Equalizing & Harmonizing

Perhaps this applies to particular groups only or those who have yet to undergo certain training. Some of us enjoy going karaoke, as we get to sing our hearts out and more so, to relax a little after work. We have a different way in singing and expressing ourselves, not to mention the differences in pitching and keys. Nevertheless, have we ever come across the time when we tend to change our key in order to ‘cope’ with the other friends who are singing along? Say, a friend starts off with a rather high-key and so the others follow, even though they would usually go for the lower-key. We equalize our pitching as the people around sing, sometimes. And similar cases do happen in our lives other than singing. How often do we tend to seek for opinions even when we already have something in mind on which decision to make? Yet, how often do we find ourselves even more confused and lost after hearing them out? At times we know what to do but not sure what the others would feel about it and so we ask, and when we do ask, we hesitate as we find our resolution to be slightly different from others, hence, the little change of plan; majority wins. Looking on the other side of singing, we have two or more individuals with different pitching come together as one and produce a great piece of music; in which usually known as, harmonizing. Putting such concept into real life situations; we can always take little information and experiences here and there, then compile them altogether for a better view on solving particular problems. Copy and paste is never a good way in making decisions because even though the problems may appear to be the same, doesn’t mean there’s only one way in fixing it. We may seek for opinions from the third party, with conditions; to clearly know our stand and not get all mixed up simply by listening to other voices. We take other perspectives into consideration, not changing ours just so to be the same; harmonize instead of equalizing.

潇洒

多少人诉说多少人因感情问题而导致自己情绪化，从而失落，觉得自己在世上已无人所疼惜。或许这不过是人生中的过程之一，然而也并非我们固定所要走的路。不能解决的问题本身就不是一道问题，也有问题无须我们伤透脑筋思索如何去解决，只需给它少许时间，问题也就自然而然的消失。不同的经历助我们于不同的领域或成长，随着脑部的发展，造就了我们的处事态度及人生观。学会放手和面对失去是必然，亦非一朝一夕所能达到的事项。得以控制情绪者并不同于失去情感，也不代表自己是一般的机械；足以潇洒放下并不意味着冷漠，只因它不过是减少痛楚的一步棋。“敢爱敢恨”，“拿得起，放得下”等词句何尝不是在告诉我们如何对自己好？不懂得珍惜我们的存在的人，相同的，我们也无需为他们付出过多的情感。失去是我们有朝一日必尝的痛苦，管它是精神粮食或寄托，当我们学会不过于依靠，或许，也是时候学习如何潇洒过生活了。艰难的使命不是不可能，而是在于自己本身的意志力。时间到了，不断的充电向前进吧！让我们一同潇洒积极面对人生。

Voices & Sounds

When we are emotionally down, nothing seems to be able to cheer us up anymore, does not matter how often we tell ourselves it is just a piece of cake or how often we say we have everything under control, including our emotions and thoughts. A friend once told it is close to impossible to lift up the spirit when we are down in the dumps, until we finally settle down and get over with our emotion flow. Voices in our heads take charge from time to time; when we’re choosing between two, when we’re left alone in the dark and even when we’re feeling depress over a great loss. And when that moment comes, comments from the third parties will more or less be ignored, because they don’t understand how we feel. Why? As simple as the fact that they are not who we are, or that they have not been through whatever we are going through. Comment comes in the forms of ideas, opinions and perspectives, but as to certain group of people, never it is entirely extracted from experiences, hence the ad hominen argument. A type of material fallacy it is, whereby an argument is replied by attacking that particular person’s characteristics or belief. Knowing a situation and understanding it are two different things, holding onto our stand and counter attacking are two distinct elements, listening and accepting opinions are definitely separated from each other. We know but it doesn’t mean we understand; we hold onto our belief but it doesn’t mean we counter attack any statements which are to be made; we listen but it doesn’t mean we accept the perspectives of third parties. Our original thoughts and strong will may not last us to the very end, as the sound in our heads rings and voices from our surroundings arises, putting us through confusion and doubts. Nevertheless, when we are to sit down and carefully select which belief we are to hold close to our hearts, in the meanwhile open up to many more voices outside, we may just find our way out of misery. “Science fiction leads science”, as quoted from psychology lecturer. Similarly, perspective leads humanity, depends on how we look at it. Faith may be fading off, but we can still get it back on, just like how we stand up once again after each fall. 

