There are those loose ends

Well, I hope Santa reached you and left some good cheer under that tree.  As for me, I am simply once again touched by the kindness of people at this time of year.  Family and friends from near and far have been most kind to me as have ones here with whom I am involved in my ministry.  All I can say is that people I know from Bangkok, Australia, wherever have been so kind to me and I think how good people are.  This is a good way to finish the year but this was not the way it was only last week. Then I felt much more tired, defeated or stretched in life. 

On my last day at the Caritas office on Christmas Eve, I went away thinking how much unfinished business I was leaving behind.  There were important tasks at hand but I could not finish them as they demanded the attention of more people than just me and in one way or another they were not there.   So as I approached finishing 2014 last week, my 'task oriented' mindset told me that I am finishing the year with many loose ends left undone.  Ho, hum! 

Then along came Christmas and I name it as my focus changed to my 'relationship oriented' mindset and my experience has been so much more positive.  So this week, I approach finishing the year with a healthy appreciation of humanity.  People have been good to me over these past few days and they have left their mark on me for the better.  My overwhelming sense is that I no longer feel tired, defeated or stretched. 

I wonder how to put these two mindsets or experiences of my life together.  I don't believe in compartmentalising life.  I also don't see that one mindset can be ignored while the other becomes dominant and rules the day.  The two I am sure speak to each other and go hand in hand.  There are the loose ends in my life but that does not take away from the fact that people are basically good and life has so much to offer. 

Maybe these two roads in my life come together through reflecting on another experience in my Bangkok.  It is Christmas - New Year and people flock here from the Australias of our world because they have found their bit of paradise, escape or just place of fun.  For them, here can be their El Dorado for now.  For me, this is home.  It can be anything but fun and my internal response to encountering these people can be a simple internal yell - Please!!!

Here is my place of work and daily struggle, it is my place of daily achievement and striving, the place where I meet people and friends on a daily basis.  As I reflect on life from this approach, I think good Pope Francis has something to offer me.  I need to have more fun and exercise that sense of humour.  I must not overemphasize the task focus in life at the expense of the relationship focus.  Life may have become too serious and in the process I just don't stop enough and enjoy the goodness of people around me.  As they say, I need to smell the flowers more. 

Yes, there are the loose ends but they don't really matter.  They are a part of life and the task will always remain undone.  What really matters is life itself and to savour and enjoy it, to savour and enjoy the people around me.  What matters is balance in life.  The task focus in life cannot take over from the relationship focus.  Both are important and have their place.  What, I would say, has primary place is relationships.  Never let the task lose sight of the people, never let the negative overcome the positive, never let the world's woes hide the world's joys and possibilities for goodness and greatness.  Good Pope Francis is right.  A healthy sense of humour is essential in life. 

I wonder if Santa has any loose ends at the completion of his annual tour of duty.  Well, loose ends or not, he knows that Christmas has to keep rolling on. 

Ho! Ho! Ho!  Happy New Year!

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!

Christmas recital at Holy Rosary church. 

Holy Rosary church is a lovely, old Catholic church in Bangkok near Chinatown and on the river.  It was built some 200 years ago as the church for the then Portugese community in the then Siam.  The Portugese were some of the Europeans living here in the kingdom's history for the sake of trade, diplomacy and business. 

I was at Holy Rosary Monday evening for a Christmas recital by the Bangkok Voices.  It was an uplifting experience, listening to the Christmas songs while looking around at the inside of the church with its many statues and symbols and wonderful sky or heavenly like ceiling.   

It was a good way to enter into Christmas week.  Their last song was particularly moving.  It was "The Prayer".  Celine Dion does a version as does Andrea Bocelli, or they sing it together.  I heard the words and felt they had a real message and here it is: 
"Let this be our prayer.  When shadows fill our day, lead us to a place, guide us with your grace. give us faith so that we'll be safe. 
..............
It's the faith you light in us.  I feel it will save us."

Merry Christmas!!!

What's the hurry?

On Sunday, I met with a great friend who is a Filipina and working here as a Director of an NGO.  When talking about being a boss here, I was amazed to hear her use the same line I use in dealing with Thai staff.  She simply said how they show no sense of urgency.  She sees all their work just building up, with so much being left undone until the very end. 

How true!  Nothing here is done quickly.  Many things are ongoing and just left unfinished.  Then the classic experience is seen when Thais want something done immediately in their time frame after leaving the same task go unattended for so long.  There is then a great rush and a demand for immediate action. 

Here there is no great sense of urgency amongst the general population and life just goes on and on and on.  I am reminded of this approach to life by the picture of last week of the two girls sleeping at the bus stop.  That is such a typical scene.  I am coming on the bus to work this morning and there are two school girls sitting together and both are sound asleep.  You wonder if they will ever wake up for their stop. 

It is a week before Christmas and this time of year has its own sense of urgency to get things done and be ready for the big day.  It is all go!  None of that here.  Life goes on at its own pace.  Nothing will move the people unless they want to be moved.  There is a general complacency, a certain laissez-faire among the population but there is much more to them than that.  This is not the whole story for you don't want to disturb them or disagree with them without expecting a backlash.  Like everything here, it highlights how complex the culture and the people are.  Nothing can ever be dealt with by a short essay.  Rather any understanding demands at least a chapter of a major thesis.

For someone like me, it keeps me ever awake and ever thinking on what is really happening and how best to approach life issues. 

Merry Christmas!

It's a tough time of year

Thais have the gift of sleep.  They can sleep anywhere.  It is a precious gift they have.  These two are sleeping while waiting for the bus for school along a busy street, and guess what?  They won't miss the bus. 

Maybe sleep is needed as we get up too early or maybe because the diet is not as nutritious as it could be or maybe it is the climate or maybe it is a docile approach to life or maybe it is just a good escape from a harsh reality.  Like everything here, I just don't know.  I will just speak for myself. 

Living here, every day I face the same dilemma encapsulated by the same basic question - what is happening here?  I receive a work communication and as I try to deal with the difficulty presented, I ask myself what is really happening here.  We are given a notice at work and what is it that is really being said.  I go out with Om last week to a grand community celebration and when it comes to going home, it is why are we still here? 

I am eventually told that, as a member of staff, he needed to stay back late and help clean up.  He never told me that.  Truth is that if I am told the score, I can deal with what is given.  However, time and again I am not told the score.  So what am I to do?There is nothing personal in this as it is just part of being here for all of us from outside.  We never seem to be told the score.
 
It makes me ask why aren't we told what is really going on around us.  Is it lack of trust, is it the way communication happens or fails to happen, is it lack of thought or is it the way it is planned?  I just don't know what it is.  All I can say is that it is part of being in Thailand.  So maybe sleep is the answer to what you can't control.  It is better than getting upset as that serves no purpose, getting you nowhere other than to destroy your day.  When times get tough, go and take a nap. 

We need each other

Early last Sunday morning, I was going to the cathedral for mass and I came across this whole team of women cleaning the footpath.  There were so many of them on one simple task.  They were working along Silom which is a major street.  With all of them on the footpath, you had to revert to using the road to walk.  What first struck me is that this is how Thais best operate - doing things together.  So I took the photo thinking that this so typifies the Thai approach to life. 

