Sunday, 17 August 2025

On Balance and Equilibrium of Life

 



One truth about life that I have discovered is that almost everything requires balance. Whether in one’s personal life, in relationships with others, in the management of society, or in nature itself, balance and equilibrium are essential for things to flourish and remain healthy. Of course, there are exceptions, and the definition of balance can vary depending on each individual’s circumstances and goals.

It is no coincidence that several religions and faiths encourage people to live in balance. The Buddha taught the Middle Path, the way of avoiding extremes. Judaism has the teaching of the Golden Mean, the virtue of choosing the middle ground between two extremes. Confucius emphasized Zhong Yong, the doctrine of moderation and harmony. More importantly, if you reflect on your own life, your relationships, and the society around you, you will find—as I did—that balance is needed in almost every aspect of human existence.

In personal life, the absence of exercise can lead to obesity and other health problems, while exercising too much or too strenuously can cause injuries. If you work too little and rest too much, you may struggle to succeed in career or finances due to laziness. But if you work excessively and neglect rest, you risk damaging your physical and mental health, along with your relationships. Technology use also requires balance. Excessive use leads to addiction, screen fatigue, and dulling of the mind, as AI begins to think and act on your behalf. On the other hand, rejecting modern technology completely can slow your work, reduce efficiency, and make it harder to connect and collaborate with others. Even self-perception needs balance. Being overly harsh or critical toward yourself can damage your confidence and leave you depressed, while constant self-praise and believing you are better than others can make you self-centered, blind to your flaws, and resistant to growth. Besides, most people naturally avoid narcissists.

In relationships and society, balance is equally important for peaceful coexistence. Good parents and teachers know that giving children too much freedom allows them to grow spoiled, undisciplined, and entitled, which harms their future. But being too strict, harsh, or punishing stifles motivation, lowers confidence, and may even cause rebellion. In relationships, a lack of trust breeds suspicion and prevents peace, while blind trust leaves one vulnerable to betrayal. Giving too much of yourself may lead to exhaustion and resentment, while taking too much without giving back breeds selfishness and dependency. Communication, too, must be balanced: speaking too bluntly can hurt, but avoiding honesty or speaking too indirectly creates misunderstanding. At a social level, a culture of extreme individualism may weaken unity and leave people isolated, while excessive collectivism can suppress innovation and personal freedom, as individuals feel compelled to live only for society rather than as themselves.

Even in nature, balance is everywhere. Day follows night; the tides rise and fall. Too much rain brings floods, too little brings drought; balanced weather allows life to thrive in abundance. In the animal kingdom, too many predators may wipe out prey populations, eventually starving themselves. Too few predators, however, causes prey to multiply unchecked, exhausting food sources. Our own bodies also reflect this need for equilibrium—whether in temperature regulation, the oxygen–carbon dioxide exchange, or the delicate balance of microbes in our gut.

There are, however, exceptions. Some things should never be balanced. For example, when striving to keep an organization, system, or society free of corruption, the goal must be 100%. No benefit comes from balancing corruption with honesty. Furthermore, balance looks different for different individuals. An Olympic athlete or Navy SEAL must train far more rigorously than average people, yet it is not “extreme” for them because their circumstances require it. A monk or priest who eats one meal a day, sleeps on a hard bed, and avoids worldly pleasures might seem extreme to most people, yet for them it is the proper discipline for their spiritual journey. Each person must discover their own point of balance.

In my opinion, maintaining balance and walking the middle way is not easy, but it is worth striving for. It will always bring benefits—to our lives, our relationships, and humanity as a whole. As the saying goes: “The river that overflows destroys; the river that dries up leaves barren land; but the river that flows steadily nourishes life.”

Written by Me: Edited by Echo



Sunday, 13 July 2025

There is No Fear in Love: My Reflection on Sharks and Humans

 

                                                        Ocean Ramsey and a big shark


As a sea lover, I’ve always felt a deep connection to the ocean. I want the creatures that live in the blue depths to exist peacefully and freely. Today, I’m writing this post as a small voice speaking up for some of the ocean’s most misunderstood predators—yes, I’m talking about sharks. Especially the large ones, like tiger sharks and great whites, whose reputations have sadly been ruined by movies and media.

If you’ve ever watched shark-themed films where they’re portrayed as terrifying, man-eating monsters chasing humans down just to kill them—please consider watching the Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer. It presents a much more truthful perspective. Yes, sharks are predators who have lived on Earth for millions of years, and yes, their jaws can be powerful enough to harm or kill. But they are not malevolent. They do not hunt humans for sport. We are not their natural prey.

If you take the time to watch the documentary—or at least the two short YouTube clips I’ve shared below—you’ll see something truly surprising:
Sharks can respond to kindness and compassion, just like other animals. There is no need to harm or kill them out of fear.

🎥 Diver removes hooks and befriends sharks
🎥 A 20-year friendship between diver and shark

 

“There is no fear in love.”
1 John 4:18

That verse echoed in my heart as I watched Ocean Ramsey swim side by side with sharks, gently touching them. And in those videos—sharks resting calmly on human laps, leaning in for gentle touches, returning again and again—not for food, but for trust. Even the most feared creatures respond to love when it’s offered with sincerity and patience.


