The special face of Hong Kong

It is so easy to socialize through technology and with machines in Hong Kong. In a way, I feel this option of virtual socializing, has made it more comfortable with a lot of people, than having true communication with real people here in this amazing city.

Personally, I have been “spoken to” in the same house with family through texts and emails rather than through speaking. Most significant expressions within my family have been conducted to me through whatsapp, rather than face to face.

Is this truly what communication has come to, or rather, not come to?

Have socializing through a virtual platform made it easier for people to avoid rather than commit to true communications? Where every “uncomfortable” topic or detail they feel can be made more comfortable by expressing it through a way that does not require us to see or have eye contact with the people we wish to communicate to, and perhaps then words expressed do not bear as much responsibility?

We all have to express. Expression is everything.  Everyone knows when expression is repressed, how much stress and strain we put our physical, emotional and other bodies under. But what is true expression? And have we taken an advancement in technology to perpetuate something which has the immense potential to connect people, and abused it in a way that is actually separative rather than unifying?

Texting apps available on smart phones as well as meeting through social platforms can definitely create a more convenient type of communication, where people can be brought together even when they are miles apart and in different time zones; or even within the same time zones, when the physical limitation of not being able to be at more than one place at a time (yet), we can multitask such as holding a meeting through skype while at the same time purchasing groceries for a dinner party. More than any time, we are now in a world where boundaries are no longer solid, family, work and life have the possibility of becoming one and unifying rather than completely separate ideas.

Hong Kong has a special flair of embracing technology. Here technology is welcomed rather than shunned because of fear. Everywhere in the city, people are seen serenading their hand-held machines. No fret, when we have no real socializing going on, there is always our friend, the machine, who can comfort us with a feel-good movie or excite us in a video game. Could it be that we have already felt sufficient that an inanimate object can ease our loneliness, with the added benefit that it does not come with all the messiness of relating and intimacy with people?

It may “work”, for a time. What I mean here is, untrue and unreal relating may distract us from the emptiness and the yearning to truly relate most of us feel.  But in what expense does this distraction brings?  And, what about the long term consequences? Personally, I have experienced an almost complete reliance on technology to even “see” another human being (apart from my child) during one year of my life, and that is even not regular or reception is never reliable. Honestly, how can reception through these unreal intimacies ever be smooth, when it is exactly a true intimacy that we fear? If I was not even willing to let people in who are physically close to me, how do I expect to nurture a true relationship that is miles apart? Geographic proximity is not the key, my choice to love out as well as loving in, is.

In a city where high rises decorate the skyline, it may be sad, but necessary to acknowledge that we are not a city that is built in true love. To maximize space for the highest financial return could not be a choice that is made out of true love. Yet, we are all loving human beings in the city, every single one of us. True, it may be harder for us to realize this for ourselves, with the circumstance and environment that is conditioning and running through us (if we do not choose otherwise for ourselves) every moment, but that does not refute the fact that, we are all love.

Everyone who allows themselves to truly feel, will know the essence of every single human being in this planet is unequivocally the same, and equal.

When technology is used not with the intention of true love, very easily it can become a tool for us to perpetuate lovelessness whether we are aware of it or not. Is loveless relating better than no relating? Is relating that is not out of true love, even relating at all? Perhaps it should be called separating, instead.

In the depths of our hearts, we all know the importance of true intimacy and true relating. We all feel our emptiness from time to time, even here in this sleepless “Pearl of the Orient”. Emptiness simply cannot be filled by more lovelessness. In-truth, our own emptiness cannot even be relieved by another person, or by our numbing or avoidance tactics. True intimacy and true relating have to first begin with ourselves. Emptiness can only be truly filled when we remember and consistently connect to and live our own love. With true relating with oneself, there will be the possibility of true relating with another, and another, and eventually, with the world.