What I did not realise was that this was a precursor to my week which featured a three day regional workshop run by UNHCR.  It is because this workshop was all about partnering - partnering between UNHCR and all those agencies and others helping refugees.  The bottom line presented was that the refugee situation throughout the world is at a crisis level with UNHCR acknowledging that it cannot go it alone as it lacks a budget and resources to meet the need.  So they now turn to their partners in a special effort wherever and whoever they may be to work closer together for the good of the world's refugees. 

The ideal of working together remains the optimal way to go in all things as it shares resources and more importantly builds up relationships.  In our world ideals often become more a reality when the bottom line tells us that something is wrong and something different has to happen.  Our world can be so short term focused that we sacrifice good ideals which then come to the fore only when needed. What is worse is when I see ones using ideals as a way to get their own message across.  What I hate is the boss who proclaims teamwork but then acts to divide the team to get his own way.  I see this in church so often.  Working together is hard work and demands commitment and patience.  It is the way to go as I know only too well that I can't do it alone.  That is the truth. 

As I met ones working with UNHCR and other agencies from throughout Asia responding to refugees, I was struck by their simplicity and humility and their passion for a population in dire need.  In this group, there was a lot of skill and goodwill.  I was impressed. 

I look at the Thai women in this picture doing a simple and menial task and I can see how they have a real message for me.  Being there, I knew they were enjoying doing their work as they were doing it together.  They were getting the job done with a degree of enjoyment.  There is the lesson.  Whatever we do, it is more enjoyable and rewarding and more productive, when done together. 

Now the serious trees are going up

This is simply the best Christmas tree.  It is outside Terminal 21 which is a shopping centre in central Bangkok aimed at the young and wealthy.  This city is presently being filled with glorious Christmas trees, colourful decorations, bright lights and catchy music of the season.  So when I go to my supermarket, I find myself starting to hum along to the tune of "Winter Wonderland" being played on their sound system.  I just love it. 

Yet it is all so surreal for I have to remember that I am in a land in the tropics where the mass of people are not Christian and have no idea what Christmas is about.  Still they all love the trappings and the shopping.  The children love seeing the trees and the decorations.  You can see it in their faces.  Maybe that is the same everywhere, even in Australia. 

Today it is four weeks until Christmas Day.  Now is the lead up to the big day and it is the build up that I so love as it is one time of the year when you can be sure to feel good and have a sense of oneness with humanity.  At least, that is me, even here in Thailand where most around me are ignorant of the reason for my more peaceful inner state of being. 

How I experience this time of year is tied up with my family and how I was brought up.  Christmas was at the centre of our family tradition as it was huge every year with mum and dad.  I am thankful for that as I am ever thankful for mum and dad in all things and for all they gave us. 

It is good to remember this as it is my birthday this week and it is a natural time for me to reflect on my life.   I have been given so much by many good and kind people.  This is my time to be thankful and spread some cheer.  Why not do this all year round and make this my typical life stance?  This could be my birthday gift to my world of which these wonderful trees at Christmastime become a symbol everywhere and every day of my feeling good and of my being at one with my world and humanity. 

Christmas has come to Nando's

Yes, it is Christmas again or so it is appearing more and more so here in Bangkok.  The trees and the lights are going up all over the city in the shopping malls, shops, restaurants, office buildings and squares.  Even Nando put up his tree this week and everyone is impressed that  he has a real tree.  The star is a bit sad but he is working on it. 

Nando is my Italian friend living in the same apartment building.  He has his great Italian restaurant sitting right outside the front door of our building.  He and his restaurant are very much a part of my life here.

I name Nando as the Mayor of our street as he is known by everyone and knows everyone.  His restaurant is more than a restaurant.  It is a local landmark.  It is a centre for the life of our neighbourhood and he makes it so due to his warm hospitality and sincerely friendly nature.. 

The western guys congregate at a table each day to have a beer and a chat.  The regular customers all know each other.  Nando acknowledges all as they go by and even has a chaplain - me.  That gives me my one perk as he gives me a good deal - a plate of pasta and a can of Sprite for 200 baht. 

Nando is one of those characters in my Bangkok.   He is larger than life - a good man with a big heart.  Of course to be a character, he is also a little eccentric and has his funny ways.  His outward Italian free expression can be a bit much for Thais at times but  you just think that this is who he is.

Part of knowing Nando is to know his family and they are great.  His brother is an engineer on a cruise ship and mostly away.  He also has a big heart and is just in love with ships.  You should hear him talk about his ship.  It is like the ship is s person, even his girlfriend.  Then there is mama.  She lives in Rome and comes here each year for Christmas to see her two boys.  She doesn't just come and relax.  She puts on her apron and gets to work, helping to run the restaurant.  She is part of the show.  She is tops.  She will be here in ten days and will be a welcome addition to our neighbourhood and my Bangkok.  Nando is so excited, getting ready for her.  Hence the tree went up this week.  He is like a big kid. 

Nando puts some added colour and life into my Bangkok.  I thank him for helping to make my Bangkok a place that is my home, a home like no other I have known before. 

Thailand is not what it seems.

I have known this guy for say six years, for all the time I have been going to the refugee centre as he has been one of the security guards there.  He is always ever so friendly and welcoming when I arrive at the centre, presenting as if nothing ever troubles him.  The friendliness is sincere and overwhelming but the rest of it is presentation as I would suspect he has many troubles in life. 

For one, he is a single dad with a young daughter.  He is very proud of her and obviously loves her but he also worries about her and how to best look after her.  Secondly, a security guard's wage would not be enough to look after him and his daughter in a sufficient way. 

So as well as being a security guard, he operates a 'motorcy' taxi.  This means that he is licensed to used his motorbike to take paying passengers places locally.  Then I discovered that he uses his motorbike for another purpose as well.  He gathers cardboard and such that have been discarded from shops and carts it all away on his bike for recycling.  When I go to the refugee centre early in the morning, I see him tying up the cardboard to take away and get a few more baht for the day. 

In the midst of it all, as you can see, he always has a cheery smile and a wave for me.  The reality is that life is tough for him, as it is for so many, but he gets on with it.  Bangkok is a huge city with its more than fair share of wealth but he doesn't enjoy anywhere near his share of it.  He works hard, he struggles every day, he does his best for his little girl.  He is a good guy, a happy guy but all is never what it seems, especially in my Bangkok.   

Happy Loy Krathong

 Loy Krathong is the annual Thai festival and of this region to mark the end of rainy season.  It is the most lovely festival.  It is about friends, families and couples going to the rivers, the lakes, the ponds to release their krathong while making their wishes for good, success and happiness.  So their desires are released and set sail on the waterways of Thailand.

 A krathong is a floating object that holds the symbols of yourself and your inner being - a coin, a piece of hair, a bit of fingernail, incense, flowers and a candle. The traditional krathong is made from the banana tree.  

Loy Krathong falls on the full moon in November.  It is a water festival that happens at night when everyone flocks to rivers, creeks, lakes, parks.  It is most symbolic and a great coming together of people to wish good for each other.

Let the pictures tell the story.

This is my culture

I have a great friend here, Om.  He works for the government or, as he says, I am a civil servant.  On Monday, he shifted to another government office.  Being Thailand, it is not just about packing up your things and going to a new office.  It is so much more.  

It is about being feted and farewelled, being taken by all your work mates personally to your new office where your are greeted by your new work mates.  Then everybody takes you out to lunch and so you begin work in your new station.

