The spinster who seeks love

Just a month ago. The world’s most famous Bo Lang ai who is incidentally also the headmistress of the school in my tiny farming village, confided to me, ‘time is running out and she needed to find a husband urgently.’ This distraught lady went on to stress that if it were not a matter of life and death, she would not have broken with village protocol and paid me a private visit to seek my advice on her grave predicament.

I simply told this nervous wreck,

‘what you seek is seeking you earnestly.’

I went on to add the only reason why she was unaware of this was because she has invested all of her mind, body and spirit in the act of only seeking.

Before the distraught lady departed, I drew her attention to the asystsia flowers that grew in great profusion thru out my plantation. I asked of her, do you see how the bees flit from one flower to another. She answered yes. Tell me, why do you the flower behave like a bee then? Be yourself. Do not do stupid things like dye your hair brown only to end up looking like one of my pariah dogs and do not try to look like a young girl either because you are what you are. I am not asking you to eat chocolate bomb three times a day so that you end up as a two metric ton internal beauty. Do continue to be mindful of what you consume and I strongly encourage you to exercise regularly as this would certainly add another dimension to your home entertainment options when your other half comes along to your love nest. Only you should make every effort to be perfectly comfortable in your own skin. That is all I saying.

There after a supernatural calmness came over her and almost immediately her furrowed features that once resembled a nervous animal acquired an unusual quietness and sereneness. I took off my sunglasses and told her there and then, you must always keep this state of mind, if you are to be the flower and not the bee.

Remember what I have shared with you,

what you seek most is seeking you furiously, earnestly and with the clearest intent….you must prepare yourself….like the flower you must be natural and be yourself and strive to be at one withy he forces of nature.

Today I received a wedding invitation from the headmistress, she expects me to play a recital of butterfly lover in the upcoming banquet.

How apt….a butterfly. Yes that is certainly an improvement from just a humble bee.

The wisdom of going it alone

We all must make an effort to get along whenever possible. We really must! As there is certainly a lot of positives that comes from getting along with others. This hardly requires any elaboration at all. It’s obvious.

But if the price of getting along requires one to cannibalize that which is an indelible part of your character, till it threatens to appropriate by force or destroy who you are.

Then what is the point of insisting on getting along with others? To put it another way, what’s the bloody point of getting along for the sake of just getting along?

If getting along comes to this. Then it could be said, the price of getting along is simply too expensive to buy into and it’s best for one to wing it all alone.

You do your thing….I do mine….after all the world is large enough to accommodate our differences….and that to me is just my way to get along even when I prefer not to get along and go my own way.

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You jump, I jump SG50?

Yesterday the tiny community of Singaporeans who I regularly mix with murmured to themselves, ‘the farmer doesn’t seem to be setting a very good example. He doesn’t seem to be showing much enthusiasm for the SG50 celebrations.’

When one of them asked me why I seemed to be lacking in verve. I merely told them,

‘Do whatever makes you happy.’ Thereafter I walked away.

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‘If you want to celebrate and you are happy. I am very happy for you. Because to be part of happiness is to be part of a rare, valuable and magical experience. But don’t expect everyone to see the world like you…above all don’t expect everyone to process information like you and never expect others to behave like you either. As that is not only rude, it’s downright unreasonable, disrespectful and inconsiderate.

Like I said, not everyone sees the world thru your eyes….surely you don’t expect me to buy into the small boy idea of you jump and I just follow suite and if I don’t, there has to be something fundamentally wrong with me. In truth, if you must know, I see no compelling reason whatsoever to celebrate.

I am not being disrespectful, inconsiderate or hurting the feelings of anyone. I am simply exercising my elemental right to be my own man and to use my own brain instead of being swept along my the mind control apparatus of propaganda.

What makes a man and a woman beautiful…..

Recently I met up with an old friend for a round of golf. Somewhere between the third and fourth hole as we were walking. This friend turned to me and lamented, ‘I feel old, I think I should buy a Ferrari.’ This was the first of many such statements that reflected that my friend was not very comfortable with the prospects of aging.

After the completing the last hole when we were cooling our heels over beer in the pavilion admiring the setting sun, my friend turned to me and mentioned,

‘I notice you are not in a very talkative mood today as you did not offer me an answer to a single one of my questions thru out our long walk.’

I merely expressed, ‘the answer to your question was and is right before you. Observe …breathe…live…be part of.

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‘Every age has something to offer like the hours of the day. During the morning the air is fresh and everything seems to be bursting with life and vigor. It’s beautiful. By mid morning a languor creeps in and clouds begin to form like candy floss across the paraffin skies…again it’s beautiful. By mid day, when the sun is fiercest, it is the only time of the day when a man is able to appreciate the contrast between being in the full blast of the sun and in the cool of the shade. This is only time of the day when the shade itself acquires an almost surreal and supernatural quality of an oasis…again it is beautiful. In the late afternoon, when the sun cast long and lingering shadows and everything seems to be set aflame…again it’s startling beautiful.

Each moment in the day has something wonderful, magical and unique to offer PROVIDING we live in the now and not in the past or distant future.

What makes a man or woman truly beautiful to behold in my opinion is never how young he or she looks. That is a very inferior quality of beauty that usually lacks the requisite depth that can only appeal to very inferior people who only chase meaningless things. As it’s like a soufflé. There is nothing really there!

Rather true beauty is proportional to how much oneness a person is able to embody in the present…the moment….that is able to convey his or her appreciation of the abundance of what life has to offer.

The more present he is with the moment. The more intense the life force. This is why we say of some people who have the maximum impact on us, he has a presence!

What we are actually referring to without us really realizing, is how this person is able to embody the idea of nowness in the way he speaks, carries himself and conveys his thoughts.

Nowness is when human consciousness is at it’s maximum output…level 10, it is the opposite of being alive in the distant past or future….or clinging to illusions like a power crazed addict. Or chasing pots of imaginary gold at the end of the rainbow like a fool.

It is the attitude of appreciating this very moment NOW, such as NOW when I am recruiting all the powers of my intellect and experiential knowledge along with bad spelling to convey what I have to share with all of you in this blog entry.

To me, there is nothing more beautiful that the idea of nowness residing in the human form. As that is when the simple act of living is transformed into a celebration of life where one is most present. Such an attitude is a well spring of not only well being, hopefulness and happiness, but it also allows us to be correct in the way we manage ourselves and others.

As for age, it is only a meaningless number that when we become fixated and obsessed about only leads to a hall of mirrors of confusion, fear and suffering.

‘

Beware! People who like to label others as crazy are craziest

This morning while having breakfast in the village kopitiam. I overheard a group of Singaporean businessmen and their wives talking about Famous Amos. One of them referred to him as the psycho boy and soon the rest used this term to describe him as well.

Shortly thereafter one of them turned to me and asked, ‘what do you think of that crazy boy?’

My first reaction was not to offer a comment. After all, it seems they have already made up their mind. So I know only to well how this conversation will unfurl. Nonetheless I asked them, ‘how do you know he is crazy?’ Some of them replied enthusiastically, ‘THEY say he is crazy!’

Only for me to ask further, ‘and who might THEY be?’