In this present day, we seem to confine “intimacy” and “relationship” to only physical and romantic ones. Every single relationship, whether romantic or not, begins with the relationship to ourselves. True intimacy between a couple, does not magically happen with closing the bedroom door, but with each and every moment, both parties choosing to connect with themselves that extend to the sharing of this connection within the bedroom. Similarly, every other relationship that is not romantic, happens in the same way (just without the bedroom part).

Hong Kong, the magic is not out there . All the love, the beauty, the connection, the joy, the glory, the harmony are all right there, inside your heart.  You are so special Hong Kong, truly, in SO much more than you realize.

Advertisement

兩極

Chemtrails and Slyphs

Taken on Lamma Island, Hong Kong

Jan 8-9, 2012

A day in Disney

The first time I went to Disneyland in Hong Kong was 3 years ago when my son turned four.  Throughout his infant years, I have been struggling to hold onto my own energy.  I have always been in a chronic state of fatigue.  Every time I wished to play with him, I also go into fear of being very tired.  The first time we went, I had been tired even before we got on the first ride.

Last week I promised him another visit to Disneyland.  It was a gift to him for summer and my dear friend Vivian who works in Disneyland gave us a free entry pass.  I went without much expectation, but clearly Neem connected to the spirit of Disney the moment we got on the Disney train in Sunny Bay.  He lounged lovingly on the velvet seats and exclaimed he has never been on anything more comfortable.

Once we got onto the Disney grounds his ecstasy was beyond control.  He felt into everything, and was very impressed by all the welcoming signs and gestures throughout the park.  Seeing his excitement, I opened up to the wonder of a child’s heart and we enthusiastically lined up for our first ride–Buzz Lightyear.  It was a long queue before we met with the Toy Story characters.  When we finally did, Neem was already high on a mission–he was a young space ranger ready to defeat Zurg.  Those in line with us can’t disguise their smiles, seeing a child so fully immersed in saving the world.

Oh how he loved the Buzz Lightyear ride, every time he aimed and successfully shot at the Z’s, his feelings are genuine in believing he is one step closer to rescuing humanity.

Truly content with his accomplishment, he led me to line up for the second ride.  We both didn’t know what ride it was, but was happy to go on another exciting experience.  While we were lining up, suddenly I remembered my first roller coaster experience on Space Mountain in the LA Disneyland when I was 13.  I articulated as visually as possible my teenage experience.  Neem said it sounded scary.

By the time we were at the gate to the ride, we found out we were actually lining up for Space Mountain!  I asked Neem again whether he wants to go on it.  He paused for one moment and said “Yes! For the experience!”  I could not hide my smile…this child has spoken my heart.  He is my child.

I hadn’t envision my excitement.  I was so excited to re-experience my first roller coaster ride.  I loved roller coasters.  When I was 13 to 14, I have been on so many of them in different parts of the United States, and every time it was better than the last.  It was the whole package–the freedom of youth, the unlimitedness of the soul, the desire for expansion, the invincibility of no fear.

Yet Neem was still 7, so I had to reinforce him that we are entering Space for an adventure, just mom and son. The darkness in Space Mountain was very comforting for me, while it was too dark for Neem.  I so enjoyed screaming my heart out, not out of fear but purely for expression, Neem didn’t share my sentiment, and was quiet and laid on my lap while the space vehicle maneuvered its sharp turns.

When we finished our mission in Space, according to young space ranger Neem, Space Mountain was the worst ride ever, and he is never going to go on it again.  When we knew we were going into a “real” rollercoaster, I had a moment of doubt as of whether Neem would go back to Buzz or Winnie the Pooh rides after being initiated into Space Mountain, clearly my doubts were superfluous, he is still a child at heart.  And I love him so much for it.

We went on a few more rides, had blue cotton candy and bought souvenirs, immersing deep in the Disney reality.  And then we were both very hungry.  I wanted to leave Disney to go for a good meal, but was already too ravenous and weak to move.  Without much planning, we stepped into a Disney restaurant on the way out and had one of the best meals within the entire context.  We loved it and ate in such divine satisfaction.

