Vision in the Sun

Metamorphosis Monarch

Let your heart be the guide.
Let your vision be the North Star in the dark nights,
every pain giving your more strength,
every setback giving your more resolve.

You are a butterfly in a cocoon,
with every wriggle you become more free,
with every struggle you become more complete.
growth takes effort,
transformation takes time.

Born a helpless baby, then
a curious child exploring the world,
growing into a rebellious adolescent,
yearning for independence and serenity.

eventually arriving at the adult stage,
mature, balanced and resourceful,
knowing who you are, what you want,
at peace with pain and pleasure, dark and light,
young and old, win and loss…

What remains unchanged is
the vision in the sun.
now the sun is
within your body, mind, heart and soul.

every movement is the sun giving her warmth,
every thought the sun giving her light,
every feeling the sun giving her love,
every prayer the sun giving her blessing!

All the time your body held onto
the vision of the future in the sun,
never to let go,
because you knew,
it was the vision that
gave meaning to life!

– Zhen EX, Mar 2018

Letter to Myself

Dear Zhen

What you are doing is incredible. You don’t need to change the world, just change yourself and show the others that it can be done. Be the change and others will follow. There are too many people who think and feel like you. They want a different world than the one we currently have.

The establishment is strong. They hold onto this reality with all the force and money of governments and corporations. More importantly, they enforce the ideas of power and greed through popular media.

Every world is created twice. First in our hearts and minds, then in material reality. The seed has been planted within. Your life’s purpose is to nurture and grow so that eventually the season of flowering arrives. And as it had often occurred throughout history, it will be a simultaneous global happening.

Awaken the human spirit above machines and materials. Truth wins and Love conquers. There will be doubts. There will be lies. There will be tears. There will be pain. But have faith, follow your heart, move forward!

Much Love

Zhen

PS: love your witty words, long absences and sick dance moves.

What Have We Gained from Development?

Elizabeth Quay Sunrise

I now live and work in Australia.
This is a first world country. We have:

No distant, polluted and scarce water source,
but clean, safe and readily available tap water;

No dim-lit, short-lasting and fire-hazardous candles or ever-changing, weather-dependent and outdoor moonlight,
but bright, cheap and readily available electrical lights;

No smoky and seasonal nature’s leaves and branches,
but clean burning, cheap and readily available natural gas;

No smelly, dirty and outdoor outhouses,
but clean, hygienic and indoor toilets;

No hazardous and unsupervised ponds and lakes,
but safe and watched swimming pools;

No time-consuming, style limited and hand-made knitting,
but labour saving, mass-produced clothing rich in style;

No occasional serves of free-range eggs and chicken,
but daily consumption of caged and free-range eggs and chicken;

No occasional serve of expensive meat,
but daily consumption of cheap meat;

No slow-acting, hit-and-miss and sparsely available traditional herbal remedies,
but fast-curing, pin-point accurate and readily available modern pharmaceutical medicine;

No time consuming and labour-intensive bicycle and legs,
but fast moving and labour-saving cars, trains and planes;

No material scarcity from agriculturalism,
but material abundance due to industrialisation;

No villages and open spaces,
but cities, high rises and parks;

No clean air and blue sky due to lack of industries,
but clean air and blue sky due to better technologies that minimise pollution;

No outdoor play due to lack of choices,
but a combination of outdoor play and indoor play including watching TV;

No talking face-to-face due to lack of technology,
but a combination of mobile phones, social media and talking face-to-face;

No poverty due to lack of development,
but prosperity due to industrialisation as a result of good governance, sound economic management and strong work ethics.

People are rich,
but unhappy.

What have we gained from development,
I wonder if we are better or worse off?

– Zhen EX