#11: walking tours and people watching
One of the many reasons why I enjoy being in Europe is the countless walking tours that I can take on my own. When I am tired from all the walking, I can then sit down at a cafe, in front of a fountain, or in the park and watch people hurry down the streets. You notice so much about people's way of life and their culture by just watching them at times. I like their way of life, of taking things at a slow pace and not see everything as an arms race. Though I get quite frustrated at times with the lack of efficiency, I have come to be more accepting of it. In fact, I am loving it more than the efficiency that I get back in my own country. Everything is put up for competition back home - jobs, income, places in university, houses, cars. Name one thing that is not subjected to competition and meritocracy? It is really hard to find one. With all the competition, people who are endowed with the resources naturally survive better. I kind of hate it not because I am less endowed than others but I find it tiring to have to compete all the time. After all, everyone has the liberty to live the life that they want. You just need to find the courage to do so and not be caught in this lifetime race for a better future, as they call it.
I used to walk around Singapore a lot when I was younger and had the time of the world. My time had very low opportunity cost. So I will walk from the Merlion Park to Esplanade then to Boat Quay or sometimes all the way to Orchard Road with my best friend. The things that we used to talk about were full of naivety as I reminisce now. With the passage of time, I no longer do such things in my city because of the heat and the crowd and my high opportunity cost of time. Likewise, I no longer see the shadow of the friend who used to walk around my city so much with me. The dreams of our future that we walk about, the places we endeavour to visit together, the things that we imagine doing together with each other when we have the income and ability to do so, etc. At times, I do wonder how she is doing these days and though I have the urge to reconnect with her, a part of me has always been very hesitant. It is not because of my pride that I refuse to call her and if you were to ask me what then is holding me back, I do not know the answer either. I just hope that she is living the life that she has always wanted to and I am quite confident that she will achieve the things that she set out to do.
Monday, 19 January 2015
Saturday, 17 January 2015
10/49
#10: Time Machine
I have always loved visiting Ancient civilisations, from the age of the Egyptians, Chinese, Nabateans, Jewish, Greek, Roman, etc. There are so many stories to be told and lessons to be learnt from their way of life and be in awe about the fact that they had no modern technology yet were able to build such beautiful structures that can withstand the passage of time. However, it is saddening that many of these structures and buildings were destroyed not by natural factors but rather by human action. I agree that whenever a country or city ushers in a new ruler or dynasty, it is inevitable that the bulk of the past will be erased so that people can truly embrace the new. Such a way of running a nation or ruling a country has resulted in us only being able to see ruins from the past.
Over the years, I have been to many of the places which were the main capitals of the various civilisations in the world but I have never been able to see what it was like exactly in the past. While in Turkey, we saw so many fragments of past Roman and Greek civilisations but they are nothing but ruins. Nevertheless, the Romans truly impress me. The way they had organised and built the city with whatever natural resources they could find is simply amazing.
I would think the Gaza Pyramids, Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel and Rome Colosseum ranked among my top three favourite ancient architectures because they were kept intact in the best possible conditions. Petra Treasury ain't too bad either. The Pyramids in Gaza have stood for 5,000 years and they have only been defaced by weather. Although there are reports claiming that the pyramids have started to tilt and might collapse in the near future, the shift in inclination is very slight and will probably withstand another 1,000 years or even more. Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel was covered in sand hence it was never being defaced deliberately by any human action. It is amazing how they actually moved the temple piece by piece up to higher ground before the construction of the Aswan high dam. Having been to Abu Simbel, I feel Petra Treasury pales slightly in comparison. Lastly, the Colosseum is one of my favourite ancient architectures despite the negativity behind its construction. Part of it was shelled by bombing during World War I and I find it a pity that the Italian government has not made any effort to try to reconstruct it.
