Waiting for a new life.

For the start of 2015, I'm taking on many new changes.

1. A new baby 
2. New business ventures
3. Taking up taxi driving 

Not sure if things will turn out well but YOLO right? Moving forward, never looking back.

Now I'm waiting at NUH for my wife to deliver the baby. The doctors say the contractions are pretty ok but it will be a long wait. Looks like we will be staying overnight. Should have bought my PS3 along. :/

I find it interesting that the delivery ward is so far away from their maternity ward. 15 mins.

The wait continues. 

C'est La Vie

Received SMS from Bernard that Adrian Lee is in coma after having a seizure in the sea.

The first question to come was of course, which Adrian is it?

And it took me 2 days to finally remember which Adrian he is.

Crap.

I mean we were same class during our Uni first year. What happened, such that i could not match a face to this name. The truth is that we drifted apart after first year due to RE/BU streaming.

But still, if i'm in SG, i would go and see him, maybe for the last time. We did have some fun times together then. He's a talkative guy who likes to debate and talk all sort of nonesense with me or anyone in general. The last time we spoke was on yahoo this year.

Hmm... feeling crappy now... Maybe subconsciously, i dun want want the name to be that of some one that i do know again? Trying to give myself an excuse? Maybe....

Nevertheless my dear Adrian, not sure when u will be leaving us. But just want u to know i dun regret knowing u. Cheers my friend. Be in peace.

Post note - 3 Jan 10: Go in peace my friend.

On Death

Can death be sleep, when life is but a dream.
And scenes or bliss pass as a phantom by?
The transient pleastires as a vision seem
And yet we think the greatest pain's to die.
How strange it is that man on earth should roam
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake
His rugged path; nore dare he view alone
His future doom which is but to awake.

-John Keats (1814)

Some thoughts but too lazy

Sometimes i wanted to write something here. But just too lazy to pen my thoughts down. Is this a sign of aging?

It is easier to put a line down at facebook these days.

Oh well. 随缘吧。

The Tao of Being Slow and Steady - Being Still

Being human, we all have the tendency to do things fast so that we could go on to do more things. Or we tend to "multi-task" for the same reason. The underlying reason for our fast-paced life is to do more things so as to maximise our limited time on earth.

However in one's rush, human tends to make mistakes and waste more time instead. An oxymoron that one tends to forget sometimes.

Looking back to my own experience with Aikido and Taichi, these 2 counterintuitive arts teaches one to be slow and steady instead so that one could be faster in mastering them.

I was reminded of this principle again while i was drawing lines to cross out items on a list using an ink-based pen. Anyone using a normal ink-based pen would know that using one to draw a line can be irritating as the ink rarely flows evenly, especially when you trying to draw your line fast. To draw an even line, you would have to draw on your pen slowly with steady pressure.

This makes me ponder about the times of my life when mistakes are made. Most of them occur when i was rushing. Also, we are conditioned to be fast by this fast-paced society which demands speed and efficiency in all areas.

So how does being slow and steady makes one faster? By being efficient. Fast and Efficiency are not synomous bedfellows. More often than not, they are quite exclusive. One could always fast, but one is never always efficient; i.e mistakes. It is counterintuitive but it makes sense.

Does that mean one should do things slow all the time to achieve efficiency? The prinicple of Tao implies that being slow or fast is being relative. Being steady is the key to the speed in which one should move.

And how does one be steady?

By having a still mind. Having a still mind is like being at the centre of a vortex. Center/mind is calm while everything else moves around it.

Mind you, having a still mind is not easy. But one can start by being slow and steady, where eventually one will slow down and become still.

Dogville

Was reading a review on Antichrist when i somehow wandered to the Wikipedia page on Dogville, which was by the same director. It was supposed to be a USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy of sorts but only got as far as the second installment "Manderlay"

Dogville seems like an interesting flim, althought the Antichrist got lambasted. Not sure about Manderlay though, as i never heard of it.

I particularly like this statement from the director:

According to von Trier, the point of the film is that "evil can arise anywhere, as long as the situation is right."

Hmm... Sounds about right. So what are the situations that Evil can arise easily?

1. Enforcing your own beliefs on others


2. Enforcing your own opinions without understanding the whole picture


3. Blind obedience


4. Protecting self interest
   
5. Emotions like vengeance, jealousy, anger, etc
   
6. anymore?

Do not go gentle into that good night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning
they Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)