A bouquet from a student whom I taught 36 years ago arrived today. (11 Sep 2023)
In my childhood, I spent hours pottering among plants. I stuck the wooden stems of paper flowers into soil and believed they would become real flowers if I could just focus. I sometimes got scolded for removing offering decorations from the altar to put them in dirt. 😄
This crochet sunflower is as precious as the real ones. (Teachers’ Day gift 2023)
In my youth, flowers assured me that I was accepted & appreciated.
These lovely girls & their sunflower gift. (NYGH, 2004)
Now in old age, flowers remind me to always carry the Sun in my heart, & challenge me to bloom my best regardless of how much time that’s left.
Holding the Sun in my Heart.
Yesterday all the yellows, reds & golds descended in my home through the kindness of people I’ve known for a long long time.
So I felt very compelled to dress up for the flowers and take some pictures to honour them and their givers.
Flowers make us smile & teach us to hold everything lightly.
May the blessings of flowers open our heart & mind, for our good and the good of others. 😊🙏
The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.
My first copy of “The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying,” came from Borders the Bookshop at Wheelock Place. I bought it out of curiosity.
I had what I called “reader’s block,” and gave the book away in 2012. My inability or refusal to accept then that life ends despite our best efforts probably kept me from receiving the guidance in the book.
Over the years, the passing of 10 cats and 1 dog in my care, and the gruesome deaths of cherished community cats from dog attacks have eroded my state of denial. Death is just round the corner.
And with Emmanuel & Oliver’s deteriorating health, I’ll be witnessing death for the 11th & 12th time.
They are my longest living cats. I need to be better prepared for their passing so as to do justice to their companionship of 18 years.
So last week I ordered a copy of “The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying,” after assessing my receptivity to it via Libby APP.
Today as First Tutee and Granduncle came to see Oliver and pray over him, the book also arrived. 🙏❤️😊
First Tutee sees Oliver as his First Cat. They met in 2017.
So every thing has its timing. What we cannot understand or refuse to understand will make sense at some point. And friends who live in our thoughts will appear at the right time when needed.
And I cannot ask for a better alignment of intention, needs and spiritual aid like the one I had today. 🙏🪔
Whenever I pronounce the name of the Goddess of Wisdom, “Saraswati”, I feel articulate & calm.
One recent Sunday evening on the ride home, I felt a strong need to listen to a “Saraswati” mantra, specifically the version sung by Krishna Das.
So right there in the living room of my flat with Oliver on my lap, we listened as Saraswati’s Beej Mantra filled up our home through the deep but effortless chanting of Krishna Das.
Oliver & I on a Sunday evening with Ma Saraswati. 🙏
Today a friend shared what a mantra is with me.
“A mantra is a kind of magic formula that, once uttered, can entirely change a situation. It can change us, and it can change others. But this magic formula must be spoken in concentration, with body and mind focused as one. What you say in this state of being becomes a mantra.” – Thich Nhat Hahn
The late Thich Nhat Hahn’s spoken words in his accented English always feel very warm to me.
Oliver sat very still throughout the Saraswati mantra. Maybe he was receiving the wisdom he needed to have an easy & relaxing stay at the veterinary clinic in a few days’ time.
At the vet before he was admitted for a 2 day stay.
May the Super Full Moon tonight share her crystal silence with us, so that in that clarity everything we choose to hear & say becomes a mantra to benefit all sentient beings. 🙏
The exceptionally beautiful tree we met this morning also shed gorgeous leaves.
We bowed to the tie dye combo of emerald green, glorious gold, fiery copper and chrome yellow as we bent low to pick one leaf after another.
More leaves fell as the breeze rose, as if the tree was shedding her grace on us.
I told my brother that I would make a mandala out of these leaves that have been bathed by moonlight for the New Moon tonight.
He placed the 12 leaves in the car boot so they wouldn’t get crushed.
May the New Moon bless all that she touches even if they have to fall to the ground one day. And may all sentient beings be endowed with Grace to turn all life lessons into gold. 🙏
There I was, silver haired and clad in batik pants going ga-ga over the jeep when its owner and his dad spotted me.
