Dear Life …

Notice anything unusual here?

Yes, I know it’s a plant … yes yes … and it has 2 leaves -_- .. okie .. wat else … yes, there’s a window there … what else, Donna? Oh … it’s sprouting out from an egg … hhmm interesting.

Ah, well … but that’s not my point here. Something far more interesting is happening with this plant. This phenomenon has been learnt by most of us when we were studying biology. Can you remember what it is?

I can’t believe this "theory" I learnt in primary school can be an inspiring thought while I was daydreaming in my toilet watching at how these interesting leaves grow.  Well, I believe most of you know that plants will grow to the place where there’s sunlight. I heard it from primary school, secondary school and I believe even in high school they still repeat this sentence. But, as usual, we all take the fact for granted without drawing an essence out of mother nature’s way of living.

You see … those 2 leaves … have been "disturbed" by me quite a few times. :p … Don’t worry. I didn’t torture them … but I was amazed at why the 2 leaves are always facing the windows … so the next day, I played a trick on them after saying "eh leaves … why face the window ah …" I moved the direction and let the side of the leaves face the window.

Guess what happened the next day? You are right … they were trying to orientate themselves to the window again! Oh my …. I was laughing to myself and saying out loud like a mad woman in the toilet "wow … you all moved again ah… ok ok .. I’ll let you grow in peace now :-)" …. Put those 2 leaves back facing their favourite window.

You see, plants know what’s essential to them. Sunlight. It’s like one of the basic ingredient to grow and prosper. And no matter how I "disturbed" them, they will still try hard to look for sunlight, even though they have no legs … they will move towards the sun.

You think only these 2 leaves are teaching me this lesson in my toilet? Hell no. There’s another one like that. Let me show ya.

Notice the one at the center? When I bought them, the leaves are all facing the ceiling. Look what happen to them now.

Take a closer look

They all face one direction. My window. The sunlight. Even though they can’t touch the sun, (well, if they do, guess they’ll be BBQ-ed) they still grow towards it.

Sunlight to me is like our dream, our aspiration. It feeds our soul to grow bigger and higher than where we are now. It inspires us and challenges us to be more than what we used to be.

Even in the immobile state, a plant can try to orientate itself towards the light. Why not you?

Never let anyone or anything blocks you out from the light at the end of the tunnel. If plant can do it, so can we. It’s our right to grow and be more than what we already are.

Thank you Mr. and Ms. Plants for the lessons learnt today. I shall not disturb you any longer unless you have neck-ache, then I will relocate you and give you some massage. Happy growing towards your dreams, everyone.

A thought about money brought me closer to wondering whether this whole thing can be worse than a betting game. I heard some of you are asking me – “what thing?” Well, “Parenting” is my answer.

I was trying to sleep and counting my blessings and sending some vibrations of love to my parents who are islands away. Then it struck me, here I am praying for them but in actual fact what have I given them physically? Hmm … good question … answer is … so far … nothing. Not-a-thing. Money? They gave me more. Care? They out-win me. Pride? Oh, come on, I can’t even stand on my feet yet. So, why on earth I’m a child to them? Why do I ever exist? Another good question that’s worth pondering at

12.35AM

.

Throughout these 24 years I’ve experienced ups and downs with my parents, I believe most of us did too. Do you remember when we had a mind of our own and they would shun it and told us off and we found it ridiculous that they couldn’t see our points of view? Or, those moments when you thought something was so cool and yet they told us it’s a No No. I remember those.

I remember how I’d use my debating skills to defend my opinion and to prove myself right. I remember how I’d slam the door and ignore their yelling outside. Then suddenly I remember them sending me off to university with their hard-earned saving. And I remember their concern when I got diarrhea in

Singapore

when they couldn’t do anything to alleviate my pain as they were miles apart. I remembered the proud looks in their eyes when I finally graduated. I remembered their acceptance arms when I only landed in a lousy paying job and couldn’t afford to give them any money back. I remembered so many things … and all sum up in one word.