I went on to ask of this fellow, ‘Have any of you read this boy’s material to draw the firm conclusion he is actually crazy?’ I then turned my attention to the womenfolk removed my sunglasses and asked further in a slow drawn out tone, ‘Tell me, if this boy is your own flesh and blood. How would you feel as a mother, if THEY or other lazy people who don’t even bother with the urgent business of understanding him first casually labels your son as crazy? How would you feel as a parent if your son who is the apple of your eye has to go thru the rest of life with that sticker pasted on his back?’

They looked at each other in embarrassment and soon silence swept thru them as they all fell into deep reflection.

That was when I realized, I don’t want to be part of this…I have the power to say, No!

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‘Beware of the power of words and how they can influence your thinking. As some words have the power to detour your mind like a road block and direct it elsewhere. Other words are like elephant guns, they will stop you dead on your tracks. Bang! And it’s all cut and dried. Then there are some words that will only mislead and lead you into darkness. As there also exist plenty of other words that provoke a nervous, anxious, fearful state etc etc etc. The list goes on and on.

If you want proof! All you have to do is observe very quietly whenever your colleagues speak about people, events and circumstances….listen carefully….listen deeply ….do not be part of…..only observe like a silent witness and very soon you will catch these mind killing words.

Why do these mind killing words have power? Where do they come from?

In truth they are essentially a bi- product of scripting and rote learning. We may not even be conscious of how our mind can often lead us to chase our own tail. As so much of it resides in the darkened corridors of our subconscious and childhood. But what is important to understand is, it has been put there by others and they have become encrusted into our thinking.

That is why it is so important to practice being a silent witness of the mind.

And never to close the mind by invoking mind killing words like, ‘he is crazy…..I don’t understand him…..he is always like that…he is so different from us…..he is a non believer….he has a criminal record….he has a mistress…..he is a drunkard….he went to jail…he is unemployed….he is a drug addict….he is a bankrupt….etc etc.’

As once we fall into the trap of forming an opinion or judgement about a person, event or circumstances based on labels and very little else, that is the end point when our mind ceases to think beyond what is before us.

That is the point when we cease completely to be imaginative, intelligent and curious. And sadly that is also the point when we will end up following the mindless mob unthinkingly, just like zombies.

When you understand this is the nature of the scripted mind and how it is an indelible part of you. Then you will always be mindful of how your thought processes will always take the path of least mental resistance. It will always be lazy and try to seek out the simplest explanation even if it involves assassinating the truth.

If we are not mindful of how our mind can so often turn against us without us even realizing it. We will only be the cause of misery to ourselves and others.

I once knew a planter who only listened to his wife. If his wife says, ‘this is a good person’ he would mix and do business with him. If his wife says, that is a bad man, he would avoid him like a plague. Eventually this man ended up a bankrupt! He frittered away his largesse on a series of bad business decisions all BECAUSE he did not gainfully use his mind to seek out the truth along with the many opportunities that came his way, but instead choose to suspend belief by leaving it all to his judgmental wife who used mind killing words to control her husband.

That is an example of how devastating mind killing words can be when they feature as a large part of our beliefs – they can often be responsible for mistrust, broken fellowships, family disputes and in certain cases even outright murder!

That is why the superior mind is always mindful of this failing common to EVERY mind…even the best minds are built with this mechanism of self destruction – that is why one should always adopt a silent witness attitude rather than to judge hastily.

Let the facts unfurl like a unfolding flower….there is no rush to find out the truth…let it all reveal itself in good time.

As when we are easily influenced by mind killing words without being conscious of how our scripted mind works against our better judgement all the time – then all we will doing is searching for the right facts to flesh out our already decided and dead mind. All we will be limited to doing is listening to confirm our already decided mind. Label a man. He is ungrateful! And don’t be surprised if the facts can very easily be found to fit that label to manufacture your reality. He is violent! Again. No trouble whatsoever to find the facts, no matter how spurious they are, even rumors will suffice to build up that picture we already have in our head. He is crazy! No problem again, even a square peg can be whittled down to fit a round hole! No need to ask further. Case closed. Finished!

Do you see how our mind can conspire against us without us even realizing it?

I have witnessed this so many times in my life. And it gives me no pleasure to recount how so often people who remain ignorant of this secret are themselves directly responsible for creating the very ideal conditions for grief and suffering to take root in their hearts.

How despite their seeming sheen of righteousness, fairness and reasonableness, they are even able to export their seeds of suffering to influence others to think and behave exactly like themselves simply because they do not realize how certain mind killing words have the power to cloud their judgement…..render them backward…parochial…insular and hateful….hence they go round and round in ever diminishing circles creating ideal conditions for schism…..doubt…..prejudice….resentment to take root in their heart. Till they themselves becoming the very architects of their own fears and anxieties.

For example. I happen to know a plantation lady who suffers from a very strange inexplicable nervous condition that only manifest whenever she sees me.

During her attacks. She will begin to babble non stop, mangle up her words as she fumbles shaking the her cutlery on the table till everyone will begin wondering whether they might me experiencing a supernatural portegeist attack.

On one occasion, to prescribe a cure – her pastor even asked me for permission to place a crucifix on my head. When he noticed no steam was coming out of my ears. He was so disappointed and confused he stormed out confounded as to the cause of this strange malady that he was convinced was none other than the work of the devil. This was the talk of the plantation high society for months.

It was only one evening after a formal dinner when we were alone, when she turned to me and asked me in a genuine tone of concern – what might be the root cause of her nervous condition, that I felt compelled to share with this poor suffering soul – she was thinking about sex…and since she has always been scripted since the moment of her childhood, to believe this is a dirty, filthy and shameful word that deserves guilt, derision and punishment, that is why she is punishing herself subconsciously without even knowing it, by provoking these these nervous attacks with the power of own her mind.

It was only when I revealed to her, my long held suspicion, the mind killing word SEX had short circuited her thought process and that this is not a dirty nor shameful. As how can be when it is the very word that gave her life.

In that moment of profound revelation she was able to seize control of her mind by recruiting her intellect to banish the power of this mind killing word sex….forever.

Poof! It was gone. Just like that. No da Vinci code some more. Thereafter she was cured completely. Today this woman who used to have a nervous creature look about her looks serene, calm and beautiful…..as the mind killing word no longer has a hold over her!

The only reason why I feel the compelling need to share these examples is to illustrate the destructive power of mind killing words that regularly stop us from seeking the truth, thereby opening the doors of hell that can only trap us in the gyre of suffering.’

Work place politics

Very often in the work environment. To win. One would do well to always remember, it is never a textbook case of merely uploading a super duper thoughtware like the seven habits of highly effective people into one’s head that guarantees success.

As it remains the very pressing challenge of how to intelligently navigate around the seven habits of highly ineffective people so that they don’t sabotage your chances to win decisively.

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‘A detached state of mind doesn’t mean you have successfully managed to convince your brain and heart that you no longer give two hoots about a stressful and unpleasant situation. That is not the real detached state of mind. That is indifference. Ambivalence. Resignation. Acceptance. Callous disregard. Dereliction of duty. Failing in your role! That is bochap lah. Any bloody fool can do that.

