Graceful Fortress

If eyes tell secrets,
Yours? Fortress protecting town
Full of histories—

Show me your naked eyes, Beloved where I can see the true you. Those sunglasses hide your most beautiful secrets.

May all beings be happy….

Wind

Wind is sent to Cloud
Who pours Rain down to Soil. Grow!
Seeds inside emerge.

Imagine despair is like the earth longing for rain until suddenly the wind comes pushing lines of clouds that can’t suspend the heavy droplets anymore so turn into rain…. The earth welcomes each of the raindrops happily, hugs each of all seeds which have been buried beneath the dry layers of soil, almost broken, damps and pushes them up above the ground to grow….

Wind…. It takes just one blow of wind to see beautiful colours.

May all beings be happy.

Locating

With a fingertip
You move quadrants. Feel to think.
Don’t you realise?

Sometimes you simply sit and look like doing nothing going nowhere but you’ve moved 7 mountains and 7 oceans to their right locations.

May all beings be happy….

Turn Your Back Around

Respect should be earned
Not through masks on the back but....
Genuine face on.

If you think I’ve ignored you, Beloved; perhaps you might want to turn around. You’ve had your back to me all this time…. Face the mirror and see who you really are. 💞

Gotcha!!! 😁😘

rose is beautiful even from the back…. but beautiful mask turns ugly coz fake fades away….

Diamond

Loyalty: old-aged,
Mined, Rubbed, faceted carbon—
4C through life time.

Many women love diamond with different reasons. Some do because of its beauty. Some do because of its prestige. Some do because of following the trend. Some do just because of spending money on anything seen and wanted. Some do because of what it symbolises…. In fact its value has a wide spectrum like why we love someone.

Diamond is just a type of carbon. Carbon is what’s burnt to cook steak. Carbon is what’s chosen for media to grow orchids. Carbon is activated to be a medication for food poisoning. Or simply think of other things containing carbon!

Diamond though is a certain level of carbon which has been buried between layers of earth for millions of years, tested by the pressure, temperature. It’s hardened, purified, strengthened, crystalised.

4C is a familiar acronym for diamond lovers. These 4 C’s show diamond’s quality.

  • Cut: Quality of the angles, proportions, facets, and finishing details ~ level of craftsmanship and precision play important role
  • Color: How colorless the diamond is ~ less colour is the best but colour is at times defined by preference
  • Clarity: How clean the diamond is of inclusions and blemishes ~ the more flawless, the more valuable; but who is flawless, Beloved? The Death is flawless….
  • Carat: The weight of the diamond ~ small carat of diamond can look big; also determined by how the craftsman cuts it

Imagine a human being is a carbon processing one’s self to be a diamond. Stay regardless the pressure and temperature exposed to you, Self. Once you find you, you’re diamond in the making.

May all beings be happy.

useful link: https://www.bluenile.com

Lammie and Khanyisa, unconditional friendship

Lammie, Khanyisa,
It is the least I can do.
Friends are forever
When no discrimination.
Can I do? Need a try, sure!

Animals have taught me a lot about many things. One of those is unconditional friendship. Lammie and Khanyisa are a sheep and an albino elephant calf who have been friends without asking why their tails are differently shaped and attached, why their hairs are of different colours, why their teeth are of different length…. Language, religion, nationalities, and so on are never problems. They just grass, rest, play together. What a beautiful world!

If you wanna support Lammie and Khanyisa’s unconditional friendship, you can buy a mug with picture of them printed on it. Mine arrived today through DHL, welcoming me at the front door. Happy yay!

Thanks, Lammie and Khanyisa and HERD! You’ve been much smarter than many of my human kind. I’m sending love to you and your family….. 😘😘😘

cute cute mugs kiss kiss

From Tuas With Love On A Bike!

Tuas, the end point
Where the wheels will start gliding
On the road to home....

I’ll start traveling again! I will go by taxi to the visited site and go home by bike! It is about 34 kilometers! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

I’m speaking with all exclamation marks! 😁 So excited!

Forever Is Fast

None is forever.
Hold the air. Thank the water. 
Greet the soil. Love’s now.

Singapore - Feb. 1, 2021 / 00:23

Time flies in jet plane! Thought it would be forever to miss you but forever is so fast that suddenly February is here.

No Valentine’s Day this February as it means nothing. Valentine’s happens every second, forever….

May all beings be happy.

Food Is Mood

Boneless tongue can lie
And taste, too. Leading the mood
To where you have been.

I miss Ubud…. Spending time alone or with some friends in a place where mind can freely digest what’s been hoarded through daily interactions at times bringing negativity and pessimism against life, is one of life’s great blessings.

Missing a place and can’t visit it? Cook the specialty!

