Love, Reign O’er Me

Looking back at my childhood, I realize that it wasn’t the 10 years of physical abuse by my step-father that hurt the most; it was watching my mother stand idly by as I screamed for mercy. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. That was part of the problem.

Until recently, my whole life has been a desperate attempt to become loveable. As an Asian American growing up in the 80s, I loved this country. Yet my love was often rejected with angry chants of “go back to where you came from.”

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We Can Make a Difference–Right Here, Right Now

 

“Peace is not something you wish for, it something you make, something you do, something you are, something you give away.”–Robert Fulghum

In an effort to actively do something to create more peace in the world in 2013, I am dedicating a number of my posts specifically to peace. I invite you to join me. We can call ourselves “Bloggers for Peace.” Everyone is invited to join. The requirements are simple and flexible.

• Devote at least one post a month to/for/about peace. If you write poems or fiction, write a piece about peace. If you take photos, post a photo or gallery that reflects, symbolizes, defines, or creates peace. If you write rants, rant at something that disturbs the peace or rant about something that promotes peace. If you are into zen, post a blank white page. If you are an artist…you get the idea. Feel free to be creative. Peace has no boundaries. There are no mistakes. We have no enemies.

Cancer as a Guru: 5 Life Lessons from a Remarkable Guest

A few days ago, I received the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten. Tracy’s post “What makes Christmas exciting” on FEC-THis made me appreciate Christmas, fatherhood, and life in a way I’ve never experienced before. I wanted to share this post with everyone, but rather than creating a link or a re-blog, I realized that it wasn’t so much the post that I wanted to share, but Tracy herself.

A Knock Upside the Head by Mindfulness

Mindfulness is moment by moment practice. Sometimes we forget to be mindful and something will knock us upside the head to remind us.

The Sleeping Guru: 5 Life Lessons from a Golden Child

“Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things.”– Vernor Vinge

My two-year old son thinks ears are handles for the head. Whenever it is time for him to go to sleep, he grabs my ears and pulls my head down until our foreheads are touching. He has done this since he was an infant. This is one of the greatest joys of my life–having my ears cradled by my sleeping son. Lying next to his chubby face with his soft breath caressing my cheek has taught me some valuable lessons about life in general.

Obi Wan and The Force

This post is on the topic of “The Power of We” for Blog Action Day 2012. One of the lines from Star Wars that I still think about to this day is when Obi Wan Kenobi says, “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Obi Wan says this right before he altruistically allows Darth Vader to strike him down in order to force Luke Skywalker to escape. Being that Obi Wan Kenobi was one of my first gurus–I even thought about changing my name to Obi Wan Hattori–I’ve spent the last 30+ years trying to figure out what this line really meant. After years of studying Buddhism, the Bible, and the Japanese martial art aikido, I think I have finally unlocked the secret of this koan.

Good Morning Guru

I was feeling incredible the other morning. Having had a restful sleep, I woke up to the loving triple embrace from my beautiful wife and two happy sons. After breakfast, my sons and I embarked on our daily walk to school. It had rained a bit earlier in the morning, but the sun was out, so the smell of fresh rain evaporating in the morning sun was overwhelming. As soon as we left the condo, my oldest son took a big whiff and giggled, “I smell water, Daddy!” It was perfect “Goldilocks” weather–neither too hot, nor too cold. Little did I know that one small incident had the power to sabotage my entire day.