Possession Hierarchy

At times we notice how people do not like to have the same possession as many others, especially during certain occasions which may be the highlights of their lives; prom for instance. Preparation is crucial, as time is needed in hunting the unique outfit and so we wouldn’t bump into a different person who is wearing the same design as we are, hence the awkward moment. Personally have been through situations where a friend chose to order a different dish when he found out that the other friend was interested in the same dish as well, an acquaintance came complaining about some stranger wearing the same design as she was, though they are of different colours and another friend jokingly said, “How can he has the same car as mine?” Perhaps it is due to the reason that each and everyone of us wants and wishes to be unique, thus when there’s something in common in the form of dressing style or whatsoever between us and the third party, the built-in alarm automatically kicks in, telling us that we will soon be compared to a total stranger, in which we would usually say no to. Comparison is commonly practised during the interaction between individuals, and many find it essential in upgrading ourselves for the better, in which what we would call the competition in the current society. It is more or less like the hierarchy system, where by we would narrow down the listed items into few different categories judging from the general appearances to their particular functions; similarly, when the possessions are about the same, we would then further comparing their brand, price, place we purchased and the list goes on. Among university students, the tendency of comparing the number of assignments and word limitation is high and at highway, there are the people who modify their cars inside out as to show the difference. The thing is, unless we have our personal designers who will be in charged of our belongings and appearance from head to toe, not to mention they must have a total different concept towards life and who often think out of the box creating something new, otherwise, there will be the chances that we possess common items the others do.

Click

Some of us spend most of our time wondering where we belong, from society stand up to circle of friends involved. As we move from one section of life to another, we encounter various types of people, and as we try adapting to the new environments in which we caught ourselves in, we interact, communicate and bond with the individuals who we can barely recognize their faces. It is funny to see how the original group we're attached to in the first place turns out to be a different one at the very end of the day. Perhaps that is something similar to dipole moment in chemistry, where the temporary bond is formed between two as the opposite charges attract. For cases applying to human beings, such process continues even after we've established a perfect bonding with the parties around. There are different factors which are able to pull several individuals together as one and certainly, deviation does occur as the perspectives may vary; it might be due to the survival needs within a society, the curiosity and desires to understand each other better or perhaps, even the similarities and differences in various areas. Most of us would seek for the common interest as it plays a significant role in shortening the distance in between, some of us would take the chances in approaching an individual who is the total opposite of who we can be and at times we would just go with the flow, attach and detach ourselves from party to party according to the situation and the compatibility to click on. There is one interesting thought; the 'temporary forever' symptoms are shown when we get too attached to one particular group of people or even a person, as long as the time permits that is, and what do we do when it comes to a point in life where we must go on to a separate path? We move on, bringing only the ability to click with them again in the future as we reunite, hopefully.

长篇：开心记事簿

        将头发束起，他们带着背囊往山的另一头迈步前进。随着时间的流失，原先的一人旅途在路上与有缘相遇人士交流下，经已演变成今天的团体。一伙儿的目的地并非一致，然而却没改变他们结伴上路的念头，直至来到分道扬镳的路口，后分离。天下无不散之筵席，亦无不续之喜筵。唯有重逢，方能再续前缘；唯有谅解，方能放下心头包袱；唯有如此，方能继续向前迈进。

        人生中有数个十年，里头带有上万个抉择待他们取决，而每一个思绪、每一个决定皆能影响往后的日子。因而如此，途中更是路障重重，友情更得饱受考验，只因每一次的分离意味着无限期的再见。一路以来，他尝试学会珍惜；珍惜身边的陪伴，珍惜欢笑的瞬间，珍惜所有的一切，甚至乎把能让自己会心一笑的人事物记录下来，好让他日后慢慢回味幸福的滋味，即使那是不被常人看入眼里的小动作亦是如此。

        取自于他的小小开心记事簿：

        “她对我的了解超乎我的所知；在她说中自己心里一番话的刹那间，有股热量涌上心头，只差没将她拥入怀里感激她一路以来的支持与谅解。”

          朋友的定义因人而异，然而如此，每当有人能够叙说自己心中的那番话语，就足以取下肩上的重负，深觉世上果真有知己的存在，即使那人未能常期相伴，即使那人无时不忙于手头上的事物。只要在适当的时机说上适当的词句，一切难题都能迎刃而解；只要知道自己身边不乏支持者，再棘手的烦恼亦能被推翻；只因精神粮食的提神效力往往不输于普通的咖啡因。

