Have you ever stared into space for a good 30 seconds and your mind was blank throughout? I remembered asking second sister what it was supposed to be when I was a young boy. She told me it was a day dream. I wasn't really convinced because dreams are like, you know, a short video clip. This instead, was simply a blank nothingness in the mind. If you know what is the term for this, tell me.
I experienced another one of these last evening at Paul's place.
So who is Paul? Paul is Uncle Lai's friend who is an American semi-retiree who lives in Perth and organises gatherings occasionally.
So who is Uncle Lai? Uncle Lai is Penny's uncle who is a Malaysian semi-retiree with a beautiful Iranian wife who is near retirement age but looks in her 30s. They have 3 daughters, all with Miss Universe kind of looks and they live in Perth.
So who is Penny? Penny is our Malaysian friend who urged us to come to Perth but ended up reluctant herself. We are still waiting for her here.
Long story short, Penny introduced Uncle Lai to give us some assistance or advice about settling down and Uncle Lai invited us to the gathering which Paul invited him to. When we were arrived, Jenny quipped, "This is your first Barbie."
I raised my eyebrows shifted uncomfortably. We had not met a single person here, including Uncle Lai. It was a multi-cultural gathering. There were 4 PRCs, a few Malaysians, a group of Iranians, a group of Aboriginals, a few British, an American host with his son and of course several Australian. I was the only one from Singapore.
Everyone was friendly and people came around to have a chat. Most of them were positive we could find a job soon and we would be alright. The spread of food was fantastic. There was Persian Rice and Basmati Rice, all flavoured. There was Char Bee Hoon, I helped myself to plenty of it. Later I found that it was contributed by Kelvin's wife. Most of the food were home-made, including thick juicy beef patties and then there were intricate cakes meant for the children.
I got my blank mind experience when the children started to play. I didn't know what went through my mind.
Later, we had a chat with the beautiful wife of Uncle Lai, Mehnoosh. She shared with us stories of their early settling days. It took them 2 years to feel really settled. I couldn't forget something she said. She told me in their earlier days, she could not feel a sense of belonging in Perth despite the serenity and the beauty of the place. But after subsequent years where the whole family revisited places, the past memories of previous visits gradually gave them a strong sense of belonging and eventually they accepted the place as their home.
I knew all along that Home is where the Heart is so Mehnoosh's words left me pondering. She was right. My mind went back to Hollage Village, the place where I grew up. The place burnt profound memories permanently in my mind. I had revisit Hollage Village on my own several times over the years. I took a walk up the silent hill (perhaps I should call it a knoll instead) at Block 12, where I used to live. I did a few dangerous walks at the edge of the hill, the shortcut we used to take to the swimming pool when we were kids. The fall from that edge would had got any one of us killed if we fell from it but we never did, day or night. Alas, over the years, they changed Holland Village beyond recognition, taking my fond memories with it.
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So says the government. Change is progress, they say.
Arguably.
If change is progress, why do Singaporeans form long queues at food stalls which still cook their food with the tradition methods?
If change is progress, why are historic buildings popular?
If change is progress, what do we make of the aged phrase, 'The good old days'?
If change is progress, why is the PAP so adamant to keep their position as the governing party where it is so obvious to the insiders as well as the bystanders that they have regressed, deteriorated beyond acceptance?
My good Punggol neighbour Aku Tan once said to me
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
I did neither.
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| Children playing |
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| Multi-cultural gathering |
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| BBQ in process |
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| A scrumptious spread |
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| Another pit where the sausages were left to ccok |
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| These were unsalted, yet very very good |
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| The tree swing |
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| Delighted children doing what they should be doing |
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| The children sang us a song |
The patties looked really good. Waiting for you and Jen to return and perhaps we can use the pavilion for some bbq-ing.
ReplyDelete@ Jie Yin: Yeah we should! Before it is used for the first funeral :P
ReplyDeleteChoy choy choy!
when are you going to say u miss ah pooh leh????
ReplyDelete@ Ah Pooh. I told u 2-3 days after I left you know? lol. I'll write something nice on Saturday okie ;)
ReplyDeleteThe "mind blank" thing is linked to meditation. It doesn't really have a name unless you give it one. It seems you got talent for spontaneous meditation.
ReplyDelete@Darkmind: I had this kind of experience all my life right from a boy. Thanks for telling me something about it. Maybe I can explore the term and see if it fits what I went through..
ReplyDeleteI never thought it would be anything related to meditation.