This Is What The Living Do

Hello! Here's my Blogtober entry for the day. I decided to try doing one of the Isolation Journal (IJ) prompt for today. And I do this by generating a random number and seeing which prompt the number lands on my folder haha. Today's number is 72! 

Your prompt is:
This is what the living do...

Use this line from Marie Howe's poem an inspiration - perhaps as the opening sentence of your journal entry, or as a poetic refrain. Reflect on the mundane; revel in the glorious everyday details of living.

This is what the living do
Living in the comforting illusion
of the ebb and flow of ignorance
Floating on the sea of suffering
But not asking for help
Not save themselves

This is what the living do
Doing everything they could
To try and prove their worth
To try and tell they're right
Even though they're wrong
Without knowing, without thinking

This is what the living do
Thinking they own this planet
When it's the planet that owns them
Exploiting the hell out of it
Without realising they're releasing
hell from doing it.

This is what the living do
Hating each other,
With no logical reason
whatsoever
Living in an imaginary fear
Of the false things they hear

This is what the living do
But we can always change
We can always improve
What we do wrong
There's time to save ourselves
Only if we want to

Isolation Journal Day 24

Decided to do the Isolation Journal again for day 24! This is something close to my heart.

Isolation Journal Day 24 by Colleen Farrell:

Because breathing is essential for life, it touches every part of our existence. What does it mean to you to breathe? When was the last time you really noticed your breath? What were you doing? Was there ever a time when you realized you had taken your breath for granted?

The human body is a beautiful machine. How each breath gives life to keep this machine going. As an avid practitioner of meditation for 6 years now, breathing has become an essential part of this daily routine of mine. The more I meditate the more I realise how much we've taken our breaths for granted at times, and how truly precious our breath is. And how often humans forget how precious this simple yet amazing mechanism of breathing is. Like today's prompt goes, when was the last time we're conscious of our own breath? And I always try my best to incorporate this awareness to other activities of my day like filling my glass with water, when I look up at the sky and so on.

Even though I've been meditating daily for years now, noticing my own breath every time, one event truly changed my life forever - witnessing death.

Two years ago I lost my aunt and my grandma. It was the first time in my life that I ever witnessed someone dying. As my family members and I surround them, I notice how their breathing slowed down gradually. Until we heard the long beep. And how their chest push the air our for one last time, and not moving up again. Surprisingly it was a peaceful moment to be in, even though we panicked to the nurses, whom we deeply know can never bring them back to life.

As I witnessed that moment, it felt as if all of my aunt's and grandma's life culminated in that gush of air their lungs pushed for the very last time. And in that moment, a lifetime seems so short, yet that moment felt like an eternity to me. Witnessing death has really changed my life. In that moment I realised how truly precious each of our breath is. And how often we forget this blissful fact.

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day, I just simply take a deep breath. And I tell myself.

You're still breathing. You're still here. Keep going.

Take care and stay safe everyone!

Isolation Journal Day 08

I actually signed up for Suleika Jaouad's project called the Isolation Journals earlier this month! Well although I'm not isolating myself (but practising social distancing, always), I really love the project! Cause no only I love writing/journaling, it's always good to add to my list of prompts haha. And to challenge myself as well. However some of the prompts feel a bit personal for me, and thus I won't be writing it here. I will write it in my journal perhaps. Also I'm not doing it day by day! I don't have the time to commit to the daily project but I saved the prompts for future use mwahaha. Alright this is day 8!

Isolation Journal Day 8 

Pick five time periods, ages, or moments from your life—they can be spread out or all clustered together. Don't think too hard about your choices, just write down the first one that comes to mind and move to the next. Next pick a song to pair with each moment. Again, try not to think too hard. Let it be a gut thing. Now write a quick and dirty paragraph about each one. Then take the one that feels most interesting to you and expand it.

Here are my 5 picks!

1. Childhood days - The Power of Goodbye by Madonna

2. Secondary School - Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi (Howl's Moving Castle OST)

3. Poly days - The Prayer (Chanting Inner Peace) by Ketsana

4. 2013 - Wake Me Up by Avicii ft Aloe Blacc

5. Travel - Paradise by Coldplay 

1. Childhood days - The Power of Goodbye by Madonna

I have a very very vivid memory of this song - sitting at the back in my dad's car while we drive through the hometown on a Saturday evening. The sky was blue with streaks of orange clouds. I can remember the lemon-scented car refreshener, and me just staring at the sky above as this song was playing inside the car. It's been probably be 20 years, and everything is as vivid as if it was yesterday!

2. Secondary School - Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi (Howl's Moving Castle OST)

I discovered this song back in 2008 I think. Or early 2009, can't remember. But I really love this song! I think the title is very fitting to the music, how lively and how it just reminds me that well life is indeed is a merry-go-round. I even learned how to play this song on the piano. I think my upper secondary school days were filled with lots of hope and fear and worry. Leaving secondary school to the next chapter, and so on. And this song definitely helped me through those days. And even up till today too.

3. Polytechnic days - The Prayer (Chanting Inner Peace) by Ketsana

This song came to me at the most amazing timing. I discovered this song from Project Runway Season 8. The song was used by the finalist Andy South for his runway collection in the finale. I fell in love with this song right away and went to google it! Thankfully I got the title and downloaded the song. The last year in polytechnic was one of the most stressful years of my life and this song helped me A LOT. I listened to it on the way to school, on the way home, before bed, and when I'm chilling out somewhere when I'm stressed. I've been listening to this song almost everyday for close to 8 years now ever since I discovered it. I wish Ketsana would release the song on digital platforms tho! 

4. 2013 - Wake Me Up by Avicii ft Aloe Blacc

2013 was one of the most confusing years of my life. To me the lyrics "All this time I was finding myself, and I didn't know I was lost" speak volumes in my heart. But at the same time it's a driving force for me to constantly search within, to find myself, for myself.

5. Travel - Paradise by Coldplay 

One of the greatest travel experiences I had experienced was in 2011 - a school trip to Inner Mongolia, and also my first mountain climbing experience to Mt Kinabalu in Malaysia. These two trips taught me how beautiful this planet is and what a waste it would be to not explore it when you have the chance to. And metaphorically, these adventures taught me that there are far more things in life for me to explore. Even though this song was released after my trip to Inner Mongolia, and before my trip to Mt Kinabalu, I enjoyed reflecting 2011 with this song. And it has become sort of a ritual to have this song in my travel playlist since then. Everytime I hear this song, it reminds me of my travel memories, and a reminder to keep on exploring!

To be honest as a music lover, this challenge is so hard because I have many songs in mind. But then these 5 songs are the one that come to my mind right away. I've always regarded music as a time machine. Name me any song in my music library and I will tell you a story that I shared with that music. Be it a period of my life, a memory, or a simply a random day that I once experienced.