Winza

It is already 26 days into 2008, so I thought I might reflect on some of the goals that I set out at the start of the month.

Finances - Progress is extremely poor. I am trying to save the best I can without being too stingy. I have a problem of being stingy when I try to cut back on my spending. I have looked into some private health insurance policies but in terms of saving money, I am too far away. I aim to take action and get my first health insurance by the end of April..

Career - I have decided what I am going to do for further studies - a coursework Masters degree in GIS. I have dropped my research ambitions six months ago and I am happy with it. In terms of work, I haven’t got a permanent job yet but I have secured another contract extension for three more months, which isn’t a bad thing. I will start doing job hunting again when adverts come up for roles in my team at work as well as applying for them. This will probably happen in about one to two months time.

Health - Haha. Its a funny one here. I have cut back on lots of junk food but I still have the tendency to skip breakfast due to laziness. The box of cereal from end of October is still sitting on my desk at work. The good news is though, that I don’t fill up my stomach to 100% full now. Instead, I fill it up to 70-80% full and I have eaten lot of fruits and veges. In terms of walking, I have managed to do about four consecutive days of walking in early-mid January but then I stopped. Now that I have the Nike+iPod sports kit, I hope to get some motivation back on and start walking again.

Self improvement - My self improvement has been OK. I did chanting about 13 days for at least 5 minutes with the Gongyo so it was a big improvement from when I first started. I have also started to volunteer for some things at work such as coming to work on Saturdays (which didn’t happen because of some technical mishap). I have also started to contact other businesses for various things and my confidence is building up because of that. Things are getting good in terms of self improvement, but I feel I need to do much more.

Today at the SGI group meeting, we went through some of the material from part four of the Ichinen Sanzen study course. There was a long discussion about today’s problems in society and we took the 16 year-old Corey Delany and his partying as a fine example of the issues we face in society. About a week our two ago, this boy from Narre Warren in Victoria hosted a party with 500 other people while his parents were on holiday, vandalizing community assets and police equipment, coughing up a fine of $20,000. In subsequent interviews, the 16 year old did not seem to show any remorse for what he did and made comments about his cool sunglasses and that he hosted the best party ever. This is the product of today’s society, as Mary said in the discussion.

There are many problems in the modern society, such as war, racial discrimination and inequity. With rapid scientific and technological advancement, we see more people engaging in the creation of more destructive weapons for war, a race between scientists to clone the first human and others in pursuit for the best technological gadget. With the rapid development of the Internet, we see more people indulged in activities online, particularly in the younger generation. In recent years, there is a boom in social networking sites such as Facebook. While these sites make it more convenient in socializing with distant friends and bring long lost friends together, it can also exacerbate problems in real life especially for younger users. For example, it is possible for some users to isolate themselves from certain aspects of society and avoid real life challenges. For example, one on Facebook would choose to ignore their enemy from school or a neighbour who they disliked. For this reason, there is a potential for us to use the Internet as a medium to escape from our own weaknesses that manifest in real life.

In real life, it is impossible for one to totally escape from obstacles and challenges caused by their weaknesses. In the case of Corey, his lack of remorse, his arrogance and the avoidance from his parents shows how he is unwilling to face the troubles he has made. As this earns him an adverse reputation, the community is therefore angry with him and his parents.

This is an example that shows how many Buddhist concepts are linked. If we were ignorant about our own weaknesses, we would in turn try to escape many challenges in order to avoid hardship and suffering. This allows negative influences to take over and we would become even weaker. However if we acknowledge our own weaknesses and face every challenge head on with strong determination and faith, we would then value that experience and transform our suffering into happiness, elevating our life state and confidence. This happiness would also be reflected in our karma and in our actions, having a positive influence on other people and the environment and establishing a good reputation among those around us. This is also why we have to take every difficult situation as an opportunity to enrich and transform our experience.

Transforming hardships to happiness is easier said than done. This is where dialogue comes in. It is very difficult to face every challenge individually, especially when there are many obstacles in reality. I have learnt to face and go through each challenge by exchanging the experience with others. By doing that, we become inspired by each other’s experience and realize their full potential to achieve their goal. We would also become more compassionate and encouraging, strengthening our bond with them. At the same time, we are spreading the Mystic Law.

Life is incomplete without challenges and obstacles from within us and from society. Instead of escaping from them with fear, it is better to face them head on. Rather than ignoring our weaknesses, we should accept our true self, appreciate for who we are and that way, we gain long lasting happiness. When we overcome them with fierce courage, determination and hope, we are able to feel better and inspire others with our experiences. Yet we should not be defeated when we fail to achieve a goal – failing can be seen as an opportunity for us to improve; it gives us an initiative to try harder.

The key thing is to have total responsibility for our own lives, not to blame it on others and let others clean up your own mess.

Edited 21/1/2008 - grammatical errors and typos

Yesterday was the biggest day for Steph, who was first one in our group of school friends to get married. I was a little surprised six or seven months ago when she and her partner announced her wedding plans for early 2008. I was even more surprised when she asked me to be one of her four bridesmaids. Anyway, after giving it some thought, I have chosen the option to accept her invitation.

The last couple of months were the busiest and the most exciting times for Steph, Tennessee and their parents. As Stephanie and Tennessee didn’t have a wedding planner and they only had six months to plan for it, I was amazed at how much they did in a short amount of time. They held an engagement party, a bucks barbecue, a hens night, the wedding dress and the suit for the groom, dress fittings for both sides of the bridal party, organised the church service and the reception, sent out invitations, organised the photographers, the makeup artists, hairdressers, honeymoon, wedding cake, etc.

The wedding went very well yesterday. The weather was perfect, there wasn’t any major hiccups at the event and everybody enjoyed themselves. The bride and the groom both looked wonderful, the other bridesmaids looked amazing, the groomsmen were nice; everyone tried to fit in the scene. I was also surprised to see Tennessee in tears at the church service. I have never seen him this nervous before. It was a very emotional moment for both of them and everybody else in the church. When Tennessee lifted Steph’s veil to kiss her, the happiness and emotion grew even stronger that my worries had eroded. I am very joyful to see that Steph has found her lifetime partner whom she can share the rest of her life with.

The speeches were very touching. Clarey’s speech reinforced a lot about the true meaning of love. Although it was held in a Baptist Church, the things being said about love - commitment, faith and compassion and this is quite similar from what I have read in translated Buddhist texts. The best speech, however was Stephanie’s father’s speech - he had commented about Steph’s inner determination and how Steph and Tennessee’s strengths and weaknesses complement each other. As I don’t have a very good memory and I was a little bit drunk from the champagne, I couldn’t remember exactly what was said in the speeches.

Finally, I would like to once again wish Stephanie and Tennessee all the best for their future together.

..To be expanded..

All photos used to create this collage have been taken by Winza (2003-2008)…

The problem with each house member owning a car and off-street parking limited to one spot is that someone has to put up with bird poo on their windscreen once in a while. In my household, that person is me. I get to park in the spot right under the tree in our front garden and every few days (or at least once a week), I get white (sometimes yellow) spots on my windscreen. It can be very annoying especially during the morning when I am in a rush to work. As I am trying to save money water, I limit washing my car to once every three months. On-street parking is not an option because the is always a risk of someone else bumping into it. The only option is to cover my windscreen with a cloth every time I park it under that tree.

Bird crap on cars are so annoying!!!..