Just the rain

Just the rain

The wind howl the thunder roar
And the rain quietly fell from the sky
I can't really remember when was the last time
I was in the rain feeling the rain drops on my face
Feeling the wind against my skin
I can only remember running away from the rain
Searching for a way out of the rain which batters
Neglecting the rain which lessens
Still the rain fell drop by drop with any judgement
The rain is just the rain

Simple Bear 16.03.2015.

Love, a boat

Love, a boat

I had the blessing of meeting 'polar bear' (that is what he call himself) and his father at an event at the Istana yesterday. Polar bear is a child with special needs and he was a delight to everyone who met him (despite the fact that he called me uncle at our first meeting squint emoticon! but he called me kor kor afterwards and no, I didn't force him to do so tongue emoticon )

I had the opportunity to have a conversation with his father, a man whose love for his child inspired me. He shared with me, his initial fear and now, hope for polar bear, and his gratitude for the help he gets from others. I can't say I fully understand what it is like to have a child with special needs, but being in the social service sector, and having the opportunities to interact with them through my work and volunteering, I have a glimpse of the many tribulations, both emotional and mental, that parents of children with special needs will have to go through.

And love, is the boat which carries them through.

Love to carry them through disappointments, anger and fear.

Disappointments are like the ocean on a wind-less day, The parents, if without a boat would have given in to the fatigue of trying to make themselves afloat in the vast ocean with any land in sight.

Anger and fear are like the waves in a storm. The parents if without a boat would have resigned themselves to the eventual fate of 'drowning' in the rage and anxiety.

And gratitude and hope, is like the sail and oars of the boat which carries them through.

Gratitude and hope to carry them through disappointments, anger and fear.

Even in a wind-less ocean (disappointments), the parents are still able to steer themselves towards their destination through gratitude for what they have, their child, born of love and hope for what positivity the future may hold. They are able to, through their own determination, steer themselves out of disappointments.

Even in a stormy ocean (anger and fear), the parents are still able to direct themselves out of danger, through steering the sail (gratitude) and moving the oars (hope), preventing themselves from being caught in the storm and possibly facing the eventuality of capsizing in the raging ocean waves.

They gave me love and hope for my work and volunteering in the social service sector. I am grateful for knowing them, for the conditions which allows me to know them last night.

I hope that love, hope and gratitude may always arises in them so it may help them through the ocean of life.

May they be well and happy.

May all be well and happy.

Peace, a Luxury or Necessity?

"Peace is not a luxury; it's a necessity. "
Simple Bear 12.03.2015

Irritation and Self-Awareness

"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."
C. G. Jung

Frustrated about tons of things today. A lot of thoughts ran through the mind.

Why can't they be more empathetic? Why can't he show more initiatives, demonstrate more leadership? Why can't she be more compassionate towards others? Why are they so egoistic, selfish and *argh...(and the list goes on, filling the mind with tons of negativity)

And then suddenly, the negativity died down, as fast as they had come.

In moments of negativity, I had became imbued with the very dispositions which I despised, the apathy and egoism. I had, in the very moment of being swept away by my habitual tendencies, became my worst nightmare.

The expectations of oneself had unconsciously transformed into expectations of others. I lost the ability to empathize in holding on to the value-laden label of empathy; uncompassionate in grabbing the concept of compassion; egoistic in clinging to the idea of non-egoism. The intellectual embrace of those conceptualizations had impeded, in the very moment, the experiencing of these experiences.

I started to focus on my breathing.

The anger (at others) turn to anger (at myself) and finally, laughter (at myself). It is as if time had stopped; there is joy in just breathing, knowing I am alive in this very moment.

Slowly the joy is replaced by warm feelings of gratitude. Gratitude to those who had given rise to these negativity, these irritations in me; without these irritations, I would not have understand myself better.

Don't expect yourself to be empathetic; be empathy itself. Don't expect to be compassionate; be compassion itself. Don't be the one with expectations; be one with it.

May all be well and happy.

Happy?

Happy?

Friend: "Why is being happy so difficult?"
Simple Bear: "Maybe it is because we mistaken pleasures for happiness."
Friend: "What is happiness to you then?"
Simple Bear: "What is not happiness to you?"
Friend: "Too much to list."
Simple Bear: "That's why."
Friend: -_-!

May all be well and happy.

Passion Essential

Last week, we were asked to choose the most important value for us in our organizational culture, as employees working in the social service sector.

Without hesitation, my first choice is passion and to me, the importance of this value transcend organizational culture.

Passion to make a positive difference in the lives of our beneficiaries, the less fortunate in our society.

Passion to make a positive difference in the society, by being a catalyst of positive change in enhancing empathy and compassion for our community, and on a large scale of things, humanity.

Passion to make a positive difference in our lives; enriching our lives with love, empathy and compassion.

Passion to make a positive impact in this world, by starting with ourselves; for one to spread happiness, he or she must first be happy and I refer to happiness, as the fulfilment of human potential for goodness, beyond hedonism.

Yes. Maybe some of you may think that I am too idealistic for my own good. But then again, isn't positive change in this world of ours always effected by passionate individuals?

I know I may not be able to achieve much in my life but I am glad that at least I tried to do something. If there is someone who is positively impacted by my efforts, I have not lived this life in vain. And I know, there is at least one who had benefitted; that person is me.

Passion, maybe fragile but like the sparks of a flame, you need to fan it and supply it with woods to make it a raging fire.

May all be well and happy.

Being Right

"Everyone desires to be right all the time; it is the desire which leads us to be wrong about being right."
Simple Bear 02.03.2015.