Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Advice.Apparently.Nothing
After going down to Marian South Park for a recce (basically planning) today for my scouts' charity walkaton, i saw the below chinese looking cruise boat going down the Kallang river... and it reminded me of a story i read before.
两位衣衫褴楼的男子坐在码头边，看着豪华游艇从眼前航行而过。
“你知道吗？”其中一位说，“我之所以在这边而不是在那游艇上的原因是，我从不听任何人给我的任何忠告。”
“这倒是有趣，”另一位说，“我之所以在这边而不是在那游艇上的原因则是， 我总是听取每个人给我的所有忠告。”
A Story.. Click to enlarge
It's interesting how anything and almost everything in this world can be a double edged sword. too much of a good thing can end up being a bad thing (kids, don't eat too much vitamins, and don't study so hard that you neglect other aspects of life).
Even advice. the double edged sword. it almost ties in with trust. like, how much can you trust someone to listen fully to his advice? An archer (identity protected) once told me "I trust XXX, whatever he say or advice, I just follow and do. no questions".
i never forgot that line. it filled me with so much cynicism that i had to keep quiet, in fear that my tactlessness got the better of me.
to what degree of blindness will you follow advice? not knowing if it will lead you to the kingdom of heaven (apt since i watched it today as well haha), or the valleys of hell? hello! YOU have a brain, please process the advice first. why do you place so much faith in another human? who's imperfect, just like you. and me. and all of us.
but yet, never reject advice. it is so often said that the one who disliked being advised the most, often is the one who needs it the most. don't be stubborn and be all high and mighty. don't let your ego take charge of you. sometimes we just need another thinking head, even if it's from someone you deem lesser than you.
Take home lesson:
永远记取忠告，但未必需要时时奉行。
~~~~~
Everything seems so elusive, you start to wonder what's real and what's not. what's good and what's bad.
i took the below photo at Marina South Park too. go figure. which half of the photo is the real scenery and which is the reflection. rotate it if you must! it could be easy, perhaps, but yet it underlies how easily our eyes can trick us. AND despite my love for photoshop, there is nothing edited here, save for the words.
Apparently Nothing.. Click to enlarge
which brings me to the word "apparent". yes, i've been thinking hard. haha (yeah, so typical). that word. what does it actually mean?
on one hand, it means "obvious" and yet, on the other, it could as easily mean "as opposed to real". one word, with almost two distinct different meanings. english has gone mad!
and life. presented with so many options, choices, advices and images. which is real? which is good? nothing seems apparent. or should i say, everything seems apparent.
i'm not really sure how to carry on from here, my head flooded with so many many threads of thoughts, so numerous that i'm unable to pen them down. there's just so many things to discuss of reflections. its blurness, its lacking of the definite solid shape that its original image possess, its mystical properties. how it can show you who you are, and yet how it can distort reality. how you can waste your life away fishing for that moon in the lake. how it could relate to life.
P.S. well, for the curious, the answer is.. the half with "apparently nothing" is the reflection on the lake, while the half with "apparent" is the actual objects. yeah, i'm sure you got that anyway.
两位衣衫褴楼的男子坐在码头边，看着豪华游艇从眼前航行而过。
“你知道吗？”其中一位说，“我之所以在这边而不是在那游艇上的原因是，我从不听任何人给我的任何忠告。”
“这倒是有趣，”另一位说，“我之所以在这边而不是在那游艇上的原因则是， 我总是听取每个人给我的所有忠告。”
A Story.. Click to enlarge
It's interesting how anything and almost everything in this world can be a double edged sword. too much of a good thing can end up being a bad thing (kids, don't eat too much vitamins, and don't study so hard that you neglect other aspects of life).
Even advice. the double edged sword. it almost ties in with trust. like, how much can you trust someone to listen fully to his advice? An archer (identity protected) once told me "I trust XXX, whatever he say or advice, I just follow and do. no questions".
i never forgot that line. it filled me with so much cynicism that i had to keep quiet, in fear that my tactlessness got the better of me.
to what degree of blindness will you follow advice? not knowing if it will lead you to the kingdom of heaven (apt since i watched it today as well haha), or the valleys of hell? hello! YOU have a brain, please process the advice first. why do you place so much faith in another human? who's imperfect, just like you. and me. and all of us.
humans err. we disappoint too.
but yet, never reject advice. it is so often said that the one who disliked being advised the most, often is the one who needs it the most. don't be stubborn and be all high and mighty. don't let your ego take charge of you. sometimes we just need another thinking head, even if it's from someone you deem lesser than you.
Take home lesson:
永远记取忠告，但未必需要时时奉行。
~~~~~
Everything seems so elusive, you start to wonder what's real and what's not. what's good and what's bad.
almost like reflections. on a calm flat lake.
where only a ripple separates reality from an optical illusion.
i took the below photo at Marina South Park too. go figure. which half of the photo is the real scenery and which is the reflection. rotate it if you must! it could be easy, perhaps, but yet it underlies how easily our eyes can trick us. AND despite my love for photoshop, there is nothing edited here, save for the words.
Apparently Nothing.. Click to enlarge
which brings me to the word "apparent". yes, i've been thinking hard. haha (yeah, so typical). that word. what does it actually mean?
on one hand, it means "obvious" and yet, on the other, it could as easily mean "as opposed to real". one word, with almost two distinct different meanings. english has gone mad!
and life. presented with so many options, choices, advices and images. which is real? which is good? nothing seems apparent. or should i say, everything seems apparent.
i'm not really sure how to carry on from here, my head flooded with so many many threads of thoughts, so numerous that i'm unable to pen them down. there's just so many things to discuss of reflections. its blurness, its lacking of the definite solid shape that its original image possess, its mystical properties. how it can show you who you are, and yet how it can distort reality. how you can waste your life away fishing for that moon in the lake. how it could relate to life.
whatever seems apparent,
could end up being apparently nothing.
P.S. well, for the curious, the answer is.. the half with "apparently nothing" is the reflection on the lake, while the half with "apparent" is the actual objects. yeah, i'm sure you got that anyway.
# rambled by Kenneth @ 11:59 PM 
Song: 
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