I arrived at 30 at a peculiar juncture of time: global pandemic, nationwide lockdown, being pregnant and confined at home for over 6 weeks. On my 30th birthday, I woke up in an ordinary morning and carried out my ordinary routine of sun salutation sequence followed by meditation. There was a little thing that I…
It is an interesting time to be a witness of history, to observe how a virus outbreak that happened thousands of miles away erupted into a global pandemic, and to feel the weight of shock when it burned my neighbourhood. From reading news on the sideline, suddenly, I became an active participant in the arena…
Have you ever imagined how it feels to find out that you (or your partner) are pregnant? I thought it is the most beautiful thing in the world — until it caught me off guard. When I was holding the pregnancy test kit that turned positive in seconds instead of 5 minutes I thought I…
In the midst of the wedding planning, I found myself in a lot of resistance that often leads to negative emotions. A close friend told me that the root of my resistance laid in the false expectation that I could have things my way. I agreed, and a lot of ‘but’ immediately popped into my…
When we organized a community dialogue about personal transformation and career transition, I didn’t expect ‘parents’ to be a major challenge that many participants resonate with. One of our panellists has an extreme case of hiding her career change from her parents for 6 months; when her parents found out about it, it led to…
If there is one thing I learn from my relationship, it is parallel with the first verse of the Tao De Jing ‘the name that can be named is not the eternal name’ — love does not need words. When he kneeled and asked, ‘will you marry me?’, I looked into his eyes and I knew I…
When I put down the book ‘Untethered Soul’, I could still feel the goosebumps I got from the chapter ‘Contemplating Death’. It’s true, death is the best teacher in life that we are too scared to face. One breath is all it takes to make everything disappear and we are all equal at the end.…
When I saw my mum broke down uncontrollably after my uncle’s funeral, I stroked her back gently with a silent thought: grow up, mum. In between the strokes I was engulfed by a deep sense of gratitude that I have a mother who expresses her love freely. It is in the vastness of this love…
Osho came into my life in a non-linear chronology that was perfect to unfold the controversy and wisdom in this spiritual master. I started doing Osho Zen tarot card reading with my brother a year ago when he received the deck as a birthday gift. While I always got the insights I needed, I thought…
When my dad finished a 200km ultramarathon, I asked him over dinner, how did you do it? In my past marathon experiences, I was dragging my feet and enduring pain every step of the way in the last few kilometers. I couldn’t imagine what it took to complete a 200 km run under the hot…
When I saw the news from my Facebook feed, my heart sank. I am not a loyal fan of Anthony Bourdain, but I enjoyed watching his shows. His humility, generosity and receptivity of differences often warmed my heart. I never thought such a strong character would be engulfed by the stark darkness to the point…
I hugged him tightly, feeling the warmth and familiarity of his embrace. Many happy moments with him flushed into my mind — the times we trekked, we walked hand in hand on the street, we chilled together in a new hotel, we laughed together at little things… Warm tears streamed down my face like a water hose,…