These pictures feature Om with his present work mates at a provincial government office.  Their main task for today at work is to farewell him and wish him well.  They are obviously doing a great job and loving it.

Thais are at their best when they are with each other, enjoying each other's company.  There is something so lovely and natural about this and it speaks of their good side which is so strong.

There is no answer that is the answer

Last week, I was left with a huge issue for me at my workplace.  Why was it huge?  Because it was about an issue of justice in our work.  I had received an instant communication from afar, notifying an immediate action that affected our good work. All the questions arose for me.  How can someone do that to us?  This is not right.  This is not fair.  I had to respond and respond I did but in my way as a well educated, western liberal theologian who is very conscious of what is right and just. 

So I responded in a brilliant way with a well composed response to the sender that made points in a non-offensive way.  I also shared openly and honestly my ideas and difficulties as I should on the matter and my options for action with my Thai leadership in camera.  I did all I did as I knew to do as a good westerner and in good ways that I had learnt from back home.  I have been well trained. 

But then I realised, and I should have known, I had gone too far for Thai or Asian ways as one does not be so direct on issues, even in house or discrete circles.  They just don't seem to appreciate such behaviour.  I was reminded on this in a polite and simple way and I was left me reeling.  It made me realise, even after nine years here, how do you ever deal with issues, with difficulties here as no one seems to want to discuss them directly and face them head on. 

I went into my shell asking myself all the questions and trying to see a response for me.  On Monday, I went and talked with a trusted colleague here - an American Baptist minister who has been here over 20 years.  I just needed to talk with him.  I was not seeking any answers.  Then at the end, he made a comment that gave me my answer or reminded me of the answer for here - There is no answer. 

This might make no sense if you don't know a Thailand but it sure made sense for me.  Living here, I so understood and so agreed.  How true!  There are no answers to the mysteries, the dilemmas, the questions here.  They remain for us and we keep struggling on. 

So I was able to face my week with a new mindset and a much healthier one for living and working here.  Somehow or other my dilemma at the workplace was faced by all of us together.  Maybe it has not been faced as I would choose or in the best way.  I see difficulties remaining and some underlying issues not tackled.  Still it has been faced and is has been faced as they would do it here.  

I don't know if this makes sense.  It does to me who is caught up in here.  I have my ways but they are not their ways and here I am.  For efforts to succeed, one must work with who and what is here.  It is not a matter of what or who is better or even right but what works and gives a way forward, while always maintaining your focus and integrity.  The latter always remain before me and remain my personal challenges and quest. 

I am a guest in someone else's home.  I am a welcome guest but still a guest in Thailand.  That is the nature of mission.  I agree that there are no answers so much of the time for so much of what is faced and so I continue to struggle along and work for good ministry and good order. 

There is just a lack of answers for guiding the daily path. 

A King Remembered

Otherwise known as King Chulalongkorn, today, Thursday 23rd October, is a holiday in Thailand to remember Rama V who was king of the then Siam from 1868 until 1910.  History remembers him as a great king and maybe history is coloured but I tend to agree with history.  He was one of the great kings of this country. 

He led his people into the 20th century, overseeing reforms and the building up of a new state.  He had a vision for his then kingdom.  He knew that to stay independent and to be strong, this country needed to modernise and modernise it, he did, and brought it into the 20th century as best he could. 

As king, he is remembered as a father to his people and to this day he is remembered with fondness and revered by them.  As a Catholic, I now have good Pope Francis to look up to.  If I was a Thai and a Buddhist, I would be looking up to a King Chulalongkorn in much the same way. 

As I sit in my apartment, I can see my photo of Rama V on my fridge door.  He is there standing proudly, dressed in his immaculately tailored military uniform, showing off his decorations of honour.   His ceremonial cape looks not just stylish but wealthy.  His stance exhibits a certain arrogance.  The picture shows him to be a handsome man, a strong man. 

Maybe I keep this picture in a prominent place as it is an image that tells me something about the history of where I live.  It tells me of the pride it holds and that despite all the difficulties faced here, its people come from somewhere noble, somewhere to be treasured.  Is that not the same for all of us?  I think this in the very week that Gough Whitlam, ex-PM of Australia, died; in the very week that Paul VI was beatified and Francis so skilfully led us in Synod. 

Long live the King!  Viva il Papa!

The Church on the Move

Monday saw my debut as a movie actor.  It will probably be my one and only time to hit the big screen.  I starred as a French missionary priest coming to Thailand with the French brothers who began the local and well known Assumption College.  The brothers came here over 100 years ago and began their good work. 

When I shared my acting news with David, another local ex-pat and friend, he asked the question.  Did the brothers start Assumption College as a school for the wealthy? 

He asked this because Catholic schools in this country are identified with the wealthy and powerful, being places where wealthy families do send their children.  If you just went by the Catholic schools you see in Bangkok, you would judge that the Catholic Church in Thailand is big, powerful and wealthy.  The truth is that the Catholic Church here is very small in number.  As for wealthy, Bangkok Archdiocese includes Catholic families who have huge wealth.  As for powerful, the Church seems to have a standing that goes far beyond its small membership.  What I can say is that this Church is about doing business. 

My answer to David was that I am sure the brothers came here with a true missionary spirit, being dedicated to spreading the faith and establishing the Church.  They would have had poor and humble beginnings, reaching out to the Catholics and the poor people.  They established schools to serve a need.  The history of Assumption College began in 1885 when Fr Emile Colombet, a French missionary priest, established a schhol to serve Thai children who went without an education.  What then happens in time is that their missionary endeavours proved so successful that they attracted the powerful and wealthy, as we see today. 

Assumption College today - such grandeur.

From such humble beginnings we see what we see today.  How we can lose touch with our roots!

It is nine years

Br John Beeching, a Maryknoller in action.

I arrived on 5th October, 2005.  I don't know why I remember the date but I do.  This means that last Sunday I have been here nine years.  Amazing!

I first came with Maryknoll, the missionary arm of the US Catholic Church, as a volunteer.  Br John Beeching was my connection and mentor.  I took on teaching English in a Buddhist temple  which was seen as an inter-religious project. As well, I ran their volunteer programme for ones coming from the USA.  That was how I began.

From the beginning with Maryknoll, I questioned why I was teaching middle-class Thais English for nothing and I asked how I could improve the teaching curriculum.  This was all too much for Br John and for the first time in my life I got the sack, with John taking me for coffee to tell me that I would be better placed somewhere else.  So Maryknoll Thailand introduced me to the then Fr Pibul in January 2006 and there began my new career with what was to become Caritas Thailand.

And here I am!

I sometimes ask myself why I am still here.  The answer is simple.  I am where I need to be.  I believe this is my place in the world and the Church for now.  I say this for a number of reasons.
1) I make a worthwhile contribution through my ministry and work here,
2) I am involved in a life-giving ministry to urban refugees for which I have a passion,
3) I serve a good purpose for my Order, allowing them entry into a cutting edge ministry with migrants and refugees in a part of the world where they want to be more and more present.

Yes, for now, I have found my little corner in world and Church.  My Bangkok may be a bit bizarre and intense at times but it is where I belong for now.  What more can one ask for in life?

A frightening insight!

On Sunday, I saw a documentary on the BBC named "My Brother, the Islamist".  It was about a young Englishman trying to understand why his brother had become an Islamist.  His brother had turned to a form of Islam that allowed a number of such young men to come together and pursue an extreme way of life and philosophy that included belief in using violence to ultimately achieve their religious ideals and pursuits.

