Looking Forward@Crystalball

dare you to walk into the wilderness...

Not that the scourge of COVID is over but Man cannot & doesn't want to be locked-in & restricted

800 days of restraints have made Man lazy, lethargic and disoriented

Globalization and commerce grind to a stop as powers-to-be lobby to influence and control the world; some with outright gunsmanship & gaming global peace

The leading capital market is as unpredictable as their wild guesses - whether inflation or recession will rear its head first

Markets are behaving like casinos that even the currency markets are in disarray

As more are learnt, more need to be learnt - the refusal to resume economic cooperation will be costly to everyone globally

Disunity results in anarchy 家和万事兴 - the disconnect to save oneself & to reign supreme over another, destroys 

The world is not going to be a better place to live in until the evils are defeated

Conspiracy theories on currency, controls, domination, illuminati, whatever are aplenty

Frankly, the world has not learnt much from Covid & its attendant disruptions

The world is not going to be a better place; trade wars, embargoes, the rich-poor divide, the dominant power wanting to maintain status quo & to dictate who runs which country, expect subservience & vassal obedience

The desertion of US$s for other currency in global trades signal deep division in economic cooperation & oneness

The US, as the leader, is coercing 'everyone' to follow and obey their instructions as against moral suasion previously

In early 2000s, I wrote that the world will become tripolar : USAmerica, USEurope & USAsia greased by Mid-East oil but it is fast becoming USAmerica, which include Europe and USAsia, which include China, Russia & the asian surrounding countries while the Mid-East oil countries tilt towards USAsia

If US$ losses its relevance, many will move towards barter trades and hard currency, namely the country's currency backed by gold

The tug for influence will trigger a major war, plausibly WW3 - a war that may exterminate >2/3 of global population. I am not a doomsayer but the destructive powers of nukes are real

I am still hopeful that "sense and stability" will rule but the vanity and ego of Man remain a threat

I expect deep recession to occur - almost as depress(ive) as the 1930s - when Central Banks overkill inflation

Economic momentum does not Start/Stop at click of the switch - when  confidence is destroyed, it takes time to rebuild

Cash is King but if your cash becomes a banana currency, anarchy follows

The League of Nations gave way to the forming of United Nations - can a divided UN commands everyone to oblige a common goal? Very unlikely...   

After this phase of uncertainty, hopefully not insanity, the world will return to enjoy years of peace, harmony & prosperity ... it's just how much damage is done before sanity returns

活在当下 笑看风云 

Worry not; it's not time yet for the world to end

Live and let live - live happily

Stop Worrying & Start Living

 lazing is an Art....

How do you empty your mind, brain, heart and remain sober and stable? The monks, nuns & hermits do it seemingly easy

Emptiness is not void

Alone is not loneliness

The last 27 months have slowed everything to an almost complete stop no matter how fast & furious you were previously

The sky was cleared of aeroplanes, shipping deserted the high seas and there were minimal traffic on the roads - the environment cleans up

Nothing was impossible; Man were quarantined & locked-in, global commerce trickled to a shadow of its past, mobility was stymied & entire towns became prisons to humans

Birds, animals & plants proliferate as the ecosystems clears & cleans up

Nature reclaim  control

An idle mind is the Devil's workshop

Dominant world powers scheme to gain greater influences and control over others: US provoked EU, using NATO, to expand militarily. Russia pushed her frontiers forward & into Ukraine to prevent a 'new' enemy at her doorstep, not unlike the 1962 Cuban Crisis. China ringfenced her borders & had built global economic influences via OBOR. 

US looks bent on stirring troubles in the East to lock-in China. Taiwan, South Korea & Japan were bundled into "one-axis@SCSea" to provoke China. If EU/Russia locked horns in the West & China sink her teeth into "one-axis@SCSea", US will earn herself 10 lead years to grow.

A modern & updated "Thucydides Trap" whereupon the declining power use others to achieve their goal of sustaining her leadership role

US has been printing paper currency (US$) for some years & many predicted that the US dollars will become banana currency. By the end of 2021, the federal government had $28.43 trillion in federal debt. But, with the stroke of luck, Inflation surfaced fast and furious. US/FED increased interest rates to tame inflation, henceforth strengthening the US dollars - a masterful stroke.

Russia has co-opted a "nuclear first strike" stance.

