This little cup sits near my kitchen sink. My daughter Ava made it when she was two years old. It holds paper clips, safety pins and other small knick-knacks.
Personal Success
Unbarred
Arizona Summer
Illuminate the room and observe the scene
shake your shoes out before you put them on
for his creepy form signals a torturous mien
he’s a venomous stinger, the scorpion
Stories We Tell Ourselves
“Stress is a gift. Stress is a gift because it lets you know you are attached to the story in the moment.”
Byron Katie
Self
“I am my own stress.”
Byron Katie
Divided We Fall…
Labels separate us.
I’m typically identified in my country and community as “Asian-American” because I’m 100% ethnically Korean (but I was born in Iowa). We have Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, and Native-Americans but rarely do we ever call white people European-Americans. What is the ramification of this?
Why not do away with these labels?
Who cares if someone is gay or straight? Religious or not? Conservative or Liberal? Poor or rich? Why not label everyone simply “human” and treat each other humanely?
A religious woman I know told me, “I love my gay son, but too bad he’s going to go to hell.” Labeling her son and categorizing him as a sinner effectively created an unnecessary distance and one I believe she could regret.
Labels are used to create differences. It’s time we emphasize how we are the same.
Here is an in-depth, research-based study on the effects of labeling people:
Why It’s Dangerous to Label People (Psychology Today).
Reading
I finished reading Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians. It was hard for me to get into because materialism does not interest me in the least and the story line itself was pretty “soap operatic.” But when I abandoned judgment, I found it to be pretty entertaining albeit predictable. It’s Kwan’s first novel which became an international bestseller. I am planning on seeing the film when it opens in August: an all-Asian cast!
Next on my reading list is the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. It’s really the antithesis of Crazy Rich Asians: a book that extols virtuous characteristics and behavior and rejects external rewards such as fame and wealth.
Turn Towards the Light
“A teacher of fear can’t bring peace on Earth. We have been trying to do it that way for thousands of years. The person who turns inner violence around, the person who finds peace inside and lives it, is the one who teaches what true peace is. We are waiting for just one teacher. You’re the one.” ~ Byron Katie
The Year of Copper
Today is our 21st wedding anniversary.
The other night, my husband, my mother and I, were in our swimming pool under a full moon.
William pointed at shining orbs in the inky sky. “That’s Jupiter and look..that’s Venus.” Mom stared and said, “I didn’t know that!”
He takes the telescope out, located the planets and asks her to come out of the pool to look at them. With some adjustments, she sees them. The full moon, especially, astounds her.
I wonder if she’s ever looked through a telescope before.
They marvel at the planets.
I marvel at them.
I’m working in his office just for the balance of summer. It’s kinda nice…
Quiet Hero
She shuffles to the register
her head, cocked slightly, shakes
The customer, in his sports gear, looks on
irritated, he tries to rush her with his eyes
But she’s unmoved – stiff, slow and careful
her quivering hand cradles his produce
she glides it over the scanner gracefully
he searches the ceiling for . . . . . . . . . . . . . mercy?
He jams his card in the chip reader
the receipt trembles in mid air
he grabs it from her, forcefully smirks
and mutters as he walks away
She doesn’t see this
because she’s smiling and nodding
at the next customer
her rebellious body complies unsteadily
for now
Kismet 