A genuine detached state of mind is when your intellect and every cell in your body is 100% conscious of what is happening around you and to you and yet you are able to retain your composure to exert control over your emotions to allow you to select the best way to respond to the situation.

Detachment doesn’t mean doing absolutely nothing and folding your arms like a wooden figurine. While everything around is going crazy. That is happy resignation. No skill there again! Any bloody fool can do that.

True Detachment or specifically the ’empty mind’ is the highest state of human consciousness. It is by it’s nature proactive. Not reactive. It can respond effectively. It is not dead like a door knob.

For example, if someone is trying to irritate you to bring out the very worse in your character. You are able to detach yourself from being a being swept away by the tsunami of fear and anger. You are still fearful and angry or both. But because you are mindful of how your fear and anger speeds up your heart rate and threatens to cloud your judgement. This insight enables you to detach yourself from these primal emotions that will force you into the corner of the fight or flight mode. You are able to trust yourself completely to respond effectively to that stressful situation.

The ’empty mind’ is not empty. Not at all. It does not imply nothingness. If there is nothing there, then nothing would come out of it. It is none other than the highest state of alertness and preparedness in all martial disciplines. This is the most effective stage of mind to adopt when managing yourself and others.’

The Holyman, farmer and rich ladies

Just around the time, the winds shifted direction signifying the arrival of the dry season. I was invited to a posh garden luncheon hosted by a group of plantation ladies who regularly read my blog. One of them suggested that I should write a book….she mentioned, it would definitely be a best seller as many of my life formulations have worked miracles to improve her life…..the others chorused her views. I merely smiled and murmured…that is not necessary.

Another suggested donating a handsome sum to start a foundation…..this lady mentioned, it would be a travesty if all your philosophies are scattered to the wind when I am no longer around, she went on to mention, this way many of your reflections about life can continue to enrich other lives. Again the large crowd nodded in agreement….again I murmured sheepishly…..that is not necessary.

Eventually when the crowd had moved on to other distractions and I was left alone to wander the lush garden which was in full bloom. An elder religious gentlemen of a denomination I feel is not necessary to mention strode up and complimented me, ‘it seems you are a man with great insights and can walk into hearts of others with great ease….I see great prospects and riches for you if only you will consider joining us’…..again I murmured…..that is not necessary.

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‘It is not necessary that you agree with me. Not all. I want to be crystal clear. If by any chance you feel such an imposition. It is you, yourself who have put this burden before you and not I.

After all if you take the trouble to walk around my blog. You will notice that I do not seek your agreement in any shape or form whatsoever. Am I trying to sell you anything? No. Do you by any chance see any crowd funding icons to click on? Tell me what use is your agreement to me!

So do not insult me by thinking the things you do! This is not too much to ask.

I don’t need your money, adulation or approval. I am a farmer. A self made man and I happen to enjoy intensely the dignity of my labor that more than adequately provides for my worldly needs. Besides I live a very spartan life free from illusions. So that is that.

To be quite honest with you, I would much prefer it, if you remain slightly mistrustful and even skeptical about what I have to say. Not only me! But for anyone else under the sun…the man in your TV…the man on stage…. You should always interrogate what I and everyone else tells you and NEVER just take and run with it. Because that is precisely what I would do, I never take anyone word at face value.

The problem as I see it in this age is to many leaders demand unconditional trust and usually when you give it to them. They will use and abuse it – I am not only referring to power crazy politicians, but the same applies to bent pastors, your bosses or for that matter anyone who is higher than you in the food chain.

They all have a hidden agenda.

So to me remaining skeptical and always mistrustful is your only insurance policy against nefarious people controlling your mind and keeping it yours.

Besides you are not me and what may work for me may not necessarily work for you. So you may need to tweak it to make it work for you or even retrofit it with something else to make it run smoother. But work at it you must with the power of your mind so that you can call it your own.

So Of course I encourage you all to do your own research and study about life and to craft the life you want to lead yourself. Do not follow people blindly! After all that is not what I would do myself, so by what right do I have to tell you to do otherwise!

Only understand the pitfalls when you decide to put your faith in unnecessary things.

When one’s belief is based solely on the dead black printed alphabets of dogma – then all thinking will at some point cease completely since all dogmatic teachings first requires total and unconditional surrender of the mind. When this point is reached, the mind can only die a painful death.

This is why there are so many confused people mumbling meaningless words mechanically without really knowing why they even do the things they do or for that matter where all this great diffusion of energy will lead them to….they are clueless. They can donate X, Y and Z to this or that holy man and feel like a million dollars. But when it comes to their own family and loved ones they give grudgingly with feelings of resentment. They can point a crooked finger at someone who says their god doesn’t exist and accuse them for insulting their religion. But they never once considered whether by insisting vehemently on their faith being to he only true path, they may have insulted the sensibilities of those who may not share their beliefs. They speak about compassion and goodness, yet they look for trouble at the slightest opportunity.

Tell me how did this people end up like this? It is because they are to willing to put their trust in a higher brain. In every sense, these people have stopped thinking entirely. They have ceased completely to ask meaningful questions, to interrogate and to be curious all the time.

So they are really no better than a monkey trained to pick coconuts….as I said, all these nonsense that take you away from thinking are all not necessary and even dangerous…not necessary at all. All they will do is mislead and cause you grief as you go around in big and small circles.’

Striving to make the SELF disappear to reveal the YOU

Last week while having breakfast in the village kopitiam. A burly man leaned over my table menacingly and demanded to know in a loud tone, why I was making eyes at his two metric ton internal beauty wife. My first reaction was to teach this insolent fuck a lesson – to put him in his place.

Somewhere in my head. I could hear my enraged ego shouting, ‘how dare you speak to a landowner in such disrespectful tone! Do you not know who I am?’

It would have been easy. Very easy indeed. To put this hot head in his place!

I could tell though he was large and seemingly well build. He was not schooled in the art of war. He was standing with his right foot forward and his chest was squarely faced towards me. A mistake common to novice street fighters. As it would require him to shuffle his right foot back if he wanted to throw a punch. Neither did he notice how I had secreted a chopstick into my inner wrist….waiting to lunge it into the soft space between his collarbone and sternum.

I was ready…..so ready that I even played it all out in my head a few times to make very sure everything was perfect.

The before, during and after was so very clear to me. How when he closed in. I would extend my left palm and check his right shoulder forcing his body to rotate ever so slightly to expose the kill zone allowing me to plunge the chopstick like a dagger into his neck in one decisive strike. I could see it all unfolding with uncanny precision and clarity.

But for some curious reason. I apologized profusely to this man instead and told him in the humblest tone that I did not mean any disrespect. I was merely admiring his good fortune for having such a beautiful wife, as I too wished that heaven would smile on me in the same manner one day.

When I recounted this. The village dunce, exclaimed in with great fanfare banging on an empty biscuit tin like a drum.

‘It is so true….it is so true! Everyone in the village knows only to well. The man who lives on the hill all by himself has no wife. He only has that fierce black dog to keep him warm during the cold nights. But even if he decides to put lipstick and dress up such an ugly animal in a nightie, it will never be as huggable as your beautiful wife.’