On the other hand, the Jerusalem Temple Mount, Athens Acropolis and Ephesus's Temple of Artemis are three that I find it a pity that nothing was left behind. Although there are computer graphics that attempt to reconstruct the building, I still think seeing is believing. So, I have always wondered why is it that there is no intention for any rebuilding to take place. The destruction of Temple Mount was due to religious reasons and its rebuilding has too many complications owing to faith, religion and politics hence I doubt I will ever witness its reconstruction during my lifetime despite interest. As for the Acropolis, the financial situation of Greece sums it all. As for the Temple of Artemis, I guess there are way too many of such temples around but somehow this temple has been claimed to be the most magnificent among the many that were built for various Gods and Goddesses. However, the Turks are unlikely to have any serious interest in Roman civilisation so I guess there will not be any rebuilding any time soon.
If I could have a magic lamp and a genie in the lamp can grant me a wish, I would ask for a time machine that can allow me to visit the past and see what it is like to live in the olden days. However, I will not time travel to the future because I believe I am in control of what comes next.
I have always loved visiting Ancient civilisations, from the age of the Egyptians, Chinese, Nabateans, Jewish, Greek, Roman, etc. There are so many stories to be told and lessons to be learnt from their way of life and be in awe about the fact that they had no modern technology yet were able to build such beautiful structures that can withstand the passage of time. However, it is saddening that many of these structures and buildings were destroyed not by natural factors but rather by human action. I agree that whenever a country or city ushers in a new ruler or dynasty, it is inevitable that the bulk of the past will be erased so that people can truly embrace the new. Such a way of running a nation or ruling a country has resulted in us only being able to see ruins from the past.
Over the years, I have been to many of the places which were the main capitals of the various civilisations in the world but I have never been able to see what it was like exactly in the past. While in Turkey, we saw so many fragments of past Roman and Greek civilisations but they are nothing but ruins. Nevertheless, the Romans truly impress me. The way they had organised and built the city with whatever natural resources they could find is simply amazing.
I would think the Gaza Pyramids, Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel and Rome Colosseum ranked among my top three favourite ancient architectures because they were kept intact in the best possible conditions. Petra Treasury ain't too bad either. The Pyramids in Gaza have stood for 5,000 years and they have only been defaced by weather. Although there are reports claiming that the pyramids have started to tilt and might collapse in the near future, the shift in inclination is very slight and will probably withstand another 1,000 years or even more. Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel was covered in sand hence it was never being defaced deliberately by any human action. It is amazing how they actually moved the temple piece by piece up to higher ground before the construction of the Aswan high dam. Having been to Abu Simbel, I feel Petra Treasury pales slightly in comparison. Lastly, the Colosseum is one of my favourite ancient architectures despite the negativity behind its construction. Part of it was shelled by bombing during World War I and I find it a pity that the Italian government has not made any effort to try to reconstruct it.
On the other hand, the Jerusalem Temple Mount, Athens Acropolis and Ephesus's Temple of Artemis are three that I find it a pity that nothing was left behind. Although there are computer graphics that attempt to reconstruct the building, I still think seeing is believing. So, I have always wondered why is it that there is no intention for any rebuilding to take place. The destruction of Temple Mount was due to religious reasons and its rebuilding has too many complications owing to faith, religion and politics hence I doubt I will ever witness its reconstruction during my lifetime despite interest. As for the Acropolis, the financial situation of Greece sums it all. As for the Temple of Artemis, I guess there are way too many of such temples around but somehow this temple has been claimed to be the most magnificent among the many that were built for various Gods and Goddesses. However, the Turks are unlikely to have any serious interest in Roman civilisation so I guess there will not be any rebuilding any time soon.
If I could have a magic lamp and a genie in the lamp can grant me a wish, I would ask for a time machine that can allow me to visit the past and see what it is like to live in the olden days. However, I will not time travel to the future because I believe I am in control of what comes next.
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
After thoughts of my epic 49-day adventure #9
#9: King Federer
If you have read my past blog entries, you will know that I am a big fan of Roger Federer. For me, he is a great ambassador of tennis simply because of his grace and temperament on the court. 7.5 years ago in a hotel room in Vietnam, I saw him played a few matches in the build up to the finals when he played Nadal but lost. However, the love for the sport and his determination to succeed truly earned my respect and since then, I have been a faithful follower and decided to pick up the sport. The French Open eluded him for many years despite his success in all other Grand Slam tournaments. At 33 years of age, he is still making to Grand Slam Finals and Semi-Finals and this shows how technically adept he is that he can make up for his fitness through his talent and technical abilities.
