Dear Door,

i salute to you!

u were part of a tree, very much alive. people cut u down, made u into various shapes, colors, …

u stand between 2 worlds, sometimes a gateway into something totally different.

people use u a lot, yet seldom respect u enough.

they slam u / treat u rudely, consciously / unconsciously as if u have no feelings/ really don’t mind.

the campaign starts with me, who always treat a door with respect, same as for all other objects. wish u will join me to raise the collective consciousness.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

as if by divine plan, the 2 birthdays (lunar calendar and Gregorian calendar) of my daughter this year coincide 2 events :

the massive protest against the proposed extradition law that will seriously harm “one country two system” of Hong Kong ; and the opening of a new shop of one of our friends with an autism child.

to allow one’s presence / action to contribute positively to the world is always the best gift that one can give to oneself, particularly true on important days, be it about serious issues, or simply show up to give some support to people around us…

may we all realised that there are many more options to celebrate birthdays besides having parties..

may our presence always light up the world a bit and make it a better place 🙂

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

It’s quite surprising to see that even the economy has improved quite a lot recent decades, many people in “developing” country still got such a strong sense of urgency to fulfill one’s needs that they don’t even seem to be aware of others’ existence:

run for the empty seats in metro once the door is open;

stick so close to the person in front of line that almost hit his/ her bottom;

keep pushing / stand at counter even if the previous customer has not finished ordering;

sneezing without covering up;

spitting casually on floor even when someone is very close;

talk on phone loud and long in catering outlets / very crowded metro, almost directly into someone else’s ears;

…..

what’s more worrying is that many of the much more educated youngsters are doing this!

in this very materialistic and technological age, teaching the younger generation greater respect for / awareness of others is of utmost importance, so that they will not become selfish money making machines / super arrogant big egos …. or other species that fuel annihilation of the human race.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

Life is and will always be more beautiful with more space :

when we line up, there is no need to stick to the back of the one in front of u;

when there are many empty seats / table, it is often good to spread out;

when we talk, it will be much more graceful, effective / efficient / well received if we pause often;

temporary physical separation often help boost / refresh “old relationships”;

…

just if everyone is a little more conscious about maintaining more space within and among ourselves, the world will certainly be more sane and peaceful.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

Dear God, please help us to focus on

not the absence of what we desire, but the absence of what we don’t want;

not the absence of physical form but the presence in our hearts.

help us realize that having / getting more does not necessarily mean good / better; and

not having / losing does not necessarily mean bad / worse

for the most powerful cannot be seen, and the most beautiful beyond physical form.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

i am not the body, nor, mind, thoughts, emotions…

i am the pause between 2 notes;

a ray of the sun

a wave in the ocean

the valley, the space

i am the light of the world

i am that i am

i am

you are

part of the One / Source / All-that-Is / Unmanifested / No-thing ness / timeless, formless, spaceless Consciousness…

i bow to you, and the divinity in us all.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

nowadays cosmetic surgery is very common. people of all age seem very receptive to the idea of “making ourselves look better”. a milder version might be spending lots of time wearing make up, frequent skin / hair treatment, buying clothes..

so many of us attach such a high value to our appearance, as if it is almost a must / prerequisite for bringing all other goodies in life.

i wonder, to the extreme, when all our bodies have been replaced / modified, will one still be proud of all those artificial components that he/she has collected? will the accumulation still make him/her feel more superior than the other collector?!

the same goes with knowledge, skills, possessions, connections… all of which might be lost / become obsolete over time or even very suddenly.

what are we without all those?

when all of these have been taken away from us, r we still still the same person? is there anything left? is there anything immortal in us that does not change over time?

i shall allow all readers who are interested to find out the answers themselves from Eckhart Tolle’s teachings

it is only by realising our true essence at the core that genuine mutual respect is possible, thus world peace / creation of a much more harmonious, joyful and sane place.

Blessings be to all!

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

there are 2 escalators in our estate that lead from the main entrance to the podium. every now and then a few cleaners will be seen sitting on various steps of a stationary escalator, using a stick and a cloth to clean every dent on each step.

even though i am clean freak, each time i see this my heart sank as it is such a mis allocation of human resources. it is only because that the cleaners is a very low paid work force thus r made to do something that is so labour intensive yet really not very necessary.

there r many others who also work very long hours each day, contributing a lot, yet paid very little : chef in a bakery, those who maintain cleanliness of toilets, dish washers in a kitchen…

while we might not change the social structure easily so that all these people will enjoy the same pay / status as a lawyer / medical doctor, as least we can give them some appreciation / respect for the the services that they render :

a genuine praise, smile, greeting… or even express gratitude in our hearts silently. they can certainly feel it and we would have done a little to make this world a better place.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

Female is a very powerful gender. just imagine the monthly cycle, pregnancy, child birth, nursing and nurturing of children… all require tremendous strength, endurance, total acceptance.. .not to mention big hearts.

there is a saying that because of this, the opposite sex consciously / subconsciously impose all kinds of conditioning on the females simply to dis-empower them:

old time version : feet binding, not giving them education, make it a norm that all women can ask for is a “good marriage”, where she spends her life working at home, day and night, until she dies.

today, while many women are much more educated, they are still subject to other forms of social rules / expectations :

the way they need to dress / look (wearing make up / undershirt / high heels, showing most part of your breasts / legs in one part of the world, while almost covering up the whole body in another…), or

the need to be super women to perform well in both career and family, making them both breadwinners and care takers…

there seems to be an underlying assumptions that modern women need to be beautiful, healthy, competent, wealthy, independent, … yet still a great wife / mom/ cook / housemaid…

Younger females might be able to live up to all these social norms / expectations, while still staying joyful /peaceful / healthy, yet i believe in the long run this is not sustainable, for this is quite a mission impossible.

it’s time for all female to have greater consciousness about all choices they make. whether u conform or not, make sure u r aware of all costs and willing to pay the price.

it is certainly not about showing others how a good life i am living. as the chinese saying goes, “only the one who drinks the water knows its temperature ” .

may we all realised that we always have a choice. it just takes some courage / wisdom / greater consciousness…

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I

why do many people spend so much efforts to take / produce a “perfect” photo?

to me taking a photo is about capturing an instant / present moment, when we normally very impressed / have very good feelings. personally i will simply take out the phone and click, without using any kinds of tools to “make it better”

it seems that most of us do not want to accept it all, thus a great need to do away those which we consider “not good”, at least not good enough.

there r certainly professional needs where photos have to be rather perfect, normally for business reasons. that’s why what being displayed is normally not the reality / at least a very small part of the whole.

e.g. foods that look good on a plate might lead us to believe that they taste good, too. yet its temperature / smell / taste./ texture.. cannot be recorded in a photo. a outdoor cafe that looks great in photo might be crowded, noisy, dusty, full of smokers…

a breathtaking sunset photographed from a beach lead us to believe that it is a paradise, yet the mosquitoes, heat /cold/ wind, water quality, smell of the rubbish…… again cannot be displayed.

that is why a lot of manipulation is required to show the best possible side of something, which most of the time might be far from the reality .

when we start to take/make only the perfect photo, subconsciously we are refusing to accept all that is there at the present moment. fueling greater distinction between “good” vs. “bad”.

i agree with the saying that we are all perfectly imperfect, as with all creations.

there is no such a great need to “show only the good side”, which in fact is quite deceptive.

each present moment is perfect. to embrace all is the beginning of self acceptance, and all those around us.

Namaskar

Sat Nam Deep I