I took up driving a number of years back.
During one of the classes for Highway Code, the instructor asked us, "What do the 'E' and the 'F' on the petrol-meter represent?'
The class kept quiet.
In my mind, I was thinking, "E means Enough. F means Finish."
The 'Smart Alec' in me was impressed and delighted with my 'Intelligence'.
But the instructor had to spoil it by saying,
"E means Empty. F means Full. Not "Enough and Finish'."
I was dumpfounded. I was stunned.
He 'read' my mind. So scary.
He's such a 'wet blanket'.
But ever since then, I always remember what 'E' and 'F' means.
I made a mistake. I learn from my mistake.
While thinking about what and how to start for the above heading, my thoughts drifted back to that particular day.
And I asked myself, "Why can't E be Enough and F be Finish?
It's possible, isn't it?"
And that sets me thinking about grading : Why is 'A' Very good, and 'F' fail?
Why can't it be the other way round :
A means Atrocious
B means Bad
C means Can Do
D means Damn Good
E means Excellent
F means Fantastic!
Why not?
Who determines/decides these things anyway?
Good or bad is just a matter of individual's opinion.
There's no good or bad, there's only 'Just is".
If you think about it, if from time immemorial, from the time language came into existence, if the label 'man' now was called 'woman' then, then all the men in the world today would be women now.
And, vice versa.
Or, if there's no 'mummy' but only monkey, and there's no 'daddy' but only donkey, then all the children in the world today would be calling and addressing their mummies 'monkey' and their daddies 'donkey'.
Why not? It's possible, isn't it?
After all, these are just labels for convention, to make things simpler.
In actual fact, they're 'Nothing'.
We are the ones who cling on to these labels, make 'something' out of it, put meaning to it.
Just as I wrote in my first entry, "Points to Ponder" -
'We're Humans first before labels separate us.'
It's not just about being elite, non-elite, local talent, foreign talent, rich, poor, young, old... etc etc etc.
It's also not just about being a good Christian, a good Catholic, a good Muslim, a good Hindu, a good Buddhist etc etc etc.
This is focusing on differences, on the labels that separate us.
There's more to it.
Who's right? Who's wrong? Who has got the right 'ingredients'?
Who knows?
Nobody.
Everyone is very much in the dark as everyone else.
So why even fight?
Why play those silly 'games' and make a fool out of yourselves?
In 'Dose of Wisdom', I said -
"Never argue with a fool. People may not know the difference."
When 2 people are fighting/arguing, do you know the difference?
Can you see / tell the difference?
I don't. And I can't.
Likewise, in my 4th point to ponder, I said,
"We're not here to judge - who's right, who's wrong. Who's the good guy, Who's the bad guy.
We're here to bridge the gap."
Perhaps we should all focus on building that 'bridge', focus on something similar - Human.
Focus on being a Human first.
If you think about it.
What's the point of being All of the above, or anything else, when you can't even be Human?
"Most of my students are curious about my age.
To me, age is not important cos' it's just a number, which like all other labels, separates us.
To me, what's important is : I am a human, you are a human; and that is what that matters."
"Please work together, cooperate and live in harmony."
- Ajahn Chah
"Make effort to get along with each other, to have harmony in your relations rather than exploiting or harming each other."
- Ajahn Chah
