Affinity & Connections

The extra gains of values of wisdom from this, arts and crafts course you’d taken, translated…

For a time, I’d gotten into collecting the seeds, and started stringing them together, and so, I’d started up the idea of making the bracelets, at the time, my older schoolmate led me into the knotting class offered at the Taipei Arts Museum, I’d started learning the skills under Ms. Shih.  As I was only a beginner, I’d not known the difference between the various types of knots, let alone, known how to follow the steps on the diagrams.  And, as I’d gone to the classes during the daytime, it took me up into the wee hours of the nights, and still couldn’t finish the project of that day, I’d felt, really upset over it.  Thankfully, the instructor taught me step by step and didn’t lose patience with me, and, there was a group of fellow students who are just as interested in this form of art as I as my companions, and then, things started, falling into, their, rightful, places, and I can, now make the Chinese knot projects.

the projects, from the art form…photo from online

With the skills getting better, the classmates became more and more acquainted too, we’d shared the goings on in our lives with one another, the two-hour per week classes, we’d all, cherished the time we had, there were rarely any, absents.  Ms. Shih would become a personality dissector, took up our knots, and stated humorously, “this person must be anal, look how tight the knots are, with the need to scrub down the pots and pans, the floors, redo the dishes.”  She’d used that as a reminder to us: not all knots needed to get pulled too tight, sometimes, leaving some spare, there would be the room to move around, and the knots will become very fluid then.

Our instructor, Ms. Bao-Rong often told, “Relax, don’t hurry!  Trust yourselves, and everything will be fine.  Everything is beautiful, you look at someone else’s work, and think, how beautiful, but know, that your work is also, well done, that, is the values of life through the knots!”  And, the classes, became a best way I have, of, de-stressing.

And now, I’d, forgotten the purpose of why I took the courses, to make the project with the seeds, and in the process of learning to knot, I’d found, the aesthetic and the wisdoms of life.

And so, this is how the gains are, unexpected, how we’d, often had our goals in mind, going into something, and yet, when we come back out, we’d gained, more than what we’d hoped to achieve.

Mission: Saving a Tiny Sparrow

A lesson of respect for life learned in school, outside of the class, not a part of the curriculum, translated…

The school’s dormitories are old, with the mice frequently visiting, they’d started, chewing through everything, breaking the items we have at school.  To get rid of these vermin, the school set up a ton of sticky boards, and yet, these sticky boards caught what they weren’t targeting, other tiny little, critters.

One day at noon, a tiny sparrow accidentally made its way into the class, and, mis-stepped onto the sticky board.  It’d started struggling hard to get itself free, not only did its legs, even its abdomen, as well as wings all got, stuck, it can no longer move.  It’d let out that shrilling cry, got the students’ attention, and everybody started discussing how we’re to, rescue it, but, nothing seemed to be working, and, there was the student who’d stated, “rather than watching it die in agony, let’s, put it down!”, and, Teacher Tsai-Hsi just happened to walk by the class, and, immediately, she’d, taken up the responsibilities of this, rescue, mission.

like this!

photo from online

She’d taken the bird into the office, googled for ways to get rid of the sticky tapes, and, Teacher Mei-Ching was by her side, assisting, went to the shop in a hurry to buy that case of cooking oil, rushed back in.  Teacher Tsai-Hsi carefully poured the oil onto the mouse board, where it’d clung to the tiny sparrow’s feet, carefully, rubbing around the regions, because the oils can wrap up the sticky, the sticky tape slowly lost its, adhesive, and finally, the bird was freed from the mousetrap, and out of danger.

As the tiny sparrow was too frightened by the experience, it’d started trembling hard, and it took it a while, to finally settle down.  The two instructors placed the sparrow into a tiny box with the shredded tissue, called up animal control.  Ms. Tsai-Hsi and Ms. Mei-Ching did the best demonstration for the kids: using the right means, to save a life, never giving up that easily.

And so, this is an alternative sort of education that the group of students received on this particular day, they’d learned to respect every living thing, noted how every life matters, no matter how big or small it is, and that the teachers’ working hard to save that tiny sparrow, freeing it from the mouse board, was admirable.