Some of my friends think that he is aloof because he has no emotions during matches but I feel that all individual sports require the players themselves to maintain calmness in their hearts. You might be one match point away and you are feeling a lot of adrenaline rush and anxiety. What are you gonna say when you win the trophy? Have you finally done your team proud? What next for you? Many questions start to float in your head and it is important that you stay composed and hit a good ball to win the game. So RF is that kind of a player.
RF is definitely at the end of the peak of his career. No one knows when he will retire but it is not far away. Thus, I have always wanted to watch him play live and hear the crowd roar behind him before he retires. So I went to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and caught the game between Wawrinka and him. Though it was indoor tennis, the determination and brilliance of both players definitely made the ticket worth its value. RF may have lost the precision that he has in his younger days, his feet are not as quick and agile compared to when I saw him on TV in the past and he has to use a bigger racquet these days to sustain his level of play. However, he still has the crowd behind him and edging him on against his opponents. He is still the inspiring tennis player that I saw on TV 7.5 years ago. So I am really glad that I managed to catch him live in action. ü See RF live in action.
Credits to Wawrinka, he definitely played well and even had a match point against RF but the crowd was hardly on his end. Hopefully he will have a better season in 2015.
If you have read my past blog entries, you will know that I am a big fan of Roger Federer. For me, he is a great ambassador of tennis simply because of his grace and temperament on the court. 7.5 years ago in a hotel room in Vietnam, I saw him played a few matches in the build up to the finals when he played Nadal but lost. However, the love for the sport and his determination to succeed truly earned my respect and since then, I have been a faithful follower and decided to pick up the sport. The French Open eluded him for many years despite his success in all other Grand Slam tournaments. At 33 years of age, he is still making to Grand Slam Finals and Semi-Finals and this shows how technically adept he is that he can make up for his fitness through his talent and technical abilities.
Some of my friends think that he is aloof because he has no emotions during matches but I feel that all individual sports require the players themselves to maintain calmness in their hearts. You might be one match point away and you are feeling a lot of adrenaline rush and anxiety. What are you gonna say when you win the trophy? Have you finally done your team proud? What next for you? Many questions start to float in your head and it is important that you stay composed and hit a good ball to win the game. So RF is that kind of a player.
RF is definitely at the end of the peak of his career. No one knows when he will retire but it is not far away. Thus, I have always wanted to watch him play live and hear the crowd roar behind him before he retires. So I went to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and caught the game between Wawrinka and him. Though it was indoor tennis, the determination and brilliance of both players definitely made the ticket worth its value. RF may have lost the precision that he has in his younger days, his feet are not as quick and agile compared to when I saw him on TV in the past and he has to use a bigger racquet these days to sustain his level of play. However, he still has the crowd behind him and edging him on against his opponents. He is still the inspiring tennis player that I saw on TV 7.5 years ago. So I am really glad that I managed to catch him live in action. ü See RF live in action.
Credits to Wawrinka, he definitely played well and even had a match point against RF but the crowd was hardly on his end. Hopefully he will have a better season in 2015.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
After thoughts of my epic 49-day adventure #8
#8: Man of the 20th century, Albert Einstein
I vividly remember the first chapter of my Mother Tongue textbook in one of the levels in Primary school. It was about Albert Einstein, 爱因斯坦。Though I enjoy the stories written in the textbook, I never had any deep interest in this man or his life story. However, when in Bern, I went to the Natural History Museum, especially for the exhibit of this "crazy scientist" who is loved and hated by people all over the world at the same time. I ended up spending 3 hours walking through his life story.
I cannot remember everything that I had read so I shall summarise the main points.