The two brothers had grown up together in mainstream Britain.  They shared the same family.  They enjoyed the same education.  So, why such a radical shift by his brother?  His brother had chosen a way of life that was so foreign to his family.  It was more than just a radical choice with the now violent tendencies held by his brother.  They just could not understand what was happening.  Why?   This was the big question.  

As I saw the young Englishman talking with his brother and other young Islamists in Britain, I could see that these men were questioning a godless society and its values and recognizing a need to change.  This I can understand.  But then they turned to extremism as their only option.  This I could not understand. 

40 years ago, such people in western society turned to the priesthood or the monastery like me and others who shared the same questioning about a society and world that were so unjust and losing their way.  Or else you turned to a worthwhile profession or some sort of service to humanity to make a difference for people and make it a better world.  Now I am seeing that our secular societies don't offer this same opportunity and we are paying a terrible price - extremism.

These guys talk of martyrdom.  That is a theological theme of religious life.  For them, martyrdom is not a theological virtue but a do-it-yourself blow up the world thing.

It then struck me for the first time that this whole Islamist movement is arising in a world where there is a lack of a sense of religiosity, of a sense of the divine in everyday life. These are philosophical terms. It is what everyday talk would refer to as a lack of spirituality.  What we are seeing is young men choosing extremism and violence to change the world.  This is frightening and it is challenging us to respond not just with force and politics and fear but with a positive religious response. 

Christianity is being challenged to put the divine back into our secular societies.  This is to be done in good and healthy ways.  The aim is to give people life giving options for searching and asking questions in life, for pursuing the human religious quest, for being spiritual people.  Society may be secular but the human person remains innately religious and that spirit still needs to be able to find expression.  That cannot be taken away by secular society.  Here is the responsibility of Church to respond to this human need and not have it ruled or squandered by extremism and violence.

Where I found Church this past week

Last Friday, I was at farewell drinks for a British couple who had been here in Bangkok for 15 months to work with refugees.  They are husband and wife, a great couple.  One is a lawyer and the other a social worker.  They give their lives to help the desperate populations in our world, choosing not to use their skills just to make big money.  Simply, they are two committed citizens who go out to help the little people of our world. 

There were some 20 people present enjoying Friday's farewell drinks.  They were all individuals like my two friends, young professionals dedicating their lives and skills at least for now to helping humanity.  Our friends were now to head off to Cairo to work with refugees there. 

One guy at the night heads an international coordinating NGO for NGOs and bodies working for refugees in Asia Pacific.  He is totally committed to human rights and works purely to benefit oppressed and low class people.  He does great work.  He shared that he did not believe in God.  I asked him how this fitted in with his commitment and work.  He simply replied:
"This is my life.  I don't need there to be anything after I die.  This is it." 

Then I was speaking with a young Australian lawyer who has been here for a time advocating for refugees.  She told me that she was now off to Ethiopia to do the same work there.  I thought "Wow!"

I could theorize about this experience.  Instead I will simply say that in people like this I have the privilege to meet Church today.  They are not necessarily Catholics nor do they even believe in God but they are committed to good and to humanity and live out their commitment at great cost.  Is that not what Church is about? 

Then in this same week, I meet a local bishop, lovley guy.  He talks of his diocese.  It has a total population of 5.2 million people, of whom 5,500 are Catholics.  He has 28 priests and two seminarians.  And his big issue?  Vocations!  How to get more men to be priests?

  It strikes me how his reality in Church is so different from the reality of my friends and colleagues at the farewell drinks.  While I can understand the bishop's position and lay no judgement on a good man (after all the bishop's agenda is set for him by his role in the Church), his reality and concerns are so narrow.  The reality and concerns of my friends and colleagues seem much more real, much more just purely committed to humanity. 

Where is Church to be found today?

The Catholic church is on track to become a shrinking cult | National Catholic Reporter

The Catholic church is on track to become a shrinking cult | National Catholic Reporter

This article came to me through my online subscription to NCR.  I read it and thought - Wow!  I thought this because only last week I got an email from a good friend, a priest in Rome.  He was reflecting on the Church in Europe, saying:

"We see the problems of our religious congregations and of the Church.  In fact, it is much deeper and is a profound moral morass and if they're not careful they'll be overtaken by more powerful and focused groups.  It might be a caliphate.  It might be China.  But unless they wake up, they'll sink."

I thought my friend a bit dramatic but then his thoughts are reflected in some way by this article which independently came my way at the same time.  This is no coincidence.

The Church is losing its way.  In the west, I would name it as the Church has lost touch with its own grassroots.  Where I live now, the Church has its issues but they appear to be different from ours back home. 

I named my growing up in Church as like belonging to a ghetto.  Everyone and everything I knew - family, friends, school, the scouts, sporting groups - all were Catholic or else they did not own up to being anything else.  The Church was just there, a part of my life as a boy and a teenager.  The first time I ever confronted non-Catholics was when I went to work after finishing school and ones there were making fun of me being Catholic.  The Church provided me a family and a school, a place to belong and grow.  Such a Church no longer exists.  You can no longer belong to a ghetto.  That is a good thing but for this argument that is by the way, as is the fact that the Church today also has many strengths.      

What worries me the most is that the Church of a Cardinal Pell blames us, blames our society and world for what has happened.  I would turn it around and ask where has the Church lost the plot and missed opportunities?   Where the Church finds herself today has a lot to do with her decisions and actions, or lack of them, and how she presents herself. 

Then along comes good Pope Francis and he is calling us to be a Church of the poor, a Church of the people and telling us to get our priorities right, not always just focusing on people's sexual dilemmas or personal proclivities.  Pope Francis is calling us to be Church in a fresh and renewed way.  A Church caught up in its own life and focusing on select issues; a Church that is hypocritical and unfeeling in the midst of scandal is running the risk of becoming a cult and being overtaken.  Francis challenges us to be out there amidst the action and not hide in some cave where we would just become a forgotten or strange cult.  He can see this and name it for us. 

Good Pope Francis!

Nantavisal

Okay, I am not a cow.  So don't get smart. 

A long time ago when animals could communicate with humans, there was a poor farmer living in a village.  He owned one cow, Nantavisal.  He took good care of the cow, which he treated like his own child. 

One day, Nantavisal wanted to reciprocate the kind treatment and told the farmer, "Boss, do you know my secret?  I can pull 100 carts laden with goods.  I don't think many people realize how strong I am.  Why don't you go and bet with the rich man in the village.  He loves gambling."

The farmer was surprised, but he took Nantavisal's advice and approached the rich man, who agreed to make a bet.  On the day of the wager, there were lots of people in the village to witness the event.  Nantavisal started to pull the 100 carts.  It took a while, but the cart moved slowly. 

The farmer was a bit nervous and thought that Nantavisal might not be able to do what he had promised.  He angrily shouted at Nantavisal, "You are a lazy cow, pull harder.  I have wasted a lot of food feeding you."  Nantavisal was so upset that he shed the ropes that tied him to the carts and ran away. 

In the evening, Nantavisal trudged back to the farm.  He saw the farmer crying over the lost bet.  Nantavisal felt guilty and wanted to make amends.  He told the farmer to make another bet.  "This time double the amount," said Nantavisal.  "But one thing I beg of you: please do not say any rude words to me; let me handle the work."

