thoughts on grass~

You're the field in the middle of the city,
When I'm rushing by at the speed of light.

- Michelle Tumes

Sometimes I feel we rush through our lives too fast for us to actually take anything in.

especially in a city like Singapore, where everyone else you see and know is moving from one point to another, it is hard not to understand when people tell you life feels meaningless at times. relationships we have with close ones help to alleviate these feelings to some extent. relationships help to keep us rooted. but even in this area, we need to put extra time and effort to build and maintain what we've started.

alright. that's not the point of philosophy I want to talk about today.

I want to talk about how we ought to adopt an "open hands" and "open heart" approach. we need to learn to be spontaneous, not afraid to move out of our comfort zones. many fun opportunites and possibilities are lost because either "I've have not done it before" or "it's so not me.."

I'm not talking about great, spontaneous adventures like sky-diving or gathering to hold a party in an mrt train cabin.(ronnie told me a group of people actually pulled off this flash-mob stunt in singapore..and received complaints, thus they got chased out of the train).

No. I'm not talking about flash-mobs. We don't have to gather in a parade square, stand still for five mins and then move off like nothing happened. but what we have and should do is to encourage and give thanks for random encounters throughout our days. too often a time, we tend to just want to keep to our own worlds and shut the rest of the world out.

I'll give you an example,but actually I don't think you need one. But! for instance, 70% of the time, I walk into a train, I sit down or stand, and immemdiately reach for my music. the earphones are plugged in, and my stoning posture kicks in. bye bye world, you won't receive a word or a look from me until I reach my stop.

sounds familiar? I see this almost every day. and I participate in this routine every other day too. but as for the 30% of the rest of the time, I happily welcome randomness in life. I keep my eyes open, my heart willing, and I really do experience so much more in life. I start to connect with the lives of others I meet, I start to make conversations with people I meet on the street. nothing much, just an exchange of greetings, a smile, and some words here and there. but there's just this special quality to it. in that moment, I wasn't just me anymore. it became me with someone else. and somehow, the world seems less cold. I don't remember all of the encounters I've had, but I know I enjoyed every single one of them when I was in it.

this image just came into mind. of Jesus walking on the streets of Jerusalem and of the other places. I wonder if He just kept close to His disciples and friends or did He have fun socialising? the answer is obvious isn't it? just to give you some examples. the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus didn't have to talk to her, in fact, it was perfectly acceptable during His times to not talk to a Samaritan woman. but He did anyway, and look what happened. the woman's life was changed forever and she brought so many others to talk to Jesus. just a few words exchanged, and the impact was beyond imagination.

or what about the paralysed man waiting beside the pool? Jesus could have walked right past him. but He didn't, instead He deliberately asked the man what was he doing and if he wanted to get healed. a simple,"Hi, can I help you?" seems to me to be one of Jesus' trademarks for opening up conversations with people He cared for.

even till today, God still extends out His hand and with a warm smile, He asks, "my beloved child, is there something I can help you with?" and I guess that is why Jesus is my superhero. tony anthony once said Jesus is his superhero because Jesus freed him not just from the prison in Cyprus, but also the prisons in life. the prison of want, the prison of hopelessness...in Jesus, he is free.

but for me, Jesus is my superhero because He not only saves and frees me, but He is more than able and willing to do what most people won't even want to try. in this big world of people, where we can brush pass each other but not acknowledge one another, Jesus does the opposite. He reaches out to people, welcomes unplanned encounters, has the courage and love to make a difference in the lives of others. how many of us can say we can or want to do that?

I think many of us just want to get things done. I'm not saying that we are loveless people. in fact I think we are people with love but we just lack the courage to share our love with others. too shy. too afraid of rejection or awkwardness. we meet so many people in just one day, but what we don't realise is that every one of those lives has a story to tell. and we may not get to hear the whole story, but can we imagine the insight we will gain from being part of it?

let us try to let go of this "I want to be an independent individual, just doing what I have to do" mindset. We were created for inter-dependence.

one step at a time. a sincere and warm smile here and there.

Open hands. Open hearts.

我们行的.加油!

end of my philosophy for today.

this is my second resolution fot the year: To lie down on a nice patch of grass and to look up at the clouds in the skies.=).