Everyone in the kopitiam laughed and soon the angry man laughed as well.

I laughed too. After all what else can I do…..when the self doesn’t even exist at all?

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‘When we invest too much of ourselves in the ‘self.’ That is when we will be transformed into a thin skinned creature of perpetual suffering. Who takes offense easily and feels slighted at the merest provocation. We are never at rest. We are always worked up and angry with the world.

That is because the self is none other than the outer personification of our ego – the ultimate false God! When we are accustomed to seeing the world only thru the prism of the delusion of the self aggrandizing ego, it is impossible to separate unpleasant people, events and circumstances from coloring our mood.

But when we make a conscious effort to separate ourselves from the self.

Then it becomes very easy to depersonalize ourselves from feeling insulted, slighted and hurt. It is very easy to remain objective enabling us to see the world for what it is and not what our ego says, it is.

By the mere act of relegating ourselves to the role of the silent witness of the ‘self’ – we are able to bear witness to how ridiculous, childish and impulsive our own thought processes are. We can begin to audit our thought processes.

By just the mere act of bearing witness to the self – in the way, we are able to imagine stepping out from our skin and watching ourselves. By not interfering not even judging, because the moment you judge – the magic spell is broken. The very moment you say “this is what I like, this is what I don’t like,” you have already jumped right back in with two feet into the ‘self.’ Thereby allowing your ego to take over your mind again.

I will not lie to you. It takes considerable effort, study and constant practice to be able to step outside your own skin and bear witness to the ‘self.’

But once you are able to accomplish this remarkable feat of regularly stepping out of your own skin to bear witness to your over inflated ego and tendency to embellish the true to make yourself right all the time – many of the negative wave lengths that used to haunt you – your inferiority complex, insecurities, feelings of being slighted and marginalized, false pride and arrogance will begin disappearing right before you. As very slowly that which is the ‘self.’ Your ego, will begin to disappear completely. Till only the real you remains.

Research and study this well when dealing with people who are thin skinned, take insults fast, bad tempered and sharp tongued. Never share this secret knowledge with evil people. As it can be weaponized to make their minds strong like a diamond – if you do this, they will have the power to see into your mind and control you by denying you the element of surprise

In business beware of men who have a tendency to brush off slights and insults. Be even more mindful of a dangerous category of men who like to make self depreciating jokes about themselves. As in all probability they have attained the highest acme of warcraft and are none other than the most accomplished practitioners of this black art.

Happiness + Sadness = Balance

The life of a farmer can often be joyous and exasperating. That is to be expected as so much of what makes up the vocation of farming is in the capricious hands of Mother Nature.

But as I reflect deeply on my chosen path. I draw the assurance – without sadness there can be no such thing as a meaningful understanding of happiness. Just as without the color back, we probably will not be able to appreciate the color white along with all the different gradations of greys in between.

Happiness is like a tree reaching into the heavens, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of hell.

The interplay between these two contradictions is what gives meaning to life – it is like the Tao of a tree, the higher a tree goes, the deeper it roots submerge into the ground. The bigger the tree, the deeper it’s roots. They are always in proportion. That’s balance.

That is the natural order of things.

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‘Whenever possible. I try my level best to strive for balance in all aspects of work, life and play.

I don’t search out for happiness specifically. I used too. But I have long since reconciled myself to the idea chasing happiness relentlessly and unthinkingly is at best – a dead end. A puff at the opium pipe. A delectable form of escapism.

Neither am I consumed by sadness. I used to. That’s to say whenever I felt sad in the past. I invariably saw myself as a victim. But these days I am neutral to sadness – I am not saying, I am comfortable in and with sadness, not at all, but since I’ve made a commitment to understand it. I no longer fear it as I used to. It has no hold on me any longer.

Understanding the interplay between happiness and sadness is jugular to enable me to be effective. As I am not so different Will Smith in that movie, I am legend. That at least is how I see myself. As an estranged person living in the thick of desolation.

That’s why I saw a need to wordsmith a philosophy to live by.

That’s why I believe when a man is driven only by the quest for happiness. That sort of attitude can only set him up for the epic fall and eventually grind him into a pulp in the vocation of farming, simply because that’s not realistic nor doable. That’s not anything near what life is all about. Not in my book, at least!

The man who is addicted to the narcotic of happiness will never be able to cultivate the requisite reservoir of sagacity, patience and wisdom to see himself thru the many periods of uncertainties and hardships. He would not be able to motivate himself. Nor can he hold true to his discipline.

To successful turn the wheel of life as farmer requires one needs to develop super human stamina to endure, to accept and to even pick up the broken pieces to try again when it all goes wrong.

This means one has to learn as best one can to make peace with the idea of defeat and victory, sadness and happiness, joy and misery and if possible treat all these contradictions and if possible other contradictions in this world as really one of the same reality.

This is why these days – I strive only for balance. Balance in the sense, when things go well, though I may feel happy, but I never cling or crave it. If it all comes together, it’s like the pleasant surprise of finding the last bottle of wine secreted in some corner of the cupboard. It’s a pleasant bonus. But I could just as well do without it. It’s optional. As I don’t really need it that badly to get by.

As I know happiness for what I understand it to be – a fleeting sensation that is never supposed to last. So I don’t feel the need to posses it.

The same holds true for sadness. When it descends up me, I allow it to past right thru without the slightest will to resist, as if I am a pane of glass. I never cling to it by wallowing. It doesn’t leave any residue on my character. As sadness like happiness is also a fleeting sensation. It may very well sting and even leave me bloodied, but I always know while pain is inevitable, suffering will always be optional.

What is important for me at this moment is that I continue to hold steadfastly to the idea of cultivating balance.

A state of mind that neither intoxicates me with happiness nor consumes me in sadness – this I’ve discovered is the only reliable way for me to seek inner peace and contentment in this harsh environment.

Your tormentor or your guru?

I have noticed not everyone can be totally comfortable in the depths of isolation imposed by living and working in a plantation.

Many people, especially those who are accustomed to city living will feel boxed in after a while by the oppressive iron curtain of perpetual greenery. They may say, ‘I love nature.’ But that is only because they do not realize there is a vast difference between loving nature and living in the thick of it.

As after a few days of feeling marooned in nowhereville. They will begin to crave for their city routine of morning newspapers, endless choices of what to eat along with which mall they should shop at.

That is because they do not understand what it means to live in isolation faraway from the ways of the world.

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‘A few months back ago. A friend complained to me about what he described as the ‘appalling’ and ‘inconsiderate’ ways of a mutual friend. Judging from the amount of venom in his strained voice, this matter must have upset him terribly. So when he asked me for my opinion. I told him,

‘Instead of getting angry. Perhaps he can be your guru to teach you about the wisdom of patience.’

His only reply to me was, ‘I never thought of seeing it that way.’

The world is a place that can either make us angry all the time or give us plenty of opportunities to cultivate patience.

Patience to me is nothing more than the extraordinary skill to seek to understand a thing for what it really is and not what others say, it is. It is a distant cousin of empathy and often to master this life skill requires considerable effort.