Missing someone and can’t even contact him? Me? Hmm…. Just whisper his name….! 🥰

sate lilit ayam, urap kacang + sambel matah
guess what – ground spices and herbs for the chicken
all are finely sliced for sambel matah
minced chicken + grated coconut + ground spices and herbs skewered around lemongrass

Foraging

Foraging  culture
Taking from nature for free.
She should gratify.

When biking, I see many kinds of flowers at the side of the roads and most of them just dry and fall off. Falling in love with them, I stopped and plucked some. Did I regret….? A bit of regret, yes but then I whispered to the reservoirs that I thank them for all the freshness and beauty they lend me every time I pass by…..

May all beings be happy.

thanks, white and pink

Punctuation

Time to pause or stop
Is punctuated with marks.
Pay more attention.

Ride life with the right punctuation like reading a story with nice intonation and meaningful flow of line, Beloved.

On a comma, halt for a while to breathe….

Cheerful Gerbera

Showers of colours
Splash cheery hello to time.
I wish you warm heart.

Colours can bring certain vibes to a home. And so different colours of flowers create different atmosphere. Although not taking all for granted, I mostly check the meaning of flowers and wish that the supportive qualities symbolised by the flowers will be the energy filling the air.

May all beings be happy.

Food Makes Mood

Breakfast is ready:
One recipe, two kitchens;
One smile, one grimace—

If we start with wrong breakfast, we’ll treat the whole day wrongly? Luckily I’m not a breakfast person. But when my lunch goes wrong, the next half day will be a disaster! 😛

Plan for A Weekend Cooking!

What is on the plate?
Hope..... For a weekend kitchen—
Taste, texture and smell.....

Cursing, Singing In The Rain

Gear change in the rain
Between slippery road and
Raincoat left behind—

With years of biking experience I’m supposed to have no problem speeding with bike in Singapore, that’s what my siblings think. But that’s totally misleading. I feel high alert when biking in the rain here. In slope pavement or road I will constantly put hands quite pressure on both brakes, put the easiest gear combination making me look like a beginner biker — slow, doubtful, awkward. While in home country I would go to alternative routes which are many to get to the destination with the same speed enough to bulldoze a wall.

In the rain with blurred goggles because of water and wet body because of no raincoat, it makes it even more awkward coz this mind is swinging between “wanna be careful and go slow” and “race to get home quickly”. What’s more, the big vehicles in the road would either splash water with no mercy when traffic is good or floor the gas pedal not to rev but to let the steam off from the driver’s head in heavy traffic.

Yet there is always good side: I can sing as loudly as I want or curse the drivers with no mercy too ‘coz no one will hear me….

Eh? Human beings are confusing – wanna go safely but taking high risks, wanna curse at people but don’t wanna get heard, wanna be dry but forget raincoat at home…. 🤪

Life is such a paradox, like biking in a heavy rain with no rain coat.

May all beings be happy.

Another Phew!

Raining cats and dogs
Leaves laundry damped and undone
But plants glorious.

When a mountain of clothes after two weeks of undone laundry is waiting to iron and the cleaning lady isn’t available to help this weekend, it feels like…. 🤮

Better playing with some of the happy plants in between the work, moving them to a place where they can enjoy the sun while they can

Shower room windows give them chance to sunbathe after days of rain in another corner.

Singing With Wind

She sings a love song
With Wind through the door whistling
Melodiously....

Eight of ten days in January are rainy. Two days only are with sun shines warmly greeting the window.

On those eight days there has been wind pushing cold air and at times water into the living room or kitchen through the windows opening ajar. While it is cooling, it though wets the floor and curtain. While it is a bit scary at night, it though turns to whistles adding sound effect to the radio that’s on 24 hours this weekend.

Hope the water won’t be too much as I heard there has been flood in some places because of heavy rain. Hope everything will be fine for all creatures in this rainy season: all animals and homeless get sufficient food and shelter everyday.

May all beings be happy.

Walking In The Rain

Breezy gloomy night
Walks along green-hedged pavement.
Tiptoes splash some joy.

Some night is just so good that you don’t even care about getting wet and splashed with mud. All bad thinking and feeling just go away or…. fade away.

Oh ya? Ya! Just don’t splash on others walking or running near you.

Interestingly there are some benefits of walking in the rain I just found. No umbrella please…. Read below link.

Walking In The Rain

Picture is originally attached in above link.

Four-Letter Words

Four-letter word, Love.
I take love to deal with you.
With full risk I know.

God talks about love. Religion talks about love. Many people refer to divinity and humanity.

Rumi talked about love. Ibn Arabi talked about love. People interpret their topic of love in wide spectrum: lustily physical, romantic, humanity, divinity — from the simple to the absurd. And it is always beautiful whatever the perspective is, as long as love becomes the foundation.

You can approach love from your own experience, the message is simply between Lover and Beloved. People may judge your message of love, but you are the truest judge to yourself….

From a seed of awe
Grew secret admiration.
Joy in painful hide
Summed up by a flash farewell—
I love you from where I am.

