Do You Believe in Religion?

I named this post 'Do You Believe in Religion?' as opposed to 'Do you believe in God/Afterlife/Human soul?' due to the fact that religion is the only close-to-spiritual thing we can believe in.

We cannot believe in God, nor can we dispel the notion that God exists. Hence, we cannot choose whether to trust the existence of a divine power. That would be the equivalent of assuming a random house on the street owns a TV. Sure, you have one, so do your grandparents, and your aunts and uncles, your brothers and sisters. But you'll never know the truth, until you walk through that door and look around.

So, my main question is, do you believe in religion? Not faith, as faith stems from belief, which I am trying to uncover in you upon your religion. But religion.

Do you have faith in your religion?

And if so, WHY?

This is probably gonna label me an atheist, but I just have to get this off my chest. Religion is man-made. Religious books, paraphernalia, statuettes, ceremonies, chants. All of these 'holy' stuff were shaped by the hands on men. Of men like you and me. Living breathing men.

What makes these... I dunno how to put it... trends, maybe? become so inculcated with religious fervor, that tens of millions of people hang on to every move, every word, every item? Doesn't that holy statue you just worshipped have the same status as the laptop I'm using, or the pen I just wrote with. They share a common theme. They were all made BY MEN, FOR MEN.

Religion obviously teaches a person to do good. The ten commandments is an example. However, is that it? A moral class?

Is religion nothing but an awful old wives tale meant to scare little kids, or in this case, whole societies, to be good? Hell, Satan, sins, redemption. Why? A merit system, more the like.

Sigh... suffice to say, I'm not a very religious person. I don't go to church, I don't say grace, I like Christmas because it's a holiday.

A friend of mine once asked me which division I am when i told him I am a Christian. I thought he was asking me where was my church located, so I answered "Probably SS2. I don't go there often". To him now, I'm probably a Satanist.

Haha, just exaggerating.

But yeah. Those are my views on religion, and if you don't agree, that's fine. To me, religion lies within yourself. And if you can make peace with who your are, and find your inner strength, then that should be your religion. As they say, your body is a temple.

Now, how about a little spa and massage for my temple?

There's Always Gonna Be Another Mountain...

To tell the truth, I have no idea how I feel.

It's funny, since I've been in a sombre mood ever since the performance. Am I disappointed? Maybe. Embarrassed? Probably. Sad? I don't see why not.

I feel partly responsible for our team losing, because I danced out of the box and crossed the tape line. Maybe that was why the judges axed some of our marks. Then I kinda forgot the routine and went blank for awhile, and forgot to kneel during the 'hand part' ( I dunno how to describe that genre of dance, haha).

Furthermore, I was shaking and sweating like MAD! ALL THE PRESSURE!! ARGHH!!!!

However, I should give credit to the people that work so hard to make all of this happen. All my group members, Lisa, Wei Guang, Tracy, Siew Theng ( I dunno whether it's spelled right....), Amy, Wei Jian and Julia (although she didn't dance because of a dislocated shoulder) put a lot into the routine, spent so much time and effort and passion to make it a success, it's hard not to feel proud of their accomplishment.

We did not win. Not even close. But it's not really our fault too.

I'm not trying to make excuses, but we had limited practice, since we only started choreographing everything two weeks ago, so it was kinda like a 'rushed project'.

And really, we are a fresh team. The other teams have probably been working together for months, even years. To get where we are now is a real accomplishment.

The funny thing is, everyone is good at something, and I mean REALLY GOOD. Siew Theng and Amy can dance very very gracefully, with power and poise. Thumbs up to them.

Wei Jian can... I dunno... 'swing' nunchuks? Do you swing them? I have no idea... Maybe you fling them... haha. But that's a rare talent you see nowadays. Not many people can do that, but he can. KUDOS TO HIM TOO!

Lisa is a very good hip-hop dancer. The way she moves and position her body is top-notch, and her choreography is conceptualised with a modern twist. She can bring out her dances very well.

Wei Guang is great at dancing too, but in a different way. More of a popping-locking bboy kinda style. And he can come up with very cool moves in a short period of time. TALENTED!

Tracy is great at posing, and she picks up the routines quite fast ( compared to me... like a damn hippo...). And she has a really nice Adidas jacket!

