Shssssh... someone is listening or watching you.

As I drive or walk along the streets I can help but noticed the ubiquitous cameras mounted on lamp posts, traffic lights and wherever there's a space for one to be installed. Should I feel safer that there are so many eyes watching my every move or should I shudder to think that nothing I do is private. Given the revelations in the news media about government agencies in the US and how they spy on their citizens every conversation and every move, I wonder why do we need to whisper anything that we don't want others to know when we are speaking to someone. After all it is a matter of time before Uncle Sam gets to know what was whispered. But one thought crossed my mischievous mind and that is what happens in the Catholic church confessional? What is someone put a listening bug in the box and gets to hear all the goings on which must make a good script for "TruTV" . 

We're getting older, on the other hand...

It's funny how we humans think... take for example how we fret when we feel that we are getting older. Yet we are so happy to look forward to our birthdays, to a New Year, to a Christmas and to the many appointments that we make in the following days, weeks and months. Many don't realise that if there is one thing that is certain from the time you are born into this world, it is the fact that the clock is ticking and you'll be getting older. For many getting older is associated with wisdom, growing up, adulthood, parenthood and even retirement. But what we don't look at is the fact that it also means you are that much nearer to expiry... or simply put, you are a step closer to the grave. I been to so many wakes and send-off ceremonies that I could easily play back the memories at these sorrowful events.

I have been planning trips to this and that place, planning to buy this and that thing some date in the future and when I paused to think, I thought how funny life is. I have gone this far and yet I am looking farther ahead assuming that everything else will remain the same. Not so, as our body will tell us. Suddenly that flight of stairs become a hill climb. Or that hop across the drain becomes a leap. Your legs just won't move or your joints aren't willing to hold on to your body.

Guess I won't be able to discuss this freely with my friends; many people understandably do not wish to look at the other side of life and they are just optimists by nature. I will be labelled as morbid if I talk about expiration of life. All Soul's Day is just slightly over a month away. The young ones will be gearing up for that Halloween party and the retailers will bare all their wares for those who need a new costume or one that is more frightening that the one worn last year. I laughed when I see them all dressed to look like ghouls and I thought indeed when their time comes, they may ask: Oh dear... how do I get out of this and wind back the clock?

 

The Spring Festival

After all the rush to clean up and stock up alas the Chinese New Year has come and you get all worn out after three days of celebrating, i.e. receiving relatives and visiting relatives, and feasting throughout. But it is important to remember that the festival is not about feasting and drinking; rather it is about catching up with relatives, finding out how they have fared through the past months and wishing each other all the blessings and well-wishes for the next 12 months. Indeed we ask ourselves why do we not keep in touch as often as we should, especially given that Singapore is only an island state and getting from one point to another at worse takes only an hour or so? It's all about the rat-race and the rat I feel is more energetic in urban Singapore than elsewhere. Another reason advanced by some is that familiarity breeds contempt and so it is better to keep a distance and enjoy the absence. The reality it seems among many families is that if they don't meet during the festive season, they may meet during weddings or funerals. While weddings may not occur as often, with a greying population, funerals seem to be the more frequent platform.

Sadly the erosion of cultural ties among some of us has seen many traditions eroded and everyone becomes so glued to their portable smart phones and their ipads that even when they are on that once a year visit, some just continued playing with their technological gadgets. I hope it won't come a time when visits are just done on Skype or Twitter. Perhaps and I hope I may be wrong.