Prologue

My introduction to Luke Teoh’s current work was through advanced copies of the stories in his book. This is Luke’s seventh book and, just like his previous books, this one continues to reveal his thoughts on his philosophy of life primarily shaped through his life’s experiences. Once again, he has masterfully arranged his thoughts to words in a simple and almost poetic form, akin to Quatrains (as in Nostradamus) or the Sutras (as in Vedas). One can almost see, hear, smell, and feel the events and situations Luke recounts in this book. This older Luke is just like the younger Luke I knew almost 40 years ago, imaginative, unpretentious, and self-deprecating. His tell is like “as I see it” honesty which makes the material accessible and relatable to the stories and his thinking behind those stories.

Reading Luke’s work brings me memories of our friendship and times together, as I am familiar with many of the persons and places recounted in his book. His kind and caring nature and love of people comes through many of the stories in the book. He has bared his chest to all things good and bad. He shows courage and confidence in the raw statements of himself, the situation he found himself in, and his care and concern for his friends, people, and Country. His stories have a dramatic quality to them, flowing back and forth like the Chinese Opera covering all genres and beats. His stories make us reflect about ourselves, our past and present; about things we care about, we long for, and we fret about. It is easy to see that Luke’s books, indeed, are “Awakenings of the [his] Heart”. Luke uses his books to learn, to teach, to reflect, and to heal. I have to differ when Luke says he has not achieved much. He is just being humble here. He has achieved much more and ought to be proud of himself for sharing wisdom with others, and giving himself to others through services. Luke is like many millions of others who have given their services to others and their country without the print and visual medium to register it.

This book is an easy read, comes from the author’s heart, and touches each one of us for having experienced similar situations. In this little book one will find nuggets of wisdom from the stories told and from the quotes at the end of each article that Luke had hand-picked to make the point reflected in the story. For example, in the article “One might be killed at home” he quotes Vernon Law, “Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward”; and in the article, “Did I know anything”, he cites Eric Hoffer, who had stated “Far more crucial than what we know, or do not know, is what we do not want to know”.
You too should speak from the heart to yourself, to your loved ones, to your trusted friends, and, if you feel like it, through writing like Luke has done to awaken other hearts and minds, for it truly is, as Luke says “Cathartic”.

Ramasamy Manikam, PhD.

American Health and Wellness Institute

Clinical Professor, University of Kentucky School of Medicine and Hospital

Investigator and Court Monitor, Department of Justice, United States of America

Past Director of Clinical Programs - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Hospital