All in all, I think we make a great team. Obviously I'm not good in anything. But hey, this is my first time choreographing a dance PLUS performing in front of an audience. Gimme a break! Hehehe ( Actually quite proud of myself for doing this. Luckily I did not pass out of fright!)

Anyway, if they had given us another week, we'll blow your socks off.

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

IMU, just you wait and see.

So diappointed...

I admit I'm not a dancer.

Never in my life have I attempted to prance or twirl as much as I did in the past one week. My thighs hurt soooo bad I can barely walk down the stairs.

Yet after so much hard work, my dancing doesn't seem to be getting any better. I reviewed my dance just now, and it totally sucks!!!

Hours and hours of working myself to the bone... AND IT STILL SUCKS!!!!!!!!

OMG.... can someone just kill me...

Where Do We All Go From Here?

I've always had a soft spot for the song 'Graduation' by Vitamin C. Everytime I listen to it, it just brings back memories of my undredged childhood. Reminiscing about the time that passed me by, how those experiences are what they are, just memories in the deluge of my past.

Sometimes I look around at my friends, and I wonder. Where will we be 10 years from now?

Will we still be friends?

Will we still laugh at the same jokes, eat at the same table, share the same secrets?

Can we?

The experience of life lies within the unknown, but it is so hard to comprehend that all you hold dear to you now, may cease to exist within the blink of an eye.

Perpetualilty embeds itself in those that resist change, and with it trails the footsteps of their demise.

At times, I have to resist the urge to tell everyone around me how much I love them, because nothing is everlasting. Eventually, we will lead our own lives and follow our own paths. Our destinies may not entwine together, yet our journey significantly crosses roads.

Companions at a certain point, till death or sickness robs us of our ability to recollect, we are conjoined by the truth of time we spent together.

Most of us live in the future, or dwell within the past. How many are able to exist in the moment, the present, and cherish all that is around you.

Maybe in the next 10 years, we will be all over the world. We won't recognise each other as we pass each other by on the street. Maybe our jokes won't be funny, out lives uneventful, our problems so choking it seems to rob us of any social semblance.

Maybe, we won't be friends.

However the end may be, the present will still always exist. So as we continue on this personal journey we share with many others, just take some time off to stop thinking about your destination or the path you just followed. Take some time to look around, and stare into the eyes of those holding your hand when you stumble.

Nothing in this world ever lasts. So live it and appreciate it for what it is today.

Sigh... It's inevitable that this blog is turning into a darker shade of gloom with every post. Compared to my previous blog(s), this one has to top the list for being the least cheerful and most sincere.

I'm a very funny person. Not funny as in haha-laugh out loud 'funny', but 'funny' as in weird, unpredictable, castoff 'funny'. I don't know, maybe it's my genes. Maybe I take after my mom.

Anyway... Sometimes I feel life doesn't work out the way I expect it to be, which is fine! I get it. Life is unfair, life is a challenge waiting to be unearthed, life progresses within the expectant and dies within the faithless.

Disenchanted. Yes, that's the word! It's okay to not have everything in life, to not succeed in everything you do. But to this extent?!

Whatever. I'm fed up anyway.

Lemme tell you something. I'm just as good as the next person. I have a pair of arms, a pair of legs, a pair of eyes and perfectly good hands. I can do anything you can do. Maybe even better!

You are obviously under no qualification to determine what I should or should NOT be doing. Hell, wasting manpower is the worst waste of resources EVER!

Leaders do NOT allow useful hands to go to waste. Leaders do NOT expend the time of others while leaving them in the dark in spite of their duty. Leaders do NOT, and I repeat, do NOT!! delegate nothing to people that can obviously contribute much.

I know I'm not perfect, nor am I preaching so. All I'm asking is, put me to a task, and let me accomplish it. Don't pull the mat out from under me. It's unfair and a total waste of time and energy.

Gosh.

Heh. I've been getting quite comfortable writing stuff on my blog, since no one ever looks at it anyway, and it's a chance for me to practice jotting down my thoughts (which are all OVER the place recently).

Today, I'm going to talk about life.

For decades upon millenia, religion has been classifying life as a sacred vessel set upon the forces of divinity that exists solely to serve a higher purpose, or God, for that matter. Religion believes in souls, redemption and ultimately eternal existance. Which means, as people die, their essence is channeled to a vortex of mortal worship where they simply exist, and 'be'. Obviously, no accurate personal experiences of this netherregion has ever been accepted, albeit many have been reported.

