This is just my personal reflection on politics, goal-attaining and life in general.
Yep it sounds more like another brain vomit.
When basic human rights are being threatened and your personal values are constantly being tested, life can be as hard as experiencing a pandemic.
In many aspects the coronavirus mirrors the daily struggle Hong Kong is facing now.
One, our daily lives are disrupted because of new laws and regulations, but the ultimate threat is the potential of encountering danger, in the virus case, being infected and in Hong Kong’s case, facing police brutality or losing freedom of speech.
Two, we are forced to be “in this together” due to some man-made weapons (whether you believe it or not) and it costs lives, jobs and dreams.
Three, most of the time we think we cannot control how things will unfold. Then we try to adjust to the “new normal” and carry on with our lives.
It’s so foolish for me to think that things will “go back to normal”.
Normality is comparative and subjective. And we would be delusional to think life was once “normal”.
“We can’t return to normal, because the normal that we had was precisely the problem.”
I first came across with this line since the Anti-Extradition Bill Movement broke out in Hong Kong. Originated from Chile protests in 2019, it pretty much sums up how people should always actively think about lives. And this is also a good reminder of how the tiniest spark can trigger fire.
People often use the boiling frog fable to draw analogy between Hong Kong and CCP. I consider myself realising how bad the situation was quite late (in mid 2014), but since then I had been taking actions. And I did my best to defend what I thought was right last year. I was exhausted. But things got worse. The hopelessness and frustration sometimes keep me up at night. Although I turn my anger to actively responding to my calling (read my story here), I still often wonder if I am on the right track. Am I really preparing myself to help others, or am I just escaping from the warzone?
Truth to be told, it is too ideal and narcissistic to think of “warzone” in a literal way. Don’t let those hero movies cloud your mind. In the future when I, as a music therapist, work with clients who are struggling to solve their problems, I will be considered to be on the “frontline” as well since I am the one coming face to face with an issue. So although I left the tear gas field, I am not really a soldier who chose to escape. I only hope it won’t be too late when I return. When I CAN return.
So my point is there are no “normal days”. Funny enough, no matter how dysfunctional a situation or society seems, human beings are still able to somehow adapt and carry on with their lives. Talk about resilience in habit-forming level. When things are out of expectation, it is definitely time to really sit down and see what you can control, and come up with differnt plans in every possible way. Crisis is often times that stimulate people to step out of the comfort zone, the “normality” and see the clear picture of what really is going on.
In the near future we might refer to our times as pre-coronavirus or post-covid 19. How will that change the way you see living your life? Do you have goals that you are going to achieve no matter what it takes? Something that even a zombie apocalypse won’t stop you from going after the life you want? When you are half way through it a pandemic hits you, what do you do? Aren’t we supposed to take resilience to this level instead of trying to carry on the “usual routines”?
You know the “how” will follow once you get the “why” crystal clear: when people can survive doing home workouts and jogging in the evening instead of going to the gym, I am sure we can all think of a way or two to keep working towards the goal. The means to it are endless. All that matters is you taking action.
I still have that dream of helping the next generation in whatever way I can. And I am taking the baby steps every single day. Living a life that I won’t regret.
this week on my youtube channel
I talked about figuring out if the effort I put in is to the right place or worth it. It takes years to plant a seed and often times when you are just starting out you feel like you are shouting into the void. I am going through this stage and instead of looking at the non-existent result at this point I learnt to shift my focus to the skills and stories I acquire in this journey. It is worth it.
Check it out here:
I would like to hear from you. DM me on instagram or shoot me an email if what’s on your mind is too long :p
x
Venus