Impermanence…

"I don’t believe in complete honesty in a relationship. I think we have
to keep our secrets. I think that secrets are an important part of
keeping a relationship alive." -Goldie Hawn

I just read this entry posted by a friend of mine on Facebook~~ It is nice to know that there is a spiritual celebrity. Sometimes it is hard to believe that the Hollywood superstars would be interested in spirituality. But, again, they came from different backgrounds. So yeah, it is possible!

Actually, I’m also interested in spirituality, not religion per se. Maybe due to this reason, I’m interested in Buddhism~~ and open my mind to values taught in various religions. I think all religions have the same purpose: to live this life peacefully and harmoniously. So yeah, actually doesn’t really matter which religion you believe in, because what we aim is the same: peace. But unfortunately, not many people realize this. They have been too attached to their own ‘identity’ and get swung away from the core meaning/teaching of the religions itself.

Oh yeah, let me add something that is not so relevant to this topic. I want to mention something about jail. I think putting the crims into jail has goods and bads. It is good because it is a system to ‘prevent’ people to do crimes, since the idea of jail can be terrifying. But for somehow it doesn’t really solve the problem. It can be a preventive measure, but not solving though. Let me explain. Imagine, you have been put into bail~~ then the jail officer (sometimes– or my perception) is mean to you. Your inmates all are crims too. You all have at least committed crime once (or convicted so). Then due to the mean treatment, you started to rebel against the officer, and create a good bond with your inmates since you share the same ‘misery’. That is the picture inside the jail. When you’re out of it, and want to start anew, the society makes it harder. For example, you want to apply for a good job (e.g., office job), but in your interview, you are asked about your background. And when the employer figures out that you were an inmate before, you would be sacked or wouldnt be hired. *Sigh* It runs in a cycle.

Solution of it in my head is: forgiveness and acceptance. But can we do it is another question. It is not easy to trust someone who has done a crime. It is just in our psyche that the person might do the same again~~~ But if we all can accept and forgive them, we might be able to suppress the criminal level….

Well, its just a random scratch from me…

Have a nice day!

AFL… Footie? Mm not in my entry
AFL stands for Acknowledge, Forgive, and Let go. I quote it from Ajahn Brahm’s talk. It is very creative and profound of him to come up with the abbreviation. Smart.

How many times do we punish ourselves because we’ve done mistake? How many time do we criticize ourselves so harshly? How many times do we hurt ourselves because of our stupidity? Well~~~ I guess the answers are MANY.

Forgiveness is very important. It is an act of love. Forgiving yourself is also a part of loving your own self. A complete forgiveness is not easy but very loving. Forgiving needs a lot of courage and strength. Forgiveness allows a room for mistakes. We are imperfect, none of us is (in general). So why do we have to hurt ourselves out of our mistakes? Mistakes are there to learn, not to condemn. We can grow through pain. So pain is your life coach.

So yeah~~~ acknowledge your pain, mistakes, your stupidity– then out of compassion forgive yourself —- and let the pain or feeling go. If you can do it to yourself with much capacity, you also can do it for others. Before loving yourself completely, it is hard to love others completely….

So, start with yourself. Apply AFL in your life. Acknowledge, Forgive, and Let go…. ^_________^

This afternoon, on my walk to Eastgarden, I was flashing back my past for a moment… I just felt so grateful to the ones who cared about me: my parents, my brothers, my relos (esp my Aunts and uncle who looked after me while I was away from my parents). I can’t imagine this world without love. I think no one can survive without love.

So yeah~~~ I just wanna write out that I feel grateful for everything! Thanks so much!! All this is immeasurable….