Filled with hope, the farmer replied in a quivering voice. "I will, I will, my son."

The rich man was more than willing to make a new bet.  The next day, there was a bigger crowd than for the first event.  A minute before the cow was to start pulling the carts, the farmer whispered to him, "Nantavisal, my dear son, please put all your effort into pulling these carts.  I pin my hopes on you." 

Nantavisal had been prepared not to expect any insults, but had not been expecting these kind words.  They gave him additional strength. 

With all his effort, he pulled the carts, starting slowly, for the required distance. 

The farmer got his money back and more. 

This story from Thai folklore has had a real message for me this week as I face issues at the workplace and have had to deal with Thai staff.  The message it shares is so true.  It is not that I am angry but I have to be aware that I can't even sound angry to the Thais when dealing with them on work issues.  Otherwise, if I do , I may lose them. 

My week's focus has been a refreshing one.

This has been a different week, a good week, an energizing week as I have had a change in pace, a change I have enjoyed.  It has been because my focus has been on a three day consultation regarding refugee rights held here in Bangkok.  Its participants came from many different countries.  We may have come from many places but we were all bound together by our work and passion for helping refugees throughout the Asia-Pacific region.  I could feel the shared energy and passion of these three days and I found it refreshing.  


Yes, the topic is harsh as it touches on not nice things in life.  It is about a basic human quest by ones dispossessed, persecuted and unwanted in our world to find a corner in the world where they can live their lives in safety and with dignity.  They are doing what any of us would do if life has become too dangerous or intolerable - look for other options.  Maybe that is too simple, but why complicate matters? 

The three days dealt with serious matters around human security and dignity.  A message I hold central is that no matter the level of human misery or desperation, hope has to remain.  Otherwise, what have you got left? 

In the midst of our serious work and of our genuine concern for desperate people, the smiles, the humor, the friendship, the common human bonds among us were also obvious.  It was good to be there even with ones who are suffering so much loss and are living in the midst of such fear and uncertainty.  This reflects the nature of life for any of us.  The truth is that we are all vulnerable and that we all know the plethora of life's stories and experiences, the nice and the not so nice.

Then I take hope when I hear a Congolese man talk about his journey of fleeing danger in the Congo. He finally found a place he could call home where he could establish a life for him and his family.  It took him over 10 years to do so but he did it.  And you know what?  While he loves where he is and is grateful for what he now enjoys, he looks forward to the day when his country is transformed and he can return to the place that he still truly calls home.  He is the eternal optimist.  When  we hear such stories, why wouldn't we hang onto hope and keep sharing that smile and passion for life no matter what we face? 

James Foley - a Symbol, a Hero

If you were of James Foley's family, he would be much more than a hero or a symbol.  He would be your son, brother, grandson, much loved and much missed but assured in the knowledge that he is now with God. 

For the world, or to be more precisely, for me, he has become a symbol, a hero and this has happened only in the last ten days.  I have to be honest and say that James Foley never came onto my radar until the shocking news hit the world that he had been murdered in a barbarous way at the hands of extremists in Iraq and Syria. 

Much has been said of him since his tragic end by Pope and President, by family and Church.  He has left his mark but did it have to be in this way?  No, and it isn't. 

I say this because I am now reading about a man whom I see was committed to his profession, committed to the cause of getting the news out for the sake of the Syrian people.  I know him now as a man who deeply loved his family and God.  He  showed a great spirituality.  I know him as a man of faith.  All of this was who he was already before any barbarian did such a inhuman thing to him.  It is this side - his life story and commitment, the living James Foley - that should be remembered and that was the wish of his parents.  As I heard his mother speak outside church, I heard a woman of faith, asking not for retribution but that we pary for love and peace in the world.  Such faith!

This faith was shared by her son.  A witness to that is a message he got out, while imprisoned, to his family.  I want to share just one paragraph of his message shared by his family.  It so touched me.  It speaks for itself. 

"I know you are thinking of me and praying for me.  And I am so thankful.  I feel you all especially when I pray.  I pray for you to stay strong and believe.  I really feel I can touch you even in this darkness when I pray."

A week for women.

Last week saw not only the Queen's birthday and Mother's Day in Thailand but also, as elsewhere in the universal Church, the celebration of the Assumption of Mary.  The cathedral in Bangkok is named Assumption Cathedral and so Friday 15th featured the annual cathedral celebrations with high mass led by the Archbishop and a Marian procession.  It was all quite impressive.  The Thais know how to run a ceremony with their strong sense of hierarchy and respect for roles. 

While we spent a week in Thailand rightfully celebrating women and upholding their dignity, I know that this does not mean that women are any better off here nor that they hold their rightful place in society.  In a Thai and Buddhist hierarchy, women are down the ladder.  I see how they are used and abused here, just as happens elsewhere. 

In this picture, you see the Sisters leading the procession with the statue of Mary and the relics of Jonh XXIII and John Paul II out of the cathedral.  You may think they are at the head of the show.  What you don't see is the clergy and bishops.  We are standing outside the front of the cathedral watching and waiting so as to take our place at the end of the procession.  I wonder just where the position of women lies in reality.  As with everything here, it is not always what it seems. 

We are called to be mystics

Karl Rahner, a German Jesuit, was one of the great theologians of last century.  He wrote much but one thought of his has stayed with me over time.  It is that the Christian of the future will be a mystic or nothing at all. 

What does he mean?  Being a mystic for Rahner is about experiencing God for real.  This is not an experience that is reserved for extra special people or for great saints of history.  Rather it is an experience open to every human being.  This is because knowing God and being in relationship with God is a natural state for any human being.  It is part of who we are in creation.  To be able to relate with God is as natural to any of us as relating with any of our friends or neighbours.  This was part of Rahner's great insight for us. 

Why do I mention Rahner and being a mystic now? 

Well, as I returned from home and shared my shock at realising the present, seemingly collapsing state of the Australian Church, I also realized there was a response to this.  I just wasn't sure what it was.  Then in my reading during the last week, I happened to come across yet again Rahner's line on the Christian of the future and it hit me immediately here is the response.  Rahner was a prophet and his prohecy is being fulfilled. 

Very simply, the response I would see for the present Church is not one of getting busy building up the institution and institutional procedures and practices.  Rather our primary response is one of building up our relationship with God and in turn the institutional Church will benefit. 

I think this is enough for now - just to digest that you and me are called to be mystics, to experience and relate with God in our reality. 

A Thai-Ausutralian Story

Life is its own value and beauty. 

Last week, there was a breaking story.  It was the story of a surrogacy agreement gone bad.  It is a sad story because at the centre of it is a baby rejected by its Australian parents and left here with the Thai woman who gave birth to him, or that is how the story first presented itself.  Then as time has lapsed, more of the story has been shared, becoming more and more complex.

So what is the real story?  Truth is that I don't know.  I am reading at least two sides to what has become a developing and fascinating story to follow but what remains a sad story of a little baby waiting to belong to someone.   

The Thai side is that the Australian couple rejected the baby boy because he is Down's syndrome and that they left Thailand, owing the surrogate mother money.  The surrogate mother is a food vendor from Chonburi, a poor woman.  She proclaims her undying love for the baby, claiming that the Australian couple were pushing for a late term abortion.  She has subsequently announced that she was filing a lawsuit in Thailand to get unpaid money from the Australian couple.