The Fourteen-Year-Old “Snow”, Humiliated Repeated by Her Classmates After She Got Released Out of Juvenile Detention, and Ended Up Dropping Out of School

Yeah, whatever happened to the juvie records being, sealed by the courts???  Oh wait, that did not happen, not here, which makes it even harder, for these young teenagers to turn over a new leaf in their own lives, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

“You are a SCREW UP all the same”, the Disciplinary Official from My School Called Me to Talk…in the End, He’d Made up the Lies of Me Having a Mental Disorder, and, Kicked Me out of School

The fourteen-year-old “Snow” dropped out at age fourteen, and started wandering the streets, and, unknowingly, she’d taken a ketamine cigarette from her friend, and was sentenced to juvenile detention for six months, and, after her release, she’d returned back to school, and the school official insulted her, and expelled her, she’d felt loss for two whole years.  The following is her own words on the experience”

That autumn, after my release from juvenile detention, I’d never broken the laws again, entered into a private technical high school to study.  The head disciplinary official asked me why I was two months late in, I’d told him the truth, told them that I’d once, broken the law.

in need of a second chance, but the world doesn’t give them that! Photo from online

And, my honesty got me discriminated by the school!  Every day the officials in school forced me to give the urine samples, and because I was cleaned, they couldn’t test anything out from it.  But, every urine test for me was humiliation, and, the disciplinary official would always look at me questioningly, like I’d “cheated” in giving my urine samples, that’s why my tests showed negative for illegal substances.

The school official even used the dyes into the toilet waters, to prevent me from scooping up the water in the toilet to turn in as my sample.  Can’t believe they’d thought up of that, but I really, didn’t use any substances!

“You’d been taken into custody, you’re a bad seed, who will believe you!”, the disciplinary official always picked on me, and had, insulted me like so often.  In the end, the school lied that I had a mental condition, and forced me out.

I’d worked so hard, to get back into the technical high schools, and this was what I got in return.  Paid my tuitions, told the truth, but nobody was tolerant, nobody accepted me with my bad past.  I was defeated, and started getting drunk at the karaoke with my friends everyday now.

Later, as my mother encouraged me, I’d signed up for another technical high school.  And this time, I’d learned better, never told the school the truths of my past, instead I’d kept my priors hidden, and so, they’d not given me a hard time, and I was able to get back into school again, and my life is, back on, track.

If I can return back to six years ago, I wouldn’t have broken the law, nor dropped out of school, instead, I’d followed my original smoother path, and study hard, and maybe, I would have had the chance of getting into a better high school, and university, and maybe, I wouldn’t have bump into, so many hardships of my life, maybe, maybe, there would be no need for detours in my adolescence, maybe………

What these kids need, are a brand new fresh start, a second chance at their lives, and yet, because of their priors on record, despite how they were still minors, and those juvie records should’ve been sealed by the courts, their pasts became out in the open, and the school officials discriminated them, labeled them as bad seeds, and they don’t get a chance to start their lives anew, and, this young lady was one of the luckier ones, because at LEAST she’d found herself back on the right tracks of life, and learned the lessons her pasts had taught her, and, there are many more teens like her, not as lucky as she.

Come Back Home Soon, Dad Invincible

As the handyman of your house, is on leave for work, and you can’t wait for him to come back, and fix up the things that are, malfunctioning in your homes, and until then, you can only, manage to fix these items on your own, ladies!  Translated…

My husband was the one called on, constantly in my home, by me, and our two daughters, but this year in May, he’d gone abroad for a trip, and, leaving us three ladies on our own, to, fend for, our, selves, and this would be, a major exam for us all.

The first month he went away, we’re faced with the halting of the in-class sessions, as a mom, I’d had to “shape-shift” into a delivery person, taking the packed lunches to my children at school, and during my lunch hour, I’d traveled to and from home and office, and had to head over to the afterschool care program on Fridays to get the lesson plans for the week that followed, and every Monday, turn in the work to the instructor at the afterschool care program to be graded………this life of, one against two, truly had made me into, a busybody.

