Gavin Whyte's Blog, page 24

An Alien In An Air Raid Drill

Yesterday, in Taipei, there was an air raid practice.

Life seems to vanish from this bustling city, all in the blink of an eye.

It’s pretty impressive, I have to say.

At the appointed time, which all Taiwanese mysteriously know beforehand, everyone scuttles away like mice when a prowling cat is detected.

A friend’s friend captured it on video – have a look.

Sirens and eerily empty streets in #Taipei. No, not the alien invasion. Just the Wan An air raid drill shutting down all of northern #Taiwan pic.twitter.com/IASeROWT0j

— Samson Ellis (@samsonellis) May 18, 2017

See what I mean?

A friend of mine stepped out of his office and snapped this photo:

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Pretty eerie, right?

Now, thankfully, my Taiwanese wife informed me of yesterday’s drill the night before.

However, this was not what she did last year.

I was visiting the bank; me, an alien in Taiwan, with very poor Mandarin skills.

I was just about to leave, when the security guard, a large pig-feet-eating kind of chap, stepped in front of me, with his palm outstretched and a stern crease on his brow.

Without taking his eyes off me, he pressed the red button beside him and the shutters began to come down.

You know when you scan through your most recent past for things you might have done wrong? Things that you might have overlooked? Things that, at the time, didn’t feel that bad, but maybe in a foreign culture they were really that bad…

“But… but… I’m… I haven’t… See?… Look… I haven’t got…”

Contrary to the smiling Englishman I was when I walked in, I was now a stuttering wreck.

“Sit,” said the security guard.

Interrogation.

Rubber gloves.

Torture.

Humiliation.

My mind was racing.

“But I only came in to transfer some money.”

“Sit.”

I sat.

I did the first thing a scared man always does – I sent my wife a text.

I'm stuck in the bank! The shutters came down. What the hell's going on?

I waited impatiently.

Oh, didn't I tell you? There's an air raid practice, just in case China bombs us.
Thanks, love. Thanks a bunch.
Then I heard the siren echoing through the streets.

A shadow towered over me. I looked up.

It was the security guard, but now he was smiling as if the thought of snapping on a rubber glove and poking around had never entered his head.

He held out a plastic cup.

“Tea?” he said.

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

And with that one cup of tea, as cold as it was, and without milk, I slowly returned to my old Englishman self.


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Blessings.

Gavin

 

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Don’t Give Up – You Owe This to Yourself

Why is it so easy to talk ourselves out of doing something that feels right?

Lack of self-belief?

Fear of success?

Fear of failure?

Fear of what people will think of us when we dare to go for what we want?

The list seems almost endless.

As a self-confessed dreamer, I realized quite early on that it was down to me to provide myself with the tools needed to make my dreams come true.

I had to fuel myself to keep the engine running, and it was down to me to keep my eyes focussed on the road. I was going to say on the destination I had in mind, but I stopped myself.

To focus on the destination whilst driving would not only be dangerous, but self-defeating.

The route is forever changing. It might not change in our head, how we imagine it, but that’s not the route – that’s the map.

The map is not the route.
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The map is the blueprint of the route; how we have formulated an image of the route to our liking and expectations.

This is how we become rigid in pursuit of what we want; how we so easily quit when something doesn’t go our way.

We want to get from here to there in the quickest way possible, which means we definitely want to stick to the map.

But life doesn’t act in that way.

We have to be flexible.

We have to flow and be flown.

If we are rigid (resisting unforeseen obstacles) then we can so easily succumb to pressures that only exist when the route proves to be different to the map we had come to trust.

But which is real: the blueprint of the route or the route itself?

By being flexible we accept any obstacles that may appear on our path, and we get to work overcoming them; maybe making a detour whilst knowing we are still very much on route.

Don’t talk yourself out of doing something that feels right.

You owe it to yourself to pursue what makes your heart sing.

Nobody will do it for you.
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Every single one of us is on our own individual path. They may intertwine and cross with others; we may be able to hold hands when our paths run almost parallel; hug when times get hard, but it’s impossible for someone to walk your path for you.