Back to the topic of Einstein, I admire his perseverance in pursuing what he loved and also his love for his family. Though his first marriage failed, he continued to show concern for his first wife during WWII to ensure her safety. His second son had some kind of disability but Einstein supported him throughout his entire life (not by being physically beside him but mentally and financially to pay for his medical bills), never giving up hopes on him. He also constantly wrote him letters to encourage him. When Israel was formed, he was invited to become the country's first president but he declined because he felt that he did not have the credentials to take on the job. Nevertheless, he would have been such an inspiration for the Jewish people for his life work in promoting peace and Scientific research.
I vividly remember the first chapter of my Mother Tongue textbook in one of the levels in Primary school. It was about Albert Einstein, 爱因斯坦。Though I enjoy the stories written in the textbook, I never had any deep interest in this man or his life story. However, when in Bern, I went to the Natural History Museum, especially for the exhibit of this "crazy scientist" who is loved and hated by people all over the world at the same time. I ended up spending 3 hours walking through his life story.
I cannot remember everything that I had read so I shall summarise the main points.
- Born a Jew but was never religious
- Had problems picking up languages at a young age but grew up to speak a few languages!
- Married twice, first to a female scientist then to his cousin (I think so)
- Had two sons - one had some kind of disability and the other got married and had a family but did not have any sons to continue the Einstein lineage (so unfortunate)
- Studied in Zurich and became a teaching staff at the university even though he had not completed his PhD.
- Was highly sought after by institutions all over the world but eventually decided to settle in America after WWII broke out.
- Wealthy and famous and was able to avoid the massacre of the Jews in Europe during WWII but constantly try to offer help to Jews who were seeking a better life outside of Europe
- His famous scientific research product, E=mc^2, was believed to have laid the foundation for the research of nuclear weapons
- Was remembered for writing a letter to then American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to consider developing their own nuclear weapons to fend off Germany's threat
- Had always been anti-War and was never involved in any research in nuclear programme in America (for fear that he was a spy - since he had German and Swiss citizenship)
The museum also has a lot of exhibits that explain Einstein's research, the most famous one being special relativity theory which revolutionise the way we see space and time. When I was in school, I kinda hate Science. I found it a laborious subject which I have to spend a lot of time memorising facts. Though I started to do better in the subject in Secondary school, I never had real interest in it. On hindsight, I find it pitiful. Science is such an interesting subject that explains the many phenomenons in our everyday life. I was so fascinated by Einstein's theories and research that I went through them over and over again just so I could fully understand everything. If only the Science teachers that I had in my 8 years of education had done a better job at delivering the subject.
I have immense curiosity in learning about my surroundings and I kinda like to ask questions. However, I remember having been brushed off so many times and told to pay attention to what they have to teach that I simply switched off. All that I can recall now is their constant scoldings about performances during tests and examinations. There was simply no attempt at stimulating interest in the subject by relating Science to our everyday life. So I studied for the subject because I needed the grades and not because I truly love it. Perhaps I hated learning about plants so I always felt that the syllabus had over-emphasised on that topic. I really find learning about which plants float and which submerge, how they transport food and water, how they reproduce not my cup of tea. [LOL] However, I do not blame my teachers for that. I could have been more sensible and explore the subject on my own free time through reading but I did not. Instead, I thank them for shaping my education philosophy and my teaching style and that is to always stimulate interest to motivate students to learn Economics better.
Back to the topic of Einstein, I admire his perseverance in pursuing what he loved and also his love for his family. Though his first marriage failed, he continued to show concern for his first wife during WWII to ensure her safety. His second son had some kind of disability but Einstein supported him throughout his entire life (not by being physically beside him but mentally and financially to pay for his medical bills), never giving up hopes on him. He also constantly wrote him letters to encourage him. When Israel was formed, he was invited to become the country's first president but he declined because he felt that he did not have the credentials to take on the job. Nevertheless, he would have been such an inspiration for the Jewish people for his life work in promoting peace and Scientific research.
He is a truly brilliant person. Maybe if he had not existed, there would have been someone else who would have taken his place but the fact that he was the one who changed our world, he deserves all my respect. Of course there are many other inspiring Scientists around as well and we shall not forget their contributions.