Dad, the handyman!

the fixer-upper of our homes! Illustration from online

Then, the phone went out of whack too, we’d first, tried to reset it, and couldn’t resolve the problems, and so, my daughters and I became, electricians, moved the furniture away in our living room and the tables in the bedroom, to make sure that the jack wasn’t loosened, but nothing was up, later, we’d, unplugged the power switch, then, plugged it back in, voila!  It worked!  Then, my youngest’s ancient wii started its strike too, dad was on webcam conference, teaching my youngest to use an assortment of measures to try and resolve the issues, unfortunately, we can’t find what’s wrong with it, so, for the time being, she couldn’t, play her, favorite games.

The handyman was only out of the country for no more than a month thus far, we’d come across the problems that we had to solve on our own, and, it’s five more months until dad is home again, and we can only, take whatever comes our way, and try to resolve them as they come towards us.

So, this is when the man of the house is the handyman, and, now he’s on leave, and you are all, clueless of how to fix this and fix that, but, you will learn, to manage, because you have to, and your husband being away, will teach you all the lesson of not being too reliant on him, to become, more independent, and learn to problem-solve on your own.

That Cycle of Kindness

How it’s still the adults, who should set the examples of kindness, for their young to follow, translated…

After reading “I’m a Textbook Case” by the writer, Jiang, I’d felt emotional, had the parent in the article was with the respect and the heart of cherishing, that empathy that’s lacked, then, the child would’ve, taken the lesson to heart for sure.  “Such heat in the weather, a lot of people are pulling their weights, sweating it away, so we can have it easier in life, so, we all need to nod toward those workers in acknowledgements, to show our gratitude toward their hard work!”, this isn’t hypocritical, but a sort of humbleness!

Actually, in the textbooks, there’d been many examples.  The writer, Chen, in his article, “Prop Open Your Umbrella”, defined what greatness is.  Is it the generals, chasing the enemies off?  The scientists, making some life-changing discoveries?  Or, the street sweepers, cleaning off the trash?  On the scale of values, working hard, and giving is equivalent, there’s no system of being lower and higher than each other, and, managing something well, it’s, something major.  The writer, Lin through “Facing Up to the Wind”, described how if you work hard in your areas of expertise, then, you will shine through, no matter if you’re an eagle, soaring high above the skies, or the fishes in the creeks, swimming free, the lions that roamed the Serengeti, or that lotus, sitting quiet in the pond, you will be, the best version of, your, self.

The machines that run well, couldn’t be made of all motor, there would be the necessities of the nuts and bolts too, the screws to keep the pieces in place, to the point of that easily amiss lubricant, to give the machine its, best performance capabilities.  In the societies, the groups, not everybody need to be the doctors, or the hotshot bosses, and it’s because of those minor characters, of ordinary people, who are, the most basic level of societal units.

Using your positive energies to influence others, to make everything around you more peaceful, working better, and that, is success.  Dear parents, do allow our children to have the opportunities to give thanks, to have the abilities to be gracious, because this, is the cycle of kindness that the societies are, in need of.

And so, this is on the importance of teaching your children to give thanks, teaching them to give thanks to everything in life that they are experiencing, to be grateful, that we are still safe and sound, and breathing, with our, strong pulses, and, give to the world, if and when we’re, able to, to help this cycle of kindness to keep on, rolling along.

Do Help My Parents Become More Independent of Me

The empty nest, experienced by these parents, whose children are, flying the nest, and they’d, switched an angle to look at it, and it’d not felt like a loss, instead, it’d become, a gain to them now, translated…

Close to sixty, the kids of the friends from around me all started leaving school, starting to work, starting their families, setting up their own, careers.  When I’d carried on in conversations with them, I can occasionally, sniff out that sense of loss, and I’d, always joked with them, “sometimes, it’s NOT the kids who aren’t independent enough, it’s the adults!”, and they’d always, started laughing about it, and, lose that sense of loss inside, and it’d helped them alleviate the anxieties that they were all, experiencing then.

The endgame of raising the children, isn’t it to see them become economically independent, living independently of their parents, becoming independent thinkers from their own, parents?  And, as the children accomplished this, the parents should let go, so they can, start off on their own separate lives, so, why do the parents, feel that scent of, loss?

