Untitled.

WHO are we?

My position in the face of this question, is that our identity, as an immediate response to who, is defined ironically not by a name, but rather, by a set of behaviours that we as individuals display and manifest.

But before we tackle the question of 'who', I believe we must first answer the question of 'WHAT are we?'. What we are, are simply people, a collection of individuals.

As individuals, we are first recognized by our names, words that are intimately connected to our identity, words that somehow bring to mind the second thing, our traits. Secondly, we are then identified through our physical traits, our skin colour, our height, our face and etcetera. Thirdly, we then known by our actions, our behaviours and our personalities. These are things that a result of an investment in time, time spent growing up and experiencing life and they are only observed in time, by others around us. So there is a binding characteristic, that is it involves an investment of time, and dichotomously, the self. These are the ways that we are identified as individuals in the real world, in the physical world.

However, what we must consider is the fact that due to advances in technology and the sheer ubiquity of social media and technology brought about by the 'intelligent island initiative' - which aims that I quote as written by Alwyn Lim  "in about 15 years, virtually every home, office, school and factory will be interconnected through computers", we now have a separate reality, the virtual reality where it houses our digital self or virtual identity.

As Dr Connor had written in his paper, 'Introduction to the Special Issue on the Death, Afterlife and Immortality of Bodies and Data', there is a digital self or virtual identity that is 'a kind of metaphor for the physical body'.What this means is that the digital self is a reflection of the physical self. But this does not necessarily abide by the series of recognition process that we have for our physical self. In virtual reality, we can have whatever name we can think of, and our physical traits can be as however we want it, as similar OR as different from our physical self. Remember how upon his death or toading, Mr Bungle the cyberspace rapist had returned as Dr Jest. This is an example of how the significance of names are diminished (not entirely gone) in virtual reality as it is not necessarily permanent or as strongly bound to you as an individual. Thus, what remains is the last form of identification; that is our actions, behaviours and personalities that we have as individuals, which for MOST cases, are transferred to our digital selves and manifest as how we carry ourselves in virtual reality.

Alas, there are always exceptions with 'who', and it comes in the form of the freedom of expression that is afforded by the access to virtual reality. Some people are simply not to who they seem to be on virtual reality, merely because they can. And sometimes because they just want to fool around.

Just as how the title of my position statement 'Untitled' held little significance, only upon discovering the contents do you recognize it for its virtues.

Thank you.

Sugar

I have always prided myself in having a good memory,

the ability to recall accurately, quickly and at will.

As I experience life and my memory is constantly used,
I unconsciously remember sporadic details of conversations, places and things.

The memories that I bear, so many in my mind,
each attached with an emotion, a sensation, an event, a conversation and a person.

What ever shall I do with so many memories,
so many emotions, sentiments, opinions and thoughts?

I take each of them, every piece attached to them,
wrap them up nicely, write a sweet note and let it fly in my mind.

And as such, they exist freely in my mind as birds,
at times, they land and feed me their contents, and I remember.

They let me taste so vividly their contents,
of lives led, of emotions felt, of thoughts thought.

And then they fly away, to return another time.

Full

We know for ourselves where our flaws lie, 

Where we fall deep into the trenches of failure,

I aspire to be like a circle,

full and complete, perfect.

It will take years, definitely,

years upon years, for sure,

years to prepare and clean,

years to learn and relearn,

years to practice and perfect,

years to wander and wonder,

Solace

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,

2:155

Sometimes the chill of the wind gets to me, a simple breeze becoming a cold touch to the bone. 

Sometimes the sound of silence pierces the air, empty space becoming suffocatingly thick.

Sometimes the murmuring of throngs of people distort, becoming an incessant and pervasive background noise.

Sensations swarm my being.

Then I remember the bright sun that is ever-present; shining in the sky, or above and behind the clouds.

Then I remember the peace that is inevitably a part of silence, peace laying calmly, for those who seek it.

Then I remember the liveliness and blessing of having people around, their presence a mild anaesthetic.

________________

All I had to do was look for it.

And it will unfailingly* be there, 

the better side of things.

All I have to do is be patient, Yes.

unfailingly

  

un·fail·ing

  [uhn-fey-ling]  Show IPA

adjective

1.

not failing; not giving way; not falling short of expectation; 

Music and Art

If I could paint my thoughts,
visualize them into shapes and colours,
it would be a whirlwind of ribbons and shreds,
an elegant weave of streams and sharp turns,
a splash of colours - dark and alive,
something to behold.

And thus we see,

the lapping of the waves,

the push and pull between the two,

the pendulous dichotomy,

of heart and mind.

If I could articulate my heart,

now, that is a different story entirely.

A constant thrum, of beats and rhythms.

It is speckled with change, expected,

but the tune, it never changes.

Winding

When the force of water in a river is insufficient to mould the land according to the intended direction of the water, the water is forced, no, the water simply changes its path, and moves on in its intended direction, forward.

This causes the meandering characteristic of a river.

A river faces obstruction, inconsistencies in its path that it does not agree with, and as a result, it changes direction, and then, it will face even more, and so this process repeats itself, and all this why, the river is simply intending to go upon the straight path.

.... .. .. .. ... . . . . . .. .. . . ... . ... . . .. .. .. . . .. .. . . . .. . .. 

Sounds familiar doesn't it?

In our lives, we have an intended direction, we move towards a goal, we work towards it.

We carry along with us the lives of others, our burdens and theirs, sediments in our lives.

Some, we deposit them along the way, for others, they stay with us, following along.

Now and then, we face obstacles that seem insurmountable and it forces us to reconsider our path.

We are only human, and sometimes, some things are just beyond us, it is perfectly human.

However, we must always remember our original destination, and revert back it, unforgettable.

. . . .. . .. . .. .. . . . ... .. . . .. . ... ... ... . . .. .. ... . ...

Sometimes, 

I tire of the whims of others, and wish I can simply be a lone.

Potent

Peace.

That is all I am seeking right now.

Peace with the world, Peace with the people around me, Peace with the choices I have made,
Peace with how the choices have resulted, Peace with where I am in life, and Peace with Him.

I realize that unhappiness, or simply negative emotions, are tied to our disagreement with current circumstances. When someone disagrees with you, or scolds you for your actions, you get angry, when things do not go your way or something unexpectedly bad happens, you get sad, and when someone fails you, or you fail yourself, you get disappointed. Notice the trend?

So,

I have been trying to accept my predicaments as they come. Sure, things may not come in my favour, but who am I to change what is already given? All we can do is change our attitude towards it. Easier said than done, honestly.

My results aren't that spectacular, people including myself are disappointed. Stare at it hard, examine and dissect, accept and move on. That is all I can do.

Things are not happening as I wanted them to, that is Life, what is done is done, swallow hard and move on.

What I mean when I say to make Peace with the various external forces in play in one's life, is to accept, not to repel their very existence. Its okay to feel sad, angry or disappointed, but the most important thing is to realize that everything, everything has a reason, and that is reason lies in you. Accept.

All I ask is for the strength to accept, and make Peace with the world.