The story from the Australian side is that the couple did not know about the existence of the boy as the surrogacy agency withheld this information from them.  However, I also read that they talked of the the surrogate mother going to another hospital, other than the one named in their agreement, to have the babies.  Because of this action, they say they lost their legal right to the babies, with the surrogate mother agreeing to hand over only the girl.  They then say that they had to leave Thailand due to political unrest in the country and fear that they might have lost both children. 

So the story keeps unfolding.  Who knows the real story?  Only the people involved.  I won't go further into it as it only becomes more complicated and one may lose sight of who is at the heart of all this - a little boy.  The nature of the story itself has captured me as it so reflects my experience of Thailand.  Time and again as I face daily tasks and challenges and issues, I ask myself what is really going on here.  I am beyond asking what is true as whatever is happening it is not simply about facts and telling the truth or not.  It is about what is real and how we approach reality.  It seems that different peoples approach reality differently.   

My basic line is that I so feel for this little child caught up in this story.  He is an innocent victim at the centre of love and attention it seems coming from both sides.  My one bit of reinforced insight that I can share out of this story is that we need to know who we are dealing with and what is at play when acting in life.  I am not discussing surrogacy here.  That is a whole other issue for thought and reflection.  I am just reflecting on this one story and what it tells me in my reality in a foreign culture and country.

In a Thailand, in unknown territory, we can't just jump in and think it is like what I know back home.  So much may be at play here of which I am not aware.  In our Thailands, we are on foreign soil and we can't expect such places in life to fit in with what we know or understand nor to respond as we expect.  We have to act wisely and, as I have learnt here, stand back and listen, ready for any surprise. 

There is always the other side.

I am just back in Bangkok after ten days in Sydney where I had gone for Provincial Chapter which is a meeting of my province held every four years to reflect, assess and plan our life and mission together.  I found it a positive and affirming experience.  Funny as after such an event, I usually go away feeling a bit unsure but not this time.  Rather I went away feeling that I had given and received some life.

That is one side of my time away.  The other is that I did go away feeling unsure about the wider Australian Church.  You see, at the Chapter, we had input on the state of the Church in Australia and what was shared hit me in the face.  What was it that had such an impact on me?  Here goes.  
5.4 million Australians name themselves as Catholic.
Only 662,000 attend mass on any given Sunday.
A third of this 662,000 are over 70.
Of all Catholics between 20 and 34, only 5-6% attend mass.
These statistics were an introduction to a presentation that told us that the Australian Church is facing a serious crisis.  This presentation along with the present story that I heard of the Australian Commission into child sexual abuse and the affect it is having told me that the Australian Church is in a state of collapse.   I was somewhat shell shocked as it had not really hit me before like this and in such a startling way.  

Then later in my stay I was going through the local Catholic paper and saw a picture that struck me as a period piece.  I thought it was a picture of characters in a play on the Church in the 1890s but it wasn't.  It showed three real, live, Catholic priests dressed in full cassock and collar with black sash, dressed for a public function.  It struck me that they were presenting such an out of place and out of touch picture to an Australia that needs to know a Church that speaks to today.  What I saw had a real connection to what I had learnt about the state of the Australian Church.  This one picture left such a negative imprint on me as it spoke to me of dangerous revisionism, something which today's mainstream Australia does not need from our Church.

I have come away questioning today's Church in Australia and where it is at.  What is it all saying to me?  It is not just about change but about something more basic.  It is about being Church and for Church to be Church in Australia it is challenged to grapple with the issues facing it and give witness in today's world in ways that speak to it.   This will not happen by being overcome by statistics and the present story nor by harking back to a past that was.  It will happen by seeing what I name as collapse as the present opportunity to take up the call to be Church in new, nourishing and refreshing ways.  Here in the midst of death and dying, there is a chance for growth.

There is always another side.

Sorry there is no picture this week but I can't capture an appropriate picture for what I share here.

It is beyond reason

The World Cup finished at the weekend and by now our German friends may have recovered.  In Thailand, it was avidly followed by many.  What happened here over the last weekend of this great sporting event under military government intrigued me. 

Friday and Saturday were major Buddhist days of  observance.  This meant that there was to be no alcohol sold in the country on these days.  This was strictly enforced under our now military rule.  Then Sunday night came and the grand final of the World Cup was to begin at 3am Monday morning, local time.  The same military rule made the big decree that all bars could stay open until the end of the big game.  That meant staying open all night.

What intrigued me was that one approach was so strict while the other was much more accommodating.  It struck me as bewildering.  Popularist maybe but it may also reflect the general approach here to life and its tasks and challenges.  You present in one way but practice is somewhat different. 

Tourists come here for the bars and the girls.  In Thai society, there is a strong conservatism that looks down on this activity but it is still strongly supported, maybe by even some of the same people who look down upon it, as it makes a lot of money.

Per capita of population, Bangkok has a huge number of Mercedes and BMWs.  This is not because everyone here is so wealthy.  Ones go into big debt to have their luxury cars.  What it is really about is image and status.  Presentation and image are all important in a culture like the one here.  It is how you look that matters more than what you do or achieve. 

What often happens here in the workplace, the market or the street is beyond reason.   Even if the lanaguage speaks this way, rational thought and long term planning are not determining factors.  It is rather more because something has to happen now and short term gains are at stake and I just have to get my way.  Image and status, not reason and consistency, remain at the centre of focus. 

Then I stand back and think about what I am trying to share here and I realise.  It is not just a Thai thing that matters on hand may seem beyond reason.  I see it so often and clearly amongst the farang population here as well.  They just do and often lack any reason.  They can even just be plain dumb.  What is it about? 

In a country where most never play football, it is all important because it is the game everyone can bet on and so many love to gamble, while gambling is illegal.  Everyday reality is not necessarily explained by reason but it is not reason that rules the day.  It is what we don't see or name; it is what is behind what we see that is real  Maybe it is just something in the air. 

The Shepherd is out of town?

This week, Bishop P asked me to mediate in what was seemingly a dispute between him and a western Sister in his diocese.  I heard his story and how he was not willing to engage in further discussion with her as he did not want to cause any upset.  His request was that I ring Sister and listen to her, then passing on the message from him that he only seeks cooperation and teamwork. 

So I ring Sister.  I discover that she has the same message, seeking only cooperation and teamwork.  She wants to tell the Bishop that there are no hard feelings and that she is grateful for his trying to make things better.  So all ended well and all parties seemed happy to pursue their pastoral relationships in the diocese. 

So it makes me wonder.  What happened here?  A misunderstanding? Communication breakdown?  Cultural mischief? 

Interestingly, Bishop P was fearful of any anger arising.  Thais are so fearful of anger. They run away from it all the time.  Yet conflict is real, issues do arise and anger does happen.  It is part of life.  In avoiding it, when it does happen, anger is quite something.  I explained to him that when we from the west speak stronger than usual that does not mean that we are necessarily angry. 

Bishop P went on to comment that westerners are arrogant and that western arrogance was part of this.  I smiled to myself as doesn't he realise that I am a westerner?  Whom does he think I am?  Then I thought how we westerners living here can identify arrogance in Thais.  Maybe this highlights a point for reflection.  We can see arrogance in each other but we don't recognise and own the arrogance within us. 