Once I was chatting with my neighbor, we got to talking about how the kids are becoming independent, and I’d blurted out, “it’s usually the parents who can’t be, independent” again, as a therapist, my neighbor seriously responded to me, “yes, a lot of the clients all told me, to help their parents to be, independent of them.”

And, it seemed, that some of these children had too dependent a parent, that they’d, sought out professional advice from the psychotherapist.

When we’re old, so are our children, and can stand on their own, as parents, we would often feel happy, but, loss at the same time, glad to see, that our children are able to show their abilities, but we’d felt, we’re, no longer, needed by them, hence, there’s, that scent of, loss that came with it.

all that’s, remained…photo from online

I think, we all need to start being in contact with our innermost feelings, and when that sense of “I’m no longer needed” surfaces, we should switch to an alternative thought—feel glad, that we’re, no longer needed, that our children are, quite capable!  That way, we will, be able to, reduce that feeling of loss.

A couple of days ago, my husband’s best friend and his wife came to visit, they’d talked of how their outstanding son is studying for his doctorate in the U.S., and the two didn’t understand what area of expertise their son was in, secondly, they’d felt, that their son handled everything on his own, and seeing the look of helplessness, and worry on this mother’s face, I’d told her, “look at you, so lucky!  You saved a ton of energies!”, as she’d heard, she’d, started, smiling.

Yes, we should all be glad, and happy, that our own children have the abilities, to soar with their own wings, their abilities being acquire, and then, we shall all be, happy and independent of them too.

And so, this is on how the empty nest hits everybody differently, for the writer, she’s too happy that her children are, out and on their own, she’s glad, that they’d become, independent, and can stand on their own, that they needed to not worry over them like they were, young children, but her friends were, troubled, and so, she’d, helped them see things in an alternative angle, and as her friends saw the other side of the story, they’d felt, better too, that their children are, becoming, independent of them.

Filosofa Rambles … — Filosofa’s Word

Something has been weighing on my mind of late.  Well, many things have been weighing so heavily that I lie awake most nights, but there is one thing in particular that I feel a need to expound on.  I’m not even sure what to call it or where to begin, so I’ll just let my […]

Filosofa Rambles … — Filosofa’s Word

Becoming More Environmentally Aware

Changes that come, with the self first, the power of, one!  Translated…

The culture in Taiwan is that everybody has a cup of bubble tea in her/his hand, me too.  With the designer style cup, walking down that street, I’d imagined, that my whole flair was, elevated.  Sticking that straw in, to sip the coffee or the cold tea or juice, the pressures of work, of school, suddenly got, left behind, although it’s nothing grandeur, it does, make us feel, those, little, blessings upon our lives.

And, I was watching a nature show, and a fifteen-centimeter long straw got pulled out of the nostrils of a sea turtle, and the environmental volunteers’ saving the green turtle, as it’d, defecated out the plastic bags, that was, eye-opening and awakening to me; and that was when I was alerted, to that problem that I’d, thought about, but quickly, cast out of mind from before—the garbage humans left from drinking the drinks had, caused the disasters in nature.

And, to give up the convenience, choosing the more environmentally-friendly, seemingly, it’s too easy, and yet, when we put that into practice, it’s anything, but; eating out, I would, from time to time, to bring my own, chopsticks, and I’d, allowed myself to use the one-time eating utensils, and told myself, that I will, remember to bring the eating utensils the next time I eat out, and as I’d gone to buy the drinks, I’d normally, left my mug at home, and it wouldn’t be until, I was down to the final sips, would I recall, that I should’ve used my own mug, and then, I’d be, filled with, guilt.

what made her become, aware…photo from online

These are the hardships of allowing ourselves to do what we want to, and being friendly to the environment, I need to make a chance, and hope, that my tiny action, can become, that driving kindness, and, as everybody does her/his share for the environment, then, the world will be way better in the futures to come.  There’s not just the species of humans on the planet, but also, millions of billions of other species of living organisms, and, we can’t destroy it all, in the 1.2 billion plastic cups from the tea shops estimated of consumption in Taiwan in 2021.

