Impermanence of Life

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Desperately trying to hold on?  Be warned that the river of life never ceases.  Besides, when it does, game is over.  Such is the life that we face.  We are different today than yesterday, and tomorrow.  The river of life flows one way.

Understandably that everyone needs references, familiarities, or something to hold on to get his/ her bearings.  Only when we turn them into routines (for the sake of efficiency), a  gap develops.  Impermanence.

Creative tension allows us to seize on this opportunity and move closer to our goals. Bringing about change that is constructive, progressing, and improving.   Or if we  let it seizes us and makes us victims of our own passivity, we become farther from where we want to be.

The impermanence of life.

Push or pull, how well are you doing in the river of life?

 

Who Is Complaining?

Source: Accuweather.com

 

February 7th.  We are in the coldest month of the winter season here in the Mid-Atlantic.  But instead of snow-blanketed quietness, we get bombarded by nerve wrecking, bone-chilling winds.  The kind of disturbance leaves you tensed and wondering.

The wind gust has been tormenting the neighborhood since morning.  My windows have been rattling all day.  From time to time the house shutters due to the gusts, and the garage structure creaks. It happens suddenly, kind of reminds me being on an airplane, minus the fasten seatbelt signs.

Needless to say, on day like this I sought the comfort of indoor and practiced yoga over  running outside.  Later, I learned that the weather turbulence passing through actually spared the Washington DC area.  We have dodged another winter storm today.

Guess I should be grateful, huh?

Where Have Our Conscience Gone?

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Our conscience dictates what is right and wrong.  So the answer to the question of where have our conscience gone is: certainly not in the White House.

Donald Trump has demonstrated via his Senate impeachment trial that the US Constitution is manipulatable. Any hope of checks and balances just does not hold water against his Executive power.

In fact, Trump’s impeachment trial reminds me so much of the OJ Simpson trial where “if the glove does not fit, you must acquit.” Clearly the president’s defense counsel used the same dream team strategy and got away with impunity.

In particular when splitting hair, no arguments can stand up. That was what Alan Dershowitz did by pushing the definitions of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” to the extreme.   And hence no “crime” was committed by Trump.

It is impossible for any statutes to cover every conceivable misbehavior.  Does that mean if not in the statutes, it’s not a crime? In this case, I stand with Mitt Romney, the sole Republican Senator who voted to convict Trump.  The answer is in one’s conscience.

Does the impeachment trial represent a fair process to you?

Trump Post-impeachment

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Muse me if you will – if we are so incensed about being influenced or manipulated by others, whether it’s Russian meddling in our election or hacker hijacking our personal data, why do we acquiesce to Mr. Trump’s blatant words that do the same?

“Blatant” because he does not even try to hide it.  “This is who I am,” Trump toutes. Calling it “honesty” is an euphemism.  For Trump, it’s a direct assault on his enemy and a brand for his followers. Has been and always will, especially now post-impeachment.

No doubt. More will follow.

But the question puzzles me to infinitum is this: why do we, instead of being incensed, acquiesce to Trump? Are we deep-down blood sucking hungry for catharsis through an all out brawl or willfully kicking the American ideals to the curb?  Maybe both?

Now Trump is acquitted.  To me, our political system has failed the checks and balances test.  What left ultimately is the November election. I sincerely hope that my rhetorical questions are wrong.

Otherwise, god help us.

What do you predict will happen?

Is It Anomaly Or Me?

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The tendency to “just write things off” is a bad habit of mine. Especially if I can’t influence, understand, or control them.  Things like:

• Global warming – Temperature reached 65 degree Fahrenheit today.  A whopping 20 degrees warmer than normal season average for this area.
• Iowa Caucuses – ” First in the Nation” and 1,600-plus precinct caucuses?!  What are they thinking?  Nuff said
• Rush Limbaugh &  the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor? For real?
• Trump’s state of union – Don’t ask; I am boycotting it

And the list goes on.

Yes, I know well the Teddy Roosevelt’s “The Man In The Arena” quote, but at times I need to take a break from beating my head against the wall.  Seems nothing changes except my head hurts.

Do you think the world is full of anomalies?

 

 

Political Calculations Vs Principles

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Iowa caucus is tonight, officially kicks off the 2020 primaries. Candidates have been campaigning hard to earn their keep.  One question comes to mind is how does a candidate stake his or her positions on all those issues ranging from national level to kitchen table?

I suppose it helps if the candidate is opinionated or has good polling data.  But joking aside, will the candidate stand up for an unpopular topic? advocate a position based on principles? or simply go with the whatever will get him/ her elected?