Tomorrow is a Buddhist holiday.  It is Asalha Puja day.  It is the day that remembers Buddha's first teaching to his disciples.  This may be a very poignant time for reflecting on what really does go on here.  I may never quite get it as it always has a mystery element.  Peace. 

There is a disconnect

I'm on the 77 bus on a busy road and I see ahead two pedestrians moving in the midst of all the traffic to cross the road at the crossing.  That is what I see but what does the driver of my bus see?  Something different. 

Yes, he stops at the crossing but across it as he doesn't see the pedestrians but past them to his friend who is driving another 77 bus ahead of us which is coming from the opposite direction.  This other bus had already stopped at the crossing for the two pedestrians.  Our driver doesn't stop for them but to be able to talk to his friend, the other driver.  The two pedestrians now have to walk around our bus for our driver is totally oblivious to these two vulnerable citizens. 

There is a disconnect or we see what we see and nothing else. 

The Annual Visa Nightmare

This week saw my annual bureaucratic nightmare as I renewed my visa and work permit which I have to do every 12 months.  I go to both Immigration and the Ministry of Labour loaded with the usual round of documents and my usual high level of dread.   I approach both offices with trepidation.  What is it about this experience that inspires such high levels of anxiety?  Why, after eight years, have I never got used to doing this annual chore? 

It is that I face head on that other multi-faceted side of the lovely and dignified Thai.  The aspect of that other side that I am facing is the bureaucratic Thai.  I go along loaded with my documents and ready to follow the guidelines which I think I know but then I am told yet again I am wrong and what follows is a lecture on where I belong in Thailand or a demand to go back to "Go" and start all over again.  Then there is the waiting; there is the not knowing what next or where I may have made a mistake.  It is all out of my hands and I have to just give myself over to the demands, procedures and rulings of a bureaucrat over whom I have no right of appeal.  It can be frightening as I need those stamps to stay here, the place in which I have invested so much and the place which has become my home.  This annual event reminds me how little control I have over my destiny here. 

I ask yourself yet again - how much longer can I keep doing this?  But then there are bigger concerns at play and I keep going.  And in the midst of all, Thai advice and philosophy rules the day.  Namely, keep a cool heart and don't get angry in the face of whatever you are dealt.  And you know what?  It works as I then get through it much easier and with a friendly smile and a warm word from the Thai bureaucrat. 

What have we got here?

What are we looking at here?  It is the front of Holy Redeemer Catholic church in central Bangkok.  I was there last Saturday morning and saw that the church was ready for that day's major wedding.  It looked incredible, being more like an exhibition site with floral elephants and flower arrangements galore.  All was done gloriously with great dignity and order, presenting a very beautiful picture indeed. 

There is that word "order".  Order is very important for the Thais.  They go around the streets in their little, quiet world from which they do want to be disturbed.  As they live in their apartments and urban settings, what presents as essential is that they not be disturbed.  What they seem to desire most is to know quiet and order. 

As I say this, I also experience the reality of chaos in everyday life here.  People walk along the streets as if no one else is there.  Cars are driven as if theirs is the only car on the road.  You try to get off the bus and people are waiting right in front of the door to get in and you wonder how to get out except just to get out as best you can.  No one seems to pay any attention to anyone, it seems.  What is going on one asks?  They live in their own quiet worlds which don't necessarily or easily meet other people's worlds, while they live in a wider world that is quite chaotic with ones not readily acknowledging others in their domain. 

They need and want order but it is as if it can only be delivered at the communal level through direction from above, from a higher authority.  This is so whether in the home, the street, the workplace or the nation.  This has huge consequences.  Everyone acts to present so well, to show off beauty and dignity, to exhibit and know order but what is really needed to achieve this is discipline and control from recognised higher authorities. 

As a close friend, who has been here many years, commented - the Thais are ungovernable.  They need the higher authority to tell them what to do, even to gain their desired quiet and order.  So maybe has their world created them. 

No, they are not in the army

One day this week, my friend, Om, went proudly off to work in his uniform.  His task for the day was to join his work colleagues in the Thai government to welcome a member of the royal family back home.  This is part of the local protocol for every returning royal - welcome them home with a party of Thai civil servants in their uniform waiting at the airport to greet them. 

They do this task happily and proudly.  They look very smart in their uniform.  No, they are not in the army.  They are Thai civil servants and this is their uniform. 

Their great king of over 100 years ago, Rama V, instituted a miltary style uniform for ones working for the government.  In part, this was to help create an identity, to build up an "esprit de corps".  A smart uniform helps give them pride in what they do.  This is all very commendable.  It also clearly says who they are and where they stand in Thai society.  Even if they don't get paid much, their uniform gives them a status.  And that is important in a status driven society. 

I didn't get angry.

In a food court on Tuesday, I am waiting and waiting to order my pad thai for dinner.  Then up comes someone to the counter, speaks out and is given immediate attention.  Having waited patiently for sometime for service, I automatically start saying in Thai what I want as I am not going to let someone else just push in like this.  The woman serving ignores me.  So I make my statement to her that this is not good.  After all, one of my central motifs in life is that life must be fair and just, even if it mostly isn't.  So why wouldn't I speak out? 

Having made my stance, I go to move away when my friend, Om, comes over appearing angry.  He is asking me - Why did you just get angry? 
I respond - I didn't get angry.  I just spoke strongly because she ignored me and wouldn't serve me.  Where I come from that is rude. 

In Thailand, no one is ever supposed to get angry.  It is to be all smiles and politeness all the time but life is much more.  For me, this approach doesn't work as it doesn't deal with life when it is not fair and just.  This means nothing uncomfortable or unfair is ever dealt with and so nothing changes, or at least that is how it appears.  This may be the dominant cultural approach to life here but people are people and issues not dealt with remain, causing pressures to build up. 

What happens in the land where you don't get angry is that when you speak out, you are identified as being angry and this is not good.  As a result, nothing deemed as possibly conflictual or confrontational is ever faced in a good and healthy way due to a lack of direct talking.  This just doesn't work as it leaves too much messiness, too much hurt behind in the failure to resolve life's bumpy moments.

Om later talks with the woman.  He tells me she is from Laos and doesn't understand my Thai.  Hearing this, I feel bad and go to apologize but she won't accept my apology for by now she is too angry.  Funny thing is that before when I was expressing my opinion earlier, she said nothing and just smiled.

In the land where people don't talk directly, they just don't deal with life's sticky patches.  In the process, any anger arising is repressed but only for so long and it can all end up going very badly.  And, of course, there is only one way to do it - the Thai way.  If you do it any other way, you are wrong.  It feels like a bind but, in the midst of it all, I didn't get angry. 

We are all Francis now

Since I last wrote for here, Pope Francis has spent three momentous days in the Holy Land.  His visit was announced as being for purely spiritual purposes but still, as one would expect, this did not mean that Francis would not be leaving his imprint.  He left his imprint indeed with many memorable moments, pictures and messages being shared around the world. 

I came across one article reflecting on his three days that attratced me because of its intriguing title.  It was from Huffington Post and entitled "We are all Francis now".  Its thesis was that Francis went to a divided land with only one response - peace.  He did not get caught up in their issues nor their fight.  Wherever he went, he simply shared that one message with whomever he met - Christian, Jew, Muslim - and it worked. 

