WARNING:
It will be good if you are to continue reading this looooooonnnnnngggggg write-up. At the end of this entry, you will learn [I hope] a great value, not only about yourself but the life that you [and I] have taken for granted.
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A Friend [AF] : Do you know that you are just like Adrian Monk?
Me : Huh? Siang Adrian Monk? No, I have never thought of becoming a monk. Not that it is a bad thing but I must acknowledge of my earthly needs which can be overwhelming at times. Ok ok, most of the times. I admire the discipline. I envy the spiritual sedentary routine. I believe there is so much peace within them as compared to many of us.
AF : Monk is a TV series about a detective. He is brilliant but it is his OCD that reminds me alot about you.
Me : Ah, and so it is about my blog. I want to admit there's OCD in me. Acknowledging it is to give rise to awareness. Knocking my senses and then to ask myself whether it is a behaviour that I can live with. About how much I should and want to control myself. About how much it will affect the people around me.
When it first came to me, I mean the awareness, that I have some form of OCD, it reminded me of an old friend. How she was always late for everything. How, at last minute, there must always be something for her to clean before she could leave the house. Either for work or appointment. Even at the office, before she leaves, she could spend up to an hour just wiping and cleaning up her desk and then reaching home late, as usual.
AF : Doesn't that bother you? Especially when you are always so strict with punctuality?
Me : Hehe, that is to say that my OCD is not that serious lah. I believe when we keep our awareness intact, we will be able to strike a balance. Knowing your priority - the 'What' that needs to be accomplished and then the 'why' it should be done. Life should not be mechanical but there must be a system in check. There must be discipline and why there should be one.
AF : Why is cleanliness so important to you?
Me : Say, when we are finding for a table at the Food Court, don't we look for a clean one? And when there are two seats available next to each other, we tend to go for the cleaner one. For that matter, we always choose to go for something clean first. And neat. It is an intuitive reaction. Guess, clean-neat-tidy is an unsaid beauty. These are qualities that make us feel comfortable. They have charm. And we are attracted to them automatically and immediately.
I believe there is more to it. A clean thing, and it can be anything and everything around us, reflects a sense of purity. Of greater comfort. Of white innocence. Of deep qualitative virtue. And our soul, whether we know it or not, needs all of these.
AF : How often do you clean your house?
Me : Err, if possible, every hour! Haha, ok, that is too much OCD. Back at Hertford, it used to be 1-3-5 and saturdays and sundays to relax. The weekends are just to slack around. To forget about the vacuum, the mop. To spend quality time.
But here in Reiki Sanctuary is kinda different. All the windows are always open and I choose to open them.
AF : Wait, how come the windows in Hertford are closed? Or always closed?
Me : Err, cos I love to walk around naked? Cos we stayed ground floor lah. Plus mosquitoes alot leh when the windows are left opened. I had dengue hemorrhagic fever there. Almost died, you know.
AF : Ok ok, so how often you clean Reiki Sanctuary? And cleaning, by your standard, should include what?
Me : Still 1-3-5. Still slack on weekends. But 2 and 4, I got my maid iRoomba. Haha. The most I would just mop after that. While she sings around the house, I go about wiping the cabinets, wash the toilets or download prawns. Haha.
Oh, the beds must be done every day. It is a must. You know, our dead skin can stick to the bedsheet or our hair drops. It is good to brush it away. Geez, now this is OCD!
Change bedsheet weekly. Dusting and wiping, haha, even the walls, once a week. Hmm, but here in Reiki Sanctuary, it is like every hour. Ok, that is exaggerating.
See, if you are to notice, the glass windows are not even glittering.
AF : The way you clean your house is more than just sweeping and mopping. Do you notice that everything here needs to be proper?
Me : Haha, just the other day, a friend was here and he opened the shoe cabinet. He passed a similar remark.
To me, everything inside this house has to have a place. It is about recognition and honouring these shared things in our life here. We have brought them in and it is only right that we give them a proper place. Making it tidy, placing them in order are just acts of gratitude. Hehe, unless what we bring into the house is a junk and deserves a junk place. Then again, even a junk needs a place. Need our respect and gratitude.
It is just my style, OCD or not, since there is already a place for everything, these items should be placed back to where they belong after we use them. Since people feel comfortable in their zone, these items should be treated that way too. It only takes a second to do such thing. Why do we need to empower laziness?
It is also about convenience. Afterall, here in Reiki Sanctuary, we have a lot of storage space. We wanted it that way since we hacked away the storeroom. What is pleasing to the eyes, when you see them stacked nicely, would bring comfort for the soul too. And then, the continuity or flow of good things just follow. Alamak, you got read my blog and understand it anot?
