The Makings of a Writer

I've always found it extremely difficult to put words on paper with my biro, but whenever I sit in front of a computer, I've found it rather easy to spin stories of my daily life, with my fingers doing all the talking. They seem to fly on the keyboard with not much effort as I twirl and spin stories into Cyberspace.

I write to no one in particular but mainly to myself. I use the figment of my imagination and creative licence to colour the nothingness of my simple life. I thank the Lord for this simple gift to enjoy life with my writings.

ltbs

All writing comes by the grace of God.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Salving of a Solitary Soul

Often slighted and snubbed
I've found solace in being alone,
In the comfort zone of home
Reading, writing or doing nothing at all
And  enjoy a simple, stress-free life.

I'd rather write into Cyberspace,
To no one in particular but to myself
Allowing my imagination to take hold,
Spinning stories of my simple life
Salving my solitary, restless soul.

ltbs

I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.
But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Home is the Best

I had the chance to live in Tokyo, years ago, after I was offered the position of manager of music publishing in SE Asia and the Far East, by a multinational British publisher who wanted to start music publishing in those areas. The publisher was very keen to employ me as I was highly recommended by several people in the publishing industry. I was the only job applicant with both publishing experience and music qualification, too. Both my publishing experience and music qualification were quite basic, though. The other applicants had, either, publishing experience but no music qualification or had music qualification but no publishing experience. They arranged the interview in London while I was on holiday in the UK and then accepted me.

However, the job required relocation either to Singapore or to Tokyo. I was rather keen on Tokyo but not Singapore.

I came home and mull over the job offer. Would you believe it that I rejected it although the job was highly lucrative with a lot of perks for me and the family?  Was I crazy not to accept the job offer?

Well, my children were very young then. The youngest of the three was still an infant. I had discovered the joy and happiness of being with my children all the time after I was retrenched. So I refused the job offer. I opted to be a stay-at-home-Dad with the agreement of my wife. She was financially strong enough to support us. 

Coming to Tokyo on holiday, years later, I felt I had made the right decision in not accepting that very highly-paying job. I had no regrets whatsoever after I saw Japanese commuters, on the trains, on the way to work. Nearly every one of them looked terribly exhausted in the morning. They were either slouching on the seats or in deep sleep. Had I taken on that very lucrative job offer I would have been one of those sleep-deprived commuters, too. The stress of the job would have either killed me or driven me crazy!

ltbs 

We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

An Angler No More

I used to love fishing. I would travel all over my country to fish. I have fished in the irrigation canals of kampung rice fields, in the ditches of rubber smallholdings, in fish ponds, in large lakes, in disused mining pools or in the sea. I have done deep-sea fishing, too, travelling on simple fishing boats but not on yachts. I have never taken my family on any fishing outings.

However, I took my wife, my son and two daughters to a golf resort which had old mining pools, for fishing some years ago. We stayed in a chalet which was built over water at the edge of an old mining pool. My children used bread as bait while I used live small fish as bait.

My son managed to hook a huge carp while I caught nothing, so in the evening I put out a lot of lines by the edge of the mining pool and from the chalet. Every line had a small fish hooked on its back and hung circling on the surface of the water to attract large predator fish.

I read a book while eagerly waiting to hear the splash of water should a snake-head or other large fish attack the live bait. I waited for quite a while but heard nothing. I only heard my wife and my children telling me that I was being cruel to the small fish. They kept harping on it non-stop and asking me to release them.

Finally, I realized that I was actually being rather cruel so I took in the lines; unhooked the small fish and released them into the water. That was the day that I became imbued with ahimsa  -  the principle of non-injury to living things. I gave up fishing totally from that day onwards.

ltbs

Speak to his heart, and the man becomes suddenly virtuous.
Ralph Waldo Emerson