At nearly 60 years old, I see a jeep in camouflage paint upclose for the first time. (Pierce Reservoir)
When the young man learnt that this was my first time seeing a jeep in camouflage upclose, he opened one of its door enthusiastically to invite me in.
“Thank you! But this is too high for me,” I explained.
Looking a tad apologetic for not noticing my physical challenge he quickly added, “Yes, even I find it hard to get in at times. Come, let me take your pictures with it!”
His jeep would be 20 years old next year and due for scraping. He has taken care of it for 17 years.
Defender of challenging terrains.
There was a solemnity in his voice as he spoke of how he had one year left with his jeep before it would be sent away.
“You’re gonna have some serious separation anxiety when it goes away,” I said as I ran my fingers over the paintwork & decorations of a much loved vehicle.
It may seem strange on the surface how we can get attached to inanimate objects. But some of us who’ve been supported by the very silence of dumb things, will comprehend.
To the owner, the jeep may even be an extension of his personality.
The encounter reminds me not to be glib about telling people to let go of their things, especially of items that have seen their owners through emotionally trying terrains that we know little of.
No trip to Little India is ever complete without a meal at Madras New Woodlands for us.
Even though we can visit more upmarket eateries now, going back to our old haunt for a meal always feels like a treat. This is the place that fed & welcome us in those days when we didn’t have much.
The restaurant began around the time we started university, which was 40 years ago. One top of its flavourful meals, its charges are easy on the pocket for students & young working adults. And regardless of the size of your order, you can be assured of utmost hospitality.
Over the years, and despite the market fluctuations, their menu and prices have remained fairly stable. And their hospitality always makes me feel like a much loved patron despite me being of a minority race among their patrons.
Pre-covid days, the restaurant made its muruku (dhal chips) and other snacks fresh. Their oil for frying was top quality. I used to haul packets of my beloved murukus home as if they were gold.
After we washed down our wholesome dosas & pooris with massala tea, it was time to check out Apollo Shopping Centre for sweets, oils, fragrances, retro time pieces & Handloom of India for pure cotton kurtis (short top) and kurtas (long top).
After lunch, we stopped by this little shop to try on their Rajasthani cotton prints. My friend Sharonne got to charge her phone here too.
Ever so cheerful & obliging, the husband & wife proprietors of Handloom spared no effort in showing us their wide collection of pure cotton tops that bore one of a kind chikankari embroidery from Lucknow.
To some, the embroidery may just be sewing. But vibrating among the delicate threads that form patterns of leaves, flowers & paisleys are aspirations for beauty & better lives.
When I bought my first cotton kurta from this couple, their daughter was doing her primary school homework among their merchandise. Now their little girl has become a teacher and is married.
As the nearly full moon appeared in the bright evening sky, freshly strung thanksgiving jasmine garlands by Prasad the Florist were our final purchase to wrap up an awesome day.
Sharonne took this shot of the Moon above me. (27-7-23) Thanksgiving jasmine garlands strung by Prasad the Florist was our final purchase in Little India to wrap up an awesome day.
A page from Kinmen Literature (Autumn 2020) showing a list of activities inspired by the Sweet Potato.
The hardy & humble sweet potato adds bulk & flavour to rice porridge, and sustains generations during scarcities & human conflicts.
Among the gifts I received over a Peranakan lunch today was a precious packet of sweet potato sticks from the island where my ancestors originated.
Kinmen women having Peranakan dishes served on enamalled metal wares of their childhood. (Ellenborough Market Cafe, Paradox Hotel at Merchant Court).
When I got home I decided to offer the sweetness to the New Moon first.
While looking for a background to assemble my sweet potato sticks, I found a page in a 2020 issue of Kinmen Literature that shows a series of activities to honour the sweet potato.
Kinmen Literature is a magazine that keeps Kinmen’s past & present alive for all related to the island one way or the other.
Fortune may come & go, but I think Sweetness will never go out of style.
May the New Moon amplify these 8 sticks of sweetness, strength & humility to bless every sentient being.
🙏🪔 A blessed new moon to ALL.