The world cannot afford a nuke-WW3; few will come out alive... but, then again

An advice to those worriers-at-large: 

If you don't die of Covid, Monkeypox or other infectious diseases, you may die when nukes start flying all over. Chase your dream, go forward to achieve your goals ...within your means. We are born and we will die sometime, somewhere - Stop Worrying & Start Living

To those who bully, ostracize, gaslight & scam others; remember, KARMA is a bitch

Well, do whatever you please but be ready to accept the consequences

Have Faith, GOD is the Ombudsman

If tomorrow comes

Leave Me Alone

delinking the past...

Whatever I am going through is to repay IOUs; from the previous life & current

I reap what I sow; my first 50 years in life were what I have done before arriving & the next 50years are what I have done in the past 50

It is my pleasure to give back & when all are (re)paid, I shall leave

I have my fair share of hits and misses & experiences of hurts, betrayals, empty promises, victory, valour, gains & achievements 

Many are leaving the pathways of my life as I discover & recognize their schemes, motives and ill-intents - i remove them  拉黑 quietly but surely

I am traveling alone more often; alone is not loneliness

It's better to be on your own than to be a punching bag & clown in the crowd

What's the point of feeling belonged but experiencing emptiness & like an underdog? A fake lifestyle is an agony

The speed of change is faster, less expected and more disruptive

Less expectation, lesser disappointment

The one who can scam or trick you are those closest to you

Let go of the many friends who come to you because you are successful &/or helpful

When you are down & broke, your acquaintances & fiends will make themselves scarce

Trust is so delicate

But, if you believe in Karma, your life will be lighter; either you are paying back or you are collecting IOUs

Everyone goes through pains and sufferings, ups and downs but not everyone can take the impact of a fallen man

Rest if you must but never give up

Tomorrow will be a better day but all TOMORROWs start today

Do not betray those closest to you; your gains could have destroyed him completely but his ghost will return to haunt you forever

Before you act, think of the consequences as Karma is a BITCH

My retreat is not a sign of weakness 

I don't fight but if I need to fight, I fight to win 

My Master said "don't just fight but fight to defeat his Soul"

A lesson well taught will be well learnt

 

The Prepared Person Will Win

retreat to find the right path ahead...

At your worst, everything surfaces; whether you are able to fight the challenges or just a weakling

You truly know who are friends or foes & acquaintances aplenty

The best thing to happen is you can't go any lower, short of being dead 活生生的 就是还有气 死不了

From the ashes, rise the phoenix

When you first enter the working career, you hardly know what you bargained for nor gonna get - dreams and realities are fleeting

No amount of planning, without execution, can get you anywhere

When you aren't concern about losing anymore, nothing matters & all obstacles collapse - it's a free way ahead

Losing face, losing money, losing status, losing your dearest ...any fear of loss will paralyse you

不要脸就成为（是）无敌

When you first started your journey, you were not afraid but as you gather successes, fears build - the fear of losing & being beaten to completely

Remember : from zero to zero - you loss nothing

If you don't do stupid things when you are young, you have no stories to tell when you are old

Stupid things are NOT foolish things; they're just things that you genuinely believe are harmless, achievable, good, non destructive and will lead to your goals

You are as alive as you're breathing - you don't know when your clock stops

No matter how far you have gone, whatever achieved through scheming, tricks, scams & ill-will will disappear when Karma knocks

So long as you are prepared for the consequences, go ahead - who dares win

But, GOD, through Karma, is the arbiter

Have faith in the AlMighty - whichever religions you had chosen & whoever you believed in

Do not hurt those closest to, or trust, you - their revenges or the consequences are impactful

The beginning of life is almost always virtuous, bathe with innocence - a blank piece of paper to be filled

You can be the most virtuous person, the most scandalous clown, the charitable & caring leader or ... anything

Happiness is not about the accumulation of wealth, fame, power or influences - it's all in the mind

The eggs that break from within, grows

The eggs that breaks from the outside, ends

Have grace, be modest & humble, care & share and the rewards are a peaceful mind and pleasant, warmth personality - someone that may look up to

You may be born poor but don't die a pauper

Change and the world changes with you

Post-COVID ecosystem is dynamic, erratic and unpredictable

For those who are prepared, LUCK is where preparation meets opportunity - success is a stone throw away

Going forward, anything that is seemingly rewarding and promising must be closely examined, avoided if necessary - there are no free meals 

Greed kills the ambitious while selfishness kills the self-entitled

Let your mind flow within the essence of GOD's paths & avoid any extremes

The good will win ...ultimately

I am not a defeatist but I am cautiously optimistic 

I come alone and shalt return alone in glory

Tomorrow Never Come

time never stops for anyone...