From the struggles, to getting used to it, as I head out now, I would, make sure, I had my own drinking cup, my own eating utensils, and, I’d, saved up on the water and the electricity along the way now, turned off the lights when I leave a room, to reduce my own needs of materials, and reduced the number of time I’d gone to buy the teas from the shops.  There is a limited resources on earth, wasting it all, or, taking care of the environment, I’d selected to take the latter, the more troubling, but the option that set my mind, at ease.

And so, this is one person’s, change, in her realization of her own tendencies, to how she’d come to realize, that we’d produced too many once-per-use trash in plastic, that’s damaging the creatures of nature, and she’d, taken the initiative, to make that change, which is a first step, to bringing about change, in the, larger spectrum of the world.

As I’d Loaned Him What He’d Asked

Fooled me once, that was, enough, I won’t let you fool me, again!  This is why, we should, NEVER, allow anybody to borrow any money (and I don’t mean a quarter, a dollar, etc., etc., etc.) either here!  Translated…

Six months back, a friend whom I’m not really acquainted with lost his job, and texted me, to borrow some money.

I had this rule of letting my friends borrow the money, which was, “borrowing is giving”, I’d set myself up, mentally for that, otherwise, if I can’t get what I’d loaned my friends back, I will have to pursue after them, and we might end up, never be friends anymore.  I don’t want to make that same mistake again, and so, I’d, handed him a few thousand dollars, told him that it was “to help him take care of his aging dog, the medical costs”, and, I’d showed him my willingness to help him out, and, made sure I didn’t, hurt his, pride.  And, in order to discourage him from asking for another loan, I’d, given him, a whole lot less of what he’d, asked me to borrow him too.

I thought, that he got it, knew, that I’d, “given the money for him, instead of letting him borrow the amount”, that there’s not a, next time, and yet, recently, he’d sent another message to me, “Chiu, can you help me one more time?  I am really embarrassed to ask this.”

I’d, introspected that maybe, I was, too, evasive in my means, and gave him the wrong idea, that I’m a “free loan’s agent” for him.  It seemed, that on the more important matters, I should, just, be, blunt about it.  I’d thought for a bit, and, allowed the message to say “read and not respond” for awhile.

Since I’d loaned him the money, he worked in the sales from before, and started, selling things to me; on FB, I saw him and his wife, at the Shoreside Café enjoying their leisure with their pets.  It’s not that I wanted to see someone live badly, nor am I wishing that someone falls to the lowest of low in her/his life, and never come back again; but it seemed, that my friend had, started a brand new career, that he’d not needed to nickel and dime anymore, and under these, circumstances, and he’d, asked me for more loans, and I can’t help but wonder, if he started having the habits of depending on me, and abused the kindness of those around him.

And of course, all of the above were my own, speculations, there’s no way of checking if it was true or false.  Point is, once money is involved in friendship, the relationship, the interaction is bound to turn, negative.  The friends you aren’t that acquainted with, may not care about this, which was why they’d, asked, over, over, and over again; on the opposite, I’d, saved up all I can, donated to the charitable causes to help those who are really in need, I have no desire, of becoming that A.T.M. to him.

In the “part-timing economy” trends, there are, less and less of the full-time worker positions.  Or maybe, I should be, a bit, nosier, guide him to set up a “company of one”, to take in clients, and offering them the individual services that they may need from him.  In other words, to not try for that full-time position at a company anymore, to use his sills and experiences, and make a living off of that.

To the end, what I’d learned from this was, helping another, we must find the right means for the individual, especially when it came to the matters of the money, because once you’d not thought through the matters thoroughly, you may, easily be tricked into “offering the person your goodwill”, which he will use for something that’s, bad.

And so, this individual was, too kind, to loan that friend who’s not really familiar with him the money, had it been me, I would’ve told the person, sorry, I’m a little tight on cash myself (even if I wasn’t), that way, I would NOT feel cheated out of my kindness, nor allowing that certain someone to abuse my kindness.