Because if you think about it, very few people in this world will ever bother about the business of understanding you or trying to imagine how it feels like to be in your shoes. Very few. Most people only see the world thru their own eyes, ears and mind. That is quite understandable. As there is really no pressing motivation to do otherwise in this age where selfishness has become a way of life.

Recently one of my farmhands was later than usual in repaying a loan. My first reaction was to phone him up to demand an explanation. For some reason I decided against that idea and instead asked his neighbor how are things in the kampung, only to discover a freak storm had blown off the roof of this farmhand who owed me money.

That only goes to confirm my long held belief, the power of patience is a form of wisdom that can only come from understanding that allows us to manage ourselves and others effectively. It is only through a dedicated cultivation of patience that we become better parents, partners, powerful teachers, great businessmen, good friends, and can live a life free from suffering.’

The hubris that is the TPP

I turn the wheel of life as a farmer. So if the rumors are true. As it’s very hard to say. As the negotiations related to the TPP are conducted behind closed doors and very little or no information at all is made known to the general public.

Why can’t I read it and determine in what way my business will be affected so that I can make the necessary adjustments to try to make the best of a changing business environment.

Why is there a media blackout on the TPP to such an extent that very few people even know about it’s existence. If this ‘trade’ pact is going to affect 800 million people and is so far reaching that it will have an impact on 40% of the world’s economy. Then why are only conglomerates involved in the drafting the terms of the TPP. Who elected these people to represent 800 million people? By what authority do they have a right to tell me what to grow or how I should run my business without even bothering to consult me? Who do they think they are?

Something is very wrong with this picture. It doesn’t seem right at all.

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‘Don’t get me wrong. I am all for free trade. I even believe in the idea that increased competition whether local or global will ultimately deliver higher value and cost savings to the consumer.

But the problem with the TPP is it has nothing whatsoever to do with trade and even less to do with freedom.

Instead from what little I am able to glean from leaked documents, courtesy of wikileaks seems to suggest – The TPP is nothing more than an exclusive rich man’s club that has everything to do with perpetuating corporate hegemony.

For example, I don’t understand how extending the life of patents for pharmaceuticals is able to deliver increased value to the general public. To me it just means, if poor Abdul who suffers from some ailment used to pay $1 for his generic medication. Then after TPP, he would most probably have to pay $10. As $9.99 will be charged as royalties. So where does the higher value and lower cost feature for the average consumer?

Then there are those who are trying to push the ridiculous agenda. The TPP is some geopolitical fulcrum that is supposed to counterbalance the economic and military might of China in the Pacific rim. But that argument to me holds no water whatsoever. As China unlike America doesn’t have an ignominious history of sowing of the seeds of bad karma unlike the Americans who regularly sponsor proxy wars, covert regime changes along with drop 500 kg JDAM bombs on buildings to kill one terrorist and ends up making orphans and widows out of countless innocent Arabs. And these stupid people who have a consistent history of shooting themselves in the foot time and again wonder why ISIS is so popular! The way I see it, the threat posed by American imperialism in the APEC region is far more serious a matter of concern than the beneficial rise of China as an influential economic and military power.

As for the TPP being an economic containment strategy to somehow moderate the rise of China. Again that is argument only serves to insult my intelligence no end – as any economist worth his salt will probably testify – that horse has already bolted out the barn ten years ago! So if you want to do that might as well go invent a time machine.

Above all I deserve to know about the TPP because I repudiate the post modernist rhetoric that is so commonly used as a defense by self serving politicians and bureaucrats who only seem to favor the interest of big conglomerates at the expense of the common man – every economic shift produces winners and losers!

That is not true. If I know what is going to pan out. I can avert losing. And even should I have to deal with a lose/lose scenario. I can always engineer to lose small with the benefit of fore knowledge and timely intelligence. But if I clueless and I can’t even plan – I don’t even know what I am up against or whether I should stand my ground and put a good up a fight or run to the hills….I just don’t know.

These are just a few of my concerns I have about the TPP. Like I said, the TPP is secret and it’s not open to the general public to review or even debate. So that could well be ten, twenty or perhaps even hundreds other concerns. I don’t know…..and that is seems to the problem….no one knows about the TPP, except those who stand to benefit most!’

Being mindful of evil mantras that play automatically in our head

Contrary to popular myth. Our greatest enemies are usually not responsible for our state of suffering.

Usually we ourselves are our greatest enemies.

As since anger, resentment and ill will is merely a function of how we choose to see people, events and situations. Frequently, we create our own ideal conditions for suffering to take root.

Since it is not unusual for me to live and work alone for prolonged spells in a state resembling solitary confinement – I am always be mindful of how my mind can suddenly turn against me. Often without me even realizing this perceptive shift that can lead me to thoughts of anger and resentment.

When one is alone cut off from the world for long periods. It is very easy to hold on to a evil mantra in the mind only for it to keep playing on automatic repeat mode again and again and again. At some point we will come to convinced that this is the only way to see someone….a situation…..a event etc etc.

In this insidious way our anger and resentment can only grow bigger and bigger, till finally we become the very architects of the temple of suffering.

That is why whenever I find my mind turning against me and repeating an evil mantra about someone who slighted me or a hurtful incident – I have to consciously remind myself to switch off this evil mantra and to think instead of pleasant and happy thoughts.

This is how I am able to remain sane and effective in a very harsh and isolated environment.

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‘The mind has a habit of wandering. That is the nature of the mind. It is as capricious as the wind. As within a mind, there are many minds and they all push and pull at different directions propelling us to either the future or past. In these places faraway from the present we will often replay our fears and aspirations as we watch it all unfurl in technicolor and Dolby sound system somewhere in the cinema of our mind.

For example, in the past if someone has slighted me. It is not unusual for my mind to replay that hurtful scene again and again, till eventually I become so consumed by anger and revenge.

These days, since I make a conscious effort to be mindful of how my mind can turn suddenly against me, whenever this happens.

I will make a conscious effort to think of only the good aspects of this person who once slighted me…..in this way, I find that I am even able to develop a high level of fondness, compassion and respect for even my enemies and tormentors.

At times my respect and fondness for my enemies is so high that whenever they see me. They become even more fearful and anxious, as they do not understand how it’s possible for a man to respond to them so calmly without the slightest trace of anger.

This is just to illustrate the power of being conscious of how we can turn off or change the evil mantra broken records in our heads. By just being mindful of what we are thinking about and where our thoughts are leading us. Since we always mindful of how we can be our worst enemies. We are able to consciously direct our thoughts to a place where we can create ideal conditions to live without the need to suffer unnecessarily.

Recently, I gently shared with a mother who has a habit of scolding her daughter in public – ‘why are you angry with your daughter all the time. Do you not realize, your daughter will not be a young school girl all the time. In no time, she will grow up and move to the city to further her studies and before you know it, she will be a mother herself….and you will both be separated….so really you both do not have much time together.’

I then pointed to flowering durian trees and told her, ‘the time you both have is just a fleeting season – why don’t you make the best of it. Why don’t you create good, happy and fond memories for yourself and your daughter?’

