Welcome to a brand new day

By Yeoh Siew Hoon

Towards the last two months of the year, the winds change direction where I live and the North-east monsoon comes upon us, dumping rain on the east coast of Malaysia and most of Singapore.

In the hills of northern Thailand where I’ve just been, a cold, dry wind blows in from the north and the sky turns clear blue and mist shrouds the hills as night turns to day. The dawn brings with it cocks that crow and birds that sing.

So in the new year, the monsoons will still change, the rains will still fall and the mist will still linger until the heat of the sun chases it away but may a fresh wind blow – a wind of resilience, restraint and renewal.

A resilience that will see us through the stormy days ahead, a restraint that will come upon us as we, collectively and individually, reflect on all that has led us to this path and a renewal of spirit that will fill us with hope for the future.

And perhaps, in a year, 18 months or two years, who knows, recovery will happen – a recovery that will not be easy to come by and my God, when it does happen, we would have worked hard for it.

Yes, that’s the big word for 2009 – hard-work. For this much we have learnt – and indeed, as our grandmothers taught us all those years ago but we chose to forgot – hard work is what gets us to places we want to go.

For this much we too have learnt – there is no such thing as easy money, greed is not the right creed and friends are those who are there for you when you fall from grace.

Instant gratification leads to instant downfall. It all catches up with you in the end. The end is when you want to be surrounded by friends.

Grace too is the other big word for 2009 – grace in partnerships, grace under pressure, grace in giving pleasure.

Be gentle with your partners. Be kind to animals. Be nice to
strangers. Be honest with friends.

Words we should forsake – hype, hubris, hedonism, hatred.

Words to fear – self-righteousness, dogmatism, mob rule, moralising, ignorance.

Less imposing, more composing. Less disregard, more respect.

Less caution, more creating. Less flat, more rounded. Less shopping, more seeing. Less sameness, more different. Less no, more yes. Less celibacy, more sex. Less me, more you.

More music. More reading. More trekking. More falls.

Yesterday, I slipped and landed twice on my bum during a trek in the hills of Thailand’s Golden Triangle. My pride was hurt more than my butt. I was wearing running shoes, not exactly the right gear for these slippery, downhill slopes but definitely better than the flip-flops my Hmong guide had on.

He walked steadfast and sure, I stumbled. He put his hand out to me. I accepted. Graciously.

When walking on new paths, it’s okay to stumble and it’s okay to ask for help.

Happy new year.

Catch Yeoh Siew Hoon every week at The Transit Café – www.thetransitcafe.com