Now who in this lifetime or era of ours will have his name live on and be remembered and talked about by many others in the future? Prediction? Villains or Heroes?
Thursday, 8 January 2015
After thoughts of my epic 49-day adventure #7
#7: A leopard will never change its spots - I can never be a good listener because I simply enjoy talking.
The friends I used to make: I talk, they listen.
The friends that I now make: They talk, I listen.
So while on the trip, one of them just kept blabbering on and on even though I was already too sick and tired to listen. All the grouses, politically correct answers, sentences that has an inevitable "BUT" inaccurate facts kinda irk me but then again, travelling requires you to show patience and I am glad I managed to. That made me reflect on my own conversations with others. Do I have the tendency to have a lot of "BUTs" when I talk? I know "HOWEVER" and "NEVERTHELESS" are common connectors that appear in my writing. Economics has taught me to always question my own point of view or argument and consider a balanced argument. Intellectually, it is desirable. HOWEVER, it is rather irritating in reality when you converse with someone else, isn't it?
A few years ago, I thought I enjoy being the listener in a friendship or relationship. After this trip and in my recent meet ups with some of my oldest buddies and friends, I realise that I am most comfortable with these people because they always listen. :) I do not dominate the conversations but at least they truly listen when I tell them my inner thoughts, feelings and struggles and vice versa. I realise that I am simply someone who loves to talk for long hours - not treating it as a form of complaint but to really get perspectives from other people and I am a strong believer of communication. So when someone simply dominates a conversation (the "they talk, I listen" kind), I get bored after some time and feel disengaged. I guess I tend to keep them at a distance because they never truly listen to my side of the story or do not know me well enough. They nod to whatever that you say out of courtesy and not of genuine concern about your life. Hypocrisy is too strong a word to use and accommodating is too kind a word to describe these people. The exception is when they are really knowledgeable and impress me with all their intellect. LOL. I am a nerd, don't forget.
The friends I used to make: I talk, they listen.
The friends that I now make: They talk, I listen.
So while on the trip, one of them just kept blabbering on and on even though I was already too sick and tired to listen. All the grouses, politically correct answers, sentences that has an inevitable "BUT" inaccurate facts kinda irk me but then again, travelling requires you to show patience and I am glad I managed to. That made me reflect on my own conversations with others. Do I have the tendency to have a lot of "BUTs" when I talk? I know "HOWEVER" and "NEVERTHELESS" are common connectors that appear in my writing. Economics has taught me to always question my own point of view or argument and consider a balanced argument. Intellectually, it is desirable. HOWEVER, it is rather irritating in reality when you converse with someone else, isn't it?
A few years ago, I thought I enjoy being the listener in a friendship or relationship. After this trip and in my recent meet ups with some of my oldest buddies and friends, I realise that I am most comfortable with these people because they always listen. :) I do not dominate the conversations but at least they truly listen when I tell them my inner thoughts, feelings and struggles and vice versa. I realise that I am simply someone who loves to talk for long hours - not treating it as a form of complaint but to really get perspectives from other people and I am a strong believer of communication. So when someone simply dominates a conversation (the "they talk, I listen" kind), I get bored after some time and feel disengaged. I guess I tend to keep them at a distance because they never truly listen to my side of the story or do not know me well enough. They nod to whatever that you say out of courtesy and not of genuine concern about your life. Hypocrisy is too strong a word to use and accommodating is too kind a word to describe these people. The exception is when they are really knowledgeable and impress me with all their intellect. LOL. I am a nerd, don't forget.
Monday, 5 January 2015
After thoughts of my epic 49-day adventure #6
#6: Turkish hospitality
I decided to write a post earlier today, partly because I want to go to bed earlier and fight "jet lag blues". It has been more than 10 days since I am back and I have not adjusted back to the right time zone yet. Partly it is due to the numerous gatherings over the festive season, Boxing day party and New year's eve countdown.
