a beautiful note

"dear krish

i'm sorry, after all i decided to travel alone because i have a boyfriend, i talked to him online yesterday, i don't want to be unfaithful to him. forgive me. 

Kana"

peel on a plate

this plate of lai-chi peel might just look like "art" to some of you,

but it also triggers the memory of

that sunny-windy day,

sitting on a deck,

after eating a sunday breakfast with avocado on toast,

watching the beautiful ocean view of Coolum beach,

inhaling the fresh see breeze,

listening to the waves and birds in the distance,

thinking : this is the life

acceptance

there's no point getting annoyed at yourself,

just accept who you are and get on with life.

--- from my very wise housemate Gwen

mega seems to do just that.

When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait. – Pablo Picasso

learn

a child learns how to live
an adult learns how to live with people

phone booth

a phone booth

glowing in the dark

the scratched plastic panel

the cold metal telephone

it all seems so yesterday

it all seems so alien

when was the last time

 you dialled those metal numbers?

when was the time time

you inserted coins?

too long ago?

always listen

always listen

to those older than you

you may not think that they are as educated / sophisticated as you are

but they have life experiences that are lessons only taught from living & through time - which you may not have had yet

do not laugh at their advice / their stories 

they are only telling you things because they care about you

and what they say is most likely to be things you will learn sooner / later yourself


always listen

to those younger than you

you may not think that they are as experienced / civilised as you are

but they often have the most intrinsic and honest opinions that "grown-ups" loose as they become more self aware, self defensive, and mislead by society

do not laugh at their expressed thoughts

they are only telling you things because they have no other intention but to tell you the truth, which does not happen very often anymore

and what they say is most likely to be things you have initially seen / felt / thought, but have suppressed / twisted / ignored (that animal instinct) ... and have subconciously deceived / denied yourself of that honest opinion

you are worth it

some words to one self:

are you overwhelmed sometimes by all the things you want to do?

do life-goals daunt you?

do not overwhelm yourself

set small goals

even if they seem pointless at the time

step by step

they will add up

and looking back

you will see how far you've come

do what you can do

don't be too ambitious

be kind to yourself (and to others)

encourage yourself 

reward yourself

but be strict on yourself

never under estimate others

never under estimate yourself

do not be held back by things that take an extra amount of effort to do

you'll appreciate it more once you've accomplished it

and you won't know if you can do it / will like it

unless you try it

but do it within means

do not stretch your boundaries (too much)

always challenge yourself

never give up

never loose sight of your dreams

always have faith in yourself (and to others)

never let others, but most importantly, you, let you down

invest in yourself

develop your skills, network, knowledge, continue to grow, to accumulate 

make friends, not enemies

be driven, but look after yourself

have family / friends to keep you grounded

do work effectively, not just efficiently

efficient = doing the work right
effective = doing the right work

have variety of tasks to keep your brain sharp / focused

do not dwell on one thing for too long

take a break

step back

see the big picture

reinforce the reason for doing it

see it from a "management" point of view

treat yourself like a small business

manage yourself

you never know when something / someone will one day become a link to a new opportunity

always open doors for yourself / look out for open doors

keep hoping

keep working towards a goal

keep believing in yourself

keep looking for opportunities

never deny yourself of new opportunities 

embrace a challenge

you get what you allow yourself to deserve

"you are worth it"

be happy

life is too short to be unhappy

get out there
watch the sunset
look at the moon
smell the flowers
listen to conversations
amuse yourself with people of all kinds & sizes
see what happy people are doing, seeing, eating

soon you will forget what you are unhappy about
and be happy that you are normal, healthy, and have so many things to do / see ...

Judgment

Keep it simple

Take it at face value

Make a call, stick with it

walking blind

being blind is the opposite of being invisible.


you don't get distracted
people see you
you don't see them
focus on your path
you can't judge people
by how they walk
and how they look
you can't guess what they are thinking
or what they do
everything is anonymous
everything is a vivid blur
everything is how you imagine it to be

pass time

i was touched by this simple story, 
if you can even call it a story.

my friend's dad remembers when he was a boy,
his dad used to take him for walks in the evenings,
to the train tracks.

they stood there,
watching the first train go by,
listening to the vibration on the tracks,
till they could no longer hear it.

they stood there,
until another train went by,
and another,
and another...

they stood silently,
peacefully,
this was their pass time,
this was their bonding time.

roald dahl

"those who don't believe in magic will never find it"

enough

enough
it's a word that's never enough
enough of work
enough of play
enough of money
enough of fame
enough of news
enough of chocolate
enough of coffee
enough of sleep - ?
enough of possessions
enough of worries
enough of boredom
enough of site-seeing
enough of walking
enough of cleaning
enough of tv
enough of bills
enough of facebook
enough of apps
enough of rain
enough of politics
enough of controversy 
enough...
when is it never enough?

appreciate the unappreciated

you need joy to appreciate sadness
you need company to appreciate loneliness
you need comfort to appreciate hardship  
you need love to appreciate rejection  
you need food to appreciate hunger  
you need water to appreciate thirst  
you need sunshine to appreciate rain  
you need trees to appreciate the lack of pollution 
you need space to appreciate crowd 
you need life to appreciate death  
you need health to appreciate no sickness  
you need conversation to appreciate silence  
you need silence to appreciate noise 
you need community to appreciate isolation  
you need strength to appreciate weakness 
you need time to appreciate deadlines 
you need a holiday to appreciate work   
you need technology to appreciate no "fatal error" 
you need normality to appreciate disfunction 


appreciate the unappreciated.

find out what you want,
realise what you don't want.

appreciate

you need sadness to to appreciate happiness
you need loneliness to to appreciate company
you need hardship to appreciate comfort
you need rejection to appreciate love
you need hunger to appreciate food
you need thirst to appreciate water
you need rain to appreciate sunshine
you need sunshine to appreciate rain
you need pollution to appreciate trees
you need crowd to appreciate space
you need death to appreciate life
you need sickness to appreciate health
you need silence to appreciate conversation
you need noise to appreciate silence
you need isolation to appreciate community
you need weakness to appreciate strength
you need deadlines to appreciate time
you need work to appreciate a holiday
you need a "fatal error" to appreciate (or not appreciate) technology
you need disfunction to appreciate normality


you need to appreciate everything you got, before you loose it.

bins

bins. they are an essential part of every household. bin nights are like community gatherings on the street, every household, rich or poor, large or small, shaggy or glossy, puts their bins out. and they all look the same. when is bin night? is this the yellow bin week? those are the questions i missed while overseas. i like bin nights. it gives the week a routine. it brings a community feeling. neighbours copy each other, often when one yellow bin appears the rest follows suit, and occasionally the trend setter gets it wrong. so everyone drags their full bins back reluctantly. bin nights bring out the personalities out of neighbours who we hardly know. anal, laid back, last minute, on time, neat, messy ... brisbane streets will not be the same without these bins. and although the sound of bin trucks the next morning is extremely irritating, it is at the same time familiar and reassuring... and i hope this will always be a tradition.