2024 First New Moon

11 Jan 2024

And just like that, the first new moon of 2024 is upon us. It felt like just recently we were at Boudha Stupa to observe the last new moon of 2023.

Observing the last new moon of 2023 at Boudha Stupa with some of the most compassionate people I know.
(13 Dec 2023, Nepal)

The postcard I wrote & mailed to myself on 7 Dec 2023 from Nepal arrived on 7 Jan 2024 in Singapore. I showed it to my first tuition class of the year to get them to design & write a postcard to themselves to capture their hopes for the New Year.

“Who’s Marcus?” The curious speed readers in my class asked.

Visiting Ganesh at Park Village Hotel in Budanilkantha. (7 Dec 2023)

“Marcus was my travel buddy who helped me carry relief supplies for street & shelter animals. He also held my hand when the road became uneven so that I wouldn’t fall down,” I explained to the clean limbed and bright eyed 12 year olds.

For Nepal constantly tests one’s fitness, capacity for kindness and openness to changes.

Marcus carried all the heavy stuff, helped me up & down stairs, vehicles, curbs and kept me from tripping over misaligned tiles & bricks on our paths.

Some days he went ahead to check out places we could have our meals in, their menus and accessibility to me. He was my google map. 😄

Our first meal in a Tibetan shop tucked deep in an alley. Without my travel buddy, I wouldn’t have the motivation nor strength to venture further.

Silence followed as the young ones ruminated on the challenges of travelling with someone like me, and reflected on new reasons beyond that of entertainment & education for travelling.

Listening to his singing bowl at Pilgrims Book House, Thamel, Kathmandu.

As we look to the first New Moon of 2024, may we continue to find new meanings, new directions and new resources for our benefit and for all sentient beings, regardless of the conditions & situations we’re in.

The “photo bombers” in this pic show me we don’t need to wait for a “perfect background” to take a good shot. In fact their presence enrich this picture. 🙏

The Birth of Kindness

26-12-23 (Boxing Day)

Handmade shelter for a community cat in one of the neighbourhoods in Singapore. (Source: FB post Dec 2023)

One Christmas Eve many years ago, I passed by 3 or 4 dogs seeking shelter from the on off day long rain under the void deck of abandoned flats.

By the time I bought dog food and aluminium trays from the supermarket to go to their aid, the dogs had disappeared.

A slight panic descended as darkness deepened in the deserted premise where I stood. Held down by trays of opened canned food, there was not much I could do. The drizzle was also gathering force.

“Miss Ong, what are you doing here?”

I looked up to see two smiling boys. They introduced themselves as SJI boys.

More than 20 years after the Christmas Eve Dog Feeding Encounter, I would be travelling to Nepal in Dec 2023 with Marcus Tan. Besides letting me hold onto his arm for balance when I walk on uneven grounds, this SJI boy also stops for animals. (Dec 2023)

Despite having no memory of seeing them in school, I told them what I was trying to do.

Without hesitation, they took the food offerings from me, and headed to the bus stop where they said they saw the dogs.

After they returned from their act of kindness where the dogs gobbled up everything in a flash, the boys and I held hands in the rain and gave thanks.

Those were the days of pre-social media. I had scant knowledge of helping homeless animals.

And had I let my physical condition, the inclement weather, and the darkness convince me to ignore the dogs’ hunger, I wouldn’t have met these two boys whom I believe to be angels in disguise. 😊❤️

And as the years pile on, the seemingly mundane, “Miss Ong, what are you doing Here?” has become a question of transcendental importance to me.

So in the spirit of Boxing Day as we put away present wrappers, and tidy up our surroundings, here’s wishing everyone increasing clarity to what we’re doing with our life & gifts. 🙏

Rocky, the survivor of acid attack came to welcome me. (Street Dog Care, Nepal, 11 Dec 2023)

December

19-12-23

Poinsettias in full bloom in Park Village, Budanilkanta, Nepal.
(7Dec 2023)

In my youth December meant holiday jobs to make some money for personal outings & school supplies.

There was always some anxieties whether my limp would be an issue with the employer or labour laws.

December in my late teens & early twenties meant carolling rehearsals and admiring well dressed people who had invited us to sing in their beautiful homes on Christmas Eve.

Only in my 30s, December became a time of looking inward at who I really am. Living with 12 cats & 1 dog assures me that I am home. There’s no need to go outside to seek amusement or approval.

I adopted my first and only dog, Shoya, when I was 35 years old.

