My Chaotic Bangkok - Hope is Eternal

We live in the era of the "new norm", or so I keep hearing and keep using as a basis for explaining away bizarre happenings and behaviors in our world.  Well, such an age is also chaotic or as this book I saw names it - we live in an age of disruption.

This helps me to understand my Bangkok but the fact is that my Bangkok is just like this by its very nature.  It is nothing new.

The latest happening that I am trying to get my head around is the present rapid decline of my American male neighbor.  I hope and pray his decline leads to a recovery but I  doubt it, or so experience tells me.

My US neighbor is only a little older then I am but his history is very different.  It includes a military tour of duty in Iraq which may explain his state as I think he is suffering ongoing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  He is the nicest and most gentle guy.  That is why his present predicament is all so doubly tragic.

Basically, he came to Bangkok a lost soul, looking for drink and women and found both.  His nirvana?  No!  Both, as he has abused them, have served to cause his destruction.  All his money is gone on his Thai wife whom he met at a bar and left him when the bank account was empty.  That left drink which is literally killing him as, to save money, he gets his kicks on cheap, local whiskey which kills the brain cells.

Where he finds himself now is that, while drunk, he fell in his room and suffered a bad break to his left arm.  He badly needs an operation but is held back by being in denial and having no money.  I could go further but no need to and I truly want to respect my neighbor's dignity as he is a likable guy and a man with a good heart.

He got himself into this mess and I am called in as the "neighborhood padre" but what can I do?  My Bangkok is full of lost souls.  Some come with empty hearts in search of somewhere to fill them with love but they go about it all the wrong way or just know no better.  They end up in relationships where both parties seemingly use and abuse each other for their own needs.  Destruction is inevitable. Tragic.

This is not my whole Bangkok but definitely a part of it.  I stand back and at times I become entangled in it as I see ones I know destroying their souls and I reach out in bewilderment, not knowing what to do except just stand by their side in disbelief and keep up hope for their humanity, as despite all they are good people and we are all in this journey together. 

Life is Fragile

Crowds at the central Skytrain station following a breakdown in the system. 

It was Friday afternoon peak hour and to get anywhere at that time, I always go skytrain or underground.  If neither takes you to where you want to go, I would say stay at home as the traffic would be impossible with major roads becoming like a car park.

Well, it didn't work last Friday as I discovered after already starting my journey.  Reason was a system failure on a skytrain line and the result was a "no standing room available" platform at the central station.  To me, it spoke of what happens when a city becomes dependent on a mode of transport which then has a problem - chaos.  .

Life is fragile.  It can easily become undone.   What to do when it does?   One needed response is patience.  Another is understanding.  And, of course, be extra kind to those sharing the same experience.  Otherwise, it could become bedlam.

Life does not always go as we plan or would like.  So we always have to have Plan B, C, D ... ready.  Such is life.

Local Street Knowledge

Bangkok traffic at 6.45am

My usual daily routine is that I wake and leave for the office at 5.30am.  Why do I leave so early?  Well today I left at 6.15am and this picture shows the traffic on a local road near to my office at 6.50am.  This is why I leave so early.  Traffic! 

Leave later and an easy 30 minute trip door to door can take an extra hour.  What a waste of time!  The added advantage is that if I start early, I finish early and beat the traffic in the opposite direction at the end of the day. 

Am I ruled by traffic?  No.  Just by what makes good sense in one's local scene.  Best to live one's life with the best possible ease. 

LIFE

This week, I was on a few days retreat up in the north.  I went to a place called Chomtong, an hour's drive south of Chiang Mai where my friend Br Anurak has a community development mission at the foot of the mountains.  He has given it an interesting name - CLUMP (Communal Life of Love and Unity of the Mountain People).

The name does not betray how beautiful and rich the country is.  It maybe reflects more how the people up in the mountains live remote and poor lives, seemingly leading nowhere, especially for the youth.  It is to these people that Br A has dedicated his life and mission, working with them together as a community, so as to empower them and better their lives.  It is about moving from dependency and poverty but not simply to being independent and rich.  The latter is not the goal or the answer.  In the midst of all that goes on, being there nourishes one's soul.

One product they grow, produce and market is coffee.  They grow the coffee trees up in the mountains where these Karen people live and where it is cooler.  They then bring the beans down to the CLUMP centre where everything is set up for processing and marketing and then onto sale in their coffee shops in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.  It is an amazing operation.  Just as amazing as the operation is to see little insights given by nature as Br A and his community do their business.

For me, a city boy, one such simple but amazing insight is that the coffee trees are planted under already existing big trees.  This means there is no need to pull down trees to make way for your crop and the big trees look after the smaller coffee trees.  So your crop blends into the natural setting with the big trees acting as big brother.   It is like an act of solidarity by nature where all participants give and protect life together. 

This is what Brother's mission is all about - nurturing life - and you do it by adopting and building up and not destroying to make way; by using the resources you have and not imposing from outside.  Life is quality and nourishing like a good cup of coffee. LIFE is his brand name.  Life is about being interdependent.