Refresh

It’s still June, but only just. Where did the time go since my last blog. I wrote long hand in my journal, but not enough. Now I am back, with renewed interest and zest to write.

I’m taking a break in Asia’s lion city, and Singapore welcomes me in a way it hasn’t done before. I used to come here on stopovers, but in this visit I have time to experience it better. I like the skies, the green, the cleanliness, the spaces, the old and new. People seem full of urge to do their activity quickly and purposefully. Loitering or slowing down seems inappropriate, unless it is done in a designated place of leisure. Business displays a keen spirit and good quality, with great variety, and lots of expression and creativity in the advertising and decoration. That appeals to me.

I gained an extra eye to see this all. I bought a Finepix F30, the newly released low-light capturing marvel released by Fujifilm this month. It encourages me to see the world around me in new shapes and colors and composition. It offers me a new form of artful expression, and I want to explore my creativity with it. It’s my new companion, and I am very happy with it. Its low-light pictures are simply amazing.

Yesterday I was drenched in heat. Singapore is humid, and I had all opportunity to celebrate it. Avoiding airconditioned places as much as possible, I went through a cycle of alternating wetting and drying in the hot air which enveloped me like a mother, a universe, a cocoon. I resisted my urge for cool, and surrendered myself to the heat and perspiration, and found a new side of myself, enjoying patient exploring with an open mind. Through the heat, I refreshed, and experienced renewal.

A full day of art and creativity, interspersed with nice food and warm feelings. I realize that there is nothing that I can create that is not already there. I found that I can share in it, and share it with another.

Writing is lonely

Writing is lonely, because I have to do it. I have to show up every time, support or no support. But I experience so much help, especially from Gail Sher’s book (see my first post Deciding to Write). In the last few days, I learned more valuable lessons, like dedicating your writing before and after, to let go of it. She says that “Waves of the Sea belong to the Sea.” How true, in terms of creative work. I also experienced the truth in her advice to write with a straight back, since it improves energy flow. I really feel privileged that I got hold of her book.

Today I attended a school rehearsal for a Broadway musicals show. And I was promptly asked to contribute with a sax solo. The Universe caught me, and I was happy about it. I need a kick to get me back to playing music again, and today I realized how much creative energy has been locked up inside. So I spent time checking Broadway songs that could be articulated by sax, and I finally decided on With One Look, from the musical Sunset Boulevard. If the organizers accept it, I will start practicing right away, since the performance is on 24 June.

Writing is now rejuvenating and empowering me, and I want some extra bubbles in that mixture. Music may just be what I need to open up some more.

Photograph: Writing at the foot of the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan, Mexico.

Figuring out what matters most

While waiting in the garage supervisor’s office this morning for my car to be repaired, I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I decided to focus on priorities in my life and work, and in the process rediscovered some things that help me on the way.

Photograph: Hue of the City - painting from Ubud, Bali. I love this painting very much.

Things I want most in my life

1. Doing creative things from a spiritual base
2. Advising others ahead with big-picture steps in my area of work
3. Being a life coach (for friends and through writing)
4. Providing good support to my kids (love, advice, and money)
5. Having a network of friends and a loving partner/soulmate (buyers)

And a few more

1. Living as Zorba the Buddha
2. Living actively and passionately
3. Keeping healthy
4. Seeing new places, shaking me up
5. Living in Asia, for sure
6. Music, play, listen, share, do together
7. Be affluent enough to support these
8. Make money work for good purposes and multiply
9. Invest in myself first, with love and care, and with much giving
10. Be whole, balanced, growing daily, in the Tao.

Now how can I start applying the Pareto principle of 80/20 to find the ones that matter most, that I should concentrate on to enrich my life? I cleared my mind, reflected, and let my inner voice speak out of stillness. I am happy with what came out:

Priorities for my Life

1. Cultivate strength and creativity. Spend holy time every day. Connect and listen to my inner voice. Exercise. Meditate. Light a candle.

2. Show up and write. Have a writing period every day, for journal and/or blog. Write more on every occasion, for life and work. Focus on improving my writing. Use opportunities to publish as often as possible.

3. Make money grow. Value money more. Reduce spending. Save consistently. Invest carefully. Enjoy investing in valuable things. Go for quality over quantity.

4. Connect with people. Reach out more. Don’t be by myself too much (leads to negativity). Build good connections, friendships. Focus on giving and receiving. Build partnerships. Enjoy meeting people, even when tired.

