Saturday 27 September 2014

Sonnet (song of heaven)

The violent waves of the stormy sea break
It is the song of heaven that they sing
Amazing, wonderful music they make
Adorable roars, truly enlight'ning

Heaven is pleased and delights in it all
A heavenly cloud gives the sea a kiss
The horizon, at a distance so small
Embraces the sea, an ocean of bliss

But heavenly songs and heavenly scenes
Without the beautiful image of you
Do not seem complete and so in my dreams
I'm not here alone, but we're here with two

So much I love sounds and sights of the sea
Much more dear's still, the love ‘tween you and me

Friday 26 September 2014

Reflection 112 (illusion of knowing all)

Illusion of knowing all

Have you seen a TV-program by the religious teachers or preachers.
Very often it is followed by a question and answer session.
For each question, they seem to know exactly the correct answer.

I have never heard them say: this is an important question. Let us find the answer together.
They seem to want to maintain an image of all knowing preachers-teachers.
They are not taking the role of guiding the seekers to find the answer themselves.
There seem to be never options for the seeker, they seem to be ready always with one correct answer and only one. Rarely they ask for more explanation even though many of the problems asked about seem so complex and personal. 

Why do so many people refuse to think for themselves.
The preacher-teachers like their powerful position
They often threaten with hell and the anger of God
They portray thinking for one-self as dangerous.

Please my friends, dare to trust the wisdom of your soul
Dare to think for yourself
Demand guidance rather then prescription if preacher-teachers want to preach-teach

Thursday 25 September 2014

Reflection 111 (still alive)

Still alive

All of us will be dead one day.
One hundred years from here this may be a fact.
None of us will be still walking on this earth

But then some of the good we did
But then some of our kind acts
But then some of our inspiring words
may be still alive

The love of my late mother is still alive in me
The inspiring words of Ghandi are still alive today
The kindness of Mother Theresa is still alive
The wisdom of our prophets is still so much alive

Unlikely that we will be famous as Ghandi or Mother Theresa
But oh so likely that our small kindness, our encouraging words
will live on in our children and then in theirs.
Our small sacrifices may live in our patients and then in their clients
Our small love may forever be transmitted and augmented
and at least a part, perhaps the most wonderful part of us will be still alive ...

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Reflection 110 (overcoming)

Overcoming

Today I had a wonderful time with my very good "old" friend, Thiyagar.
He is not old but our friendship is longstanding.

He brought up that it is easier to be not good than to be good.
So true:
It is easier to be lazy than hard working
It is easier to take than to give (from early childhood onwards)
It is easier to wake up late than early
and we can go on like this for quite a while.

This is resulting from animal-like needs which focus much on survival.
The important point is that these things do not bring us happiness.

If we want happiness we have to get to a higher level,
beyond our animal needs towards our soul needs.
If we can overcome the need to take and truly start to give,
If we can overcome our need to fight and truly start to love,
If we can overcome the need to relax (to save energy for flight or fight) and become hardworking
We will discover a whole new dimension of life which encompasses peace of mind
which encompasses peace of mind and true happiness.

Monday 22 September 2014

Reflection 109 (equinox)

Equinox

Today is the second equinox-day of 2014.This means that on most parts of the earth, the length of day and night are almost the same. The sun is located almost exactly above the equator.

I am not at all a believer in astrology nor I am any big in astronomy

But today can be the day of a new beginning.
I had a wonderful discussion with my teenage sons today
I think they are slowly getting more and more matured.

I pray for a new beginning.
The world is good. There is so much goodness.
We just have to manage to tune in.

A new beginning, I dream of it.
When my whole family and me can tune in
tune in together into the good of the world.

Every day can be a new beginning.
I hope for one every day.
and perhaps so true, God is really giving us
a new beginning every day.

I am full of hope today.
I do not care too much whether or not today is equinox
But I surely pray for a new beginning.

The sun has crossed the equator
My son may have crossed
the critical level of maturity that can enable
us to regain a wonderful level of harmony. 
 

Friday 19 September 2014

Reflection 108 (rights or compassion)

Rights or compassion

 Attended a conference in Penang and heard the following:
If we point out our rights or somebody's rights,
most people may respond just by pointing out their own rights
If we point out something unfair,
it may awaken compassion, love.

