This is going to be more of a personal entry. I thought I was on a roll again to vlog more on a weekly basis and then life happened all over again haha. I came down with a bad flu, I had many projects on the go, events to attend and some to organize. Why does life always happen all at once, when you think things are about to settle down? Anyways I have a lot of thoughts that I felt the need to jot down and share with the world.
I've been reflecting a lot about life recently. About where I've been and where I want to be. I'm constantly thinking about life, but more-so than usual. I have gotten sick more frequently this year. This last time I started feeling sick at work I was totally unable to function properly. I went to a drop in clinic to talk with a doctor just to see if anything else was going on other than the standard flu or cold. She was saying that stress could be the cause of why I was getting sick so often. I started thinking about what could be affecting me. I realized even though I was tricking my brain into thinking optimistically my body could not be fooled.
It's really strange because I don't feel stressed, but there are definitely some events in my life that if looked upon would be deemed as stressful. At the moment though I feel like life is like one big party. There is a lot to be celebrating about, even though our beloved Canucks didn't win game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Bruins. Life has so much to offer and I'm always open to new things and meeting new people of all walks of life.
I really don't know what it is about me, but I've had the pleasure of many strangers starting conversations with me, new faces confiding in me, asking for my advice or just asking for my help in general. I guess I have one of those friendly faces? It's really nice that I can offer my wisdom to others or just have a simple conversation with a complete stranger. It's a refreshing feeling to feel connected with someone you just met.
Recently I had one woman, named Debbie start a conversation with me while I was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up one Friday evening. I guess she just wanted someone to talk to as there were some personal things in her life affecting her. At one point of the conversation she asked me if I was religious. I told her that I wasn't and she was very surprised. I believe her response was, "Oh really! I'm surprised, because you're so nice." I smiled and just said thank you. If you know me personally you would know that I had not grown up in a religious household, although my parents are fairly traditional. I guess that's just part of them growing up in Hong Kong, living and learning as they did and being the wonderful people they are. Despite my parents not being religious they were able to instill good values and morals in myself and my sisters. They both have such huge hearts, and they carry a lot of strength and wisdom. My parents never had anything against those who were religious, it's just that they simply weren't. I grew up embracing all cultures and religions that came my way. I had the opportunity of visiting the Sikh temple. I got to wear my hair up in a scarf, sit on the plush carpet floor and listen to a Hindu reading, watch my friend sing and perform on a traditional instrument, and eat some traditional foods. I also had visited a Native long house, where I listened to some native folk lore, watching some traditional dances, breathing in all the smoke and eating some banok! Even today I learn about Catholicism, attending my boyfriends nephew's communion and my friends Catholic wedding ceremony, in which most of everything was spoken in Vietnamese, (good thing I got the English version first :P.) I am friends with people of all different beliefs, cultural and religious backgrounds. The only thing that matters to me is if you accept me as I am; to not judge me based on my own personal beliefs and most importantly have a good heart and are open minded. I am constantly learning and always willing to learn more about everything life has to offer.
Anyways this one recent conversation reminded me of another conversation with one gentleman I had met waiting for the Skytrain. It was one very cold winter day, before work, about 5 years ago. I guess I had looked sad, but in reality I was just very cold and trying to keep my face warm haha. He asked me if I was okay and it all started from there. I learned that he had been mentally disabled from a young age due to an unfortunate primary school incident. He had a speech impediment as he had lost full control of the muscles in his face, obviously due to the damage to his brain. Since that incident, his life started to take many tumbles including mistreatment from his family members, and society in general. Later on in our conversation he asked me what I believed in, and I replied that I was unsure, that I didn't want to settle on one belief because there are so many good things that this world has to offer. He wasn't religious but he led on to tell me that he believed that even though the majority of his life had presented him more bad than good, that he strongly believed someone was looking over him and that he was very grateful for what he had. This to me was very touching and has since affected me in a positive way. It was funny because I had made a great connection with an unlikely individual, all in a short 5 train stops.
I think this chain of events just wanted me to remind of that moment, those feelings and thoughts. It's really strange how things work eh? I am grateful and appreciative of the things in my life. I am always looking forward to see what is next. And on that note I am going to stop writing. I hope you enjoyed this post, and maybe it will remind you of all the wonderful things in life :).