Miao Ling comes from Kinmen Island, where my ancestors originated. She is also my link to Kinmen Literature, a magazine that keeps Kinmen’s past & present alive for all related to the island one way or the other. (18 June 2023, Central Mall, Clarke Quay)
“It’s ok, I can manage,” was my habitual response when I thought the young man at the Uniqlo fitting room was asking if I needed a stool to sit on while trying on clothes. I have seen my share of sales staff being bullied by the self-entitled, so I try my best not to add on to their burden.
Furthermore, years of trying to blend in with the able bodied for fear of being considered not good enough at school and at work have made me apologetic about my handicap and to overcompensate for it.
Truth be known, at the heart of all these efforts to cope with my physical limitations to the point of ignoring them, is the deep dread of rejection & abandonment.
You know how it is. In the wild, animals, including the new borns, are left to die if they show signs of physical weakness or injury. An injured animal will also try his best to mask his pains for as long as possible to avoid evoking the predatory instincts of the others.
And so it is with humans. Be it a limp or a lisp, the fear of mockery looms, especially when you are a child, and haven’t figured out how to navigate among the normals.
Compassion & Wisdom are ofen the first casualties when resources are limited and survival hangs on a thread.
So I learnt at a very young age, not to seek special treatment if I wanted to be included.
But the Uniqlo Angel would not back off. He took one look at my leg & cane, and decided that I would need a cubicle for the disabled to try on my clothes.
Striding confidently ahead, he lifted a grey curtain to reveal a brightly lit cubicle large enough to accommodate a wheel chair, and equipped with handrails and cushioned seat for the physically challenged.
And the way he secured the curtain you would have thought he invented the cubicle himself.
“Take your time,” said the lanky youth who saw through my carefully constructed armour of lies as he looked me in the eye. ❤️😄
Hermit the Kitten opened his eyes when he came to the shelter. He is an alert and focused little boy. May he thrive and go to a good home. (Picture taken on 28 June 2023 at Mettacats & Dogs Sanctuary, Singapore)
“He will outlive me,” said the elderly feeder candidly, as she approached the shelter for help with her kitten. She had found the little one on the road with eyes still shut, but no mother in sight.
The day Hermit arrived at the shelter was also the day he opened his eyes.
Last Thursday as I held him in my palm while the shelter’s litter boxes were being cleaned & refreshed, I felt his heart pounding wildly against his rib cage.
As his cries got increasingly frantic, I steadied my breath, and place the kitten against my chest.
Reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra under the Windhorse prayer flags.
The last time I held a kitten the size of an iphone was 20 years ago. In my younger days I used to put a small alarm clock among the beddings of abandoned kittens to simulate their mother’s heart beat, and hope this illusion would encourage them to live.
So Hermit leaned on my heart while I recited the Medicine Buddha mantra. Nestling just below my chin his head felt the vibrations of my vocal cords, and his ears received the words leaving my mouth.
Soon the wriggling & meowing were replaced by loud purring. He also found comfort in nursing on the skin between my thumb & index finger. In no time Hermit the Kitten was fast asleep.
Meanwhile, Caddy, the orange cat who had been napping on the sofa opposite us woke up. Some neurological issues had given this gentle creature a slight head tilt. Despite his condition, he was not without purpose or intelligence. Caddy hopped onto the table and made his way towards us as if to parttake in the peace.
Hermit snoozing and Caddy sitting close by.
As Hermit snoozed on & Caddy watched me, I thought of the hardship faced by animals, and how learning about their struggles can inform the way we live our lives.
Caddy gives off vibes that remind me of Sekhmet, the Egyptian Goddess of War & Medicines.
I thought of the nursing cat and dog moms scavenging for scraps and being shooed off with broomsticks, kicks and even hot water. I thought of the mom hiding & giving birth in the monsoon drain, only to watch her kittens wash away by sudden rain. I thought of the mom at Whampo Market carpark looking on helplessly as a lorry backed up & ran over her remaining kitten.
For every happy pet we see on social media having a spa day, countless animals continue to struggle to get by day to day.
So may I wish upon this Superfull Moon for Hermit, the lucky kitten to thrive, and to go to a good home. And may all animals meet humans of wisdom, compassion & ample means to help them. 🙏
For adoption enquiries on Hermit, Caddy and any of their loving shelter pals, please contact Mettacats & Dogs Sanctuary ❤️😊
Lisa Ong 