Falling in

credit: https://tenor.com/view/falling-gif-8007017

 This is a grassroots post of mine in Elephant Journal. If today were my last day on earth, well, I would also feel sorry for the unfortunate deaths of my fellow humans. 

A STUDY of the World Health Organization says that about 684,000 individuals die annually from falls; out of which more than 80% are from low- and middle-income countries. I would never have checked that figure had I not seen a news video clip going viral online which captures the moment of several people falling off the U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the international airport in Kabul. Subsequently my memory conjures up an image of an unidentified human figure falling from the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. Surely as did the death of the falling man in New York City, the deaths of falling Afghans in Kabul adds up a few digits in the list of WHO.

However, their falls are not just digits, but a horrific side of our nature. We humans are altruistic and selfish; subservient and dominant; and humane and savage. The good and bad of dual selves dwell in us. We love someone at the expense of hating another; we help this person by neglecting that one; we save these lives at the cost of those. We can rarely go beyond the specific territories that deter our love, sympathy and compassion from setting foot on new frontiers.

On the contrary, all great religions teach us to love fellow humans equally and unconditionally regardless of who they are; where they are from; and what they believe. Jesus Christ preaches, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God”; Prophet Muhammad sermons, “Love for humanity what you love for yourself”; the Lord of Buddha once says: “As rain falls equally on the just and the unjust, do not burden your heart with judgments but rain your kindness equally on all”; to mention but a few. Even if we think that religious teachings are too good or banal to follow, is it not so difficult to reach a logical conclusion through our sense of rationality that loving and caring others do more good than harm. Only our dark sides: hatred, selfishness and revenge — protruding from whatever ground — are eating up the better angels of our nature.

The problem is, as mentioned above, not that we can’t love and care each other; of course, we love and care! But simply not enough. Our love and compassion are conditional, preferential and bound to a specific person, group or community. Byproduct of them is hatred and animosity towards an opposite entity.

Straight to the point, we are far short of “universal love coverage” in which all peoples have equal access to love, kindness, care, generosity and all goodness of human nature regardless of genders, races, religions and sexual orientations. Sounds archaic?

The one(s) falling from New York City and Kabul, I from the different time zone of the world merely watched them to die apparently knowing them struggling just to live; then, swiped to next posts.

Are we utterly falling in “loathe” or what?

No more spicy !

If today were my last day on earth, then I would surely remember "Hell Spicy Dandan Noodle" I had in Uji.  

My friend and I had lunch at a restaurant in Uji, a small and beautiful town just south of Kyoto. We love spicy food, so he selectively chose that place - particularly in favor of me who always craved it. The specialty is, as put in the menu, "Hell Spicy Dandan Noodle: Szechuan style noodle with terrible spicy soup that makes your lips numb". I thought it was funny.  

 And I took it so lightly due to my hubris undermining anything hot and peppery. That self-delusion proved wrong soon! The food was truly like hell as if burning my lips and stomach! Who the heck eats a food like this? 

Grinning widely,  my friend said, “At last, spicy food has defeated you.” “Defeated? That makes sense. Brutally defeated. Now I give up! Next time, no more spicy!” 

 We both burst out laughing. Yet, had I foreseen what would happen to me that night thanks to “Hell Noodle”, then I don’t think I would have laughed like that.  

 Real hell comes, but late!

The Art of Home Décor

 

photo credit:  Manja Vitolic

If today were my last day on earth, then I would surely take a little care of my room.  

I’d never thought of how my room should look and where this and that stuff should go. In so many ways, I’m much flexible and adaptable to the environment. Even in the mess, I can always find a place for doing a particular thing — sitting, eating, reading, watching TV or something. That ‘trait’ should be labelled as laziness, but what I understand about the term is irrelevant and cannot be extrapolated to my case; rather, I define it as ‘no interest’.

Yet, these days I’ve started to, slowly but steadily, be interested in home décor, so to say. I imagine how the living-room should look, in what ways tables and chairs should be arranged, where vases and books should go and the like. Thinking this way and acting on it give me a sense of little creation; that is, I’m creating something out of abstract ideas. And satisfaction and fulfillment I get after completion is an intrinsic part and reward of that little creation, I believe. These positive motives encourage me to be consistent, and even more creative!

Now my attention centering on the stuff already in the apartment has shifted to bringing the new in like room-accessories, lights, flowers, etc. I’ve also mapped every single space of my place in my mind in such a way of which is more enchanting if supplied with certain items. This is pleasing me, and I even feel like it adding some meaning to my life as I’m living for a small cause, which is make my apartment neat, clean and, let’s say, beautiful; in return, any achievement makes me happy in a subtle way.