Tag: Life

Thanks for the Memories

Thank you for the gifts, of course. Yet, thank you most for your years of friendship. City living has been a real education. The energising bustle and rainbow hues of the folk, the freedom and the urban philosophies have made youth interesting, exciting and eventful. A new phase of life beckons. With recession, job losses and changing visions abounding, one needs to adapt too. Looking forward to a healthier pace, more activity and carefully defined living; the making of fresh memories is an enticing prospect. Next week, God willing, we will share some of our first steps.

Never Say “Goodbye”

Yes, we are moving.  The query, suggestion, exploration, possibility, indecision have all given way to commitment.  We are leaving our “forever home” for another “forever home”; and that is where the “Goodbyes” begin and end.

We are not leaving you.  You, who have made our lives meaningful, exciting, challenging and adventurous; you, who have journeyed with us, laughed and cried with us, built with us, torn down with us; you, who have shared our hopes and dreams and burdens; we are not leaving you.  The world grows ever smaller and we will be merely a button away.

You will still share our joys and triumphs.  You will still share our trials and tribulations.  You will feel that our builders are your builders.  You will be dragged into the torment of choosing paint colours, the tangle of wallpaper patterns and the merits of design theories.  You will meet new people and make new friends.  You will reflect with us and meditate with us.  You will wish that we had left you behind!

So, don’t be sorrowful; you are coming with us.  Welcome to the journey.

Religious Festivals

Did you know that Chinese New Year was last week and we are now in the Year of the Rabbit?  I know, courtesy of an English education system which, in many cases, appears to have crossed the line between dissemination of information and active religious observance.  Goodbye reasoned respect; hello proselytism!

Do our children need to celebrate religious festivals other than their own, and only then if they hail from a religious family?  Surely, there is something akin to religious globalisation afoot when generations of individuals, originating from a myriad of cultures, ethnic groups and language streams, are actively encouraged to participate in this uniformly hybrid movement.  Are we not alarmed by the reality of legalised indoctrination, thinly cloaked as forward-thinking, state-funded religious education? 

And what benefit does it have in any case?  Are we as a society more peaceful, well integrated, wiser and happier as a result?  Have racism, bigotry, tokenism and xenophobia ceased to exist?  Has suspicion been superseded by serenity, violence by virtue and insularity by invaluableness?

I didn’t think so, but Happy Chinese New Year anyway!