          日常遭受忽视的援手在一人急需救助的时候将能发挥最大的效应，如簿中一载：

        “与友人有约，却临时无交通工具助自己行走。多亏身边的他不介意载送自己前往目的地，方能准时赴约。回头想想，他在身边担任听众一席已有一段日子，好比哥哥般照护，心中真是对他感到亏欠及感恩。”

          如教师所言，人总是活在自己的世界当中，任四周的人事物围绕着自己旋转，直至那么的一天与他们相碰擦出一定的火花，方知自己并非想象中的孤单，而那所谓的火花源至于不同的因素；上至友情，下至 一面之情，当中包括随缘的一臂之力。

          要一个人运用自己的常识以协助某人须有一定的无私，而此景更是难得。簿中有记一事：

        “看着他认真的神情助我改写程式上的排列，非但不介意我提出诸多要求，甚至乎忘食，让我感激不尽，带有歉意。当整个过程完工后，九个小时早已流水般消逝。”

          由知识转至常识，再由常识变至生活中的一部分，其中需要一定的能耐与坚持，因此所有的知识并不一致，每一个人也拥有不同的常识。当一人不限制使用自己的所知，在众人心中更是留下深刻印象，足以带走所谓的人情，种下不同的根，待不同的果。

          回神，他望向前方，一队人马早已停步，等待他回归队伍再继续他们的旅程。手搭在其中二人的肩膀，他连走带跳的将原先的思绪留下，笑盈盈的与同伴们出发走向未来，不时提醒自己珍惜每一个际遇、每一个微笑，好让怀中那本开心记事簿载有无数不同种类的幸福与喜悦。

Poem: Sound

Sound is of vibration,

creating musics, creating tones,

and little did we know,

it creates dreams and illusions,

where we explore and hunt for adventure,

as we fall and wake up from the sudden stroke.

Sound is of voices,

creating visions, creating goals.

And little did we find,

it creates confusion and insecurity,

where we go round and round the options given,

as we lose our heads and end up in the middle of nowhere.

Sound is of ideas,

creating individuals , creating perspectives,

and little did we see,

it creates disagreements and wars,

where we hold on to our stand and argue with dignity,

as we overcome dozens of obstacles and come to the ending point.

We dream, we confuse and we disagree,

as the voices in our heads ring,

but little did we realise,

it is all good to expect the best to come,

than to think of the worst case scenarios,

even when we are left alone by our own.

Taken over by illusions, insecurity and wars,

as the voices around us arise,

but little did we notice,

it is alright to have ourselves going through such stages,

than not experiencing anything at all,

and not know how a decision is made when an incident takes place.

When we can imagine tones of unbearable suffers and loss,

we can recall the sweet old memories rewarded to us by life.

When we are able to start a war between two,

we can put everything to rest without having to fight at all.

When we can open our ears to endless manipulating voices,

we can suppress the negative and unnecessary sound available to us.

Dreams as Excuses

Do you remember how we used to write about dreams back in primary school, starting from a very unusual day and incidents to the very common sentence which ends the ridiculous piece of essay saying “it was just a dream”? We are allowed to use our imagination to go wild, we’re asked to impress the marker by bringing them into our world and we have no limitations at all unless we forget to note that it was merely a dream. Even in the dream itself, some may have control over their own actions, making themselves fly high for instance, knocking down each and every single monster in sight as they know it is a dream, where they can even edit it as they wish, bringing in more people who they’re familiar with to join the forces. Some of us see dream as a place where stress does not exist, some find it too good to be true at times, some take it as a task which is soon to be achieved and some, simply see dream as dream. Nevertheless, we use dream as an excuse to a certain degree at times, for we know it is merely a dream that we take no responsibility over what is happening in there in our minds, hence the little take over and make things happen in the dream the way we wanted it to be, in which we find it less likely to take place in reality. In short, we are the kings in our heads, in our dreams, where we do as we like and make decision as we please. Remembering the time when my teacher brought up the topic on dream, saying we should never alter the essay title given, as many have written it in the form of dream instead of logical real life situation. Why? It is simply easier to conclude the essay.

