Thank You!

We enjoy our encounter with people in our daily life; a sincere hello to a stranger walking on the street, a warm greetings to the doorman, a cheerful "Hi" to the waiter in the restaurant, or a “How are you?” to the cashier in the supermarket; all these short interactions warm our hearts and lift our spirits whenever we make a meaningful connection. We enjoy all our little encounters; the words don't matter so much, these meetings are really energy exchanges.

And then there are the more involved relationships that we treasure, like our family, our friends and the people we hang out with. When we form a loving friendship we naturally support each other. Every group of like-minded people builds on each other and the union is so much stronger than the sum of individuals. The support of the group lifts everyone who is part of it. You can feel the Holy Spirit amidst the union. Fact of the matter is we have a soul partnership with everyone, so please make sure you find your ways to celebrate them daily.

See how differently you feel when you hang out with your friends, and when you are willing to share your emotions with others rather than to facing them alone. You are a part of a network of connections, ready to receive and exchange feelings, moods, ideas and guidances. Give and receive them freely and enjoy each other's company. Friendship, family and love is a big first step towards creating Heaven on earth. You and your soul mates are going Home together, each lifting and guiding the other.

It is the season to remember our friends and the reason why we are here for each other. We thank everyone who joins our journey and gives us the chance to experience love along the Way. Thank you!

By Christian and Su Zen

Embracing Tristesse

It must have happened to you that you are not doing great, but still pretend to yourself and others that you are doing just fine. Why don't you try and see how it is just to be your real self instead. Similarly, we also don’t feel comfortable when someone shows her depression or unease when we are around, so somehow we have the urge to cheer her up. So it seems like we cannot accept any unhappiness in our relationship with others. Yet why don't you give it a try to accept reality as is. Perhaps you find that your rejection of the depression is really what provides the heaviness inside.

Christian was at the pediatrician with his son yesterday and had to admit to her that they never really use pain killers and fever reducers in their household. She smiled and said that the previous doctor she worked with always used to say, "fever is our friend." Yup, similarly, why don't we accept that the "tristesse" wants to communicate something to us. The Tao doesn't want us to carry the heaviness around, the Tao wants to give us little nudges to accept life as is and to induce adjustments to make changes. Most importantly, the Tao wants us to let go of stuff.

So next time when you are together with a friend who is not feeling great, try to be ok with that and see how easy both of you will suddenly feel.  You can almost sense a big burden  being lifted. Some of life's wounds take time to heal, so give everyone time to adjust and don't shun your friends in your interim. Acceptance is very liberating; just hang out with your friends, talk about what bothers you and see what happens. If everyone picks up a little weight, merriness and light-heartedness will return before you know it.

By Su Zhen and Christian