一刀两断

"...this led me to think...is marriage a place of suffering??? Does a marriage certificate allow a person to treat his spouse with ignorance?..."

That was the heartcry of a woman who glimpsed on the dark side of a "union between a man and a woman"...(the writer does not support any other definition of marriage)

I believe that this is also the cry of countless other hearts...

A prominent pastor once asked his parents about the secret of building a strong marriage...
Their answer : "...that is because we never thought of divorce as an option..."

Sigh...

Isn't that the root cause of many problems in marriage? Just because you're married does that mean you stop loving each other? Wooing each other? Caring for each other? Caressing each other? Whispering sweet nothings to each other?...

What about in the winter days when your woman was caught in the rain and you cancelled all your appointments just to pick and warm her up?...

What about in the summer days when your man was dying of thirst and you showed up with his favourite Gelato and a homemade watermelon juice?...

All these for what? For winning each other's hearts...because you were afraid of losing each other...

Now where have they gone?

All because "...divorce is never an option..." You think that you won't lose each other ANYWAY...

A friend said to me once...Familiarity breeds contempt...and children...
Oh how sad but true it is...

Just wait a minute...does this mean I am advocating "Divorce"? Does this mean everytime a couple has a problem, then the "D" option is put on the table?

Let me ask you...

Who would ever (in his right mind) like to undergo separation?
Try to cut your arms, break your legs, go to dentist and have your wisdom tooth extracted...

If only Earth and Carrot could talk, they would wail each time we wrench the roots out for our stomach...

So why do people still go for it?...

Whether or not Divorce is an option is NEVER the point...
The issue is...maybe they have never been really together?...

Now you ask...how to be really together?...

Fourteen hours of flight from SFO to HKIA could have bored me to death. Thank God for a nice seat beside the emergency exit and two great movies...

I call them "Inflight Inspirations"...

...Listen. All around you are spirits, child. They live in the earth, the water, the sky. If you listen, they will guide you...Listen with your heart...You will understand...
Grandma Willow to Pocahontas when Pocahontas was confused of what to do - Pocahontas

Somewhere in that pad of stuffing is a toy who taught me that life's only worth living if you're being loved by a kid. And I travelled all this way to rescue that toy because I believed him.
Buzz Lightyear to Woody when Woody refused to go back to Andy, knowing that Andy would grow up and discard him anyway - Toy Story 2

If only we continue to listen with our hearts, live for each other, believe each other...

Then the roots of love will grow deeper and stronger...intricately intertwined...binding our hearts till death do us apart...

And when that time comes...Earth and Carrot would smile as we wail...knowing that we know what they feel...

Sigh...

Would I trade You for anything or anyone else?...
Or would You trade me for anything or anyone else?...

Yosemite...

September 27th 2008...on my way to Yosemite National Park, I had encountered the most unexpected event in my life...I got caught for speeding...

California Highway Patrol (CHP): Sir, you know this is 55 miles speed limit area and you were above that...
Me: Yes, I know that...
CHP: May I see your driver's license please?
Me: (taking out my Indonesian driver's license) Here it is, I'm a traveller...
CHP: Do you have your passport with you?
Me: (taking out my passport copy and give it to him)
CHP: So you stay in a hotel?
Me: Yes, I do...
CHP: Ok, I have another call right now and so I'm gonna give you a warning. Promise me that you won't speed again Ok?
Me: I promise (nodding my head seriously and tried to give him a pitiful look)
...

My friends and I had a few "explanations" of why he let me off with a warning...

Maybe because he found out that I was a traveller with a strange looking driver's license...
Maybe because he thought it was not a good idea to send the speeding ticket to a hotel...
Maybe because he got another more important call...no time to process my ticket...
Maybe...and maybe...

Whatever the reason might be...I can't tell you how grateful or relieved I was afterwards...

The roads to and from Glacier Point were winding with sharp turns and two directional. As if that was not enough, there were no fences along them for protecting vehicles from falling over to the deep chasm beside... The bright afternoon sun sometimes blinded me from seeing what was at the front. So if there was a squirrel on my car's path...may it rest in peace... If there was a chasm in front of us...may WE rest in peace...

By grace...I am still alive and writing this blog...

Readers, if you expect me to write a review on Yosemite's beauty...you'd be disappointed (I could only say that it wasn't as beautiful as expected because I came at the wrong season. I'll leave it to the experts for the rest of the reviews)...

The reason why I pick the title is because this trip has given me some thoughts to ponder...

Imagine if I chose to "rebel" and drove out of the way while driving on the winding roads...
Imagine if I chose to drive on the wrong side of the road...or occupy two lanes at the same time...
Imagine if I wasn't stopped by CHP for speeding...

Sometime before this trip, I was contemplating of commiting "suicide"... I wanted to get out of this "life" due to all the dissatisfactions with whatever I had... I wanted to "rebel" instead of following the way before me...

Sometime after this trip, a friend of mine came to me for an advice. She was contemplating of leaving Shanghai for Australia because she had a permanent residence to maintain. Moreover, she did not think that staying in Shanghai was good for her future. Suddenly she got a job interview a few days before leaving Shanghai for good. She was afraid that she would like the job and lose her Australian permanent residency...

I shared with her, "Life is full of twists and turns, just like driving in Yosemite. Don't fight against it, just follow where it leads you..."
She argued, "But why is it so last minute...? Isn't that crazy?"
I said, "Not really. When I drove, I didn't know how many turns I needed to make. I did it based on last second decision, cause I followed the road"
I added, "If the road takes you to unpack your stuff and stay, why not? Why force yourself to plunge into the chasm?"
I am amused to find out that she is still in Shanghai right now with the new job...

Sigh...

So I'm gonna keep on driving on this road called Life...
No speeding this time, unless I am willing to suffer the consequences...
I shall follow the rules, the guideposts, while watching out for other drivers...
Keep on driving...
Keep on seeking...

I am the Way(follow Me)...the Truth(trust Me)...the Life(live in Me)...
Yeshua Ha'Mashiach