As our hunger has been satiated and we strolled leisurely on the Disney main road to head out of the theme park, Neem wanting to visit more souvenir shops for toys, and seeing a shop with a painted sign “Jewelry” in sight,  asked : “Mommy do you want to look at some jewelry?”  Can I not love this child?

He was similarly impressed with all the signs that bid him farewell with reassuring requests of having him come back soon, as we walked towards the train.  We were both physically exhausted but our hearts were so full.  Whatever reality we are in, I treasure every opportunity to know my child more.  I am so immensely honored.

Harmony

I have a story to tell.  This could be your story too.

This particular story is about a girl who was born believing that everyone is somehow the same, in some big way.  Astrologically she is born a Virgo, hence, understanding the mechanics of things is important for her; yet for the bulk of her life she has also been blessed with a strong heart and an inherent trust in life.    This trust has brought her what is of a knowing.  Knowing is not knowledge, it also does not require proof.  Simply put, it is just the way it is.  The way is clear and the heart is still.   There is no wavering, only an arrow-pointed determination towards a goal.

Years ago she felt a knowing in Mother Nature.  She knows she is safe within the Mother.  This is not knowledge, for the girl cannot proof it.  All she knew was she had to return home, to a place where she is no longer fragmented anymore.  She knew she had to return before she can move anywhere forward.

It was such a knowing that brought her back to Nature.  The girl was with the Mother always, she does not wish to be anywhere else.  Within the Mother, there is a mutual exchange of love.  Over the years, the girl has moved many times, changed jobs, met different people;  yet she carried Mother Nature within her, everywhere she went.  The Mother is in her when she moved, danced, sang, wrote, worked; the Mother is also in her house, her body, her clothes, her food.  She breathes the Mother and the Mother flows in her blood.

In truth, the Mother is everywhere, in every cell of every person.  Never had it crossed the girl’s mind that it was considered “unconventional” to quit her job in the fashion industry to go farming, or to live in a remote island where the nearest transportation to civilization was an hours’ walk over mountains.  Sometimes she forgets that she lives in Hong Kong rather than in the deserts of Mexico or on the mountains of the Andes.

Everyone has their comfortable and habitual way of life, and this is the life of the girl.  Every day she wakes up at the crack of dawn to walk in the crisp cool air beginning the morning in communion with Pachamama.  Some mornings the exchange with the Mother is deep in harmony, other mornings there is much discordance.  Yet there is no where to hide within the Mother, only more openings.  In moments of exhaustion or emotional disturbances, instead of stagnation, the girl chooses to continue walking.  Without thinking, her two feet guide while her heart takes a rest.  During thresholds when she is close to either breaking down or turning back, the girl continues walking.  There comes a place and a time, when the exhaustion magically turns into an opening.  It transforms into harmony.

Hong Kong is an opportune land for technology and modernity, and within its financial backdrops and glamor-laced and polluted air, the girl is now at home here.  Harmony can only come from the inside.  Whether on the top of Machu Picchu or at a beach on Lamma Island, the harmony is one and the same.  Harmony is permanent, whereas peace is momentary.  If Hong Kong is the place where she is to be presently for learning and for service, this is where she will be.  And she feels the love of the Mother as immensely here as when she is breathing thin air, hugging the sun and the sky in Peru.

This is what the girl feels life is about, to be who she is from the depths of her heart, knowing that she is in unity, no matter where she is and how each day presents itself.  Honoring her body and be grateful for its ability to sense and reflect both what is happening within and without energetically–individually, universally and collectively.  Allowing herself time for solitude yet also be in union and communion with Mother Nature and all its beings.

The girl knows.  She knows this is all a time of preparation and arduous training; she only smiles because honestly she is enjoying every moment of it, and this is all that matters to her.

Photo: Wini