Seeing the world through the mask – the search for peace

Sometimes – it pays to write something pastry light when all is served up these days is the heavies - for example, they’re many things I can tell you about Kendo – none of them are really exceptional I am afraid – you could probably tell me the same when you do the laundry or clean the car on a Sunday – if there is anything Kendo teaches it is only one thing; we can never control others or what they may even choose to believe or think about us – but this doesn’t mean we are toast; it just means we need to shift gears somewhere in our head and manage our own reactions to what people may say or do – if they don’t agree with us that’s fine, if they label us as X, Y and Z, it’s no big deal.

The key in Kendo is to understand that YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL HOW YOU WOULD RESPOND TO A PARTICULAR SITUATION – one quirky way to understand this is to loosen up by just letting go (I don’t recommend that though, not if your Toyota suddenly decides to floor it or you’re on a strict low carb diet, but for most things in life – that philosophy is good to go).

 

I’ve long realized that blaming others for our painful reactions has proven at best useless – a great diffusion of energy even – truth of the matter is we all need to blame something when things just don’t go right – my favorite whipping boy is global warming – car doesn’t start – it’s global warming – air con not cold enough – its global warming – can’t get a parking lot – ditto and so on and so forth; others choose to blame foreigners for their list of things that just goes wrong or doesn’t pan out the way they should – can’t get a seat in the MRT – blame it on the foreigner – can’t cut the grade for a job – blame it on the foreigner – can’t get it up –ditto and so on and so forth.

 

Kendo has taught me many things through the years – for one as far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all – don’t ever give ground that you believe to be true; not even an inch and don’t ever surrender your right to reclaim whats rightfully yours – do it with class and finesse – never ever compare yourself with others or allow others to judge you my what they consider good, fair and excellent – set  your own standards – the world may not be equal; but so what even Stephen Hawkins can’t open a Milo tin can without his helper –so we are all living under the same sun, some have more pluses than minuses, but so what? It’s a relative in the larger scheme of things.

Loosening up by letting go is the only way to go the distance - may sound quirky – after all Kendo is a competitive sport – everyone wants to win or let off steam – it’s easy to believe that’s why most people wake up at 4.00 am for morning Kendo practice – they just can’t wait to cut their pain, frustrations and all that’s going wrong in their life in half and leave it all in the fencing hall, it’s a form release like shitting or confessing in some box – but you’re wrong – and I realize most people may even think these people are slightly eccentric and odd – after all there is so much to do in life – holding down a job, raising kids and making sure you don’t take the wrong turn in life – so how does Kendo fit into all these things in the greater scheme of things? I don’t know. I wouldn’t call it solidarity, not for the moment – but maybe its something like the mist in the morn – we all share the common belief; it’s not whether something is worth the effort or not – that’s missing the point – for all I know Kendo is like pouring water into a tin pot with a hole – but at least the striving one puts in remains – some say that’s no big deal; my take is it isn’t exactly nothing either – believe or not – the striving – is the real stuff here; that accounts for why people regularly gather at the base of Everest every April and contemplate the smallness of their courage (I am not talking about guided climbs; I referring to real climbers); it’s the same force that unites surfers as they hold their boards and look at that great big one that comes every ten years with defiant eyes – somewhere in the great book of life – I suspect, it’s written somewhere (or should be written at least) in capital letters: NO MAN HAS EVER LIVED BEFORE HE HAS STRIVEN FOR SOMETHING WORTHY -  as humans we can’t be so different from those birds that fly in a neat wedge; each bird seems to know its place; and when the first bird flaps its wings it seems to run through the flock like a rippling wave – it’s poetry in motion – and it just goes to show for one to go the distance – you can never wing it alone; that could perhaps explain why as long this birds continue to take to the sky; men will always do crazy things like wake up early in the morning for Kendo practice; all their doing is affirming their belief that there’s value in striving for something or whatever.