I shall not digress and shall talk about Turkish hospitality. When I was doing my exchange, I met a couple who told me multiple stories about the warm Turkish hospitality. Since then, I have always painted a beautiful picture of the country and the people. Indeed, both did not disappoint. They are friendly and helpful and will go out of the way to help you. Twice we had problems finding our hotels and we were blessed to meet two groups of Turkish students who simply walked us all the way to our destinations. We could not communicate with each other since we did not speak Turkish and the people whom we approached for help did not speak fluent English as well. It is such experiences that make me always ready to offer help to tourists in Singapore be it for directions or to take pictures. You never know how you can make someone else's day.
Besides helping us with directions, they were also very friendly and easy to talk to. One of the things I enjoy doing while travelling is talking to the locals and finding out their way of life. No doubt the rise of the Internet has made acquiring information much easier but nothing beats hearing it from the locals themselves! I am pretty lucky as the Turkish people are open to sharing. One of the receptionists at a hotel in Bergama told us about mandatory military service in Turkey and this was something that really shocked me. I only know of a few countries in the world that still implements mandatory service e.g. Singapore, Taiwan, S.Korea, Israel. Turkey? Never on my mind. While in Ephesus, our tour guide also shared a lot about life in Turkey (besides all the stories about Esphesus) with us. You start to wonder, if people can survive on such basic necessities in life and be happy, why is it that us, who live in a more developed country and have way higher financial ability, have more yet are less happy.
Indeed, Turkey has loads of beautiful sights and if you like Roman architecture (I love them!), you definitely can see tons of them all over the country. However, the people whom I met along the way definitely added icing to the cake. :) If only many more of us could behave in a similar way, the world will definitely be a much better place to live in!
I decided to write a post earlier today, partly because I want to go to bed earlier and fight "jet lag blues". It has been more than 10 days since I am back and I have not adjusted back to the right time zone yet. Partly it is due to the numerous gatherings over the festive season, Boxing day party and New year's eve countdown.
I shall not digress and shall talk about Turkish hospitality. When I was doing my exchange, I met a couple who told me multiple stories about the warm Turkish hospitality. Since then, I have always painted a beautiful picture of the country and the people. Indeed, both did not disappoint. They are friendly and helpful and will go out of the way to help you. Twice we had problems finding our hotels and we were blessed to meet two groups of Turkish students who simply walked us all the way to our destinations. We could not communicate with each other since we did not speak Turkish and the people whom we approached for help did not speak fluent English as well. It is such experiences that make me always ready to offer help to tourists in Singapore be it for directions or to take pictures. You never know how you can make someone else's day.
Besides helping us with directions, they were also very friendly and easy to talk to. One of the things I enjoy doing while travelling is talking to the locals and finding out their way of life. No doubt the rise of the Internet has made acquiring information much easier but nothing beats hearing it from the locals themselves! I am pretty lucky as the Turkish people are open to sharing. One of the receptionists at a hotel in Bergama told us about mandatory military service in Turkey and this was something that really shocked me. I only know of a few countries in the world that still implements mandatory service e.g. Singapore, Taiwan, S.Korea, Israel. Turkey? Never on my mind. While in Ephesus, our tour guide also shared a lot about life in Turkey (besides all the stories about Esphesus) with us. You start to wonder, if people can survive on such basic necessities in life and be happy, why is it that us, who live in a more developed country and have way higher financial ability, have more yet are less happy.
Indeed, Turkey has loads of beautiful sights and if you like Roman architecture (I love them!), you definitely can see tons of them all over the country. However, the people whom I met along the way definitely added icing to the cake. :) If only many more of us could behave in a similar way, the world will definitely be a much better place to live in!
