Equatorial Musings

Due to human stupidity, I recently injured my left fourth toe. Alright, it almost came off because my left foot was caught in the kitchen door. Based on the responses I've been getting, it seems that people are baffled as to how a grown man like me could've put his toe in such peril, not to mention getting it caught in the door in the first place. I'm sure they must've thought that such acidents happened only to kids. Even teenagers should be free from such everyday threats to life and limb. Obviously, a more detailed explanation is in order - it doesn't pay to be modest when people already think you're stupid. So for those of you who haven't been to my house, the living room is elevated vis -a- vis the kitchen and the kitchen door closes in towards the living room. So I was standing between the 2 areas, and my left foot was perched with my toes dangling from the living room towards the kitchen. When the kitchen door closed on my foot, it was wedged against...

When I was in university, I majored in history and economics. But it is history that has always been my first love, which was why I opted to do a fourth year in the discipline. And truth be told, it was the best year of my tertiary education, what with attending seminars and writing an academic exercise, not to mention the mischiefs that honours students get up to. For some of my friends and many of my relatives, they never understood my fascination with history. To them. the past is passe and should stay that way - there's no value in studying what had transpired in the corridors of time. But I must respectfully object because history is more than a collection of facts about the past. In many instances, facts have nothing to do with history. History is what the victors made it out to be. (You don't see the vanquished writing history, do you?) Very often, this is to justify their victory and legitimise their subsequent rule. Even when facts are involved, there can be different...

As you already know, I do quite a fair bit of reading. The books I read range from non-fiction to serious scientific stuff. I started reading the latter genre during my national service days. And the first book I read was Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". It was an intriguing book, partly because I understood so little of it and partly because it talked about time travel. I'm sure we've all thought about going back and forth in time. There must have been something that we did or said or did not do or say that we'd have preferred to do the reverse then. (Of course I wouldn't mind going back in time to catch myself slamming the door against my toe ... sigh.) But once done or said, whether in the positive or negative, there's no turning back the clock for their effects will ripple through time into the future. While to err may be human, not to err is definitely more divine than having forgiveness after one has erred. For not everything can be f...

Has it ever occur to you that we don't exercise the choice to be happy very often? How we feel tends to be a function of our circumstances. If we're going through good times, we feel happy. If not, then the reverse is true. But we do see those who're happy despite going through adversities. And unless they're crazy or delirious, then they must have decided to feel happy. How do they do it? From what I can see, the answer runs the gamut from giving in to fighting on. Either way, the consequence is they're happy or at least happier than before. For those who throw in the towel, they no longer feel the need to fight their situation. There's a calmness that comes from not caring and being bothered anymore. They know that worrying will not solve anything. But instead of focusing on what needs to be done, they simply throw up their hands and quit. For others who refuse to bow to their circumstances, they have a conviction that their situation is transient. That what t...

When I was growing up, I developed a predilection for quotes, especially those of the humourous persuasion. I especially liked Mark Twain's quotes. They're funny but with grains of truth littered throughout them. For example, he once remarked that "all you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure". Besides Twain, I've encountered countless other writers with witty quotes and one of them pertained to human stupidity. Essentially, it warned that we should never underestimate human stupidity because it'll always better itself. And this has been true throughout my life in the things I've witnessed people say and do. But last night, while having dinner at home, I paid personal homage to the abovementioned quote. I was leaving the kitchen and heading back to the living room when I realised that I forgot my condiments. (How can you have pasta without some salt and pepper - it just won't do.) The problem was I was closing the do...

Words are containers of power. They can build up a person or tear him down, and thereby move him along the right or wrong path. They can galvanise people into constructive or destructive action, and consequently shape the course of history. One only needs to recall JFK's speech where he exhorted the American people to ask not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country and Hitler's speech about Lebensraum (living space) for Germans which precipitated WWII and caused the death of millions. The right words spoken at the right time can escalate or defuse a situation, and skew the course of events at the personal, national or international level. On a personal level, the words we speak come from our hearts and define our existence. For a pessimistic person who expects things to turn out badly, he's likely to spout gloom and doom, and this is how his life will unfold. For an optimist who looks forward to favourable outcomes, he's likely to look...

I'm always amazed at how many things we think of to occupy the spaces in our lives. I'd have thought that since we live hectic lives, we'd appreciate having time to ourselves. But strangely enough, this is not the case. As if it's not enough to be busy at work, we need also to be busy outside of work. We pack things into our lives so that we can boost of living fruitfully and productively. But how about spending time with ourselves? Listening to our thoughts and getting in touch with our feelings. I'm not talking about being a new age sensitive person. That, I think, is just being oversensitive and no one likes a naggy and petty person. I'm referring to knowing ourselves so that we're aware of what makes us tick, what makes us happy and contented and what makes us who we are. Very often, we go through life assimilating the wants and desires of other people (our parents, friends and society at large). We end up being one of the masses with no unique personali...