5. Show and enjoy love. Connect with the Universe and other people so that love can circulate, and grow in me. Cultivate and show positive spirit. Enjoy receiving love appropriately. Build a buyer’s love relationship with someone special.

Priorities for my Work

1. Prioritize and complete. Writing down objectives and tasks clearly and review daily, focus on good planning, position and strength.

2. Develop knowledge. Focusing on knowledge contributions: large (thesis) and small, and delegated ones, and link with my knowledge management colleague more.

3. Mobilize funds. Expand the fund for my area of work to allow more to happen, keep enough control for my own activities to be financed, and delegate the rest.

4. Engage and delegate. Delegate by engaging more and better people, a pool of specialists, good networks, and let them do the work.

5. Lead positively. Start and do everything with positive spirit, kindness, and focus on growth and solutions.

Healthy things that help me

1. Standing up for myself. Advertise strengths, be assertive confidently and positively.

2. Traveling regularly. Enjoy travel and create nice spaces and moments everywhere.

3. Starting something new. Reach out, be stimulated, and leave the old behind.

4. Expanding and delegating. Always let things multiply but not weigh me down.

5. Making things happen. Doing lots of things without owning, maintaining privacy.

6. Live the present moment. Make the best of every moment, enjoy the power of Now.

7. Laugh and smile a lot. Let happiness make the world a better place for me and others.

8. Drink water often. Use the wonder medicine to keep life’s fountain flowing.

Reading back, I realize how human I am. Many of these might apply to other people as well. That is good news to me. I can learn from others, read more books and blogs. But setting personal priorities is key to getting results, in life and in work. I got a good deal closer to that this morning.

From Low to Zero and other Lessons

These past days I learned several lessons.

What particularly touched me were the sunrays when I wrote my journal in the early morning, before going to work. Once you become aware of that, how could any morning go wrong? Even so, good and bad live side by side. This is the nature of our world. I feel so lucky when I realize the positive sides. Beautiful morning sunrays can work wonders for me.

My work and life always get cluttered. Papers, unfinished activities, unaccomplished goals, they bring pressure and stress. For me, to be creative I need a clean space. I can do great things and write them down as well, in a small but uncluttered space. My lesson is to create such space, uncluttered, undivided, clean. I started with cleaning my office, and it’s so refreshing. Energy flows much better. But, of course, paper quickly mounts, and I need better systems and habits to get through them and get rid of them.

I believe in energy. Everything in and around us is a form of energy. Some more solid than others. I always have too much to do, and Toby’s book (see earlier post on eating the frog) showed me how important it is to select the task that matters most, and then get on with doing and completing it. Toby says that “a goal or decision without deadline has no urgency in it.” And a goal without writing it down has no energy behind it. I found the truth in this from practicing it. Too many things to do weighs me down (bad energy). But doing a priority task consciously has its own energy, it’s interesting to observe. Once started with good effort, it develops an energy of its own.

Today, and since last night, I was in a low mood. My mind seemed focused on problems, on things that are not right. Normally I can get out of a low mood easily once I realize that what’s bothering me is just a low mood. Awareness is key, it allows me to take distance from it. I realize that the low mood is not me, it just affects me, and perhaps I’m creating thoughts that feed that mood so it stays with me longer. However, today I couldn’t get rid of the mood as easily as in other days. Even the sunrays on my table in the morning did not help me much. Then I realized that I could at least go from negative to zero. To drop negativity and be satisfied with no-thingness. So I did – I dropped negativity and “moved” to zero, to the absence of positivity and negativity. A good friend calls this “being flat”.

Negativity and positivity are both around me, it’s part of our natural conditions. When I tap into negativity, a low mood easily develops. Mostly I am positive, and I love tapping into that. Today it was difficult. But with awareness I could drop my attachment, my link to negativity. So I ploughed through the day in a “flat” mode, feeling “zero”, and being satisfied with that, by and large. For Zen practitioners, zero is an important place, Zero, the result of wiping our slate clean. Something we can do often and deliberately. Clear the space. Wipe the sticky residue of life of our soul. Just start again, every day, every morning, and many moments in the day, as many as I want.

Today was a day when I appreciated any help I could get to get my own dots better connected. No red wine available, until now late at night when I write this, looking back on the day. I like to be connected to others. But sometimes, I have to be satisfied just finding the connections within me. That was today for me. And I could still smile, partly because of that clown in the morning sun.