After thoughts of my epic 49 day adventure #5
#5 Humility
Every single trip to Europe will only be completed by a football game at Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams. This visit is extremely memorable, not because of the back to back wins (at last, considering that the Man U lost on the first two occasions that I went) but of my personal experiences. I was very lucky to be able to see the stars that I have always admired, RVP and Juan Mata. :) Owing to differing time zones in Asia and Europe, I also accidentally booked the wrong air ticket back to Switzerland and ended up with an extra day in Manchester. I wanted to avoid the crowd so I went to the Megastore early and did the Stadium Tours. There happens to be an event for the first 70 supporters in line to take a photo with the players and since I was there early, I had the chance to do so! :)
My inspiration behind this post is none other than Juan Mata. :) I know he has a blog of his own and he updates it weekly or fortnightly. That made me wanted to revive this dying virtual space of mine, to have my thoughts written down and reflect many many years down the road. Through the few interactions with him, I find him a really humble person and that made me reflect on myself and the kind of person I want to be. This reflection that I did on the journey then made me realised that I can still do so much better in so many different aspects of life and I actually want to do that. Thanks for being such an inspiration, J. Mata!
Footballers are over-glorified these days because of the media - press or social ones and with huge advertisers pouring out billions to further market them. Many of them have become household names with superstars status or are simply global icons such as C.Ronaldo, W.Rooney, L.Messi, just to name a few. Week in week out, thousands of fans send them parcels or mails, ask for autographs, watch their every action closely, etc. so it is not surprising for some of them to become arrogant. However, Mata is not one of those people. He behaves like a commoner, taking we-fies with his supporters, smiles a lot, rallies people, his choice of words, expresses his own emotions - positive or negative ones. My takeaway from his humble behaviour is that we have a choice as to what kind of a person we want to be, regardless of our background (past), our social status or occupation (current), and from there shape who we will become in the (future).
As we age, we have more knowledge and life experiences and inevitably, we might think we know best. We try very hard to influence others to adopt our beliefs or give advices but most of the time, we have forgotten to keep an open mind and to listen to others. At least this is what I see in the majority of the elderly that I interacted with thus far. With great power comes great responsibility. With great responsibility comes ignorance though. We feel that we need to do many things in life right that we sometimes only believe in ourselves.
On reflection, I feel that humility is extremely important. You can become a very powerful person in your job or in your life because of your wealth, job title, social status, etc. But it is completely your choice as to how you want to treat others. If you constantly see life as journey and you have to be constantly learning along the way, you will be humble and listen to what others have to say. You will not have the "I Know It All or Best" mindset. After all, the day we shut our eyes and report to Heaven, no one will care about your wealth, your job title or social status. Not God nor the angels in Heaven.
Every single trip to Europe will only be completed by a football game at Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams. This visit is extremely memorable, not because of the back to back wins (at last, considering that the Man U lost on the first two occasions that I went) but of my personal experiences. I was very lucky to be able to see the stars that I have always admired, RVP and Juan Mata. :) Owing to differing time zones in Asia and Europe, I also accidentally booked the wrong air ticket back to Switzerland and ended up with an extra day in Manchester. I wanted to avoid the crowd so I went to the Megastore early and did the Stadium Tours. There happens to be an event for the first 70 supporters in line to take a photo with the players and since I was there early, I had the chance to do so! :)
My inspiration behind this post is none other than Juan Mata. :) I know he has a blog of his own and he updates it weekly or fortnightly. That made me wanted to revive this dying virtual space of mine, to have my thoughts written down and reflect many many years down the road. Through the few interactions with him, I find him a really humble person and that made me reflect on myself and the kind of person I want to be. This reflection that I did on the journey then made me realised that I can still do so much better in so many different aspects of life and I actually want to do that. Thanks for being such an inspiration, J. Mata!
Footballers are over-glorified these days because of the media - press or social ones and with huge advertisers pouring out billions to further market them. Many of them have become household names with superstars status or are simply global icons such as C.Ronaldo, W.Rooney, L.Messi, just to name a few. Week in week out, thousands of fans send them parcels or mails, ask for autographs, watch their every action closely, etc. so it is not surprising for some of them to become arrogant. However, Mata is not one of those people. He behaves like a commoner, taking we-fies with his supporters, smiles a lot, rallies people, his choice of words, expresses his own emotions - positive or negative ones. My takeaway from his humble behaviour is that we have a choice as to what kind of a person we want to be, regardless of our background (past), our social status or occupation (current), and from there shape who we will become in the (future).