There might only be one you, but never underestimate your power and strength to overcome any obstacle on your path.

We can give you a helping hand, but first the “Okay, I’m going to try!” has to come from you.

We’ll be there, on our knees, hands clasped, waiting to give you a leg up.

You can do this.

Before you go, it would be great if you could Like, Comment and Share.

The ebook version of my uplifting and moving fable, The Girl with the Green-Tinted Hair, is now free. Please go and grab yourself a copy. I hope you enjoy it.

And let’s keep in touch. Click on this link to join my monthly newsletter. You will receive a free copy of Memento Mori: A Sneak Peek into a Seeker’s Diary as a thank you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings.

Gavin

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It All Starts With This One Question

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I’ve mentioned before of being a member of the faculty at The School of Life (TSOL).
Not to pitch it to you, but I believe they’re providing a decent service that more and more of us can benefit from, so I’ll tell you a little about it. 
It was set up by the philosopher, Alain de Botton (that bald, clever chap who seems to have more time in a day than the rest of us… That wasn’t an attack on the baldies, Alain. I’m going bald, too…).
The sole intention behind TSOL, if you don’t already know, is to promote emotional intelligence and wellbeing, by providing classes on a variety of topics, such as How to Stay Calm, How to Face Death and How to Fill the God-Shaped Hole (I currently run the former two).
(Click here for a list of the classes they provide.)
Each class allows a maximum 26 people to attend. It’s an ideal number that allows you to mingle with like-minded people and possibly forge new friendships. The classes are set up so that the participants get involved in discussions and activities; questions are asked and answers are questioned. 
This is philosophy after all. 
Each class runs for about 2 and half hours, with breaks in between. As Jim Rohn said, “The brain can only absorb what the seat can endure.”
He meant ass.
And breaks can be needed, too, for some of the classes aren’t exactly light. On the contrary, some are heavy, such as the How to Face Death class for obvious reasons. Even the How to Stay Calm class goes into unpleasant examples of survival stories, as to demonstrate how we can learn from the survivors.
TSOL also have their own selection of books you can buy - and they’re decent, too. I’ve read four of them so far.
Those being:
How to Stay Sane - Philippa PerryHow to Develop Emotional Health - O. JamesLife Lessons from Kierkegaard - R. FergusonLife Lessons from Byron - Matthew BevisLife Lessons from Bergson - Michael Foley
The “Life Lessons” collection is a great way to get to know the people you may have heard so much about, but have never dared to dive into their work for fear of not understanding it. At least that’s why I never read their work. Kiergaard’s philosophy, for example, is not easy to read at all, but these small books are written to explain things in an accessible way, so even the most complex philosophical theories can be understood.
Talking of making philosophy easy and interesting, I’m reading Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder at the moment. I’m loving it. I can't believe I've never read it before. It’s a history of philosophy, infused with the story of a fifteen-year old girl, who finds a letter addressed to her, and on it are the words, “Who are you?”
Asking ourselves that very question is exactly how we become philosophers of our own life. 
So… who are you?



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It Felt Like the Right Time to Do It - So I Did It

