24th November 204

Unlike the Dwapara Yuga (during Lord Krishna's time), evil does not wholly manifest itself in human form. It takes the form of a characteristic, a type of sickness that can be cured and removed without harming the being it seems to be possessing. We must make this important distinction. Aim to annhilate the bad in someone, not the person itself. It can be tricky, because we often associate the person and their qualities as being the same thing.

Don't aim to destroy someone to teach them a lesson. Just teach them a lesson. Otherwise, more sooner than later, it will seriously feel like having a go at your own self. After all, you would be pinching the very same essence in the person which you too possess. This essence taught you how to love. You would not want to mess about with this eternal teacher.

16th November 2004

A spot somewhere within feels bolder and braver. Over the week I have been dealing with people eyeball to eyeball. I don't know whether I feel lucky. Everything is resolved the moment I make that extra effort to 'push the envelope'. For concerns miles away in Singapore, the gap is longer, but it still remains a matter of hours.

Nevertheless, I suspect someone, somehow must have said or done something. Whoever you are and whatever you have done, please accept my sincere gratitude for creating this spot. It is a beautiful feeling.

If you know who you are, please carry on what you are doing. Such an act is indeed, quite extraordinarily noble.

27th October 2004

Why fear or worry if you don't understand something or someone? The amount of time and effort saved when not pondering over that unlikely remark from a supposedly remarkable person can be used instead to exploit to the fullest something we understand. You will not be disadvantaged if you don't know. Negativity is not worth knowing anyway. You would rather know what you could use fully. The half hour saved (and the extra 250 kilojoules of mental and physical energy) everyday from not bitching, thinking negatively or worrying about anything or anyone could be used for getting up early for some exercise, for writing an extra long email to a friend, for cooking more patiently (and properly), for some service or whatever else that keeps you occupied, sane and happy all at once.

17th October 2004

It is quite late at night and I don't want this to appear threatening. Outpours in the recent past have lost their momentum. But I need to clarify something. I have written a lot about trust and relationships and any sort of philosophy that comes to me in random bursts. However, I have hardly written about myself. A lot of people are still confused and/or are ignorant.

Let it be clear that anyone messing about with fire will definitely get burnt. However, the same fire can also provide warmth, love and light. No one should worry about any harm to me. I am made of reinforced steel. Grind against steel and sparks will no doubt appear. But there will be no scars because not only am I reinforced, I am also stainless.

I realise once more I am guilty of making a very bad judgement, but I cannot turn the clock back. All I can do is be grateful to God for the gift of such magnificent armour in the present, and for the future that is to come.

-end-

16th September 2004

A part of us is defined by the bundle of memories we hold. Whether we can forget is not entirely in our hands. It is good to forget the time you were a baby when your mother changed your nappies, because such a memory is irrelevant to your current needs. For clearly defined good or bad memories, effort is required to preserve or forget them.

And then the third type of memory keeps swinging like a pendulum between useful and useless, bitter and sweet, loving and threatening, dull and charming... I guess, the biggest challenge lies in moving in the direction of the swing, not against it. Therein lies the biggest adventure as well.