FREEDOM

Freedom to choose, to live the way we want, is the most basic needs of any person, regardless of our nationality, race, religion, creed, sex, age and color of skin. For most this is a given right, for some this comes as a luxury and for some other this is a fairy-tale.

Despite all of us being humans, we always tend to find and focus on the differences rather than the similarities that will bond us together.  The culture around us has shaped us to be always competitive as what evolution might suggest, “survival of the fittest.”

This culture of competing and getting ahead in the long run had formed groups of people who are different in nature and intentions.  These people who then form a different social class, a class rich in ‘material wealth’ and the power to purchase and demand for services as they want.

Maybe some of you would remember the TV series “Roots” that shown us on how one group of people, if given the chance, can abuse another group of people in any way they want. Differences in physical appearance are used as a justification to establish superiority against another. Most recent popular example on this would be “12 Years a Slave.”

Many of you might think, this was a long time ago, and we live in a more civilized and caring society now. We choose to focus on what we want and what affects us, rather than what is around but does not affect us negatively. This is how we try to be ‘happy’ in our pursuit for a ‘perfect’ life. This is also why we don’t realize or choose not to see inequalities and modern slaveries around us.

When a foreign housemaid is hired in Malaysia, in many cases she is expected to be available everyday without even a day of rest. She is expected to be awake before everyone else wakes up and go to sleep after everyone sleeps. Most of them do not even have their own proper space or room but rather sleeps on a tight corner or on the floor.  You might argue that they are having it better than what they can get in their home country. You are giving them job, food to eat, shelter and livelihood.

What will you feel if one day your boss says to you that you no longer have any leaves and you need to be available when he needs you? For that to happen, your boss says he will provide you an accommodation in the office or close to the office and all meals will be provided. He reduces your salary, since he is providing a living space and food and says that you can visit your family only when he allows you to do so or after 2 years.  

For any decent man or woman, he or she will ‘show the finger’ to the boss and leave rather than being slaved or reduced, in being a sub-human.

If this rule applies to you and this is how you think you should react, why do you then think your maid should not do the same if treated the same way?

Why do you then think you can own them as your ‘property’ justifying that you have paid for their services?

Do you think it is because you have a choice and they don’t?
Everyone needs to have freedom and who are you to rob this from them?

"YEAR ZERO"

In this year 2014, many started the year with their New Year resolution and mine was to start writing in this blog again. For some it might be to restart their life, redeem themselves from past mistakes, some other wants to achieve their lifelong dream. While mine was easy in comparison (just have to type away some of my thoughts) for the rest a lot of planning are required and all hurdles needs to be passed before you can reach your destination.

‘Pol Pot’ leader of ‘Khmer Rouge’ wanted to create an agrarian socialist society that is fully self-sufficient for Cambodian people. Fashioned by the sentiment and mood of the time, Marxist ideology further enhanced in France with Parti Communiste Francais (PCF), made him to believe that the only way to build his  ‘Khmer Rouge’ party is with the strong support of peasants.

Instead of embracing intellectuals and professional in his effort in rebuilding the nation after taking over, he sees them as a threat and as a great obstacle in achieving his main agenda of a self-sufficient agrarian economy. He declared “Year Zero” as his own revolutionary calendar (following the French) to mark the first year in purging old ways and restarting the country in reaching his objective. The movie, ‘The Killing Fields” shown us on what happened next, and how these people were ‘sacrificed’ in reaching one man’s ideal.

There is no such thing as “Year Zero.”  You can’t just reset everything and start with a clean slate. The universe started long before any of us were around and no one can just come and erase the past history just because we don’t like it. We just have to learn from the past, question it, accept it and change for the future but history remains. 

“Year Zero” of ‘Pol Pot’, was simply an idealistic view of how you can change a society. For every change, respecting the past is a must, even if we don’t agree with it. This is a vision without thinking of consequences and trying to achieve it even at the expense of millions of lives.  

