The rules of flying.

A good friend of mine, also in the midst of changing her life, had an interesting response to my question on whether she was planning to follow in the footsteps of Dan Pitera.

"...well, need moolah for the time being, remember the rules for flying, oxygen mask for self before you can put on for others rights" (sorry girl wanted to record this down in case facebook crashes ;-p)

Then i thought hard....

The oxygen ain't moolah, its who we were born as, already are and have become- the lucky ones. so for me there's no better time to start than yesterday.

I think it's a supply market now. to sustain themselves and their growth in free market economics suppliers are making society unfairly and falsely demand more and more from us. those who can meet these demands get trapped by more. those who can't get ruined. the manipulators milk it, and milk the futures now.

the price of producing one barrel of oil from a 50-year old saudi rig not reaching peak-oil yet should be cheaper, not 4 times the price. the demand for oil now is not greater than when the US went ballistic industrializing into an economy still 10 times bigger than China is today (just making a point, not sure of the numbers, but there's still a vast difference). The house that my father bought in Jalan Maju for 85K in 1980 does not cost 300K to build now.

So we can continue trying to find moolah to pay for all these crap. Or we can start giving regardless. With what we already are as the luckier ones it won't be hard to survive happily. If enough of us do it, demand might just fall. suppliers might just find that shit these fishes aren't biting. bankers might find that all those oil futures they bought can't go up thru fear tactics anymore. In the end, char kuey teows might become rm1.50 again.

and your conscience is all you, can take to your grave. my 2 cents worth. ;-p

and i keep going...

to give as a living, earn as a hobby.

Recently read this book. Its by the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. its written in an honest voice, and speaks of the shift in influence to the East. Its not just a fleeting thought like most of us have when we look at the world today - arguments are well backed up. The overall feeling I get when reading this is that Asia will be both the counterbalance, and the missing piece, needed to drive doing good to the next level. We need to harvest this opportunity. I'm applying to the school... it has what i believe the best value-for-money, a good network, an inspirational faculty, and that east-west fusion. Hope they take me in.

Met up with my brother Dr. Lawrence in Beijing. We managed to talk through a long (and disappointing) Champions League final. One of the things he mentioned was the concept of Grace.
Its a powerful deed that expects nothing in return. But what's more powerful is the unconditional appreciation felt by the recipient of such Grace, and how infectious and empowering it can be. We need to spread grace, there's no doubt about it. We need to give as a living, and earn as a hobby. Through his stories I truly appreciate how things come back to you once you stick through the initial pain... sitting at a table where our old classmates have risen through the ranks, having to give up what you want and struggle to get what u need, getting jaded playing an insignificant role against a tide of barriers... Things came back to him in ways we describe as coincidental... that beautiful meal he got in kunming, that free stay in a hotel, important partnerships, subtle grooming lessons etc... These are no coincidences. They are signs to tell my brother that what he's doing is right. Every one of us is capable of living our own gift economy. And so i keep going.......