Up in Air

Have you ever noticed how big difference between the handwriting on paper and on whiteboard is? Well, for those who are not in any professions which require them to write on vertical surface most of the time that is. As we were being trained to write at young age, we would always rest the side of our hand on the surface, for support purposes perhaps, for the sake of producing neater handwriting maybe, or probably, simple as making our lives easier. When it comes to a point in life where we are asked to write on vertical surface, we would somehow find it harder, as we’ve lost the support and hence, somehow, feeling insecure. Have you ever noticed how people tend to express their gratitude of being alive or after getting away from any unwanted injuries by kissing the ground the moment they got off from the car or plane? Over the past, Mother Earth Nature has somehow been transformed into a form of security in the hearts of many, for we’ve been living in her arms all this while, fulfilling our primary needs and explore the wonders as we wish. Down to Earth is an expression often used referring to those who are practical or humble, in this passage however, I wish to point out the fact that we are being tied down to Earth, depending on one’s personalities, that we seek for security most of the time, even the little acts are counted. Our heartbeat increases the moment we miss one step half way walking down the stairway, we rest the side of our hand on white board as we write and taken over by little paranoia when we find ourselves all alone, feeling being abandoned by the world that we care about most. The truth is, sometimes we really have to give everything a chance, even though it means we would be freaked out for our feet are not able to touch the ground, even though we would be left alone in certain situations which we have to face sooner or later and even though we are asked to put everything we’re familiar with aside before we’re able to take up the challenges ahead. There will be the time when we are supposed to be up in the air and not tied onto the ground, so why give away the opportunity which would give us a whole new perspecitve from a different angle when we can get hold of it and use it well?

Off The Pleasant Goes

When we receive something pleasant, we record it down along with the images in our conscious mind; which could be a gift, a word spoken or even an action carried out. We remember better if we relate one particular piece of information to a pleasant picture or even by creating an off-colour joke out of it as it is able to entertain us and make us laugh. We sing better when we put in our feelings and when we put ourselves into the situations as the lyric goes, where the little scenarios will be put on the screen inside our heads as though the history repeats itself again. Perhaps it is the happiness we’ve gained in the past which makes us not willing to let go whatever we are supposed to, perhaps it is the sincerity of the people around that we refuse to finish off the snacks which they got it for us as souvenirs or even a gift and perhaps it is just us not want to forget the little memorable events they’ve put us through and that we’resomebodyin someone’s heart after all. It is somehow ironic to see how we’re supposed to not pile up the titbits for a long period of time to the point it expires, hence losing everything we’ve wanted to keep all this while and yet, it happens; similar to how we manage our lives sometimes, which we tend to hold onto every single little happy moments we’ve had until the very day we’re supposed to let go so that it would ease our pain, and yet we don’t. Guess I should finish off the chocolates in my room and the ones in the kitchen which the old man brought home from Giant.

Happiness Over Anger

Most of us or maybe, some of us tend to have our happiness built on others’ sorrow and pain; even by seeing their angry faces, we may find it hilarious, at times. Movies with the little scenarios whereby the crucial body part of the male being kicked, with the audiences covering their mouths and the same organ as the character does, if there is any that is, as though they’re feeling the pain too, not forgetting the little giggling and laughter along the way. We have the funniest videos being uploaded to the web and put on the screen, which eventually attracts the attention of the crowd, hitting the targeted numbers of views, where the individuals will then nudge the people around and pass it on. It may be rude as we laugh, it might be inconsiderate as we imitate the same incidents which have already taken place and it would be taking more than just efforts to stop ourselves from hurting our stomachs due to over-exercising. Nevertheless, there would still be those who go up to a psychology student and say psychologists use what they’ve learned to earn a great deal of money by cheating the patients, and would simply get away from any further scolding with one simple sentence, “I’m just kidding.” It seems there’s a whole new definition on the word humor, a different way in creating a conversation between two or more; which is by teasing and criticizing, with the little insult and offend if necessary. Making the assumption that every one would see such jokes as jokes instead of offensive statements without considering the status and personalities of the listeners, the speakers thought they have everything under control when the fact is, they don’t. When they were being thrown the rotten tomatoes and eggs, then they realized how the meaning of one particular sentence actually differs from one individual to another. Still, there would be the people who tend to laugh at the angry faces and say, “You should really look into the mirror and see how funny your facial expression is.” It is frustrating when we’re telling them not to make assumption that one joke applies for all and the reply is, “I don’t make assumptions, I read signs.” Great, the sign on the angry faces is actually asking them to tell more insulting jokes, how smart.