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I Am So Lost at the zenith, where none can reach. Wondering Wanderer What will your reflection think? Who’s imitating who? Who’s emulating who? The Dark and The Light. krad and light(zem) They Found Me commune
Chapters of my life April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 December 2006 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 December 2010 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 |
Saturday, December 02, 2006 Hi, back again. Well, some excerpts from the book {Tuesdays with Morrie} _______ As long we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.
____ Instead, I buried myself in accomplishments, because with accomplishments, I believed I could squeeze in every last piece of happiness before I got sick and died..., which I figured was my natural fate. Has every one of us once harbored the thought to make the world a better place? Yet the world has its way of systematically converting us... People are only mean when they’re threatened, and that’s what our culture does. Even people who have jobs in our economy are threatened, because they worry about losing them. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself.
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The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. We don't experience the world fully, because we are half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.
Once you start running, it's hard to slow down... Purpose and meaning, purpose and meaning..... still searching..... ? ___________________(We are to stand, then fall backwards, relying on our partners to catch us. Most are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few moments before stopping ourselves. ) Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling. Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. In the beginning of life, as infants, we need others to survive. At the end of life, frail, we need others to survive. But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well. We need to forgive ourselves for all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done A teacher affect eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. - Henry Adams |
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As long we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.
Ha, my fav excerpt.
How one transcends time and the mortality...
Yes the memories of love remain, but how about the memories of how the person dies? Is it better for such memories to transcend time or to be forgotten? Yet, it is with bitterness that there is sweet love. What irony!
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Instead, I buried myself in accomplishments, because with accomplishments, I believed I could squeeze in every last piece of happiness before I got sick and died..., which I figured was my natural fate.
I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it.
Will this happen to us? When reality finally consume our dreams? When ideals give way.…?
Has every one of us once harbored the thought to make the world a better place? Yet the world has its way of systematically converting us...
The world converts us? Rather,I think we choose to yield, and blame it on circumstances. Because if you don't conform, you become despised in terms of social hierarchy. Agree? Some people bravely choose not to conform and seek their ideals against society (e.g. eccentric artists in Singapore when there is obviously not much social space up there for the arts). But this does not mean those ideals which are in line with the society's hierarchy should be condemned. Some people could sincerely want those as ideals. Yes?
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People are only mean when they’re threatened, and that’s what our culture does. Even people who have jobs in our economy are threatened, because they worry about losing them. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself.
But well, sometimes the state of the world seems to be a display of inevitability… Survival of the fittest still applies, competition still exists, no matter whether you want to be in it or not, it simply churns you in...
Ditto! Yes in the end we are all still savage beasts. It is sad that even as we supposedly become more civilised, we actually regress morally. Sad sad truth...
And no some people are mean all the time. Haha... I have met such a person in secondary school. Well I don't really blame her. I guess it is her inclination but I am still on the quest to realise why. Maybe some genetic disposition, personality trait. Perhaps... Reminds me of Aldoux Huxley's Brave New World. People there have their roles determined by a higher self-made authority. They allocate roles according to what suits the person best. It infringes human rights but maybe that is the right way to go? So that everyone is happy doing what they do best. Argh but that is still so wrong. Who has the right to tell ANYONE what to do? Much less depict their ENTIRE lives?!?! Perhaps there is just NO RIGHT WAY in this world. Haha if you would allow me to add in religious views, I think the best is heaven. :)
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The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it.
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
We don't experience the world fully, because we are half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do.
Part of the problem, is that everyone is in such a hurry. People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running.
Once you start running, it's hard to slow down...
Purpose and meaning, purpose and meaning..... still searching..... ?
I agree. When we run, we fail to stop and really THINK what we want in life. And some THINK that life will go on forever, although they KNOW that it won't. They feel invincible and that there is still a lot of time. But sometimes in order to survive you NEED to run. So maybe what one can do is to intentionally stop and walk when possible and really THINK what lies ahead and whether that is what one wants. I think purpose in life is very personal and subjective. It may not be as the author suggested.
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(We are to stand, then fall backwards, relying on our partners to catch us. Most are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few moments before stopping ourselves. )
Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling.
Trust is mutual, you say? Yes. Haha got a little lost reading this part; seems like you have a few points here. So you are saying sometimes we have to lean on intuition, right? Because we need others and we have to just trust them when we don't know whether they are able to catch us. Hmm why????? I still don't really get the rationale here.
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Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.
In the beginning of life, as infants, we need others to survive. At the end of life, frail, we need others to survive. But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well.
We need to forgive ourselves for all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done
What does forgiving ourselves got to do with definitely needing to rely on others? Is it that we didn't know that we made mistakes because we didn't turn to others and we didn't know it is alright and normal to do so? True. But "all the things we should have done" or "didn't do"... I think sometimes we just have to tell ourselves - no one is perfect. It's not so much a matter of certain need for reliance on others anymore. I think we just demand too much from ourselves sometimes, when it really doesn't matter that much. And sometimes we get too caught up in what people think of us, when people are too caught up in their own worlds of others' perceptions of themselves. Aiyo like don't need to get so stressed when everyone is too busy looking at themselves. Haha...
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A teacher affect eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. - Henry Adams
Inspiring isn't? Now that three of my friends are embarking on their journey to become a teacher... Well, well...
I pray that I will be able to give the influence the children need. :)
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I like this entry. Very insightful and sincere. Thanks, Jun Zhan. =D
Chris
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