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From our newsletter (Vol9No4):
STRENGTH IN SPITE OF IT ALL
For many of us, this year is one that
is hard to forget. It makes me wonder why is it that we remember
tragic events more so than happy ones. For instance, I can remember
exactly where I was, and what I was doing on the day that President
Kennedy was shot dead. I was walking in the garden of the hotel
my parents owned in Ipoh, Malaysia. When Princess Diana died,
I was in a neighbour's house. When the World Trade Centre was
in flames, I was visiting someone in hospital and the TV happened
to be on at 8am on the morning of the 12th September. Just as
emotions cascaded over me, the one question that always comes
to me is: how do we go on in the face of monumental tragedies?
How did Rose Kennedy, mother of Jack and Robert Kennedy, go on
when not one but two sons were taken? Where does strength come
from? Where is the well from which human beings draw the energy
to go on living? And doing all the things that simply have to
be done: getting up, brushing our teeth, eating breakfast, starting
the car and ploughing through the traffic and somehow making
it to work each day - in spite of personal and global tragedies.
Often when I speak to people who have experienced tragedies,
I get the feeling that they draw their strength from some spiritual
source, be it Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Somewhere
in their answers, God named, or unnamed, lurks mysteriously in
some corner of their consciousness. To me, the comforting belief
here is that we are not alone, no matter what the tragedy is.
There is a God or Goddess, a force or universal consciousness
that a human being can resort to in the face of some of the most
unspeakable and painful experiences. Christmas brings this home
to us in a powerful way. Jesus was born on Christmas day. The
fact that there is a Christ and there is a God, will help many
Christians this Christmas as they are surrounded by fear and
grief of departed loved ones on the 11th September. Even if we
are not Christians, it is important to remember that the core
of Christ's message is love. And love is the universal language
for all the great spiritual belief systems. Love is also the
meaning for living. I really think that our inner strength comes
from our conviction that there will always be love amongst human
beings no matter how evil some acts are. In an immediate personal
way, for many, the thought that there is someone who loves them
and someone they love must be a constant source of strength.
Love in its most divine form gives strength and hope. This is
the truth about Christmas it is about people we love and
those who love us.
May divine love be yours this Christmas.
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year!
Zhu Nimen Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Happy Chinese New Year for 2002.
Chinese New Year is actually the Spring
harvest celebration. Considered to be the most important and
most celebrated of all Chinese festivals, the Chinese New Year
day is full of significance for all Chinese. It is not a religious
festival like Christmas but it shares similar meanings. Both
Chinese New Year and Christmas celebrate a new beginning, one,
the birth of the Son of God and the other, the birth of Spring
when all growing things flourish once after winter. Even human
beings are one year older according to the Chinese.
The year 2002 is the year of the Horse so don't let it run away
from you. All those great plans that have been delayed, this
year is the time to put them into operation. Quell the restless
yearning and do something with it. Find a spiritual path or put
that fitness program into action. Horse years are good for action
so do not delay.
According to Moni's Chinese horror scope, birthdays of
Horse people are:
11 Feb 1918 to 31 Jan 1919
30 Jan 1930 to 16 Feb 1931
15 Feb 1942 to 4 Feb 1943
3 Feb 1954 to 23 Jan 1955
21 Jan 1966 to 8 Feb 1967
7 Feb 1978 to 27 Jan 1979
Horses are fine, elegant and charming. Sharp, quick witted, and
intelligent, Horses are restless and quickly bored with activities
and people. They are constantly galloping away to seek new pastures
and adventures. Horses should find Monkeys interesting but they
are not compatible with each other. Monkeys find the Horse too
flighty and the Horse finds the Monkey's intellect too deep and
troublesome. Their own kind is also not suited to them as two
Horses will outrun each other and die from exhaustion. They get
along with Goats and Dogs and Tigers. Goats like to nibble away
on the hillside minding their own business so they let the Horse
do what s/he likes. Dogs are faithful. No matter how far or fast
the Horse runs, the latter comes back to find Doggie wagging
its tail on the front door step. The Tiger's quiet brilliance
or its big chi holds the Horse in awe.
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