As we age, we have more knowledge and life experiences and inevitably, we might think we know best. We try very hard to influence others to adopt our beliefs or give advices but most of the time, we have forgotten to keep an open mind and to listen to others. At least this is what I see in the majority of the elderly that I interacted with thus far. With great power comes great responsibility. With great responsibility comes ignorance though. We feel that we need to do many things in life right that we sometimes only believe in ourselves.
On reflection, I feel that humility is extremely important. You can become a very powerful person in your job or in your life because of your wealth, job title, social status, etc. But it is completely your choice as to how you want to treat others. If you constantly see life as journey and you have to be constantly learning along the way, you will be humble and listen to what others have to say. You will not have the "I Know It All or Best" mindset. After all, the day we shut our eyes and report to Heaven, no one will care about your wealth, your job title or social status. Not God nor the angels in Heaven.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
After thoughts of my epic 49 day adventure #4
#4: Northern Lights
Despite having spent six months in winter in Sweden, one of the favoured destinations for viewing the Northern Lights, I have never seen it throughout my entire time when I was there. Perhaps I knew that it was an indulgence that a poor student like me could not afford back then. However, I cannot remember how seeing the Northern Lights got on my bucket list and I started trying, first in Finland and this time round in a more remote place, Iceland.
I would say that I did see the Northern Lights on a few occasions on this trip but what I saw was very different from what I had imagined or seen in photographs. Those bright green patches that seem to be dancing in the sky seems to be a luxury of a cameraman or photographer. Perhaps the weather was not good enough or perhaps I was not lucky enough. There were days when the sky was cloudy but activity was high and there were days when the sky was clear and the activity was high, and also a day when the sky was cloudy and activity was moderate. All in all, I now know how the Northern lights are like but the next time I chase after the lights, I will make sure I camp in a cottage and wait throughout the night just like the days when I used to camp and wait for stars or shooting stars. :)
The saving grace from Northern Light hunting was that I saw a sky filled with stars while in Iceland and caught two shooting stars. It happened so quickly that I did not have the time to make a wish but I am still a happy girl with this episode. After all, the last time I saw a shooting star was in 2007 in Halong Bay. How time flies.
All in all, to say I am not disappointed about this whole Northern Lights saga would be an understatement of how I felt because I spent a bomb on all these tours. However, I do not have any regrets about embarking on it because seeing the Northern Lights is always something special, no matter how strong or weak the activity is! :)
Despite having spent six months in winter in Sweden, one of the favoured destinations for viewing the Northern Lights, I have never seen it throughout my entire time when I was there. Perhaps I knew that it was an indulgence that a poor student like me could not afford back then. However, I cannot remember how seeing the Northern Lights got on my bucket list and I started trying, first in Finland and this time round in a more remote place, Iceland.
I would say that I did see the Northern Lights on a few occasions on this trip but what I saw was very different from what I had imagined or seen in photographs. Those bright green patches that seem to be dancing in the sky seems to be a luxury of a cameraman or photographer. Perhaps the weather was not good enough or perhaps I was not lucky enough. There were days when the sky was cloudy but activity was high and there were days when the sky was clear and the activity was high, and also a day when the sky was cloudy and activity was moderate. All in all, I now know how the Northern lights are like but the next time I chase after the lights, I will make sure I camp in a cottage and wait throughout the night just like the days when I used to camp and wait for stars or shooting stars. :)
The saving grace from Northern Light hunting was that I saw a sky filled with stars while in Iceland and caught two shooting stars. It happened so quickly that I did not have the time to make a wish but I am still a happy girl with this episode. After all, the last time I saw a shooting star was in 2007 in Halong Bay. How time flies.
All in all, to say I am not disappointed about this whole Northern Lights saga would be an understatement of how I felt because I spent a bomb on all these tours. However, I do not have any regrets about embarking on it because seeing the Northern Lights is always something special, no matter how strong or weak the activity is! :)