If you have waited for Covid to pass, you have lost about 800 days yet C-19 is still around; maybe less lethal

Whatever you thought was impossible has became fairly possible

The new normal is here to stay

Impatience has reared its head but are you ready, able & capable now that the restraints are loosened? Complaints do not get you ahead

If you had spent the lull period to upskill, learn more & improve on your skillsets, you are ahead of the crowd

No one is any smarter by reading into the future via stargazing; it's plain hard work of empowerment

Nobody is born to fail

Success is where preparation meets opportunity

Life is a journey meant you have to experience it; be it joy, sorrow, memorable or destructive

Nobody's believe that he will fall sick, very sick at times, until sickness strikes him

You cannot burn a candle at both ends as there will be no handle yet burn faster

Water seep through the hardest rocks & form new flows

Within ourself, there is certain limits but within that limit, you can achieve wonders

Never let anyone talks you down

Gaslighting is the smoothest demolition to the Soul - the stealth demotivation

This world is spinning faster that you can tell lies apart from reality, news from propaganda & sweet nothings - the world is a stage

Few can differentiate the real from fake as illusions rule

Do not procrastinate

Many people are not worth your time, care and efforts

Go with the flow... long after you have achieved your goals will the world ever notice

I am spring cleaning my list of friends, acquaintances & fiends

It's June and almost half a year is gone... what have you achieved? Me? Nothing much but kicking up a fresh string of possibilities

The speed of change is fleeting & passes in a blink

I am restarting a new journey, 满夫过海 not by choice but by circumstances

变脸 与 千面人 已成了小菜一碟

I wanna take a few steps back, trudge a little slower in order to see a pinch clearer

Tomorrow never come & waste not today

You life is as good as your breathe; a final breathe and you game's up

Live happily & healthily

Journey Forward

walking forward & towards the ...

Do whatever you want now, not tomorrow for everything goes on until the/your last breathe

Nobody knows when we expire but there is certainty in death

Chase your goals, dreams, aspirations...within your means ; "the I want to but..." remains illusive if you wait 

The unfinished statement, the unrequited relationship, the longing for something but didn't dare to move forward, the chaser but not the completor; all shalt remain unachieved

If you don't try, it's a sure "NO"

No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow – Euripides

For those who complain, procrastinate, whine & 'stop living' during Covid, they have lost >700 days

Not that the Covid scourge is over but the situation has somehow adjusted & adapted; living with the virus & a new normal has arrived

Move ahead bravely

The stable & affirmative mind deflects intrusive disruptions

Treasure those who care & share and discard those who betray & are disloyal

Bees will harness flowers for their nectar however, you cannot teach flies not to eat shit

Friends, foes and acquaintances flock around you when you are prospering & shining brightly

But, all successful journeys are self-fleetfooted

First 25 years: is a 100m dash - do & show

Next 25 years: is a middle distance run - you need lots of pacing

The last >25 years or more: is long distance marathon-type walk-a-run - you think you can but your physical limits restrict

Avoid sweet talkers, the glib tongue, the inexhaustive pouring of praises - they prostitute with their tongues & would disappear on the first instance of your seeming 'failure'

只要你相信 前途无量 活出你的“自己”

What the mind thinks, you become

Honor your parents, honor your words

Crimes, scam & con do not pay

Repent 忏悔

Make good your promises

The route forward is for everyone to explore & conquer 

Live to tell a/your story, not to be saddled with regrets

You Decide Your Destiny

continue guessing...

The world, it's people, has been guessing for centuries

Guessing games have worsen as fakes, misinformation & lies creep in drowning realities a few realms lower

Governments, the world over, are presenting fakes, imitations, misinformation & convincing mind-bending videos to sway opinions toward their preferred results

Predictions about the future are vastly inaccurate; GOD does not disclose the future in any day

Fortune telling, philosophy, religions, conpersons & even scientists may broadly 'paint a picture of the plausible future' but nobody can accurately conclude what will happen at the time specific - it's logic combines with psychology

Can you change your life? YES, of course

Changing your life requires deliberate changes from within (you)! A trained doctor or engineer could become a Chef - they need to learn to cook. An unskilled person can train to be a craftsman while you can give up everything and seek enlightenment - the changes or change lie within

Life is a struggle because of 'comparison'; salary, status, affordability, position, even a simple thing like clothing

The rough sleeper & beggar are able to do get by because they've given up 'the need to compare'...maybe, at the lowest rung, there is little or nothing to compare

Vanity is acute inferior complex as one exhibits lame 'supremeness';  You cannot weed out vanity without modesty & humbleness

Man is a strange animal; he never needs to know why he is happy but must find out "why he is sad, disoriented, unsuccessful, defeated, lost..." He guesses why he failed & only success is definitive

Success isn't complex; set you goal, acquire the skillsets or papers, apply your knowledge, hone your skills, adjust, adopt & adapt, try & trials, hone into satisfaction & perfection - your efforts will be recognised 

STOP going to voodoo, fortune tellers, clairvoyance & pick up the knowledge and skills required to lay the path towards your goals. Also,  avoid your so-called friends who talk down to you & harbor every intents to see you fail  by discouragement & destroyed

You/We can continue guessing...