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You know those periods you go through when all of a sudden you’re super productive?
All of a sudden you feel an urge to get things done, to step up a gear and move forward towards a goal that’s dear to you.
Last weekend (I’m writing this on Saturday, so it’s exactly a week ago) I started to watch videos by fellow bloggers, with the intention of learning from them. If they were doing this full time, then so could I - but how?
The reason I’ve been writing on here every day was because I wanted to take this writing business seriously. I told myself it was now or never. I was so close to deleting this blog but something inside me told me to give it one last shot. That’s when I decided to write 300 words a day. 
It was a way for me to create a writing habit. 
And it worked. 
But I needed to find a way to reach a wider audience.
That’s when I began to look for ways to move forward.
Saturday night I began to read You’re a Writer (so start acting like one) by Jeff Goins.
I finished it on Sunday morning, in a cafe, with my small white dog on my lap. Come to think of it, I must’ve looked not too dissimilar to James Bond’s Dr No, but I wasn’t planning world domination - at least not in that sense.
I realized one thing: I had to have a basic foundation. Well, I had a basic foundation - it was this blog, so I needed to go to the next stage.
I needed a website.
Come Monday morning I had a meeting with a friend, and he informed me of several options for creating a site. 
I should say that I’m not tech-savvy in the slightest. When it comes to computers and the inner-workings of the internet, I’m pretty clueless. (My mum showed me how to work an iPad.)
When I got home from the meeting, I continued to do some research… and then I plunged straight in to creating a website.
I’m pleased to announce that my website, gavinwhyte.org is now up and running. I’ve been working on it since Monday, and I will continue to tweak it here and there, but, as it stands, I’m pretty happy with it.
When you sign up to my monthly newsletter (which can be done when you visit my site, or you can simply click HERE and it will take you directly to where you input your name and email address), you’ll get a free copy of Memento Mori: A Sneak Peek into a Seeker’s Diary. I hope to see your name on my subscriber’s list, so we can keep in touch.
I haven’t decided whether or not to continue posting on here; I'm edging more towards giving my new site my full attention. We'll see.
So it’s a new chapter for me.
And I always welcome new chapters. There’s nothing like change to move things forward.
I hope you will continue on this journey with me, for I see nothing but a promising horizon ahead.

Oh, and if you have any blogging tips I'm all ears!




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Doing This One Thing Can Make Life So Much Easier

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So many of us are afraid of doing this one thing. Without it we get nowhere, or we get somewhere slowly; and the road was probably a treacherous one when it didn’t need to be that treacherous.
We’re afraid to do this one thing because we’re afraid of how we might look in the eyes of others - at least that’s one of the reasons we’re afraid to do it. 
It’s a pride thing. 
(Pride + Fear = Suffering alone when there’re 7 billion of us under the sky.)
Silly, really, not just because of the hefty numbers that are working in our favour, but because behind the eyes the other is exactly the same as you. It really is like looking in a mirror, once you bypass surface appearances. 
I’m digressing, but my point is there’s nothing to be afraid of by doing this one thing.
Okay, here it is. Here’s the one thing you can do today that can make life so much easier for yourself.
You can… ask for help.
There’s nothing new under the sun, as they say, so I’m sorry if you feel a little let down. 
Maybe I built it up too much…
But asking for help is so unbelievably effective! 
Not to mention helpful…
Whether it’s related to your current workload in the office; your turbulent relationship you feel trapped in; maybe you’re afraid to ask for help with something health-related (have you found a lump? A new mole? What is it? Go and ask and find out). Maybe there’s a form you need to fill out and you’ve no idea how to do it. It just feels too complicated and now you’re feeling anxious. Check online for instructions. Find an email address; a phone number.
We’re connected like never before, what with the internet and social media. Help is at our fingertips.
Ignore that voice in your head that feeds you scary what-if scenarios. I have that voice too. I put it in its place and it shuts up - until next time.
Here’s something to remember… the reason there’s help out there is because, most often than not, someone has gone through what you’re currently facing - or at least something similar.
And they made it out alive to tell the tale.
Who better to receive help from than the person who’s familiar (or even vaguely familiar) with the path you’re on and the obstacles you’re facing? 
Then you know you were never alone; for if there’s one thing not asking for help creates within, it’s a feeling of isolation and loneliness.
There’re too many of us for you to feel lonely. Reach out your hand and somebody, somewhere, will grab it. 
What I’ve found is that most of us like to help. It makes us feel good. We don’t help because it feels good or to feel good; we feel good for helping because when we help we're helping ourselves. We’re one and the same, remember?
Be nice to the person looking back at you in the mirror, and see how you feel.
So, please, if you’re feeling stuck, for whatever reason, reach out. There’re so many of us, at least one of us will be able to help you.
Even if it’s your truly. 
Please, get in touch by all means. I don’t bite…
… on a good day.