I went on to share with this woman due to the dangerous nature of my work. I have not seen my children for years. I went on tell her, there are times when I cannot even remember how they look, sound and smell like. I pressed home the point, she was indeed a very fortunate and rich woman. My exact words were something to the effect, ‘heaven smiles upon you.’ When I shared with her all this, the woman who was always angry began to soften and eventually started to sob.

Perhaps she realized then, being able to see her child everyday should never be taken for granted. Thereafter the woman gave me her solemn word from today onwards, she would dedicate herself to making pleasant and happy memories for her daughter and herself instead of scolding her all the time at the top of her voice in the pasar.

When I shared all this with the woman who likes to scold her daughter – suddenly, it was as if she was abruptly awakened from a deep evil spell….and it was only then that she was able to see the error of her ways.

Such is the power of being aware of evil mantras that can take hold of our thoughts and play like automatic elevator music in our mind.

Frequently, we are not even aware of it’s insidious pull and how it influences our mood. It is only when we are conscious of how our own mind can inadvertently lead us to suffering that we are able to change the music, thereby taking control over our capricious mind.

But if like the woman who has the bad habit of scolding her daughter in public all the time. If we do not know. All we would be doing is reliving hell and suffering again and again.

Research and study this well, especially when dealing with unreasonable, irritating and inconsiderate people.

Hiding your strengths to make one stronger

Today I told my harvesters to spread the rumor, my yield has been going down due to mismanagement of my estate. I also instructed my farmhands to report, if anyone asked whether my bird population was going up or down – that they haven’t seen any young birds of late.

In a while many of my enemies in the village will begin to laugh at me. They will take joy from my many ‘failures.’ They will sit amongst themselves and relish the idea – the man who hails from the city is finally getting his due……

Meanwhile I will continue to grow stronger in the cover of these lies and when they are completely drunk on their self assurance….certain even that all is lost and that I am nothing but a bumbling fool.

I will strike like a cobra.

All warfare is based on deception.

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‘One reason why we suffer is because we harbor expectations from others. A son could treat his parents well, but if they do not see his goodness and instead choose to nitpick on his faults….he will feel sad. The same holds true for the dutiful husband who saves whatever he earns for his family only to feel let down when his wife suspects he may be secreting away some money on the side….he too will feel very sad.

In both instances. These men suffer as they harbor expectations from others. And when their acts are misconstrued, sadness follows.

I once stopped along a kampung road on a rainy day and proceeded to change a flat tire for a girl. Only to have to tell this frigid girl quite prosaically in the authoritative tone of a landowner, ‘Madam, I feel the need to inform you with great regret, you are not my type. You have nothing further to fear. I did not stop to change your tire just to fuck you. I just want to finish this and return back to my house and make a Ribena to quench my thirst. I would appreciate if you can help me by not being so nervous.’ Thereafter this girl began to calm down and blush only to intone in great disappointment, ‘Is that you final answer? Would you like to reconsider?’ The only reason why I felt the need to recount this strange tale is to illustrate how many of us often harbor false expectations of others that invariably leads to suffering.

The solution to this problem is NEVER harbor any expectations from others. Not even if we happen to be kind, generous and thoughtful to them. Never!

Give without any expectation that your charity and good will, will ever be returned or reciprocated.

That is the gold standard. The discipline.

If one is unprepared to do this. Then don’t give at all. Keep it all to yourself. As the act of giving is supposed to be the ultimate form of receiving that is supposed to nourish the soul of the giver and NEVER the recipient.

This is not indifference. Neither is it cynicism, it is simply the wisdom of living without the need to suffer unnecessarily.’

TPP dead as a duck for now!

No! Try harder next time.

The art of being your own man and woman

“The greatest thing a man can ever accomplish in his life is to be his own man and to live under his own terms and not be bothered about what others may say of him – this is the height of self confidence and what it means to live a purpose driven life – you do not need Yahweh, Allah, Buddha, Hara Krishna or the Mickey Mouse club to accomplish this feat.

All you have to do is to set aside some quiet time everyday and reflect deeply on life, work and play at your speed, cadence and trajectory – this is not an easy thing to do. As increasingly we live in a world which is doing its very best, to fashion you into someone else or to sell you the life that you should live. This for a man or for that matter any man to shape his identity must be very difficult, close to impossible even as he has to fight a constant battle and never stop fighting to keep his identity from being approprioted by the world.

Do not underestimate the world and it’s persuasive powers. It is adept in forcing it’s will on the ordinary man….insidiously…innocuously…cunningly, this it does through a multitude of tools and means – given it’s way, the world will tell a man, what car he should drive, what he should aim for in life even how many times he should make love to his wife etc etc – but I do not think this is the version of life, that I want to love – it is probably a life that came out from some propaganda poster or the mind of some bent pastor who is out to line his pocket by building a mega mall, if anything it is a counterfeit of a life and if you care to look carefully around you, there are many level headed and so called sane people who may even be seemingly successful, who even appear to have it all figured out. But look carefully and what you will discover is a confused man who is a stranger to himself – these are hollow men in the same vein T.S. Eliot once wrote about – the walking dead only, they are wearing Rolex’s and driving V8 cars – but make no mistake, these men are living a lie, so do not emulate them, you are just buying into a lifetime of grief that comes from foolishly chasing the chimeric pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

This is because many of these lost souls have not given life the seriousness of thought that it rightly deserves. They just follow unthinkingly….blindly without ever once interrogating how they ended up chasing the things they do in life. To put it another way. These lost men have invested in the wrong things and placed their faith in mirages.

Never apologize when you are kind to yourself – never even apologize, if it seems that requirement to be kind to yourself even means you come across as selfish and reclusive and difficult at times – finding your way in life means you have to be the CEO of your own being, to even see yourself and all that you stand for as your own corporation. When you are apologetic and coy in the way you set about discovering your inner self, you apologize for being truthful. You set about assasinating the truth and you end up being somebody else except who you were supposed to be. You are saying to others, “I am so sorry for taking off time to be true to myself.” To live for yourself is not to compare yourselve to others – you may feel that you are just going around in big and small circles – but do not feel dejected – be assured, when you are trully yourself and have discovered your real identity, then it is really only a matter of time before you will race ahead of the pack – this realization may take years for some men to discover and even take longer to realize, but if you make it a point to be kind to yourself and to set aside some quiet time every morning or evening to audit your thoughts and to ask of yourself – why are you doing, saying and thinking the things you do, then don’t be surprised, if you derive at the awful realization – that which you seek was something that someone else put in your head. They wound you up like a clock work toy and all you’re doing is expanding energy and time chasing their goals and dreams, instead of living the life you were always meant to live.

When one sets aside some quiet time everyday and reflect deeply about where, how and why – one needs to do this or that – it’s really only a matter of time before everything will just fall nicely into it’s right place and one will begin to live.

I envy the man who is kind to himself as he is a thinking being and not a robot – he is a free man and that is the heighest expression of what it means to be alive, it is not about getting X number of hits on your blog or being able to retire before 40, it is to live a life, where you know deep down inside you, wherever you go, you go with a true heart – when you do this, you become Buddha, Jesus, Martin Luther King and Gandhi all rolled up into one – your life becomes edifying and example for others and above all you give others the permission to pursue their quest to know themselves better – so learn to be kind to yourself my friends, this is the lesson the land has taught me. Meanwhile, I remain yours Darkness, a student of the tao of the land.