The picture here shows Francis with his two friends, also religious leaders, who joined him from Argentina on this visit.  They are embracing each other in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.  "These three representing the different faith traditions that inhabit the Holy Land offer to all of us a symbol of hope in a land that is desperate for peace."  This is not just a picture but a powerful image for peace, symbolising what can happen in a world so driven by other themes that pull us apart and destroy and that are driven by forces focused on their own narrow self-interest. 

The message imparted by this image is a message apt for so many parts of our world and for any and every relationship of which we are a part.  Let's focus our energies on what builds peace and justice and have that focus alone. 

PS

After writing and posting the last piece yesterday, I watched a coup take place right in front of me.  What more can I say? 

It was never about democracy

At the weekend, I talked about my work issue of last week with a trusted and good friend who knows here very well.  He put a take on the whole scene that makes sense in this culture.  Ultimately, he says, the big boss is looking for a way out and so passes the buck.  He does want the staff member to go but he can't do it himself.  Why?  This person may be connected, being taken on under the boss' patronage.  So he can't just get rid of him as he would lose face. 

So we had the vote on what action - go or stay - but I have heard nothing since about the result or anything else.  That is not unusual about here.  Things go on and on and you never get a resolution.  So matters escalate and just go on and on.   

Once again, this is reflected at the national level.  This week saw martial law declared by the military at 3am Tuesday.  Under the Constitution, the military have this power.  The Army Chief clearly stated that this was not a coup and that the Constitution and interim government remain intact. 
 

Nationally, matters were getting out of control.  The mobs seemed to be ruling the show with anarchy rather than any good governance ruling the order of the day.  One could easily assume that this was allowed to develop by some very powerful players to suit their own purposes.  Then something had to happen but what happened does not necessarily and finally face or resolve the issues.  Rather they just keep going on and on but in different ways. 

If a picture tells the story, then this picture says it all.  Fashion and presentation above anything else. 

Democracy, Thai style

Well, we all read about democracy in Thailand and how it is failing the country.  That is true.  My take is that it fails because it is blatantly run by vested interests using the front of their being about the good of the people. 

If I ever wonder why democracy fails at the national level here, I don't have to look any further than my everyday experience of my workplace where I see how issues are managed at the micro level.

The present issue facing management is the question of whether a staff member acted dishonestly.  As a manger, I talked with the staff member in question and made a judgement that what was needed was an audit of the particular office's books and management.  We would then act on what would be found in any audit. 

Then in comes Thai management in the office and the decision is that all staff invloved in this issue will vote on whether the named staff member will be sacked or not.  My advice is that this is the decision of the employer and to put such an issue to an open ballot is unfair and unjust.  Rather what is needed is good and due process.  My voice is not heard and the vote goes on.  I decide to vote so as to make sure my voice is heard on this issue where there is justice at play for the employee. 

As I reflect on what has happened, I can put the two levels of Thailand together.  As they fail to act at the macro level, so they fail to act at the micro level.  One level reflects the other and helps me understand even further why there are ingrained dysfunctions in the workings of the system here.  I see a lack of a due process that acts for the good of all.  Rather the process in place favours one part over another of the whole population or put in another way - it does not give a voice to all who are part of the whole.  And we all deserve a voice. 

Resolving Issues Thai style

This week has been another big week in Thailand's ongoing political saga.  On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court handed down a decision that demanded that Yingluck stand down as Prime Minister.  The very next day, the Anti-Graft Commission named that Yingluck had a case to answer and impeachment procedures would begin against her.  The Constitutional Court and other tools of the Constitution are seen to be biassed against the government, having acted before against this side of politics, favoring the elite.  What ones talk about here is having a 'judicial coup', where courts decide on government instead of the people.  Such action causes the political tensions to go up another notch. 

I could say that there is fault on both sides of politics and neither side is willing to compromise.  So this political dispute just keeps on escalating.  It is like watching naughty children fighting with no one willing to give in.  Like elsewhere in the world, there is a lack of good leadership for the sake of the common and greater good.  It is all about my side, and my side is right and must win all. 

Then on the very day, that the decision against Yingluck was handed down, I was here at Caritas overseeing a meeting of Thai staff as they tried to deal with an internal issue.  I sat and watched in amazement as they presented acting ruthlessly in pursuit of their issues at play.  It seemed that they were behaving personally more than professionally and I judged that the temperatures were rising as they discussed energetically and passionately.  Once again, it was like watching naughty children fighting in the playground.  I was there ready to act as adjuducator and come in if needed to act against any too strong a response being made as they pursued their side of events. 

My experience that day and following of Thai society at both levels - national and workplace - told me that the same dynamics were at play.  It all makes one wonder about how issues are handled and conflict resolved here.  The issues just go on and on.  There is not a great desire for compromise and shared understanding.  Rather it is a ruthless and relentless pursuit of one's position at all cost.  This is part of the other side of the beautiful, smiling, dignified Thai.  Maybe, in our shared humanity, we are all the same.  We just have different ways of presenting.  This may also explain why conflict is avoided here and elsewhere as you just can't deal with it productively and people end up getting hurt. 

Save face despite all - a local conundrum.

It all looks so peaceful, cute and serene in this world of Thai Buddhism.  I receive this photo on the same day that an article is referred to me on the very state of Thai Buddhism.  The article from the Bangkok Post speaks of woes and turmoil even in the monkhood in Thailand.  It names naughty monks, describing the mounting escapades among their ranks involving corruption and sexual misconduct. 

Once again, you see that it is yet another issue in this part of the world not dealt with, and a main reason for this given in the article is the need to save face. 

The present round of political strife has been going on for six months and seems destined to just go on and on, with no resolution in sight.  Like any issue here, there are many factors at play and one in this particular strife is the inability of the various players to compromise.  One side publicly says that it won't even speak with the government.  I heard a commentator on an Asian news channel say that what you have is big egos at the top and you need to find a way to let them down gently. 

Saving face is the one factor I see as universal in this part of the world.  You can never let anyone lose face.  However, if you are always worried about not having anyone lose face, how do you deal with issues that need to be faced for the sake of the greater good or just for the sake of making your day or any situation workable?   Maybe more to the point, how do you ever venture to take risks in life to try and find better ways for moving forward? 

One way they know in their culture is to follow orders given from those above them in the hierarchical ladder.  Another way is to follow their patrons who look after them.  Both are fraught with possible dangers and do not allow for personal initiative or thought.  From here, you enter into a local conundrum on how to act in and on life. 

Back to normal

Well, Thai New Year has come and gone; Easter has been celebrated and we have just had a week going back to normal.  But I ask what is normal?  I ask this especially after Songkran when everyone just lets it all out, as they used to say.  The picture here shows a street scene for the occasion and gives a flavour for what happens.  It is mayhem. 

Well, the week that was didn't have the people and the water guns on the streets but life was every bit as unpredictable or adventurous.  I think of the ever present demands of a chaotic Thai work scene.  They think they are going along in a smooth and organised way but they never quite make it; something is always missing.  I think of my day at the refugee centre.  A large donation from a school arrived for distribution.  I was in charge and no matter how organised you were in preparing the donation of clothes and other items for distribution, you faced the rush by the people for whatever they could get.  I found it sad to watch as it struck me that the mad rush for whatever was dehumanising. 

We may be back to normal but life is every bit as chaotic and unpredictable as during Songkran.  It just happens in different settings and in different ways.