There is something happening in this country.



A monk being punched doesn't happen in Thailand.

I live in a country where one of the basic precepts is respect for their monks.  If ever I see monks approaching me in the street, I stand back out of respect and let them by.  The buses have seats reserved for monks and, when they get on a bus, those seats, if taken, are given up directly to the monks.  That is how it is here. 

Then, Tuesday's Bangkok Post featured this photo on the front page.  It shows a monk being punched by a Thai protester after he was mistaken for being an anti-government member.   The monk had apparently complained of demonstrators assaulting another man and this is what he got in return. 

I was just gobsmacked on seeing such a picture.  It was like this just doesn't happen here but the picture shows that it does.  I live in a country where you are not even supposed to politely touch a monk as in a handshake.  So the question arose - what is happening here?  Even deeper it is about what is happening to a society where its clergy, who are so highly respected, are being publicly bashed in such circumstances?

One thing that this picture highlights for me is that all is not well in this kingdom.  Despite all efforts to present a pleasant face, there is a level of chaos alive and well here.  To deny the chaos is non-productive and leads nowhere, except to stay in the same place.  To acknowledge the chaos is to open up to possible ways forward to some other and hopefully better place.   

Does this not reflect our own lives?  Chaos is not there to make us hide in fear or stand up in anger as we feel threatened.  Rather it is there as a wake-up call and to give us an opportunity to enter into a better place, a better relationship with our world and our selves. 

Why don't we do something about it?

Diligent staff at work. 

I was spending half of my Tuesday sitting at a planning meeting at a migrant training centre.  The issue at hand was developing a curriculum in vocational education for Burmese workers.  I was wondering what was going on around me.  It was not because I did not understand anything being said.  Rather it was because I did understand enough of what was being said. 

Yes, all the others at the table were speaking in Thai or Burmese.  And what was their big concern?  It was their problem with applying English into their training courses.  While talking about English in the curriculum and their need to make resources in English available,  nobody spoke any English during the meeting.  I was thinking why don't they do something about it?  Basically, their issues with English will remain while no one responsible tackles their named challenges in English. 

It fascinates me how we tackle issues in life, or don't tackle them, while even naming them. 

An ex-pat here, whom I would name as a friend, has an ongoing issue with alcohol.  Basically, his level of drinking is self-destructive and this is nothing new.  His friends  talk about what is happening but nobody talks with him about it, including me.  It is like the proverbial elephant in the room.  My friend's issues hit me in the face this week as I finally had to name for myself how his drinking was impacting emotionally upon me, recognising that he cannot be a friend to me while his real friend is alcohol.  Very sad, indeed!  I decided that I will not be ruled by his drinking but much more than this the challenge for me remains.  Do more than just join in any talk about his drinking and be a true friend, not waiting until he hits rock bottom. 

What to do?  It may be obvious but not easy!
 

Together we can do it

One day this week while, waiting for my bus, there appeared a team of Council workers who were about cleaning the street.  Together they were happily going along a busy Bangkok road, cleaning everything in their way.  You would wonder what good they would achieve with all the dirt and pollution associated with Bangkok traffic.  Yet here they were so happy together working to achieve the impossible. 

For them, maybe it was not the achieving or not achieving that was important but the fact that they were doing it together.  That is one of the great characteristics of people heere, they love doing things together. 

I was so happy to watch them enjoying themselves, even if it was hot and hard and thankless work.  I had to take a picture of them, and did.  All they did in return was smile and wave at me.  Here was a message for me.  It is not reaching the goal that matters but the mere fact that you aim for it.  It is not that I right things around me but that I do it with others and create some sense of shared achievement and togetherness in the process.  Thanks to this team of lovely and happy women for all they taught me.  I enjoyed learning from them. 

It's time to take a look at life

The protestors are there but not to be seen. 

I have many themes facing me from this week but I can't help keep thinking that Lent began on Wednesday and therein lies the key to my week. 

During the one week, I went from a high to a low.  At the beginning of the week, I felt on top of the world but, by Wednesday, I was wondering where am I? 

On Thursday as I set out for work, it struck me that I had to make a choice of which of my two work places I would attend.  I had tasks and responsibilities at each demanding my attention and depending on my simple choice of go left or right on the street would determine the rest of my day. 

Any low point brings with it some sense of crisis.  It is is a bit of a tired dictum but with crisis does come opportunity - opportunity to learn, opportunity to change.  We are all a bit dysfunctional, a bit functional and to varying degrees at varying times, and we are all faced with the challenge to build up our better side. 

I nearly feel embarrassed to say this but I saw Jerry Springer this Tuesday, being interviewed on BBC's HardTalk.  I was impressed as he made sense.  His reality TV show is not him.  He is actually a man with depth and with passion for religion and politics.  He noted that life is a gift and we need to look after it and nourish it.  Now is that not a Lenten theme and it does fit in with the ups and downs of my week, another week in the life of a human person. 

Pope Francis introduced Lent by saying that it is a time to shake ourselves up, reminding ourselves who is in charge - God!  He reminds us that we live in a culture of doing but what really matters is who we are and so let's not be ruled by always having to do, even if what we do is useful. 

Like the protestors in Bangkok, we need to stand back at times and look at where we are going in life.  It is good to be and not just do all the time or rather maybe not driven by the need to do all the time.  Who we are is basic and leads to and nourishes what we do.  We may need to change direction or speed but we must first take a back seat and let God into the picture and have a good look at where we are.  Lent is a natural season for me to allow that to happen.  So Lent is the key to my week.