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‘When we ask of others why they much prefer to live in suffering than happiness, to choose war rather than live in peace, to elect for strife and chaos instead of harmony. We will never get a satisfactory answer. Because these poor souls have already fashioned a sort of prison in hell that blinds them to the truth.

It is only when we retreat inwards into the temple of solitude all by ourselves and reflect deeply upon our own lives, desires, yearnings and fears will we begin to discover many of the answers to the questions we seek from others.

Here in this place of stillness where our ego is stripped bare and all the truth is splayed out like wares in a pasar malam – we are able to register our own conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, cravings and yearnings.

It is not a pretty sight to behold….to bear witness to the completeness of our own corruption that is.

That is why many people fear the temple of solitude. That is why they much prefer to blame others and external conditions for their own misery and suffering. That is why , as humans we much prefer to marinate our consciousness in endless layers of meaningless distractions….SMSing, whiling their time playing games or just allowing their mind to be taken in by the tsunami of the mind control apparatus of the marketing manifesto. We are even prepared to do everything and anything to avoid looking at ourselves truthfully.

That is how conceited man is……that is also how we fashion our prisons of delusions.

Don’t believe me. Look carefully! Look closely! Look around you. Do you see it? How the vast majority of humanity seems to prefer to run away from themselves all the time….in truth, we dare not look within ourselves. Do we? As many of the answers to the questions we actually seek….why is there so much misery, suffering and strife in this world resides within us. As often we are cause of the problem.

It is only the strongest and most powerful mind that has the discipline to look with the inner eye at the ugly aspects that makes up our character…to say, I am selfish….I am ungrateful….I am greedy….I am self centered etc etc.

When a man knows of this arcanum and reflects on it often. Though he may from time feel pain…..suffering will always be optional….as he is enlightened.

This is the ONLY defining difference between the Buddha and the blind. One looks inwards and audit his thoughts. He is mindful and all seeing. The other is like a restless monkey, going here and everywhere, swinging from tree to tree – such a indisciplined mind is like a sword that is unsheathe and left lying around, it is bound to cause pain to it’s owner and others.

Research and study this well so that you can bear the many pains of life with the comforting knowledge – while pain is inevitable, suffering is always optional.’

Managing yourself effectively with disrespectful people

In your brief lifespan in this world. You are bound to come across disrespectful people who will try to hurt you with cruel words, deeds and thoughts.

Whenever you come across such people – you must always remember, providing you did not do anything willfully to incur their wrath. The problem has to reside with them – they probably have issues that are eating them up from within. Maybe when they see you, they secretly yearn to be like you. But since they are stuck in their miserable sagging skins that no one wants to fuck – they just have to hate you to take the sting out of the crappy cards life cruelly dealt them.

Never bow before such people. Never even give them so much as a millimeter. Because if you do – all your self respect, dignity and worth as an individual will be torn to shreds to feed their ravenous resentments, insecurities, over inflated ego and psychosis.

Just walk away and give them directions to the nearest minefield where hopefully they will end up as fertilizer to nourish the trees.

If you disregard this and choose to stay to work out their issues, you will only be sucked into the gyre of their darkened world and in no time – you who were once whole and balanced will end up entertaining evil thoughts like how to mow them all down with a machine gun along with where to hire an excavator at midnight along with where to dig a mass grave, fabricate an alibi when the police comes knocking at your door etc etc etc….all you will end up doing is complicating your already complicated life. What is the point! Worst of all, their twisted ways will change you till, you will become as evil and disturbed and unbalanced as them.

Being alone all by yourself is infinitely better, healthier and much more nourishing than to struggle in vain in the company of people who are just out to find fault with you all the time.

Just walk away.

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‘As a farmer. Life is already complicated and hard. So why would I want to complicate my already complicated life? Why is there a need to make life which is already hard…harder?

Why?

Tell me. Do you believe, you were put on this earth to nourish human suffering?

Or perhaps you were born in this time line to enjoy whatever little happiness life has to offer – happiness is not an easy thing to come by for me or you. Peace of mind. The feeling that comes from putting in an honest days work. All these moments are rare and hard to come by, so why allow inconsiderate people to take whatever little you already have that makes life worth living?

This is why nowadays whenever I have nothing good to say of others. I choose to remain quiet. If I feel that a group of people bring out the worst in me. I avoid fellowshipping with them.

In the past I would do crazy things whenever I am angry like punch a steel door again and again till my hands swell up like boxing gloves. Only to end up asking myself – what did you do that for? Now you have no hands for the next month!

These days I still punch a steel door from time to time whenever I am angry. But I limit myself to only three blows.

I need to learn how to walk away.’

The integrity of faith

Recently I told a group of Christians to leave me alone. When one of them asked of me – did you know he died for you? I told her, why would he do something as a stupid as that!

Thereafter I walked away as they all cursed me.

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‘A superior culture will always conquer an inferior mode of thinking. It’s factual…axiomatic even – the same I imagine holds true of religion. Often it can be the clearest testament of the unalloyed truth or a well crafted lie, depending on how one chooses to weave it into one’s life to manage oneself and others.

After all, if a man is a bringer of joy, purveyor of the truth and can always be counted to nourish the human spirit – why would any man not follow him to the ends of this earth and ask of this man, ‘tell me more about your God.’ Why should I care whether his God can walk on water or is just as comfortable meditating on a lotus blossom or the carburetor of my tractor. What does it matter to me whether he is a Christian, Moslem, Buddhist or someone who worships a discarded coke bottle. That imposition can never occur in my mind – as I’ve witnessed first hand the miracles of how his faith can touch lives.

But if all a man can do is past judgement, sow the seeds of enmity, harbor resentment, bully others, nit pick and look for trouble all the time – then why would any sane thinking human being follow and emulate him? As all this man can do is demonstrate to all very clearly – how one should NEVER aspire to live. Worst still his life is the very indictment of the religion he worships….as it could be said he neither knows how to manage himself and others wisely to inspire trust, love and brotherhood.

Do you imagine for one moment, a thinking man would be seduced into belief by mere empty words that don’t even have the power to jump out of the pages of some holy book to transform lives. What rubbish do these people hope to accomplish when they go around cloaked in their patina of righteousness, sanctimony and insularity in the hope of spreading their faith. Even farmers are judged by either the bitter or sweet succulent fruit they produce. So why shouldn’t men of faith be judged by how much joy, hope and relief they can bring to their fellow men. What makes them so special that they stand immune from judgement by their fellow men?

Do these brain damaged people really presume to believe that an inferior culture can overcome a superior way of life? Do they not realize how they think, behave and conduct themselves is the clearest testament of whether their faith really works or crashes and burns.

Or do they actually believe – it’s possible for water to run uphill and that an inferior culture can overcome a superior way of life…..how childish….how stupid…how naive and this naturally begs the question – if there is really a God, why does he not eradicate these conceited people who invoke his name only to bring out the very worst in his fellow men….why does he not set forth an epic plague to wipe them all out. That in my humble opinion is the least he can do…..if God really exist…that is.’