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The Sun and the Moon - Part 2 of 2

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Continuing on from Part 1...

'It sounds like a good idea,' said the Sun.
So the Sun plodded ever so slowly over to the West and laid its head down to rest. And the Moon shone proudly and watched over the people as they slept.
On one clear night the Moon noticed a small child pointing in its direction. The Moon was over itself with delight. 
It had been spotted! 
It almost went and woke up the Sun with utter excitement. To the Moon's amazement the child wasn't finished, for then it yelled, 
'Mum! Dad! Come and look at the Moon! Look how big and bright it is!'
The Moon puffed itself up and lit up the night sky, like never before. It was full of itself (this is where the term Full Moon originally comes from).
People couldn't help but notice.
Poems were written about it.
Songs were Sung.
Paintings were painted.
The seas and lakes chose to reflect on it.
The tides began to listen to it.
People would take late night walks and thank it for its guidance along their path.
'I no longer envy the Sun,' uttered the Moon, one night as it sat reflecting. 'All this time I thought the Sun and I should share the same purpose, but I was wrong. I am happy for the Sun to shine so brightly during the day, because I'm able to shine so brightly at night.'
Not many people know this, but the Sun gets many nightmares. It ends up being all hot and bothered and comes out in a fever. So on clear nights, when the Moon is nowhere to be seen, please know it hasn't grown impatient and left its post. 
It is quietly humming the Sun to sleep and will be back in no time at all.

The End.


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The Sun and the Moon - Part 1 of 2

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There was a time when the Sun and the Moon were so close that they rose and set together.
The people who populated Young Earth looked up in delight at the amazing exhibition of two heavenly bodies, side by side.
What the people didn't know was that their lives were on the verge of changing forever. 
The Sun was always the optimist of the two, always looking on the bright side of every occasion. This irritated the Moon and naturally it began to fall into the shadows. Whatever the Moon could do the Sun could do it brighter.
Because of this, the Moon began to foster feelings of envy.
'People adore you,' the Moon complained.
'They adore you, too,' consoled the Sun.
‘I doubt it! When you appear, they give thanks. They're not bothered when I come along. In fact, the majority of them go to bed! Every time we rise and set together I see eyes of millions staring at you.’
This sad state of affairs continued for quite some time, until, one day, the Moon saw the Sun yawning.
'Are you tired, Sun?' asked the Moon, rather taken aback.
‘I think so,' said the Sun. 'We might have to set earlier today.'
The Moon felt an idea stirring beneath its chalk-like surface, for its scars that we see today didn't come until much later.
‘Why don’t you go and have some rest, over there in the West?' it said.
'Are you sure?' said the Sun, taking another deep yawn and stretching its rays of deep amber.
'Of course, my friend. You shine so brightly all the time, I'm not surprised you're exhausted.'
'But what about our people?'
The Moon smiled. ‘I'll look after them until you rise, and then I’ll take a rest whilst you take over.’


To be continued...



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We Can't Force a Child to Enjoy Reading

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I arrived late to fiction.
I was a kid with a lot of energy and a vivid imagination. (Something I still have!)
I wanted to be out in the woods, climbing trees, splashing through streams; finding frogs, birds’ nests and dead stuff. We would make dens and tree-swings and get cut up and bruised. We would spy on the older kids and get chased by farmers.
That’s what being a boy was all about; discovering the world by prodding it and pushing it, to see if prodded and pushed back.
And it did, loads of times.
It was called lesson learnt.
The buzz came from thinking you were going to die - truly believing it was the end - but then making it home in time for dinner. 
Books couldn’t come close to that.  
They couldn’t pump me full of adrenalin, get my heart racing and my forehead dripping. 
How lame it felt to turn a page, when my legs were still shaking from being chased by Rottweilers and German Shepherds!
You can’t force a child to read and expect them to enjoy it.
You can’t expect them to get lost in a book - which is where the pleasure of reading is found - whilst constantly asking them what is meant by this passage and that piece of dialogue; and all the while, hanging the threat of homework above their heads, which is to “Write an essay on the protagonist’s perception of the world she can’t see.”
“I hate books.”
“Me too.”
If kids don’t enjoy reading, it might be because they’re enjoying being a kid.
Now, I absolutely love reading because I gave myself space to read.
And that’s good for me, because folk tend to call the cops when they see an adult in a tree.
It’s a shame, really. 
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300 Words a Day - #36: A Barnacle's Tale: Part 3 of 3

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Continuing on from yesterday's post...


