I’m frustrated at my lack of direction in life; something I prided upon in the past. Now its all groggy as though I’m recovering from amnesia. My confidence and assertiveness have dwindled and I find it difficult to assert my fair rights and stand. To worsen my predicament, every time I hear that (if you know it, then you know; otherwise, mind your own business), I feel as though someone has broken my ribs apart to slice my heart over and over. Circumstance makes it difficult for me to love, let alone feel compassion, for another person.

This is what happens when you live life without religion. You cannot rely on the ‘infallible’ fairytale of humans to fix your life. You cannot attach yourself to an ‘absolute’ truth. Ironically, there is no such thing as absolute truth nor reality. However, when you hit rock bottom (or are in denial that you are melancholic), it becomes tough to contemplate your situation.

Even then, I’m contented to make up the rules and principles of my own life. For one, I prefer to think for myself and not be lectured about morality.

It is therefore prudent that I begin by taking charge of my life and start respecting myself as an individual. I cannot constantly neglect my needs, because by doing so, I’m subconsciously allowing people to step all over me.

And I must stop perceiving the world in terms of ’statistics’. For instance, statistics like: “Most people die by the age of 70″ , are not only inaccurate but place limits on what I can achieve as an individual. I cannot let these statistics dictate whether I’ll achieve my goal. Instead, I must push on despite the shit and uncertainty to create my path. I already know the typical life of the people in my land is not my path.

P.S. Don’t be a smart aleck to assume that I’m worried about dying at the age of 70. The statistic (which is totally made up) is just a convenient example to shield my real concerns. You think you know me, but what you know of me is what I allow you to know. Perhaps its time I trusted a few other close friends to be not shameless gossips.

Logen L.

While listening to the song after half a decade has passed, I’ve contemplated my journey in life and realise how much older and wiser I’ve become. I’ll soon graduate from polytechnic and reach the crossroads to decide the path I should pursue.

And by now I know, once you choose your path and leave behind the crossroads, you can never turn back. The bonds with the people you once cared for will be forgotten, because they become the relics of your past. When I have the time to reminisce, honestly, I miss my secondary school friends. However, even if we meet up, the tides of time have washed away our past and it becomes a meeting of strangers.

Somehow, I wish I could turn back time and become 15 again. I was depressed and feared abandonment back then. I had a crush on a certain someone and I hated myself for it. Now I wish I had at then possessed the guts to live the life I wanted and trust myself more. That’s the thing… until we’re free, we will never know how significantly we limit ourselves by our beliefs and thoughts.

Yet I cannot regret the choices I have made up until now. If I hadn’t made mistakes nor felt the turmoil of melancholy, I wouldn’t  have the insight I have now. The Logen today would not have existed.

I’ve made up my mind to enjoy my youth while I still possess it. I don’t want to sit down as an old man in the future, regretting that I hadn’t lived life sensuously and wildly; appreciating the cerulean skies, tasting the scent of the night breeze, feeling the heat from the sun, dancing spontaneously to life’s rhythms. To appeal to the senses while they are at their peak and when I’m still alive and healthy.

Logen L.

Today, I’m here to renew my vow to reach my happiness, amid the uncertainty. I vow to reach my goals my way. I will forgive and be compassionate to even those who oppose me.

It doesn’t matter if I will take on a path less taken. No matter the difficulty. Even if there is little proof that my principles, ethics and path will enable me to succeed, I will push on. I will be the exception because I’m not mere statistics. I am Logen, the god of my own destiny. And I don’t give a fuck of what society expects me to do.

Happy new year everyone. I resolve to stick to my code of ethics and principles and my way (and path).

Logen L.

I had half the mind to stop in the middle of the road, turn towards them, glare and shout ’shut the fuck up!’. But I did not. As it was, I was on the road with my night vision impaired due to wearing non-astigmatism lenses. My verbal confrontation would surely result in a physical fight. I would have been at a disadvantage of having three person against one of me and my eyesight might not be sharp enough to take on three attackers.

While my Aikido is far from flawless, it is good enough to break someone’s arm or back when I execute  an arm lock or throw. I would gladly accept punches for the satisfaction of paralyzing those fucktards temporarily. Clearly, I’m not as peaceful a person as an Aikidoka ought to be. I’m not some eccentric person in the street that you can bloody pick on. Because of my past of being heckled in school for being less masculine, I get very affected and offended when people do such things.

On the note of what those hecklers chanted, I do not believe that homosexuals are sinners or deviants. They are normal individuals who seek love from the same gender. But we as a society, use words like ‘homo’, ‘fag’ and ‘gay’ to insult people and more recently, the word ‘gay’ is used to say that someone or something is stupid. Compassion and self-reflection dictates that we should look into ourselves. Will we accept it if someone uses our own names or identities as a way to insult others?

I’ll make this clear… I HATE it when people make discriminatory remarks/jokes on race, the way someone behaves and sexual orientation. You are disgusting if you do it. This applies to my friends as well.

Just because I keep quiet when discriminatory racial remarks are made on Indians, Malays and Bangladeshis, doesn’t mean I condone it. I find it a waste of time and breath to confront and enlarge narrow minds.

Logen L.

If we are able to calm our minds of fear, we’ll be shocked at how fear can aggravate an innocent situation. We are conditioned to face the good with pleasure and attachment; and the bad with fear and aversion. We must drop the illusion of good and bad as they are ultimately two sides of the same coin. Both good and bad should be faced with a calm objective mind. Fear taints clear thought. It instigates paranoia that totally blinds us from clarity. Blindness impairs us from taking action.

[ Aikido demonstration and free attacks ]

Sometimes, during Aikido training I’m required to defend against attacks, at normal speed, without knowing how the attacker will attack. Anticipating an attack results in lack of clarity, because most of the time, you won’t be able to anticipate an attack correctly. I have to empty my mind of anticipation and fear. This way I can truly see an attack for what it is; and not what I imagine. And my body has been able to respond to an attack without hesitation by blending with the attackers attack.

I realise the key to being calm and retain clarity is to accept that some of my fears may come true. In the case of an attack, it is the fear of being hit. By accepting those fears I can take action to minimise the impact. It beats attaching to my fears and allowing them to claim my sanity. As a martial artist, the moment you lose clarity and calm, you are dead. I suppose the same can be said of life.

Logen L.