What's the point of guessing will WW3 breakout, who is the next PM of Singapore, will war breaks out in the SCSeas... anything beyond you or your ability is "good to know, but need not waste too much time on them"

The world loves a winner. When you win & the crown is yours, the world comes to you

Succeed & 'the world' will be at your feet

Change within & the world changes with you

Work & Life

work to live, not live to work...

The intense competition for jobs are further buttressed by the influx of foreigners seeking work here😈

How do you celebrate Labor Day if you are underemployed or unemployed or paid below real wages? It's an attitude issue; we work to live & not live to work

The Govt that you have elected is there to protect your interests and livelihoods, otherwise why give them employment to displace yourself? It must be a win-win solution 

Anyone whom you put into position decide to displace you is a traitor

Don't tell me "it's for everyone's good" when I am deprived and suffer while you bask in luxury

Leaders lead by example; dictators and emperors lead by 'command, control & suppression'

The mass is happy to go about their everyday's life; tough, hard but livable

Give the freedom back to the people and do not 'paternalise' & claim superiority; we are all made to be different, not enslaved

The elitists claimed superiority to dominate & supperess the mass but no rich man can live in a sea of poors. 

When push comes to shove, revolution erupts; not rebellious but survival (instincts)

Look forward

Think before you do. After you have acted, there is only consequences, no "IFs", no "BUTs"

You can change your life; it starts with your attitude (change)

May! May is here & 1/3 of the year is gone

If you continue to sulk, complain & procrastinate instsead of improving yourself, you are stuck in the quicksand of time - doomed 

Get up & get going...

I will be better... from now onwards, not tomorrow

My share of misses, betrayals, defeats are lessons & victory is when i shelf my sufferings & use my energy to re-pivot into a successes

Winning is everything

Working is a past time; not being able to find work because of foreign influx is a curse & betrayals

The more capable are elected to lead the mass out of misery & sufferings, not to dominate, suppress & gain from their 'charity & trust' 

I am not criticising but reminding that the weaker ones need help; you're paid to do your job 拿人钱财 替人消灾 

If you want to make money, go be a businessperson

Policy making and politics affect many people's lives directly; for the better or worse

"Care & share" with our own people first just as you would your family members; foreigners are not Singaporeans and know which side your bread is buttered

I am a commoner like most Singaporeans

On Labor Day, your loyalty and concerns must be for, and start with, Singaporeans

If, for each his own, the national fibre will snap

I am not xenophobia;I am a Singaporean ...there are jobs that Singaporeans want, there are jobs that there are not enough Singaporeans to fit in & work & you need foreigners to fill but no Singaporean is lazy & doesn't want to work if wages are equitable

We work for a living. We work to live but never work until death's door opens

Happy Labor Day is when everyone is gainfully employed

Frankness &

say what you mean...

People love to hear nice and pleasant things, not necessarily the real things 甜蜜的谎言

There is no eternal friends but there can be common interests

Words are cheap & promises are hollow; trust no one

I can trust everyone so long as I am not part of their game plan & eventualities 

I have learnt over the years that all promises are hollow until delivered 

Disappointments, setbacks & defeats arise when you least expect them & the best antidote is to laugh it off while the tears dry along the way

Nobody is interested to hear your sorrows while some are elated with your misery indeed

As one matures and wise up, he will accept that you need to be useful (of use), otherwise many will desert you - you are as valuable as what you can give & sacrifice

There is a price to pay for everything, including indifference

What do you see (photo: left) or feel? A naked woman carrying a ram, a determined lady or simply an art piece (Vladimir Fokanov)? I see the equality of gender where the woman is trying to prove her worth with her brute strength

This world will never be equal. Gender equality refers to occupational equality, not some genetic differentials that make man and woman different

Shouts of male-female equality are as old as fairness & equality for mankind for which both sounded noble in theory - good to have, i guess 

Many do not like to hear the truths

赢就赢，输就输 就好像水潮 上下，进退

Make your life journey worthwhile; without 'happenings' along the way, you'd have no stories to tell in your twilight years

Many appreciate frankness from those who like them

Honesty & frankness make one vulnerable & unsought frankness is called insolence

A friend is one who speaks honestly about your strengths and weaknesses whereas acquaintances sing praises effortlessly to buttress your ego  

I love accolades, praises and recognition but I can live without all these as I am who I am; I have no ego but principle

I am a loner by choice - alone is not loneliness 

My frankness has bounced back and hit me hard but I would rather be frank and fair than to lie & inflate other - I'm a bad politician

My life is battle hardened & the scars are my medals 

煞星 ：吉或凶 没有绝对

There is no absolute good or bad; everything is relative

Frankness is a virtue

Be calm & Win ALL

calm returns as the mind settles down...