Love is actually personal experience that internally grows or flickers out based on the quality and responses. I find in my experience loving someone for many years without him knowing it until we took a farewell—he might only know he is special to me and not more; love grows but wisely stops expecting anything. Why expecting if you don’t even get the expected responses from the person and there is no entrance to learn more about the one that you love? Poor me? No, I’m lucky that love has tested me and I pass.

Yes, the most important thing is to test love, how true it is. What if your love isn’t intense anymore? How if the one you love doesn’t love you? How if you find your love evolves? All those rubbish absolutely happen. 😂

It is always good to talk about love. Love deserves a talk, in either low or high pitch, anger or soberness, silence or crowd, far or near, laze or excitement….

A bunch of roses
Present flowers, leaves, stems, thorns—
Where is the root, Love?
It’s left in the heart, where growth
Is truer and forever.

Yet for those who never contemplate or who don’t care, love is difficult to embrace and feel. The vibe can be so fake or vague without physical presence. They need definition of love, which can only degrade the quality of it. Just do….

What have I ranted about?

Too much for the last day of new year’s holiday but too good to be unsaid to start very good years ahead!

I send my best regards to you across the ocean. Happy and Healthy New Year! I love you from where I am.

May all beings be happy.

Singapore – January 4, 2021 – last day of holiday / 14:10

3, 2, 1! 💥

New year.... Again. Sigh!
None planned, going with the flow—
Dear North Star, guide me.
https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/polaris-the-present-day-north-star

2020 and 2021

Language is alive
Even in silence. I guess
It’s ears who discount.
I don’t escape, Beloved.
Just my confidence collapsed....

Space is not distance,
It’s a knot between two hearts.
Imagine two words
Without space: cramped and crowded.
Just never disconnect, Love.

Year end is ready
To summarise lessons learnt
To hand happiness
Over to new one. Welcome,
Self, to realm of connection....

Singapore – Dec. 30, 2020 / 00:10

Kanji, Phew!

Lines, curves and dots drawn
Convey meanings and stories.
Quaintly logical—

I thought learning Kanji would be a mission impossible, it turned out to be a fun game. Thanks to my good teacher who has always encouraged me to practice, practice, practice. ありがとう ございます、先生。Also thanks to the supplementary books I found in Kino today!

According to the book Kanji is ideographic, not phonetic, which means that each character represents a concept or an idea rather than a sound.

There is a group of Kanji called Joyo Kanji (Kanji for daily use) that are normally learnt by Japanese during their 9 years of compulsory education. It means I’m in that teenage stage of learning and so need fun way of learning to keep motivated in a consistent concentration span.

And don’t be afraid to make mistakes! —- Ok, just don’t repeat too many ‘coz repeated mistakes are equal to planned crimes 😁

page one of Kanji book drilled by Sensei Hanny
new lethal weapons!

Eek!

Bubble spat by fish,
Exploded second it’s out.
Wait! It’s voice you say?

Where does voice go after it goes out of body? Does it resemble the bubble exploding once out of fish’ mouth?

Dear, Voice. What are you? Or who are you? And where do you come from and go to?

Are you of the same thing as me?

Long weekend has twisted my brain. 😂

May all beings be happy.

Secret Messages

Who sends secret signs?
Without envelope or stamp
Universe plays game.

Finding flowers at a balcony of the 15th floor has become a small miracle for me. It’s sometimes windy when it rains but I never found anything before but water at the balcony after rain. Yet it’s been twice that I received something special after the rain just recently: one piece of flowers.

They might have been flown by the strong wind to this floor, from the other two floors above or somewhere not known where.

The first was a piece of Asoka flower last week and today was a piece of Bougainvillea.

The Universe knows I love flowers so they are sent to me and I believe it’s with messages. Thank you! Hope I read it right.

Looking forward to your next readable signs, Beloved.

May all beings be happy.

yellow Asoka
yellow bougainvillea

Reflection

Clear dew reflects you.
Accept what’s before you. Wait!
Is that me or you?

Pray that I can see you in me, and me in you. As long as the dew gives you clear mirror, it’s reflecting all that I see….

May all beings be happy.

Sunflower

Crowding sunflowers 
Teach how followers reflect
Leadership success.

Sunflower is sunflower as long as it follows the sun. Thousands of sunflowers have shown me how a good leader can move one’s followers to the desired directions gracefully without violence, cruelty, humility, and intimidation — either overt or covert ones. All is with just warm ray….

May all beings be happy.

A picture sent by a good friend in Thailand

Sometimes

Sometimes it’s the place,
Always the people. Stay put.
None beats inner peace.

…. and the eternal flame of Soul once again ignites the understanding that gratitude on what’s given is much bigger than what’s promised.

…. and you can never get rid of me

Forever….

God is love?

Dog is love!

May all beings be happy.