I remember "Love".

Why are they doing these to me? Why have they given so much and yet not asking anything in return? I saw other kids have paid tickets for their parents traveling session. And my parents didn’t ask for anything and till now they still give and give despite of the distance. Why? How do they do that?

If this is a betting game, this is worse than any lottery. It’s a bet with unknown return. At least when you pay for $1 ticket you are hoping to win $1,000 in prize. That’s 1000x in returns but parenting is worse than betting. It’s uncertainty. It’s mystery. It may come back with negative return even. Giving so much and yet still have to give when the kids still can’t stand on their own but yet, they still “bet” on us. Paid the doctors and hospital for labour process. Paid for schooling. Paid for food and housing. Paid for comfort and entertainment. Give … give … constant giving.

What are they betting for?

Parenting seems to be a unique betting game. It’s an unconditional one. What more can I say, parents are the greatest human beings ever alive. Despite the arguments, deep down in our hearts we know they are irreplaceable precious treasures of our lives.

Some of us may not be able to give a very good return for what they have “bet” on us. But the most we can do is to be there when they need us. To love them constantly and unconditionally despite of their weaknesses. To remind them that we love them and they are always in our hearts. To care for them when they are not able to care for themselves – just like how they cared for us when we couldn’t even walk.

I love you, mum and dad. What more can I say. You are the best parents I’ve ever had and Kiky has ever been proud of too. If there’s a next life, I would want to choose you as my parents again. It’ll be my honour.

In the end, it ain’t no betting game. Because it is love! No expectation. No conditions.

Thank you, mum and dad. Now I understand why you can’t stop giving. That’s simply the nature of love.

From The Book of Wisdom Osho

Your whole past is full of rocks, and when you start growing a rose of awareness in you, there are a thousand and one possibilities of it being destroyed by your old rocks — habits, mechanical habits. You will have to be very watchful and careful. You will have to walk like a woman who is pregnant. Hence the man of awareness walks carefully, lives carefully.

And this has to be a regular phenomenon. It is not that one day you do a little meditation, then for a few days you forget about it, and then one day you do it again. It has to be as regular as sleep, as food, as exercise, as breathing. Only then will the infinite glory of God open its doors to you.

So the first general point is: be regular.

The second general point is: don’t waste your time with the nonessential. Don’t fool around. Millions of people are wasting their time with the nonessential, and the irony is that they know that it is nonessential. But they say, "What else to do?" They are not aware of anything more significant.

People are playing cards, and if you ask them, "What are you doing?" they say they are killing time. Killing time? Time is life! So you are really killing life. And the time that you are killing cannot be recaptured again; once gone, it is gone forever.

The man who wants to become a buddha has to drop the nonessential more and more, so that more energy is available for the essential. Take a look at your life, how many nonessential things you are doing — and for what? And how long you have done them — and what have you gained? Are you going to repeat the same stupid pattern your whole life? Enough is enough! Take a look, meditate over it. Say only that which is essential, do only that which is essential, read only that which is essential. And so much time is saved and so much energy is saved, and all that energy and time can easily be channeled towards meditation, towards inner growth, towards witnessing.

I have never seen a man who is so poor that he cannot meditate. But people are engaged in foolish things, utterly foolish. They don’t look foolish, because everybody else is also doing the same.

But the seeker has to be watchful. Take more note of what you are doing, what you are doing with your life — because to grow roses of awareness much energy will be needed, a reservoir of energy will be needed. All that is great comes only when you have extra energy. If your whole energy is wasted on the mundane, then the sacred will never be contacted.
And the third general point is: don’t rationalize your errors and mistakes. The mind tends to rationalize. If you commit some mistake, the mind says, "It had to be so, there were reasons for it. I am not responsible, the very situation made this happen." And the mind is very clever at rationalizing everything.
Avoid rationalizing your own errors and mistakes, because if you rationalize you protect them. Then they will be repeated. …..