SG50

Yesterday a group of people invited me to a party. Of course, I assured them. I would show up….hardly had I put down the phone. I could taste the bitterness in my mouth…..I lied.

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‘Maybe the idea of home is just a place you make up in your head. Something you cling to, only because thru the years it has become so encrusted with your memories and experiences. Maybe it’s not even a shape on a map. Not even a faint memory of sights, sounds and smells. Maybe it’s not even a story full of people who once came into your life and places you walked all by yourself in the rain. Maybe….just maybe….after so many years of being away, home is deep inside you. I just realized that. Only just then – and now I don’t feel homesick any longer and I seem to have no fear of the unfamiliar any longer. Above all I don’t have to be like anyone else. No I don’t. You see – I know who I am and where I am going. That’s good to go! As for the idea home – it’s wherever I go. I just have to still all the madness around me and look deep inside me….and abracadabra….I am home.

Once you know this….anything is possible in this world. Nothing can stand in your way!’

My wonder weapon against the invasion of the alien weed

There is an evil weed that is smoldering everything in it’s wake where I turn the wheel of life. Most farmers are responding to this new menace in the only way they know how – by engaging in a protracted chemical war against the alien invader.

In my assessment, they will lose. I have modeled the outcome mathematically in every possible scenario – all they are doing is getting embroiled in an expensive, wasteful and drawn out arms race where at the end – they would have to resort to a super poisonous range of herbicides – that will eventually poison their land. Win all the battles and lose the war!

These foolish farmers have not bothered to study and research the art of war of this alien weed. It cannot be wiped out, it’s sublimely clever and all they are doing is inadvertently building herbicidal resistance thus creating a new generation of ever stronger evil weed.

After months of research and field studies. I finally have the solution – the solution takes it’s cue from the ancient aphorism, poison cures poison…..I will use another strain of weed to smolder this other evil weed. Only this is a good weed, one that gives back to the land more than it can ever take and this will mean my land will always be fertile and the crops that grow will always be high yielding.

Go my little friends….go fight and win this war!

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‘Every morning when I look at the man who stares back at me in the mirror – I say to him, ‘good morning, how’s the world’s greatest farmer today?. Usually he just gives me that same bleary eyed look of different day, same shit and continues shaving. I don’t see as an exaggeration – world’s greatest farmer that is. Not at all. As I happen to believe the man in the mirror truly deserves such an extraordinary appellation only because, I have every reason to believe he’s no ordinary farmer. He is the prototypal farmer extraordinaire of the future.

That’s how I start my day…that’s how I put a spring on my walk that last me the whole day in the field.

In the future I envision a great social reversal – where droves of men and women will return back to the land. I don’t see this as some dreamlike dystopian screenshot. To me it’s very real, as it is a very compelling case. Many will begin to turn their backs on cities.

Call it what you may a post modernist exodus, an awakening or crie de couer for a simpler, slower and more meaningful way to live. But it will happen as cities gradually turn into nihilistic battery chicken farms where the averagely miserable masses seem to do very little except work, work and work just to get by. The sad fact about the modern economy is it’s a grand race right down to the bottom by cannibalizing on the well being of the worker – wages are not nearly keeping up with expenses. Ravenous corporations pay scant attention to the dignity of labor and the whole idea of a living wage for workers. They seemed focused only about amassing power, money and influence to perpetuate the status quo ante.

Hence. I simply don’t see that modern day calculus of life as a sustainable way to make human progress. It may very well make economic book sense, but since it puts the well being of people before monetary growth….at some point, many will begin to question the whole idea of work and how it may even fit in to create the idea of a better tomorrow.

When that day comes….many will turn away from cities.

I am sure many will disagree with me. As I am equally certain many will also have absolutely no trouble in agreeing with my bleak take of the future.

The way I see it, when that day comes these hopeful men and women appear like a thin line in the horizon to farm as a way of reclaiming their lost lives – they would need the prototypal farmer of the future to show them the ropes. To be there like a silent sentinel to ease their right passage into their first harvest, to see them thru from the realm of theory to reality.

My entire life has been nothing less than a testament to this indestructible belief.

This is neither alien nor strange to me. As when I reflect back on my life, there have been many moments when I have committed myself to ‘strange’ missions that no one really understands – it always starts that way, where usually I trudge alone for years and years….then one day I met others and more will join the flow and soon like the Americans say, the rest is history.

That I imagine is how I see my life. Or should I say how I much prefer to see.’

When Malaysians make more sense than Singaporean policy makers.

There is a proposal in Malaysia to impose a minimum climb age for MK.

What’s my take? Good move!

I don’t see any difficulty to mobilise many of the world’s leading climbers to support this latest inititiatve by the Malaysian authorities….after all I am the man who just happens to have five out of seven peaks etched in the inside of my belt. That’s the equivalent of the iron cross with swords and diamonds in the cloistered community of those who regularly pit themselves against mountains.

I am sure they would all listen to me, it’s after all a very small tight knit community of cosy inderism winks and nudges….all it takes is a couple of phone calls.

You all have no idea how easy it is to move this mountain.

This is the only way to protect kids from gung-ho kamikaze adventurist. There is no other way…the solution is to shove it down their throats irrespective of whether they like it or not! This is the only way.

Your party is truly over!

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‘The issue is never about whether MK is easy or hard to climb. Or even whether it is doable by a toddler, paraplegic or cripple in a wheelchair. That to me is a red herring in every possible sense. Irrelevant!

Steady down and think it thru.

The real issue is reduced to only the power of one question – can the risk justify the expected pay out? That would depend on whether the probable risk factors can be effectively mitigated and managed. That also happens to be the base line duty of care that every responsible expedition organizer, leader and stakeholder would have to consider very seriously BEFORE a climb – can he minimize the risk to as close to zero as possible….if the answer is ‘no’. Then there is no excuse to use natural disaster as a defense because I can argue loose rocks are as common in mountains as shamrock is to open fields in Ireland and it’s criminally irresponsible to put leave safety in the capricious hands of Mother Nature. That’s the litmus test when it comes to kids and dangerous activities. Safety first! The rest comes thereafter.

The onus is amplified a thousand fold when kids are involved. Because there is nothing in their thumb drives – so if you tell them it’s safe….they will believe it’s safe. That’s the tragedy about young people. They Bo chye see. It’s infanticide.

Not like seasoned climbers who all secret a razor in the inner liner of their boot and who will have absolutely no hesitation in cutting himself loose in the first sign of trouble. They go in with their eyes open…they are aware of the risk. Of course these are the facts of life that even seasoned climbers never talks about, not even amongst themselves simply because it’s politically incorrect to do so.

I say, if the risk cannot be managed effectively to as near to zero as humanly possible – then it’s better to give it a miss for the sake of all. After all it’s not as if there aren’t less dangerous and other memorable ways to develop character, confidence and leadership skills.

Don’t be macho or gung-ho about it. This is not an ego trip – after all the mountain, sea or jungle is not going to go anywhere in the next one thousand years, so what’s the rush to climb it at twelve years of age?

What are you trying to prove? I don’t understand….I just don’t. To me it’s just incredibly dumb to go out and look for trouble….especially when it comes to twelve year olds.’