Why is that so?

This brings us back to science. Science decodes life as "The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism." In layman's terms, if you move, you live.

Now, I'm not a biologist with fancy titles and glossy certificates hung over my wall. But I can tell you this. WE ARE NOT SPECIAL.

Everytime I google 'meaning of life', I get links to philosophical sites claiming and/or guiding and/or dismissing the minute arbitraries of life. What is our purpose on this earth? Is there a God? Why are we here?

Our brain is a very powerful organ, to describe it lightly. Launching nuclear warheads, commiting acts of detestable violence, decimating an entire planet into near smithereens just through consumer consumption... our brains? Been there, done that. The human brain itself is capable of creating dastardly brilliant devices, fit for the continual survival of its host's body. Invent a global system of interconnected computer networks that allow rapid (in milliseconds) transfer of information across two opposite poles of the planet? Check. An explosive device with the ability to exterminate 70% of the world's population if launched simultaneously, that obtains its destructive properties from the fission or fusion of minute atoms? Check. What else? Pollution? Check. Global warming? Check too.

You see?

We are not special. There is nothing enlightening about the human race. We weren't a breakthrough in the Creation of Earth.

We are just a quirk in the evolutionary line. While whales got enlarged hearts and lungs, elephants have gigantic front teeth, us humans obtained an engorged cranial organ.

Does this warrant us interspecies bigots to channel the aura of the priviledged? Who are we to decimate the simplicity of life, with narcissistic tendencies. If we have souls, so do the thousands of lives we each take away everyday. The ant you stepped on, the chicken you just ate, the weed you just poisoned.

So think about it. Are we any different from the other lifeforms on this planet? Do we necessarily have a pupose in life? Bottom line, we think of ourselves too highly. Oftentimes slogans such as " Only we (meaning humans) have the power to save the earth/ monkeys/ donkeys/ whatever species require saving/ corporate giants" subliminally appear in the various media forms.

Perhaps we should start saving the world from ourselves.

What a horrible week!

Today during physiology class, we learnt about the female reproductive system, with its follicles and luteums in all its glory.

I'm sorry to say this, but am I glad I'm a guy!

I can't stand to have bodily fluids of assorted colours, clarity and VISCOSITY (OMG!!!!) coming out of me every month. I'm not masochistic. I just have a weak stomach.

Now, obviously menstruation follows a monthly cycle of... I dunno... 28 days? (Although if you think about it, you'll come short at the end of the year and have an extra cycle to boot! ARGH, DAMMIT!) And during this time, women will experience various cravings, mood swings and, if I may say so myself, preference.

But that is not the point.

The point I am trying to come to is the PMS, or pre-menstrual symptom that some (and I say that VERY LIGHTLY... IF NOT 'ALL') women experience. Oh, you'll know it when they come to. All the bitching, and/or flirting, sudden exhiliration and then deep depression. Rudeness, being obnoxious, less regard for people's feelings, feminism... THE LIST GOES ON!

My point is, guys do have that too. Again, I apologize, but yes, guys do experience some PMSyndrome, although in their case it's not 'PRE-MENSTRUAL' exactly, more like a mood swing, since men don't menstruate (that would be silly), but can be characterized in a somewhat similar fashion. You get my drift.

Which leads us back to where this post is going to.

I HAD A FREAKIN' PMSing, POST MENOPAUSAL, HOT FLASH + NIGHT CHILLS WEEK!

Maybe it's hormones, maybe my bipolar disorder is acting up again. Basically I felt rotten, absolutely ROTTEN, I tell ya!

For the past five days, I have been trudging in to classes, so drained of life, feeling lethargic and anaemic (just a metaphor). Sometimes being quite rude to my friends, having no interest in lessons AT ALL, and just feeling sooooo tired.

I dunno. Maybe it's just a bad week. Or maybe.... a huge comet that would obliterate the entire human race is heading straight to earth, emitting radioactive frequencies so devastating all satellites are knocked out and oblivious to its presence. Only my highly tuned extra seventh sensory organ is sensitive enough to pick up the coment's vibes, and interpret the impending doom of Man.

But I beg to differ.