Maybe this was a ‘noble’ cause in Pol Pot’s mind same like many other leaders or politicians around the world that thinks they know the best. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between a fool and a genius. Same like how it is difficult to know when we fix ourselves into achieving unrealistic dreams.

We need to let others to question us, to reason with our thoughts and this will be a natural process in establishing our facts and reasons to do something. Existence of other Universe apart from our ‘Milky Way’ is real, but reaching it, though sounds impossible, is not unrealistic. Same like how going to the Moon was a science-fiction story once upon a time.  

There are dreams we can try to achieve and those that we should not try to achieve and this is what every one of us needs to understand.

I sincerely hope, “Year Zero” is not in any one’s New Year resolution list in any form or meaning.

Have a great Year 2014!

Fear

Everyone goes through this everyday or every other moment in his or her life. For some this is the driving force and for others this is their biggest obstacle in life.

In growing up years, we have the fear of not being accepted to be part of a group, the fear of failing our exams, fear of getting scolded by our parents because of that.

Later years, we have the fear of being rejected by the person that we love, fear of not getting the job that we want or probably not getting any job at all that are required to live independently.

When we have found the job we want, it's the fear of doing wrong things, fear of not being good enough to succeed, fear of loosing the job or the business that we have. This fear adds up as by then we have so many dependents or bills to pay that this becomes unthinkable.

But can our fears be used in a positive way?

“I fear loosing my job, therefore, I need to prepare for an alternative or find ways to improve the current situation. “  In this way we build our own pressure to make us to constantly improve in overcoming this fear.

But can our fears silence us?

“I fear to express my opinions that I agree on ‘gay marriage’ and my believe that everyone have rights to marry the person that they love, because I might alienate my friends and family that thinks otherwise.” In this case, we choose to be silent because of this fear.

When our fears are used against us and we are defenseless against it, what we can do then?

“I fear that I will be caught by the moral police, so I rather wear my veil, even though I don’t like it, rather than getting caught and punished.” In this case we continue doing what we don’t like.

Maybe the Enemy is the word ‘Fear’ itself that being conjured up in our mind.

Everyone dies, but we continue living like we will never die? 

Death is the one thing in life that is most certain. The worst that can ever happen to us. The greatest fear of all is Death.

Probably there are more fun in living than to fear death and stop living. Probably with enough motivation we can conquer our fears, because the worst that can happen to us is Death, which we can’t change anyway. 

Who is the ‘enemy’ now? 

Is this our lack of will to change and conquer this fear? 

Fear of the ‘Self’ the enemy within us is the Greatest Fear of all.

Like what Gandhi once said, “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but, it is fear.”

Fear no more stand up for your rights! Fight your Fears!

Madiba Spirit

It’s been 1 month since his long walk of freedom came to an ‘end. ‘

No more pain, no more worries and no more branches of tree to pull as ‘Rolihlahla.’

From Rolihlahla to Dalibunga, From Nelson to ‘46664’ to Madiba and finally ‘Tata' not only to South Africa but to the entire human race.

"I'm not a saint unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying,” once he said. This sums up well, that no one is perfect, even such a great soul such as Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela have flaws. 

Past mistakes should not be a ransom in not being who you want to be or what you want to achieve. Of course the end does not always justifies the means, but if done in good thought and clear conscience, as what we know now, even ‘Apartheid’ can be defeated.

This is how he chose to see himself, a ‘liberator’ a fighter till the end, even if it will cause him his life, in his believe for equality. A ‘sinner’ no less, like everyone of us, a normal human being, achieving extraordinary things.

You have done mistakes in life, so what?

As the great man once said, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Not many leaders can claim to have lived the Mandela way. Power corrupts people, and revenge often becomes a way to settle past scores and miseries brought upon to them by others. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison”, this is my greatest lesson from Madiba. Revenge heals no one and resolves nothing.

This is not the end, I am continuing his walk in my own way, like many of you. Everyday the spirit of Madiba can live on within us, Forgiveness, Compassion, Reconciliation, Acceptance but most importantly being honest to ourselves. This is the ‘Madiba Spirit.’

1918 - 2013