After my dog passed on in December 2014, and my cats slowly left me one by one, December becomes a time to rest & remininsce.

And whenever I get the chance to visit Boudha Stupa, I bring my animals with me. In my walks, I thank them for taking on animal forms to teach me what it means to be human.

Showing Shoya the Boudha Stupa at every chance I could since 2016)

This December as I stood still by windows & on terraces, I witnessed wedding celebrations in Budanilkantha, an engagement party in Nagarkot, cultural performances and devotional practices in Boudha.

On the balcony of Hotel Country Villa in Nagarkot Hills, Nepal. (10Dec 2023)

In the midst of music, singing & chanting my spirit lifted as my animals & I received the auspicious vibes generated by these celebrations.

Butter lamp circumabulation at Boudha Stupa.

December is truly an ending & also a beginning. 🙏😊

Goodbye to All That

11-10-23

Yesterday as the Oct 10 or 10/10 discounts on various online shopping platforms raged on, I found my interest to acquire more displaced by an urgency to discard.

As I gave thanks for the leaves that formed a mandala 2 full moons ago which had since shrivelled up and become brittle, I bade goodbye to aspects of my disposition that have kept my heart small and my mind fragile.

I bade goodbye to pettiness, so that I may be freed from fault finding.

I bade goodbye to perfection, so that I may be freed from fear.

I bade goodbye to self-righteousness so that I may be freed from ignorance.

Perhaps the glorious goldening of leaves and their dramatic shedding at this time of the year are gestures from a very benevolent universe to ease the deaths of personal habitual patterns that are hindering our ascension.

New Moon Eve

14 Sep 2023

Having Massala Papad at Khailash Prabat Restaurant along Syed Alwi Rd today.

Today was my first visit to Syed Alwi Road since 2019. The pandemic and lockdown seem such distant memories. How quickly 4 years just passed like that!

Pre-pandemic shot. At Syed Alwi Rd 4 years ago. (7 Nov 2019)

At Mustaffa Centre, I saw the circular enameled plates of my childhood. All the way to our late teens, my brother & I had gathered around it to make pink & red dumplings of glutinous rice flour every year.

Enameled plates on which Chinese families knead glutinous rice flour to make dumplings and Malay families assemble Nasi Ambeng ingredients for communal dining.

In my friend’s home, it was a platter on which his mom assembled her Nasi Ambeng ingredients for communal dining.

It is amazing how an ordinary household item links cultures and evokes nostalgia.

Today we also had our fill of pani puris, channa puris & papad masala, and TWO servings of masala tea. Indian food is also my comfort food. It reminds me of my neighbour, Asha, who created unlimited supply of thosai, curries, murukus and snacks from her single burner kerosene stove for us kids.

What was meant to be just a lift to my medical appointment turned into a full blown tea with shopping and purchase of flower garlands thrown in.

The much loved deep fried little pockets made of dhal flour.

Perhaps in the face of volatile politics, fickle human dynamics and unpredictable climate, we find solace in memories of people who had loved us without expectations, in humble utensils and affordable snacks that have withstood the test of time.

This is my dream menu. I’ve always wanted to try the indian street snacks showns in documentaries & vlogs.

Sweets for New Moon and to wish my former tutee, Niq, a sweet start and sweet finish to his PSLE. Coming Monday is Ganesh Charthurti.

Flowers as Teachers

12 Sep 2023

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.

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. 😊🙏

Never Too Late

6 Sep 2023

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. 🙏🪔

Old Haunts, New Eyes

29-7-23

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.

Marvellous Monday: Hope & Harmony

24 July 23

July is a month of Hope & Harmony.

Young people give me the motivation to behave better.

In Singapore, July begins with Youth Day celebration.

It is then followed by Racial Harmony Day & International Friendship Day.

Celebrating Singapore’s Birthday with a young man.

From mid-July onwards, road closures for National Day Parade rehearsals tell me my country’s birthday is round the corner.

Hope & Harmony are a nation’s strongest defence against all threats.

A Muslim friend and I were invited to a Hindu home for a Deepavali meal.

Because everything begins in the mind, we don’t need a full on war to harm lives. Even a remark can be weaponised.

So each time when we gather and support each other despite our born, inherited & acquired differences, is a deliberate effort at creating miracles.

As we give thanks for July & look to August, may we find each moment an invitation to be carriers of Hope & Harmony.

Hope & Harmony enable us to cross generation, nationality, political system & species.

Truthful Thursday: Mirror of Truth

20-7-23

“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. ❤️😄