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 ❤️😊
“Send help please! I donch knowthis crazy person!” – Tam Tam (28 June 2023)
Tam Tam the black cat was born on 11 Aug 2019 and lovingly raised at the MettaCats and Dogs Sanctuary.
Spotting a white bib on his otherwise obsidian chest, Tam Tam had been rehomed before but his adoptive family was unable to contain him safely.
For the weeks he went missing, his shelter family combed through forested area and put up notices to locate him.
He was later found to be hanging out in one of the properties housing a diplomat. There he was renamed “Lily” by adoring foreign kids. They must have been so charmed by Tam Tam’s gentle sleekness and overlooked his masculine prowess.
On Halloween, Tam Tam ran along for tricks or treats, much to the children’s delight and the adults’ amusement.
As his finders were unable to control Tam Tam’s roaming tendencies it was decided he should return to the shelter and wait for a new home.
From epic indifference whenever he’s first picked up…to slobbery affection within seconds.
Back at the shelter, Tam Tam fits right in with the others as if he has never left. He scales his way up enclosure tops and moves on aerial routes with the surefootedness of a mountain goat.
From scaling wire cages in the old shelter to…supervising the hanging of prayer flags in the new shelter, Tam Tam cannot resist getting involved.
Tam’s appetite for adventure knows no bounds. Lately he’s been giving his shelter caregivers mini heart attacks. As soon as he sees a gap that allows him to enter the kennels, he charges ahead to try to make friends with the dogs.
Parkour cat Tam Tam waits patiently by the gate for an opening so he can charge onto his next adventure.
I love black cats for their definitive outlines and impenetrable opaqueness. In their coat of raven black, they look ready to morph into a bird or extend to become a panther.
Tam Tam’s blackness seems to give him a cloak of protection as he parkours from one peril to another. But he will still need a family that knows his antics and looks out for him.
This cat whose mood can swing from epic indifference to slobbery affection within seconds is still up for adoption.
I hope Tam Tam will parkour his way into a family that can appreciate and protect him for many years to come. 🙏❤️
For adoption details of Tam Tam please contact Mettacats & Dogs Sanctuary.
*Parkour – (french origin) the sport of negotiating manmade obstacles by running, climbing, or leaping rapidly and efficiently.
A young girl in my tuition class spoke about how she would want nothing more than her pair of pet parrots to be returned to her if she could wish for any birthday present. She was responding to an oral exam prompt we were practising for mid year.
The parrot paraphenilia is indicative of how much my student loves her pet partot.
Last week I handed her a parrot pin given by a former student who is completing her oceanography studies in Australia.
When I told the recipient that the pin was given by a brave young woman, and how it might serve as a reminder of how well she had articulated her thoughts, she immediately attached the parrot pin onto her fabric pencil case.
This week she came to class with print outs of her parrots playing & napping when they were with her.
She beamed proudly when I took an interest in the hastily cut pictures of her lost companions.
She must have waited for some time to share her sadness without the fear of being called childish or a cry baby.
Occasionally in the midst of practising language skills, a hidden grief or suppressed sorrow pops up, and the teacher gets the chance to become the comforter.
In letting a child express sadness without rushing in to help her “feel better,” she gets to process her loss and maybe learn to live with it in time to come. It’s only when we know how to live with the imperfections of life then we’re in a position to recognise its magnificence.
I shall return these precious print outs to my student framed.
I saw my first real waterfall in 2006 when I was in Japan. These days, a manmade waterfall like the one at Bird Paradise is as good as the real deal for me. (8 May 2023) ❤️
When I need to go out I pick my timing carefully to avoid crowds and transport fee hikes.
On the streets there are cyclists and people on mobility aid to be mindful of.
In the malls especially during school holidays, there is the exhuberance of unsupervised children at play that can trip me.
Increasingingly I find myself making detours, sometimes huge ones, to avoid shoppers clustering on narrow thoroughfares.
So an errand that may take 30minutes can easily turn into a 2 hour undertaking.
The obstacles I face on my outings force me to look ahead when I walk, and to stand still in the presence of running children or sudden movements by others.
I now understand why in my youth I felt strongly about regulating whale & dolphin watching tourism. Whales have been known to alter their migratory routes or delay their feeding in order to avoid boats.
As I age every departure from the familiarity of my flat & neighbourhood is thus a bit of an expedition. I don’t have the bandwidth to conquer mountains or check out the ocean because the landscape in me is a perpetual mystery of unpredictability.
National Gallery, Singapore 2020.
The outcome of negotiating external changes in my environment together with my physical limitations has strangely put me in a constant state of the beginner’s mind.
Every outing I can make it on my own whether alone or with friends is always my first, and could also be my last. It is perhaps one of the reasons why I’m always taking pictures. 😊
Panda, the shelter dog’s affection is boundless. (June 2023)
On the full moon that just passed, a former student made a trip to Nepal. She offered to help me deliver non-prescriptive medicated animal supplies to friends who are taking care of street & shelter animals there.