“What?” said Barry, aghast. “NO!” 
Bev let go with a smile.
She was never seen again by those on her rock. They mourned her absence - especially Barry, who was the last to see her, and couldn’t help blaming himself. The warnings of the tide were drilled into the young barnacles, with even more severity than before.
Let us turn our attention to Bev, for those remaining on the rock were mourning for themselves.
As she surrendered to the tide, smiling at Barry’s shocked expression, watching it getting smaller and fainter, she was actually becoming clearer and clearer to others she was not yet aware of.
“Who’s this?” she heard, and turned around instantly.
“Hello there, young one!” said a deep, penetrating voice. “Welcome!”
Bev literally could not believe what she was seeing. Barnacles, just like her, were not on rocks, but on a huge whale.
“Park yourself here,” said the barnacle with the deep voice. He seemed to be in charge. “Move up, everyone. Let’s create some space for her.”
Bev was still speechless. Her own imagination could never have conjured up such an experience.
“Well done for letting go and trusting!” said the barnacle in charge. “I’m Benny.”
“You’re Crazy… sorry, I mean, you’re Benny?”
“Guilty. And you are?”
“Bev.”
And all of the barnacles, including the whale, all chorused, “Hello, Bev!” Of course, the whale’s voice drowned out the rest.
“Oh, this is Winnie,” said Benny. “As you can see, she’s a whale, and a grand one at that.”
“She doesn’t mind us clinging to her?”
“Mind? It was her idea, wasn’t it Winnie?”
In a slow, operatic sort of voice, Winnie said, “It can be lonely swimming through the world’s oceans, all by oneself.”
And so, legend has it, that Bev went on to see the world. 



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300 Words a Day - #35: A Barnacle's Tale: Part 2 of 3

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Continuing on from yesterday's post...

“Cope better?” said Bev the barnacle. “And how do you propose I do that?”
“Just… copy me,” said Barry. “You don’t hear me fantasizing about being swept away by the tide.” 
“That’s because you’re afraid!”
“Afraid?! I’m not scared to let go! It’s just that we’re not supposed to, that’s all. I prefer to follow the rules, unlike some folk.”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors, though?”
“What, that trusting the tide leads to happiness? Of course I’ve heard them. Everyone has. But I’ve already told you, it means saying goodbye to all that we know.”
“You mean this rock?”
“Yes, I mean this rock. Our rock. We know this rock and it knows us.”
Both of them were quiet for sometime, then Bev said, “You said those who have let go have never been seen again, but there was one, wasn't there?”
“You mean Crazy Benny? Yeah, okay, good luck trusting him. The tide went to his head.”
“But he said-“
“I know what he said. My grandpa’s told me all about him. He was there, when he came back.”
“Well, wasn’t Benny happy?” said Bev.
“He was as crazy as a crab, my grandpa said. He said Crazy Benny was telling everyone how the tide takes you where you need to go, just as long as you’re willing to let go first. Trust! That’s what he kept on saying. Trust! Trust! Hah! Fool. They pushed him off the rock. They couldn’t stand him talking such nonsense.”
“Maybe that’s why nobody ever comes back, because persuading others to trust the tide, when we’ve been conditioned not to, is pointless.”
“They tell us that stuff for our own good.”
Bev couldn’t fight the impulse to let go. She had to do it. 
It was now or never. 
“Goodbye, Barry,” she said.



The final part will be here tomorrow


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