A speaker in the conference quoted this as wise words from Simonne Weil
And wise words they are indeed.

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Reflection 107 (Intentions and reality)

Intentions and reality

Sometimes we have the intention to do something good.
Initially it seems that fate is not helping us to perform our good deed
But then afterwards something much better is happening.

Today I am in Penang, the pearl of the Orient.
I am living at the other side of Peninsular Malaysia, at the east coast.
I am here for a congress in paediatrics.

My brother in law came together with me in my car.
His wife had delivered last week in the place where I live  on the East Coast
and he had to resume his job in Penang, while wife and baby were still there.

I knew he was quite lonely and I intended to invite him for dinner together with my colleagues who are attending the congress. I called his mobile phone and there was no answer. So, a bit frustrated I went to eat with my colleagues without my brother in law.

After dinner I tried to call him again but a woman's voice responded. Actually he had changed his number a few months ago. I got his new number from my wife. And we met over coffee in the hotel.
While we met he had quite a number of questions about his baby. If he had joined the dinner with my colleagues, we would have met in the restaurant and I am sure it would have been quite a boring event for him and he would most likely not have had the opportunity to ask me the questions about his baby.

I think the above is a good illustration of something initially apparently not working out in order to work out in a better way later.


Monday 15 September 2014

Reflection 106 (what a feast)

Feast

Today I went to eat "roti canai", a Malaysian delicacy, a bit bread-like but eaten warm, usually with curry or something sweet. I did not go and eat it alone. My wife, my son, three brothers of my wife, three nieces, one nephew and one friend joined in the modest meal. It was fun. It was raining outside and we all gathered in the half-open stall not far from the street. Simple and delicious with a lot of small talk and of course a bit of big :) talk.

I personally can enjoy this kind of outings much, much more than going to a party where half or more of the people get drunk, a movie or many other forms of common entertainment.

This outing with a simple meal and cups of tea and cold chocolate milk, was a true feast.

Saturday 13 September 2014

Reflection 105 (so many different brothers)

Different brothers

Just now I was reading some of my poems or maybe more of poetic expressions, rather than real poems  (link) and when i came to the following one, I thought it was so close to my previous reflection (104), that I decided to make this one my today's reflection:
(could anyone make a song out of this?)

Differences

So many differences between one another
I love my Muslim brother
I love my Christian brother
I love my Hindu brother
I love my Bhuddist brother
I love my Jewish brother
I love all my sisters too
Somewhere deep inside
I believe that God loves all of us too

Let us celebrate our differences
Let us learn all from one another
Let us celebrate our similarities still more

I love my black brother
I love my white brother
I love my yellow brother
I love my red brother
I love my brown brother
I love all my sisters too
Somewhere deep inside
I strongly believe
That God loves all of us too

Let us celebrate our differences
Let us all learn from one another
Let us celebrate our similarities still more

I love my liberal brother
I love my socialist brother
I love my central democratic brother
I love my right winged brother
I love my left winged brother
I love my communist brother
I love all my sisters too
Somewhere deep inside
I strongly believe
that God loves all of us too

Let us celebrate our differences
Let us all learn from one another
Let us celebrate more still our similarities

I love my rich brother
I love my poor brother
I love my obese brother
I love my hungry brother
I love my middle class brother
I love all my sisters too
Somewhere deep inside
I strongly believe
God loves all of us too

Let us celebrate our differences
Let us learn all from one another
Let us celebrate still more our similarities

Can you imagine a world
Where all of us would be the same?
We need the differences
The key is humility, humbleness

Let us celebrate our differences
Let us learn all form one another
Let us celebrate still more our similarities

Friday 12 September 2014

Reflection 104 (focus on differences or similarities)

Focus on similarities

I think this is an important one, my friends.
Please read it until the end

Why religious persons get so often absorbed with the differences between their religion and the other religions? I am often flabbergasted at how many articles have been written about the veil in Islamic literature. Do you realize this is only once mentioned in the Quran and there even the word hair of women is not mentioned. But the veil,covering the hair, is what seems among the very MOST important things to many of our religious brothers and sisters.