Human Being are the Biggest Viruses in the World

What the DDP had done, to abuse its power, how we’d had the opportunities to get ahead of the “game”, that we’re, currently, losing big in, and yet, this is still, all, hindsight, and this government still doesn’t change its means, wow, we are the blind, following, THE blind, aren’t we?  Well, next stop: down that CLIFF there!  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

It’s over eighty days since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflicts, other than the two countries doing inventories on the old grudges, as the Russian army had invaded, more problems came, as the member countries of N.A.T.O. started supporting Ukraine’s cause, including the global food crisis, to the point of start of the third world war!  As to how this war will end, it all relies on the wisdoms of the leaders of Russia, and the U.S.  But unfortunately, these two leaders both held strong to the beliefs of “Making our countries great again!”, one wanted the glories of its historical pasts back, the other, wanted other countries to bow down before it.  And so, the war is more than likely to keep dragging on, and, what’s at stakes, aren’t just the lives of those who live in the warring countries, but, the globe that we currently all, reside on.

Humans are also, at war with MERS-CoV at the same time, and the situation is still, constantly changing, and, as how it will end, we can only rely on the scientists; and yet, the scientists can’t be like the leaders of U.S. and Russia, attempted to prove how great humans are, but instead, to seek out the balances with nature humbly.  After all, for the earth, humans are, the killers, the biggest viruses that’s, plaguing earth!

Two years ago before MERS-CoV made its way into Taiwan, I’d written that that was “evolution at work”, that every major scale disasters that fell on the heads of man, is to bring some enlightenment, but none of this can prevent the coming of the disasters; because we continue to innovate in science, in medicine, which drove nature or species to mutate quicker still, instead of learning to coexist in peace with nature, and, the end result would be, nature bites back, even harder than before!

One day, man will eventually learn, to coexist in peace with MERS-CoV, but, how high a price are humans willing to pay to finally get there?  And, are their new viruses, coming our ways next?  Currently, we are using the vaccines to fight off MERS-CoV, and maybe, these vaccines had saved lives of tens of millions of lives to date, and yet, the vaccines are no guarantees of not contracting, death!  Seeing how long it took, for the current vaccines to come to form, and, their effects, aren’t as good as predicted, against the mutated strains; if there is the need to develop a brand new vaccine, in the countries with the higher rate of vaccination, how can the experiments be fully rounded without a control group?

It’s a blur, the future of the world against MERS-CoV invasion, and what of Taiwan?  How did we go from first place in defense, to the highest number of contractions?  The changes of this current pandemic wave, occurred just this, past month!  Recalled how last year this time, the quarantine days for the flight crew went from “Five plus nine” to “three plus eleven”, then, the first wave of outbreaks occurred, and whether or not this was a hole, it’s a lesson in its own, which was, “We do not have the means to take it easy”!

As Omicron started hitting the world hard at the end of last year, the government officials were just, gloating how we’d, managed to keep the mutated strains out.  And, in April, there came, the scattered cases, and, it’d caught the units of government off guard, which showed how the system isn’t fully operational, especially lacking the drills of what could happen if the outbreaks hit, and the support systems.  Once someone from a unit gets confirmed of contraction, whether or not the other members of the companies came into contact, they’re all asked to get their PCR at the hospitals; this seemed to be, reasonable, but it put people in danger of heightened chances of contraction, especially, the risk got elevated in the city hospitals, with almost NO air flow, in an, enclosed, space, in the line for a long time!  What’s more confusing is that the government called out to avoid the gatherings, and yet, forced us to stand in those long lines to buy the quick-scan kits, the masks, etc., etc., etc.

And now, the changes are finally made to that as the quick scans turned up positive, the individuals are considered as confirmed contractions.  And yet, all of these, hindsight are, worthless, it can’t change the increased numbers of contractions, the rates of contractions hiking up, the possibilities of moderate to severe symptom patients either, and, is this, what the government spent $800 billion N.T. of our money on, to get ahead?

All of this still summed up?  Oh yeah, just how, INCOMPETENT the DDP is, at dealing with national emergencies, what we’re in need of, we lacked, from before it’s the vaccines, and now, it’s the quick scan kits, and, god knows what this DDP government had wasted the taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars on, oh I know, propagandas, feeding the net armies of the DDP, to, sway the country’s people, that, is how we the people, enabled the abuse of our own rights, by the, DDP here!