What is LOVE?

"Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness." "Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place." "Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it... It really is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more."

The above are quotations of what love is. Each has differing perceptions of what love is. I used to define love as a giving act that requires no returns and creates satisfaction to the receiving party. To love, without expectations of being loved - I told myself that the motto of loving unconditionally should the way I lead my life.

I questioned my motto today. Afterall, my ex just got attached. I sent her my congrats. But deep down inside, the feeling of being delighted to celebrate the joyous occasion wasn't how I expected it to be. There's a host of reasons that could contribute to this.
(i) I lost the feeling of how love is.
(ii) I grew tired and exhausted of loving.
(iii) There's no more love btween me and my ex.
(iv) My definition of love should be changed.

I asked myself which of the reasons it could be. Or maybe it's just all of the above.

ERP - Examining 'Right' Policies

I drove home today from town. I was on the CTE at 9.20pm. I was driving at 80km/h. Then the sound 'BEEP' startled me. The IU reader has just deducted $1.00 off my cashcard.

The government was saying that ERPs are used to control road traffic and keep them above the speed of 45km/h. I wondered if they were reasons or excuses. They added a couple of gantries, then countless and even on new roads, and then extended the hours from dawn to the wee hours of the night.

But today paints a different scenario. Traffic was smooth. There is no traffic woes. It could be due to the random nonsensical ERP hikes. It could be due to inflation. It could be due to the recession.

More importantly, does our government review the policies constantly or stick to the most-profiteering scheme? Reflecting upon ourselves, it's also timely to ask - how often do we review our actions and decisions? Environment changes make our decisions all the more vulnerable. Not that we did not make the right decision, but in today's world, it's about making the decision right.

Not the Destination, but the Journey that matters

As the saying goes, it's the not the destination, but the journey that matters. In every sense of the saying, how true this is.

I once used to think that going to places is so fun and intriguing. I dreamt of many places, and have been to some of them. That includes the exotic South Africa. But the truth is not the bragging rights that I can boost about being there. Deep down in me, I realised that it's how I want to live the journey that matters. It doesn't take me long to realise that I learnt just as much from a 3-day self-drive road trip to Cameron as compared to my 30-day South Africa trip.

Everything in life is about the journeys one takes. Journeys shape our lives. I asked myself - If I hadn't quit my 1st job, it wouldn't have been a problem for me to reach financial freedom as I breeze through the rituals of a desk-bound job. Now that I quitted from that job and move on, I struggled to accelerate my learning curve on the job. Both jobs would eventually reach my goal of financial freedom; the latter giving me a more fulfilling journey as I lived to learn life's lessons through interesting activities.

Today is the day I reminded myself of the importance of each step I take as I trek through this journry. I couldn't help smiling as I walked on...

Being flexible or losing myself?

My schedule is getting packed. With a new job at hand, I get exhausted by the end of each day as I stumbled in understanding the work processes and gathering new information about the company's processes. In the midst of these, I caught up with old friends, got to know new ones, went for toastmasters, gave tuition and exercised. I lost the time to blog and sacrificed some of my time in the personal 'cave'.

I ask myself, maybe that's a characteristic of me. I'm flexible. I'm adaptable. I take on changes as they come.

Or am I just losing myself, as these external factors shape my life? Do I not have my principles to hold on to, as I just succumb to the environment?

There's a fine line between being flexible and losing oneself. Some are balancing on the lines; others are still trying to find that line. For me, I will bold that line. Afterall, I believe that I can be sane in a ever-changing world. The qn is - how much bolder?