There is great beauty in "ugliness",
and there is great joy in "pain."
We know each through their opposites.
Existence and non existence give birth to the idea of each other.
The idea of difficulty and ease produce one another.
Length and shortness fashion out the figure of each other.
High and low contrast and measure each other,
like how musical notes become harmonious through
the relation of one with another
and past, present, and future require each other.

This is how the Sage
accomplishes without doing
anything at all and he
and teaches without
having to say a word.
As things arrive and disappear
he lets them come and go freely.
He possesses but does not own
and perform without expectation.
When he finishes his work,
he releases it without attachment,
that's why it continues eternally.

Dark clouds covered all
with shades of grey, and peace
covered all beings.

A warm blanket, soft,
my deep worries comforted
by mother nature.

Rain gently fell on
the brick path in the courtyard,
where I walked slowly.

I whispered softly
into the candle's tired flame.
Calmed, it fell asleep.

Extinguished worries
fall to the ground in laughter.
A lotus opens.

Ramblings about things I like and things I don’t

(because I have the time to write and I have been asking myself what I really like or want.)

I dislike

things about the modern society sometimes -- like how some people are trapped by their self imposed sense of success driven by their greed and selfishness since they only seems to look out for the wellbeing of themselves. There seems to be something disturbing about the city somehow though I cannot point it out exactly what that makes me feel uncomfortable but perhaps it is the perfect street and buildings all over like a factory manner.

I like

places without the perfect street and buildings and I want to have an adventure and live like going to Cambodia and India to learn about their culture and help some kids there. There I will be rich in experience and purpose and laugh at how sometimes I take things for granted or my own self imposed narrow point of view about the world at large.

I dislike

stereotyping and how human judge people based on external stuff like looks, race or background but I suspect it is our nature as humans to put things into label like marketing or something. Placing labels on someone's appearance or race or anything else alone ***** and stereotypes are disgusting. Take some time to look beyond the surface -- labels are meant for can soup. There is no point having a beautiful façade on the surface but empty in the inside.

I like

beautiful minds, people that are comfortable with themselves despite their imperfection and people being who they are despite it may goes against the norms of society and I think gays are bold (though I am not gay or something), they defeat their insecurities and conquer their inner demons on how people look at them.

I dislike

how cheesy pop music is at times and prefer words that touch me and lyrics that mean more than just about ******, stupid heartbreak or explicit things.

I like

words that make give me inner hope and a will to continue to walk or beautifully written and something that inspire or I can relate to. Perhaps occasionally books that make my heart break a little with a rush of emotion -- even it is somebody's tale or not true but I love the passion of it all.

I like

art. Art that have a story and meaning behind them and not just random models on the cover of the magazines with too much makeup and too much photoshop with the focus on just looks alone.

I like

to take photos of random things and the simple beautiful around us that many of us fail to see and honest heart to heart conversation with a few close friends in a homely environment instead of a big crowd of acquaintance.

I dislike

how some people cannot seem to understand something unless you push it right in their faces, when someone is only nice to me when they need something or just keep up with the appearance which is stupid.

I dislike

each other's' masks and the need to decipher the feelings beyond the masks without being told what it is specifically, people with ******* up beliefs of what is right and wrong and those who can be easily manipulated and people that manipulate them for their own benefit.

I like

beautifully hand crafted items and non factory made stuff. They are one of a kind yet sometimes I can be a walking contradiction and I do like man-made things because once in a while it gives an artificial glint of happiness and if you lost it or break it, you can always have a new one.

I dislike this world.
I like this world.

I want to live in a world with things that bring me a simple glimpse of joy and perhaps that is all I wish to ask for.

As a child, I used to run.
Across golden fields in summer's heat.

As a child, I used to climb.
Crimson trees painted in Autumn's bliss.

As a child, I used to taste.
First snowflake born from winter's kiss.

As a child, I used to hope.
A start of a new year with spring's birth.

As a grown-up,
I did none of these.

Once hailed poets were like little gods of society,
built on pedestals of bronzes with praises.
Now, a few hundred years later, poets are seen as
moody idle under-achievers, who can't even commit
long enough to write something of little worth.