Like I said, there’s no need for answers; less need for questions – so if you’re trying to get a handle on this essay – you’re just missed the whole point of this essay – it doesn’t have a point – there is no before, during and after - and its not so different from a blind man going through a mine field without a cane –my take is simply this:  just stopping and watching the world go by has to be an act of courage these day when the world is so purposeful and rushing here and there– this may not be progress in the traditional sense as you know it; but it’s certainly one (not the only way, I know) to yield to the belief it’s still a beautiful world.

Happy doing nothing; and don’t be surprise if you don’t move; you make more progress than someone running around like a eager beaver – that’s the first lesson Kendo teaches every exponent – how to still the mind.

 

Darkness 2010

” A storm is just a metaphor – if you’re hurting because of the challenges in life, could be sickness, raising a kid with a disability, caring for an loved one , unemployment- it just means you’re human – some people put their faith in lottery tickets – it doesnt mean they dumb – it just means they’re human - they believe somewhere in time and space down the future those magic numbers will line up and take them out from their fatigue,sham, drudgery & broken dreams, they yearn for a better world – it doesn’t mean they are dumb, it just means they’re incredibly human - you dont need to be a philosopher or someone that knows alot about life to understand the human condition- it’s all in there, somewhere along the beeline leading to the Toto shop, that’s the story of his, yours and my life - and it’s a book entitled - hope.”

Darkness 2010 – conversation capture by an e-bot crawler recently in a thread in Phi Beta Kappa – Brought to you by the FILB (free internet library board) – The Brotherhood Press 2010

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N.B MESSAGE BY MISSY DOTTY:  DO BOOKMARK THIS SITE, IF SOME OF YOU CLAIM, YOU ARE MISSING OUT, BOOKMARK IT, THAT WAY WHEN WE DECIDE TO TAKE OFF SOMEWHERE ELSE, AT LEAST YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO CONT READING SOME OF OUR STUFF . BOOKMARK, IT AS WHEN THEY TAKE OFF, AS THEY DO, AT LEAST, YOU WILL HAVE A LINK, DO IT NOW!– ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO BOOKMARK THIS SITE IS THIS HAS HAPPENED  RECENTLY – http://singaporedaily.net/2010/01/11/daily-sg-11-jan-2010/#comment-7611 , THE BP HAS BARRED ALL FUTURE ESSAYS TO BE POSTED BY THE SINGAPORE DAILY. I DID ASK BABY DARKNESS ABOUT THIS AND THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, ” There are two ways to read, one is you let someone spoon feed you like a baby. The second is you choose what and how you want to eat.  Remember, if your body is a temple. Your mind has to be the altar piece; it’s the linchpin that makes possible the grand idea of La Convivencia with you and your community, spirit, mind and perhaps 7 million other things- without this one thing, the power to choose, you are simply a cactus on a window sill! 

So understand this little rich girl, there is reading and there is reading, there is a world of difference, if you dont even bother to argue with the belief, you are what you eat. Then you would have absolutely no problem understanding – why, you are most definitely without a shadow of doubt what you read and dont read.

You can certainly categorize what I write, but you have no right to judge ……that was what Singaporedaily did - a broad line has to be drawn, otherwise, dont be surprise, if someone decides its card blanche to give you and me the mushroom treatment, “feed you shit and keep you in the dark.” So this has nothing to do with Anime 3 and her rubberband brigade. I value her readership and support, but this is a bigger sphere we are dealing with here – so this is where I will draw the line…it will hurt…like that other fake site, Temasek review that kept faking doss attacks; but how could they let the real wolf out without first planting the idea in peoples mind, “if it can happen to me, it will also happen to you,” Think about it – they cried wolf – we helped, but this time, I am not going to stick my neck out for no one…its everyman for himself….I dont even care, if the whole house catches fire…call it tough love, but if you aren’t a hard man, then you shouldn’t be in the ring and that’s the only way to deal with people who cry wolf, its all here, the explanation

http://singaporedaily.net/2010/01/12/daily-sg-12-jan-2010/#comment-7618 - dont worry dotty, the readers will eventually pick up the scent…they always do, you just wait and see, dont ever sweat the small stuff, life is too short – Darkness 2010……”Missy Dotty