The truth, I believe, is a little of both.

And, novice candidates will rely more on principles simply due to their lack of access with the voter population.  Seasoned politicians on the other hand will have more instinctive grasp of their voter base and lean more on their political calculations.

What is your take?  Which approach appeals to you?

Week In Review – 2 Feb 2020

Politics, public health, and personal confession all wrapped into one packed week.

First the US Senate struggled over the impeachment trial of President Trump.  “Struggled” because all the senators were locked in one chamber for the duration of the triaL, without their cell phones.  Thus I felt vindicated for my face-to-face post.

The fight to control the narratives between the Democrat House Managers, White House Defense Counsels, and the Senate Republican majorities has been a real soap opera on  display. While fear is a powerful motivator, fear of pain is the elixir for control.

Must hand it to Mr. Trump. Who now joins Mr. Clinton in their exclusive memberships to the guilty but not enough to be removed from the office club.  I bet they are too busy “having fun” that the feeling of guilt probably never crosses their mind.

The impeachment trial fed the business of news & hypes.  Two other events with historical proportion also took place: Brexit across the Atlantic and coronavirus in China. And their sagas continue.  According to CNN,  the coronavirus has killed 305 and infected 14,300 globally to date.

Lastly, my confession:  my weight is on the heavier end of the scale. Fully 10 pounds over my race weight and counting.  Nothing unusual.  Except I suppose it shows how much I am enjoying my off-season. Yup.

Have a nice week!

Face-to-face vs Screen Time

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At risk of sounding like a dinosaur, I am a baby-boomer who prefers fact-to-face interactions over screen time when it comes to dealing with people.

Human beings has a yearning for relationship.  Check.  And social media boast connections, followers, contacts, whatever.  These virtual relationships have their purposes.  But human interaction has a dynamism that takes on all our senses and more.

Hard to fathom the screen time alone can suffice.

Maybe it’s my relationship with technology.   Screen time seems more to do with catching up (e.g. news, emails) than reaching out.   I know that sounds rather reactive but it may explain why I don’t use Facebook or Instagram.  Simply I would have a hard time keeping up.

Instead I get more returns from face-to-face exchanges. Dare I say to the tune of ten, hundred folds more than from the social media.  Not only in the amount of information  but also quality.  Some points are made not in the words said but in what is un-said.

Do you agree that meanings are lost in the translation electronic or otherwise?

 

 

Confession From The Off Season

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Sharing is caring, as the saying goes. So here is mine.

I believe in running for my health. During the marathon training which is 20 weeks out of the year, I stay pretty healthy. Thanks to the regiment of the training. Never have to worry about my weight. I am always lean and get to eat pretty much whatever I want.

That leaves a better part of year that I am off (the marathon training) season. During this period, between maintenance runs, yoga, and meditation, I get to indulge in life a bit. The downside? I gain weight and feel sluggish. Yoga and meditation just don’t burn enough calories as compared to running. This is where the guilt comes in.

You see, the formula for body weight is simple – calorie-in versus calorie-out. Calorie-out being the use of energy.  Weight lost results if the calorie-out wins. Or weight gain if calorie-in is the winner. Since I love to munch, running is my preferred choice.

And I ran 9 miles yesterday. Wanted to run 10 but fell short simply because 1) the weather was cold, 2) I was out of practice, and 3) my motivations were my guilt and the weight scale, both were nudging me to burn off more calories!

Except, despite good intention, 9 miles was all I could muster.

Does your weight fluctuate depend on seasons?

The Feeling of Guilt

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According to psychologist Robert Plutchik, the feeling of guilt is a blend of our primary emotions: joy and fear. Does that make sense?   Not to me, not at first blush.

Guilt to me is doing something I shouldn’t or doing nothing when I should.  Overeating and not exercising are examples come to mind.  Joy and fear?

Joy is a good emotion.  Just last month, we see “Joy to the world” everywhere there was Christmas celebration.  Can’t get too much of it, can we?  Even overjoyed seems always positive to me.  So how does it relate to guilt?

Let’s bring in its strange bedfellow, fear, the other emotion that we are accustomed to since our tender age.  And it is not necessarily a negative feeling. Because fear keeps us alive.  It’s a learned instinct to avoid the bad things such as poison or burning house.

I presume the joy is what initiates the guilt trip.  When we are over the “boundary” (however that is defined) the fear takes over.  Like the candy tastes so yummy, I keep on eating them.  Until my toothaches or tummy hurts, I become panic and feeling guilty.

How do you see the connection between joy and fear in making us feel guilty?