The soft spoken child in her impossibly white school uniform writing compo in my class some 20 years back is now venturing to rugged Nepal & wants to help me bring stuff?!
When we took this picture, I didn’t know one of these young girls would one day help me deliver animal relief supplies to street and shelter animals in Nepal. Wound washes & medicated shampoos to relieve animal suffering, improve their physical conditions and increase their chances of getting fed. For animals, beauty is never skin deep because it makes a difference between getting fed or getting kicked. 🙏
I didn’t jump at her offer at first. But I was touched that someone with little exposure to street animals & shelter work would want to take on this extra weight on her personal trip.
I was also unsure if I could assemble the needful items in time for her trip. There was a medical emergency in my family at that time.
Looking back I’m so glad she persisted in wanting to perform this courier duty.
As it turned out, she not only fulfilled all she needed to do in Nepal, but also took time off to climb the “epic” hill (cos her taxi couldn’t climb) and reached the village where the dog shelter was located. (I did this only once in 2018 with help).
My former student is all grown up now and wears many hats, among which is that of peacemaker to keep dogs from squabbling.
“I’ve never been so dirty and happy,” she texted me, referring to the muddy paw prints on her attire and person, as the dogs inundated her with cuddles.
Receiving the Baptism of Mud from shelter dog, Dorjie, to remind us to remain grounded no matter what our positions are.
Her enthusiasm in helping & subsequent initiative to seek out the shelter to hang out with the dogs & relief workers are compassion & wisdom at work. In return she felt honoured and blessed.
Art of Giving: Simple food lovingly cooked and respectfully given.
Today people living in the Southern Hemisphere observe the Winter Solstice. Yesterday those in the Northern Hempishere marked the Summer Solstice. It depends on our geographical positions.
But there’s a position which we all can claim regardless of who we are and where we’re born. And it is the position of power to render help. This power begins in the heart and radiates from the mind.
I believe it is this power that keeps people with limited resources going, and in turn inspire others to get involved.
Street Dog Care e.v. treats street dogs and shelters the ones that need a safe place to recover before returning to the community. It is supported by donation and run mostly by local staff & volunteers.
So I like to take this Solstice celebration to wish all of us the power to bring relief regardless of our positions, so that collectively we become a source of delight to all sentient beings.
Happy Solstice to you, and all sentient beings in the North, South, East & West. 🙏
This unexpected gift of a crystal singing bowl will be sounded for the first time on Vesak Day tomorrow.
The rain today is a welcome respite from the scorching heat that had weakened my resolve to walk to the nearby shops to get flowers and snacks for this Vesak Day weekend. 😄
A gentle breeze in the on off drizzle this morning gave me the courage to sally forth.
The breeze this morning, the soft sun light and the on off drizzle gave me the courage to venture out to get flowers for the gods and snacks for my friends.
It’s the first day of June, make it memorable. Don’t waste the beautiful weather. So I asked my brother to join me for a meal.
In the spacious heartland coffee shop, two grey haired siblings had an ordinary but hearty meal, like they used to in their primary school days.
After that we stopped by the young hindu florist to pick up fresh jasmine garlands, and flowers for the gods. And for the humans visiting my home tomorrow, I got them cakes and pineapple tarts from the happy muslim baker. ❤️
It was Buddha’s birthday. All the 12 zodiac animals were invited. Everyone was punctual, except Rabbit. It turned out that on his way to Buddha’s party, Rabbit stopped for someone who was sick and gave him medicine. Hence the delay.
For his deed, Rabbit now lives on the Moon where he assists the Moon Goddess to prepare medicines & elixirs of longevity.
The above is one of the stories that my dad told me on nights when we sat under the full moon.
Last Friday, a friend drove from the east to the west to help me carry medicated supplies to another party who would then hand the precious parcel to rescuers of street animals.
Seeking Medicine Buddha’s blessings on the medicated supplies for street animals.
After the handover was settled, we had the best charred bee hoon (fried vermicelli) among other dishes in a cafe by the Changi Beach
That vermicelli dish was extra special because it had to be consumed straight from the pan to the plate to savour its crispiness. And the sambal that went with it was like no other. It is a dish that truly demands that you be fully present.
Our meditative lunch was further augmented by the company of another friend who supports our medicine journeys for homeless animals.
3 friends born under the same zodiac animal sign.
While chatting over coffee, I realised the 3 of us were born in the Year of the Rabbit. And thus it is only befitting that we should take such an interest in medicine gathering. 😄
Posing with Sharonne in the Year of the Rabbit at her family’s cafe.
As we look to the Vesak Day public holiday and the Full Moon, may all gatherings hold potentials for goodwill, gratitude & grace. 🪔
Lisa Ong 