At the same time there is one phrase that appears 114 times in the Quran. One hundred and fourteen times. One should wonder why does not the bulk of our religious teachings focus on that giant truth? Do we see more articles about the goodness and forgiving nature of our Creator than about the veil? I am afraid not. Do we see signboards along the road about the goodness and the forgiving nature of our Creator? Do we hear preachers preach more about the anger and revengeful nature of our Creator or about the goodness and forgiving nature of our Creator? I am afraid it is the former rather than the latter. Anger is a state of temporary insanity experienced by an emotional disturbance in humans. Is it fair to project this insanity on our Creator???

But why? Why do our preachers and teachers not get close to totally absorbed by and focused on the 114X most important message that was sent to us in this holy book. Is it because it is too similar to the message of other religions? Are we afraid to search for similarities instead of differences between our religions?Are we so afraid, even if that message is repeated 114 times in our Quran?

Why? Why focus so much on God's anger and revenge? Is it so much easier to impose your own interpretation of the scriptures on followers if you can create a fear? Is it too hard to depict the true loving nature of our Creator? Why would it be hard? Do we think if we stress too much the forgiving nature of our Creator that the people will sin more? If you do not speak in one breath with what they have to do, also a threat to hell, do you think your  message will be not reaching. How low do you esteem the understanding of your followers, my brothers and sisters, religious leaders?

It is time, high time, I would say, that we focus on the similarities between religions. The veil is not the most the most important message of the Quran. If it was, it would be repeated many times, perhaps more than 100 times. If religious leaders do not manage to awaken the sense of awe in all followers for the creation and for the goodness and forgiving nature of our Creator resulting in a continuous sense of gratefulness for everything we have and can do, they have not managed to bring the most important message across. If they spend more time on one-liners than on 114 liners, one could clearly ask what is their ultimate aim and purpose. Is their purpose to bring the true message or to dominate a community through creation of fear and through focus on less important messages. 

I envision the future as bright. the next revolution is not the nano technology revolution, not the brain science revolution; the next revolution is the wisdom revolution. The wisdom revolution will bring us wisdom. It will allow us to listen to our soul, to allow our soul to detect the most important messages, the true essentials in our own religion. And we will all see that we all have sooo similar essentials. Our cultural differences and ritual differences will be an enrichment rather than a stumble block for peace. Wisdom is increasing rapidly in our community. We do not see it. Media focus on the well selling violence and negativity but a silent wisdom and kindnes revolution is on its march. It is in the slow limb of the exponential curve (see figure below) but once it makes the sharp corner (blue arrow in figure below), the world will change visibly for the better every single second. I think we are amazingly close to the corner in the exponential wisdom and kindnes revolution.

Let us all focus on kindnes and wisdom, on essentials and goodness and be part of the huge, unstoppable next revolution the wisdom and kindnes revolution.


Sunday 7 September 2014

Reflection 103 (now)

Now

Now is the time to be kind
Now is the time to be patient
Now is the time to love

let us not waste another second

Friday 5 September 2014

Reflection 102 (deep within)

Deep Within

Deep within our  brain we have an area that makes us feel good
The area gets stimulated when we do something nice or kind
The area gets stimulated when we practice some humble devotion
The area gets stimulated if we manage to inspire somebody or create a smile
Each time it gets these natural stimuli, it tends to grow like a muscle that is used often

Only the peripheries of the area get stimulated through selfish achievements
The peripheries light up only transiently and
their only lasting effect is a hunger for more.
If too long we only stimulate the peripheries the center may atrophy
as is clear from those many wealthy people giving in to suicide

Sometimes people try shortcuts through a variety of drugs
Intense good feelings may follow but in the process the area tends to get destroyed.
It is like causing a short cut to a lamp, a bright light may shine briefly but then the lamp is gone.

 

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Reflection 101 (when kindness doesn't work)

When kindness doesn't work

Being kind does not always work.
But when it doesn't work
The things that would have worked,
would have worked only for a short while.
The things that would have worked
would have broken principles
could have broken relationships
could have broken trust,....


Too often I thought not-being-kind was the way
but almost always it was regretted sooner rather than later.

Whenever there is an opportunity to be kind,
let us make the right choice