AF : What does clean or tidy is to you? Maybe you can start showing off by showing me around .. Hahaha.
Me : It is about comfort. It could be about organised comfort. When things are organised, it will be a reflection of the soul. Of the mind. Reiki Sanctuary is a home with soul. I am a soul. Therefore, it is about complimenting each other.
As we always want to take care of our appearance, and how it is important for whatever reasons we may give to it, a clean and tidy home should be treated that way too. Err, for goodness sake, it is A HOME and not a hotel where you use the bed and out the next day.
How important we take to shower everyday or to brush our teeth or to drink from a clean cup, everything in a house - the bed, the drawers, the cabinets, the computer should be treated with respect too. They are part of us. Part of the house. We just cannot neglect that responsibility.
Time to show off:
AF : I am sure you would be cleaning and tidying things up after I leave here?
Me : It shall be for my comfort. Yours had been served. Respect is to be given to anybody and everybody here in Reiki Sanctuary.
All things good must always be maintained. It is like breathing clean air. Constantly, it provides the basic essence to life. Why do we need to suffocate when there's abundance everywhere. One should never, and purposely, end the beauty of life.
AF : Are you not tired doing these chores over and over again?
Me : It is the comfort that I seek. When there is love, nothing else matters. Don't take it personal here - For me, it is about respect. The respect that I want to provide for all the people that come here - their souls. And the respect that I want to give myself too.
I guess, when we focus at the end result, what's in between does not matter. Infact, it just gives you the impetus for all things well. And, that is what I seek in life. Never to complain when the end result makes me feel good.
Yes, it can be tiring but I always take this chore as a form of exercise. Well, the word 'chore' is not even right to use here. It is a necessity. That when it is being done, all the muscles are engaged.
It is also a good meditative exercise. As I clean and tidy things up, it is also cleaning and tidying my thinking process. My emotional stability. My spiritual cleansing.
At the end of the day, it is a win-win situation. The house provides a comfortable ambience and my soul is happy. And all my guests can relax, and enjoy, within it, I hope.
A Friend [AF] : Do you know that you are just like Adrian Monk?
Me : Huh? Siang Adrian Monk? No, I have never thought of becoming a monk. Not that it is a bad thing but I must acknowledge of my earthly needs which can be overwhelming at times. Ok ok, most of the times. I admire the discipline. I envy the spiritual sedentary routine. I believe there is so much peace within them as compared to many of us.
AF : Monk is a TV series about a detective. He is brilliant but it is his OCD that reminds me alot about you.
Me : Ah, and so it is about my blog. I want to admit there's OCD in me. Acknowledging it is to give rise to awareness. Knocking my senses and then to ask myself whether it is a behaviour that I can live with. About how much I should and want to control myself. About how much it will affect the people around me.
When it first came to me, I mean the awareness, that I have some form of OCD, it reminded me of an old friend. How she was always late for everything. How, at last minute, there must always be something for her to clean before she could leave the house. Either for work or appointment. Even at the office, before she leaves, she could spend up to an hour just wiping and cleaning up her desk and then reaching home late, as usual.
AF : Doesn't that bother you? Especially when you are always so strict with punctuality?
Me : Hehe, that is to say that my OCD is not that serious lah. I believe when we keep our awareness intact, we will be able to strike a balance. Knowing your priority - the 'What' that needs to be accomplished and then the 'why' it should be done. Life should not be mechanical but there must be a system in check. There must be discipline and why there should be one.
AF : Why is cleanliness so important to you?
Me : Say, when we are finding for a table at the Food Court, don't we look for a clean one? And when there are two seats available next to each other, we tend to go for the cleaner one. For that matter, we always choose to go for something clean first. And neat. It is an intuitive reaction. Guess, clean-neat-tidy is an unsaid beauty. These are qualities that make us feel comfortable. They have charm. And we are attracted to them automatically and immediately.
I believe there is more to it. A clean thing, and it can be anything and everything around us, reflects a sense of purity. Of greater comfort. Of white innocence. Of deep qualitative virtue. And our soul, whether we know it or not, needs all of these.
AF : How often do you clean your house?
Me : Err, if possible, every hour! Haha, ok, that is too much OCD. Back at Hertford, it used to be 1-3-5 and saturdays and sundays to relax. The weekends are just to slack around. To forget about the vacuum, the mop. To spend quality time.
