From 14061a7f39a9ae128150f8584bd3b1bb6c7533dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tony Chen Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2023 03:19:59 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] letters --- _posts/2023-04-26-scorchingly-sunny.md | 60 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ _posts/2023-10-23-cloudy.md | 56 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 116 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _posts/2023-04-26-scorchingly-sunny.md create mode 100644 _posts/2023-10-23-cloudy.md diff --git a/_posts/2023-04-26-scorchingly-sunny.md b/_posts/2023-04-26-scorchingly-sunny.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c4126c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2023-04-26-scorchingly-sunny.md @@ -0,0 +1,60 @@ +--- +title: "letter to my brother-in-Christ, L." +layout: post +--- + +L: + +I'm sad to hear that you are stressed. But, joy is such a precious +emotion; I pray that you will experience an abundance of joy. + +As for me - I recently met a supervisor at my barista job, who bitterly opposed +the way of unconditional love that our Lord Jesus has taught us. In his +view, customers exist to give him money. If they pay money, he will joke +around with them, and make them coffee. But, if he sees that there is no +money that he can extract from the customer, he won't even attend to the +customer. + +That's shameful to even talk about. + +My supervisor completely +disagreed with how I choose to love others. And he frequently erupts +into fits of rage, which I feel is out of proportion. + +I was greatly +tormented when I had to obey his instructions during my job. I suffered +so much that I lost weight visibly, to the alarm of my friends. + +One day, +I couldn't tolerate that supervisor anymore, and handed in my +resignation letter. (He seemed happy to see me depart from the +barista-organisation.) + +Anyway, I'm sure that there is an entire gang of +such awful people, everywhere in the world. Please be wary of such +people, in your own life. But I believe God will repay such people for +their shameful attitudes towards other people. + +I've watched the video +you sent me. "Thank you for the sunshine, thank you for the rain. Thank +you for the joy, thank you for the pain." How apt these words are! (The +cat video is so cute too.) + + I thank God for the priceless lesson I +have learnt painfully, at the hands of my supervisor. It has highlighted +how precious God's love is, in this world that prioritises transactions +and self-centredness, over other-centredness and an unconditional love +that expects nothing in return. + +Now, I am convinced, more than ever, +that Jesus will give me the keys to a glorious future, in the afterlife. +I'll pray for you to meet me in Paradise, brother. But, of course, +meeting me is not as important as meeting our loving Jesus. + +Here is a +website that interested me recently: https://interfaith.sg/ + +Have a nice +week ahead! + +25th April 2023 A.D. diff --git a/_posts/2023-10-23-cloudy.md b/_posts/2023-10-23-cloudy.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe7cdc2 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2023-10-23-cloudy.md @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +--- +title: "letter to M, my friend who practises Zen Buddhism" +layout: post +--- + +Hi M: + +I am writing on a sunny but cloudy morning in Singapore. + +I've +taken your sugggestion to observe the rhythm of the sun. One of my +favourite times of day, when I am working at my part-time job (at a meat-free +restaurant), is - can you guess it? - twilight; I like to watch the +sunlight fade to blue darkness outside the windows, while the electric +lamps indoors provide a warm orange glow. + +The fading light, day after +day, night after night, reminds me that my busy-ness with myriad +operational tasks at the restaurant, is just a small puff of vapour, +compared to the vastness and ancient-ness of the Sun, not to mention the +galaxies in the emptiness of the Space beyond Planet Earth; the Sun has +been rising and setting since the time of the dinosaurs, and what +creature am I to presume that I am the centre of the Universe? + +But I +need a spiritual belief to be my compass in this vast emptiness, and I +have found that through a personal relationship with King Jesus, +resurrected Son of God, who is alive, active and powerful (even today, +at this hour). But I ken that not everyone uses the same compass, and I +have been growing in my acceptance of that. + +One good thing in my life is +like-minded friends who share edifying information with me, through the +wonders of the Internet. For example, Jill wants to find out more about +the Quakers, so she looks that up on her smart-phone, and tells me about +them, reading from her smart-phone, while I sit across from her on a +comfortable couch, marvelling at the ease-of-access of such information. +In other situations, my Buddhist brother sends me Buddhist Scriptures +that is free-of-charge to view at a Web-page. + +(For example: +https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an11/an11.016.piya.html ) + +It is +true that the Internet can harm us if we let it, but I believe a rich +inner spiritual life can steer us towards a more constructive use of the +Internet. + +Well, my shoulders ache from typing out this email with an +awkward posture at my keyboard, so I shall stop writing here. + +Yours +sincerely, +T + +On this day, the 23rd of October, 2023 Anno Domini