Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of toast and tea.
– T.S. Eliot
Nha Trang, Vietnam.
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It is interesting to see the different manifestations of divine powers that humans have come up with.
A week ago while in Vietnam, I visited the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. The Cao Dai religion is a culmination of a few religions, including Buddhism, Christianity and Confucianism. In their prayers, the worshipers faces the Divine Eye, which represents God.
I believe that most, if not all, religions lead towards the same path. The question of religion should then become whether one believes in the existence of God.
Happy Easter!
A few years ago, I came across a Japanese saying about water. It commented on how water could represent both life and death. One could not live without water. Yet, one could also easily lose his life to water. Such is a paradox of life.
RIP Prof Winston Koh 1963-2013
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Nha Trang, Vietnam
Two years ago, a palm reader said to me that my 2013 is going to be a boom or a bust. He was literally reading between the lines of my palms.
To be honest, I don’t completely believe in his predictions of me. Not that I am denying those bad predictions (haha!). It’s just that there are only so many things that those palm lines could reveal. If humans can indeed predict the future so well, then everybody would have lived happily (ever after). Unfortunately, that is far from the truth.
Sometimes, the present moment leaves clues about the future. At other times, it doesn’t. All we could do is to embrace the present moment and go wherever it takes us. 2013 is just two weeks away, and I am excited to see how it will unfold.
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Lavender, Singapore.
“Colors are the deeds and suffering of light” goes a quote by the German artist Johan Wolfgan von Goethe.
I first stumbled upon this quote while reading the photography book of Alex Webb titled “Suffering of Light’. The Magnum photographer commented of how he was mesmerized by the radiance of color photography, especially of photos taken in the tropical region.
While the streaking sun had bothered me much while I was in Bangkok, I am relieved of the slight tinge of vibrancy in my photos.
There is something called the Terror Management Theory. No, this theory has nothing to do with horror movies! Rather, it proposes that human behavior is always motivated by their sub-conscious fear towards death. So, religions supposedly came about to help us mere mortals make sense of the world (and make peace with death).
This brings me to a point raised by a Thai friend of mine. She mentioned how, in a Buddhist perspective, an early, natural death may not necessarily be a negative thing. A person who dies young may have a pure soul and have completed what he or she is meant to do on Earth.
I may not be a Buddhist, but what she said resounded in my heart. At 23, I’m still making sense of the world, let alone death. Ironically, I’ve come to realize that the fear of death has somewhat made my life worth living.
—
Bangkok, Thailand
When the rain fell today, I immediately thought of the film “Magnolia” and its bizarre rain sequence. No spoilers here, I promise. What I can tell you, though, is that the film deals heavily with the topic of coincidences.
I like coincidences because they make our lives more entertaining. Life always has its own funny way of creating adventures. Whatever form it has, a coincidence usually serves as a test of one’s personality, for the better or worse.
Do you believe in coincidences?
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Chinatown, Singapore
For anything that goes up, something else must go down. Such words ring true in Singapore, especially as the country has very limited space.
Two days ago in Singapore, an announcement on a new train line was made. This meant that areas affected by the line construction will be acquired by the government. Pearl’s Center is one of those buildings located within the affected area. The building stands next to the building in the photograph’s background, Pearl Bank Apartments. The ironic thing is that the Pearl Bank Apartments had undergone a few unsuccessful attempts of en-bloc sale to a private developer across the years. In contrast, the acquisition notice on Pearl’s Center had caught its residents by surprise. So, two years from now, the unwilling residents would still be living in the area, while the willing ones would have left.
It is always sad that, in progressing towards the future, one has to keep tearing down the past. What we see now will be different from what our children see.
The coming 9th of August will mark the 47th anniversary of Singapore’s independence. This country has been my base for the past 13 years. Telling this to people whom I’ve just met usually leads to the question, “Would you ever consider becoming a Singapore citizen?”
Well, I have to admit that such opportunity would be hard to resist. Judging by how famous actor Jet Li and actress Gong Li had taken up Singapore citizenship, I’m not the only one with this opinion. It can be difficult travelling around with my Indonesian passport, especially after the emergence of terrorism in Indonesia. It is sad how the acts of a small minority have tarnished the country’s reputation.
Anyway, a country’s reputation is something that my Singapore friends shouldn’t worry about. In fact, it’s something that they should be very proud of. As for me, while there’s the saying ‘never say never’, I am happy being an Indonesian.
Today, an event named “Open House: Zion Road” brought me to the blue housing blocks of Zion Road in Singapore. The occasion served as a reminder of the area’s inevitable demolition for a new development. You see, the prime location of the area had made it an easy target for en-bloc and re-development. That precise decision took place in 2006.
Now, only few residents remain living in the area. Their time is running out. The young man who opened his former flat for the Open House told me that many of the residents had been moved to new residences in Tiong Bahru or Redhill area. Of course, some are happy with their new flats. But, many others do miss their former homes.
Things always come and go in Singapore. My mom used to joke that buildings in Singapore only last 25 years. To this, I can only respond with a quote by writer Susan Spano — “Souvenirs are perishable; fortunately, memories are not”. Those buildings may be gone, but our memories of them will stay.
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Read more about the estate through blog “Remembering Singapore”