But here in Reiki Sanctuary is kinda different. All the windows are always open and I choose to open them.
AF : Wait, how come the windows in Hertford are closed? Or always closed?
Me : Err, cos I love to walk around naked? Cos we stayed ground floor lah. Plus mosquitoes alot leh when the windows are left opened. I had dengue hemorrhagic fever there. Almost died, you know.
AF : Ok ok, so how often you clean Reiki Sanctuary? And cleaning, by your standard, should include what?
Me : Still 1-3-5. Still slack on weekends. But 2 and 4, I got my maid iRoomba. Haha. The most I would just mop after that. While she sings around the house, I go about wiping the cabinets, wash the toilets or download prawns. Haha.
Oh, the beds must be done every day. It is a must. You know, our dead skin can stick to the bedsheet or our hair drops. It is good to brush it away. Geez, now this is OCD!
Change bedsheet weekly. Dusting and wiping, haha, even the walls, once a week. Hmm, but here in Reiki Sanctuary, it is like every hour. Ok, that is exaggerating.
See, if you are to notice, the glass windows are not even glittering.
AF : The way you clean your house is more than just sweeping and mopping. Do you notice that everything here needs to be proper?
Me : Haha, just the other day, a friend was here and he opened the shoe cabinet. He passed a similar remark.
To me, everything inside this house has to have a place. It is about recognition and honouring these shared things in our life here. We have brought them in and it is only right that we give them a proper place. Making it tidy, placing them in order are just acts of gratitude. Hehe, unless what we bring into the house is a junk and deserves a junk place. Then again, even a junk needs a place. Need our respect and gratitude.
It is just my style, OCD or not, since there is already a place for everything, these items should be placed back to where they belong after we use them. Since people feel comfortable in their zone, these items should be treated that way too. It only takes a second to do such thing. Why do we need to empower laziness?
It is also about convenience. Afterall, here in Reiki Sanctuary, we have a lot of storage space. We wanted it that way since we hacked away the storeroom. What is pleasing to the eyes, when you see them stacked nicely, would bring comfort for the soul too. And then, the continuity or flow of good things just follow. Alamak, you got read my blog and understand it anot?
AF : What does clean or tidy is to you? Maybe you can start showing off by showing me around .. Hahaha.
Me : It is about comfort. It could be about organised comfort. When things are organised, it will be a reflection of the soul. Of the mind. Reiki Sanctuary is a home with soul. I am a soul. Therefore, it is about complimenting each other.
As we always want to take care of our appearance, and how it is important for whatever reasons we may give to it, a clean and tidy home should be treated that way too. Err, for goodness sake, it is A HOME and not a hotel where you use the bed and out the next day.
How important we take to shower everyday or to brush our teeth or to drink from a clean cup, everything in a house - the bed, the drawers, the cabinets, the computer should be treated with respect too. They are part of us. Part of the house. We just cannot neglect that responsibility.
Time to show off:
AF : I am sure you would be cleaning and tidying things up after I leave here?
Me : It shall be for my comfort. Yours had been served. Respect is to be given to anybody and everybody here in Reiki Sanctuary.
All things good must always be maintained. It is like breathing clean air. Constantly, it provides the basic essence to life. Why do we need to suffocate when there's abundance everywhere. One should never, and purposely, end the beauty of life.
AF : Are you not tired doing these chores over and over again?
Me : It is the comfort that I seek. When there is love, nothing else matters. Don't take it personal here - For me, it is about respect. The respect that I want to provide for all the people that come here - their souls. And the respect that I want to give myself too.
I guess, when we focus at the end result, what's in between does not matter. Infact, it just gives you the impetus for all things well. And, that is what I seek in life. Never to complain when the end result makes me feel good.
Yes, it can be tiring but I always take this chore as a form of exercise. Well, the word 'chore' is not even right to use here. It is a necessity. That when it is being done, all the muscles are engaged.
It is also a good meditative exercise. As I clean and tidy things up, it is also cleaning and tidying my thinking process. My emotional stability. My spiritual cleansing.
At the end of the day, it is a win-win situation. The house provides a comfortable ambience and my soul is happy. And all my guests can relax, and enjoy, within it, I hope.
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An excellent article to read and enjoy (may be action as well!!).
It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule. Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results.. Therefore, we have come t! o posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results. In other words: 1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants. 2. Stockholm has 500,000 people. 3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies NASA. The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late w! ill need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face. Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive t han Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%.. This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade. This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity
It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more
productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence. In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango! Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this "Globalized" world. |
I offer Reiki Distant Healing