My Blog
24th July 2024. 1 min read Poetry
In the midst of all the media storms
Where heroes rise
And villains fall
Consuming news daily like never before
Remember your own spectacular life
How you have taken up challenges and won
They had seemed impossible, you had sworn
Realise that we are all winners in our own ways
Pat and praise yourselves each day
The victor is in us yet we look around
God’s Grace to us abounds
10th July 2024, 1 min read poetry
Tik Tok, Tik tok
It is the restless clock
I have watched its tireless hands
Swipe off me, second by second
Some may feel it’s trivial
Others will sense it’s futile
This everlasting march of time
One considers sacred and sublime
It has bypassed me in my ignorant youth and in my restless adulthood
But now, in my senior years, time is as precious as gold, as perishable as food, and as elusive as the fleeting cloud
Time generates encounters, feelings, and actions
In which one has the ultimate control over matters
What had passed transpired as lessons for a better tomorrow
What is to come is the opportunity to achieve what one deems meaningful
Let not this ally slip away
Like a true, faithful friend waiting to build a dream with you
But may vanish with your inaction
30 th June 2024 1 min read
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash
A sleepless night
A troubled one
A fitful time
So anxious, Soul anxious
Quiet down body, calm down mind
You are ruled by a wild imagination
Get up, write something
Your heart needs to still
Even as your mind wanders
Words can be cathartic
They roam the page instinctively
Finally they become weary
The mind calms down and the body relaxes
And sleep came
28th June 2024. 1 min read
Know one fact
No one pities you in this world
Nor will they continue to do so
You have to get up on your feet
And face your devil’s advocate
That has suppressed you for years
Making you see impossibilities and imperfections
No one cares about how you do in this world
Each is for his own
Until you have something to show for
Until you benefit this world
You will be another passerby
A final speck in the dust
But if you have inspired at least one person in your life
To fight against the odds and achieve the best
In the pursuits of your ideals have moved someone else’s dial too
You have done your role as a fellow mate
It’s a justifiably useful life lived.
26th June 2024. 2 min read
In our hurried, busy and noisy world, we are swept along by the demands and drills of daily life that we may forget to take some still moments for reflection.
Consequently, thoughts are sometimes superseded by impulsive responses which may produce negative consequences.
In this respect, it is advised by the wise and those who have gone through the vicissitudes of life to pause and ponder.
As we grow older, we should cultivate being quiet and calm in the face of troubles perceived.
There is the story of the lost pocket watch. A merchant had a valuable heirloom in the form of an antique watch which he liked to show around.
One day, he misplaced the watch while in his warehouse and he ordered his workers to search for it with a reward for the finder.
It was not successful. As the sun set, the hungry workers decided to search again after dinner.
The merchant’s son returned home and heard of the incident. He went to the warehouse and soon was able to retrieve the watch.
Surprised by the young man’s ability, the workers asked him how he had found the watch. The young man said, “I just sat in the corner, focussed and listened for the ticking sound in the quiet warehouse. That led me to it”.
Indeed, cultivate a calm heart and mind. The ancients often said: “Only when you are calm can you be at peace, and only when you are at peace can you think.”
I tried applying this principle in my clinic recently when my Xray software did not present itself on the monitor. The staff was quick to conclude that the software had broken down and restarting the computer did not help. There was a sense of panic and a loss of what to do.
In the face of having to break the news to the patient at the dental chair who had a bad toothache that her Xray could not be viewed, I chose to be calm and consider the options.
We could tell her that we would go ahead with pain relief and present the Xray to her later. She might be displeased.
We could send her to our neighboring dentist for a repeat Xray which was an inconvenience. Finally, it dawned on me to check the server and I discovered that it was not properly switched on hence the software was not active. The patient was successfully treated after a clear diagnosis.
Throughout the ages, anyone who has achieved great things has been able to maintain a state of calm, because calmness is more powerful than being restless and impatient.
When the mind is quiet and peaceful, quietness can lead to concentration and concentration can lead to wisdom.
26th June 2024. 1 min read
When you are anxious
Think only of solutions
You will find it works
One gets distracted
When you only see defeat
Which destroys all hope
Picture your success
Think of positive outcome
Gravitate to it
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What is a Senryu poem?
1 Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 syllables~ 5 , 7, 5
2 Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious
3 Usually speaks of human nature (behavior, emotions, characteristics
4 Untitled and Unrhymed