Happy New Year!

Hope each of you will have a great 2007.

I was without internet access for a few days due to travelling during the Christmas holiday and the earthquake in Taiwan which disrupted internet services to Asia. I felt so disconnected with the world. That just shows how important the web is to me. As of now, internet services have been fully restored. Thank goodness.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061229/ts_afp/asiaquakeinternet_061229155301

Merry Christmas!

Measurement

Following from my previous post, a question arose as to why we must perceived to be answerable for our deeds in this world before we would do good deeds as opposed to bad ones.

I guess the easiest answer and first to come to mind is that it is human nature and we are humans after all. But there is another concept that come to my mind on further thoughts. Rewards and punishment form some sort of check and measure.

[I'll continue another day. Ideas are still conceptualising in my mind and not in identifiable language form yet.]

Heaven or myth?

Ten years ago, my sister who was working in another town called me and related to me the humiliation she suffered from a man whom she thought was interested in her. From what she told me he might have been baiting her to seek a revenge of sort. I was not sure exactly what happened but I understood from our conversation that he was leading her on to believe he loved her. When she approached him to seek a confirmation, he humiliated her by saying a lot of hurtful things. I knew she was deeply hurt as she was sobbing over the phone which was something she had never done before and never did again.

I remembered she asking me why some people never got punished for doing evil things and could continue enjoying life while she, a law and God abiding person, had to suffer so much in this world. She questioned if there was God. If there was, why did He not see all these?

I told her that those people would have to face judgement afer life and maybe burn in hell. She said that we did not even know whether there was a hell. I told her we would know when we die. She asked what if there was no hell after all? What if bad people never got punished in this world and we, good people, on the other hand, suffered in life tremendously and in the end, after we died, we found out there was no hell. In this case, we might as well do anything we liked, whether good or bad.

I asked her, “What if there is hell? Are you willing to take the risk?”

She was quiet for half a minute. When she spoke again, she was much calmer. We talked for a few more minutes and ended our conversation on a better note.

Life or Existence?

Life is an existence. Is existence life?

Existence is sustained by a number of incentives to live, such as health, comfort, money, love, luxuries and other lives around you.

Imagine if one by one these incentives are taken away from you, will your motivation to continue living also start to leave? Where is the line drawn and when will the ultimate straw erases this line?

(Not, I'm not suicidal. Just getting stuff off my chest.)

Chinese Opera Performer

www.pearlmagik.com