental Health today, where I had a volunteer retreat just moments, to my next appointment when I discovered I had a marker in my pocket. The marker was used to write down thoughts during the retreat and it belongs to the facilitation organization which was hired to run the retreat.
I was in a moral dilemma. I was already quite a distance away from the venue where they held the retreat and I was in a rush for time. I deliberated between the thought of going back to return the marker and run the risk of being late for my appointment or just continue on with my appointment without returning the marker.
"They won't even notice it." this was the rationalising thought in my mind If I am going to not return the marker.
"But I did." it was the thought of my conscience. In the moment, this contemplation arises, "if I allowed myself to indulge in this seemingly harmless act, the act may pave the way for other similar acts, this little act may become a habitual tendency and this tendency may become my personality and this personality, my fate." By this seemingly little harmless act of indulgence, I had opened the door to hell, to sufferings.
I returned the marker back to the facilitators and they were surprised that I would come all the way back just to return the marker but I was glad. Glad that I didn't take what is not given and for the contemplation which arises in response. We have overestimated our moral strength and underestimate that little act of indulgence. Another good example is dieting. We allowed ourselves more cheat meals in a give time period, thinking that such small acts won't impact the dieting plan and before we know it, we had fallen to the army of greed.
I began to look at other habitual tendencies and seemingly harmless thoughts or acts that I have and hopefully have the conditions and strength to change them little by little, thought by thought, act by act.
By a drop of water at a time, the ocean is filled.
May all be well and happy.
In life, we often underestimate the impact of, at first glance, insignificant thoughts, actions which later proved to be significant to our lives.
I was rushing from the Institute of Mental Health today, where I had a volunteer retreat just moments, to my next appointment when I discovered I had a marker in my pocket. The marker was used to write down thoughts during the retreat and it belongs to the facilitation organization which was hired to run the retreat.
I was in a moral dilemma. I was already quite a distance away from the venue where they held the retreat and I was in a rush for time. I deliberated between the thought of going back to return the marker and run the risk of being late for my appointment or just continue on with my appointment without returning the marker.
"They won't even notice it." this was the rationalising thought in my mind If I am going to not return the marker.
"But I did." it was the thought of my conscience. In the moment, this contemplation arises, "if I allowed myself to indulge in this seemingly harmless act, the act may pave the way for other similar acts, this little act may become a habitual tendency and this tendency may become my personality and this personality, my fate." By this seemingly little harmless act of indulgence, I had opened the door to hell, to sufferings.
I returned the marker back to the facilitators and they were surprised that I would come all the way back just to return the marker but I was glad. Glad that I didn't take what is not given and for the contemplation which arises in response. We have overestimated our moral strength and underestimate that little act of indulgence. Another good example is dieting. We allowed ourselves more cheat meals in a give time period, thinking that such small acts won't impact the dieting plan and before we know it, we had fallen to the army of greed.
I began to look at other habitual tendencies and seemingly harmless thoughts or acts that I have and hopefully have the conditions and strength to change them little by little, thought by thought, act by act.
By a drop of water at a time, the ocean is filled.
May all be well and happy.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
How could I?
"How could you let her talk to you like this."
A stranger was feeling a whole lot of negative emotions from the perceived injustice that he saw, directed towards me.
"It is alright." I smiled, "Everyone is stressed, thank you."
Just a few seconds ago, an angry volunteer was demanding a goodie bag that she felt she was entitled to but was not given to her. Her tone and choice of words, were well not exactly pleasant. Her fellow volunteers were a little embarrassed at her verbal expression.
I smiled and gave her the bag.
The stranger saw the situation unfolding and perhaps felt that the tone from the volunteer could be much better. I am grateful for his empathy for me.
Anger, is like an infectious disease which turns one into a monster. If I had reacted in similar fashion to the anger from her then, I would have been 'infected' by the dark disease. I love myself and there is no need to subject myself to the sufferings of anger.
In the very moment, I felt a slight tingle of sadness for her. Volunteering may have brought happiness to her, but in the single moment of self-interest, happiness had left her. She had 'squandered' her 'emotional wealth' away and was ridden with 'emotional debt'. And the least I could do for her and myself is not to enhance the intensity of the negative emotions. I would want to keep my 'balance sheet' healthy.
Some may think I am a pushover. I guess it really depends on how you define pushover. If I allow her negativity to affect me then to me, I really allowed her to 'push me over' to the side of sufferings. I have a choice and I choose to not, allow her negativity to affect me and hopefully brings a little moment of respite from the negativity for her.
A frustrating morning at work but was grateful to her, the stranger for allowing me to feel a few moments of peace in the midst of the emotional chaos.
May all be well and happy.
A stranger was feeling a whole lot of negative emotions from the perceived injustice that he saw, directed towards me.
"It is alright." I smiled, "Everyone is stressed, thank you."
Just a few seconds ago, an angry volunteer was demanding a goodie bag that she felt she was entitled to but was not given to her. Her tone and choice of words, were well not exactly pleasant. Her fellow volunteers were a little embarrassed at her verbal expression.
I smiled and gave her the bag.
The stranger saw the situation unfolding and perhaps felt that the tone from the volunteer could be much better. I am grateful for his empathy for me.
Anger, is like an infectious disease which turns one into a monster. If I had reacted in similar fashion to the anger from her then, I would have been 'infected' by the dark disease. I love myself and there is no need to subject myself to the sufferings of anger.
In the very moment, I felt a slight tingle of sadness for her. Volunteering may have brought happiness to her, but in the single moment of self-interest, happiness had left her. She had 'squandered' her 'emotional wealth' away and was ridden with 'emotional debt'. And the least I could do for her and myself is not to enhance the intensity of the negative emotions. I would want to keep my 'balance sheet' healthy.
Some may think I am a pushover. I guess it really depends on how you define pushover. If I allow her negativity to affect me then to me, I really allowed her to 'push me over' to the side of sufferings. I have a choice and I choose to not, allow her negativity to affect me and hopefully brings a little moment of respite from the negativity for her.
A frustrating morning at work but was grateful to her, the stranger for allowing me to feel a few moments of peace in the midst of the emotional chaos.
May all be well and happy.
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