We rush towards the goal, towards the end... towards tomorrow

Whatever is install ahead, nobody knows but youth is capital, mid-age uses experiences & old age can only fight selectively 

Not all fights are worthy nor necessary; letting go save lots of wasted resources and eliminates disappointments & sorrows  

Acquaintances are many but friends are few 日久见人心  路遥知马力 He who stays through thick & thin are rare

Life is a journey & you, & only you, are the surest person to take this path ...all by yourself  - it's useless being quietly hopeful that another will accompany you throughout

Take life lightly; no/lesser expectations, no/less disappointments 别想天长地久 只要要用就有

Those who are able to laugh at, & be more forgiving of, themselves, conquer more frontiers 

Long before COVID strikes & the recent Ukraine/Russia war, costs of living has been spiraling up & it has gotten worse lately. Feedbacks were viewed as anti-establishment & issues were gaslighted as "you are a failure and unable to cope whilst others can"! Think...think of what you can do to change your 'Fate' - when one changes, the world changes too

Fears & ignorance are potently (self) destructive

You die once but live on to create, initiate & change or toil until death calls 

Your sufferings are your own doings; blame no one 怨天怨地怨社会 but the fool who allows 

There is a fine line between the fool and the genius 

Rational is when you are proactive & read ahead while irrational is when you are reactive & impulsive

With grit, determination & assertion, you write your own Fate 活在当下 天助我也 - your path ahead is plotted by you & your goal is near

A calm and calculated mind conquers all

For many, this bridge ends in the sea

To the wise few, the sea joins to land & with a boat, you reach newfoundland

Stay calm in an intensely disruptive world

Do everything within you and leave those beyond you to the good GOD

Tomorrow is never promised but so is your life (span)

Trust yourself & your Soul; the Zen is your lighthouse to your furthest desires  

Potent Grit - Winning Is Everything

down but never, never out...

Somehow when misadventures strike, they flow 祸无单行 

When changes come too fast & swift, a steady mind & grit are necessary defences

The defences aren't against falling but to be able to get up again, bloodied maybe...but ready to be nursed back to fitness & return

It is not about the defeat but the ability to make a meaningful come back, well & alive; ready for the next challenge

The fight is in the dog, not the size

Life challenges are like fighting cancer - it is mind over body 

The Power of Beliefs in a Higher Being - the Great Lord - relieves lots of unnecessary sufferings

I will do my best & I will leave the rest - HE will take every negative ions off me

Man proposes, GOD disposes - the journey between being born and death is a choice

I have my fair share of defeats, especially lately...alas

I accept them as a wholesome but forced changes in my life - the discarding of the past & in with the new

Whatever is in store for me I don't know but I shalt walk ahead with "head in the air" aka bravely & stately

I am befuddled - the speed of changes hit me like a 200km windy tornado - before I rise again, the next batch of awful change bites

I may be down, definitely not out

This is my era of 'compassless' fights - challenges come from all directions, but...BUT... I believe in my ideals 路是人走出来的  条条大路通罗马

The Buddhisattva lives within me - the Zen 忍 of GOD deflects all ill-ions

 Zen - be the blade of grass that dances in the storm

What will I achieve tomorrow, I don't know but whatever I achieve will be a reflection of my intents

There is nothing more important than to live happily & healthily

Happiness within me will radiate into successes - the achievements where Kings & Paupers desire

Rest, if I must

I need not seek others understanding nor be bothered by others opinions; my conscience is crystal clear

Good friends are far & few in between - like ice in the mid-day sun, few can withstand the test of time

I am who I am; answerable to my internal clock & needs

没有如果 只有结果和后果 - 因果

Who dares win - & you harvest what you sow

Victory is sweetest when you defeat your opponents in their own grounds, without shooting a single shot

Battles are won unannounced - the surprise elements make winnings less elusive

Whatever fits; I will lie low until my fortunes return ... soon

I shall laugh away my worries and disappointments until victory returns