Top 5 Shark Myths (and the Real Facts)

  1. MYTH: Sharks want to eat people.
    FACT: Humans are not on their menu. Most bites happen out of curiosity or mistaken identity.

  2. MYTH: All sharks are big and scary.
    FACT: Most shark species are small, shy, and avoid human contact.

  3. MYTH: Sharks are ruthless killers.
    FACT: On average, sharks kill fewer than 10 people per year—humans kill over 100 million sharks annually.

  4. MYTH: The ocean would be fine without sharks.
    FACT: Sharks play a vital role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy and balanced.

  5. MYTH: Seeing a shark means you’re in danger.
    FACT: Most sharks pass by without harming anyone. Staying calm and aware is usually all that’s needed.


How to Avoid Shark Encounters

If you want to reduce the chance of encountering a shark while in the sea, follow these tips:

  1. Avoid swimming at dawn, dusk, or night.
    These are peak feeding times for many sharks, and visibility is lower.

  2. Don’t wear shiny jewelry or bright contrasting colors.
    These can resemble fish scales and attract attention.

  3. Avoid entering the water with open wounds.
    Sharks have a powerful sense of smell and are drawn to blood.

  4. Swim in groups.
    Sharks are more likely to target lone prey.

  5. Stay near the shore.
    The farther you go out, the higher the risk—and help may be far away.


What to Do If You Encounter a Shark

Shark encounters are extremely rare—and usually harmless. But in case it happens, here are calm, respectful steps to protect yourself without harming the shark:

  1. Stay calm and don’t thrash.
    Fast, panicked movements can attract attention.

  2. Keep your eyes on the shark.
    Eye contact signals awareness. Turning your back may invite closer approach.

  3. Maintain a vertical position.
    This makes you appear larger and less like prey.

  4. Back away slowly—don’t splash.
    Move calmly toward the shore or your boat.

  5. If it comes close, defend with control.
    Use your fins, camera, or stick—not your fists—to redirect the shark gently by pushing its snout, eyes, or gills.

  6. Don’t block its path.
    Give the shark space to move. Trapping it may increase stress and lead to defensive behavior.


Want to Help Sharks? Sign These Petitions!

Sharks are in urgent need of protection. Their numbers are falling fast—and we can do something. Signing a petition may feel small, but it adds up to global pressure for real change.

🔗 Ban the use of fishing nets that trap and kill sharks, whales, seals, and dolphins
🔗 Ban the international shark fin trade
🔗 Create more non-fishing zones for sharks to safely reproduce and thrive


Please remeber that the ocean is the home of sharks. They’ve lived there long before us. They have the right to be there, so we should learn how to live beside them in peace.We can share this planet with animals. It’s not too difficult to do—just a shift in heart, and a willingness to understand.

 

Written by: Me & Echo

Monday, 30 June 2025

Where has Gentleness Gone?

Note: This article reflects on changing portrayals of femininity and gender roles from a cultural and personal perspective. It is not meant to exclude or diminish the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, nor suggest that women must fit into any one mold — whether traditional or modern. Every person’s identity and path is valuable and worthy of respect.

Watching Disney animations today, have you noticed a shift in the portrayal of female lead characters? Many years ago, we had gentle and sweet Aurora, kind and tender Cinderella, and the graceful and wise Blue Fairy. Today, by contrast, we see powerful Elsa, runaway Ariel, adventure-seeking Belle and Rapunzel, brave Merida and Moana, and many other heroines who demonstrate bravery, independence, and rebellion. It’s no surprise, then, that many little girls today seem to lack manners and respect, speak bluntly, and appear self-centered. Confidence is not what they seem to be lacking — gentleness is.

Certainly, it is good that we encourage girls to become strong and able to stand up for themselves. It is also true that many women in the past were pressured by society to always be soft and sweet. That pressure was unhealthy when taken to the extreme. However, it seems society today pressures women too — but in the opposite direction. Modern women are encouraged to be “strong, confident, successful,” and “equal” to men in every way. Often, gentleness and humility are viewed as weakness. As a result, some girls feel the need to appear tough and confident all the time. They build muscles because muscular bodies are seen as fit, healthy, and strong, while natural curves, softness, and a bit of roundness are often viewed as signs of weakness or lack of discipline. Female athletes in sports like gymnastics and synchronized swimming now often focus on fast, powerful movements that showcase strength and confidence rather than tender elegance and grace.

Being a mother and a wife — roles so crucial to the survival of human society — is no longer viewed as the most important calling for women. Modern married women are strongly encouraged to work full-time. Even more, they are pressured to be as successful as men in their careers. Many mothers today inadvertently neglect their children in order to fit the picture-perfect image of a working woman. Housewives who stay home to care for their children and households are often looked down upon, seen as dependent, uneducated, or leading boring lives. Yet we seem to forget that nearly every outstanding figure in history had a mother who spent time with them in childhood and helped shape them into who they became. Countless gentle housewives — cooking, cleaning, and nurturing — have helped shape the world in ways that go unnoticed. Isn’t it ironic that while we all agree family is the foundation of society, we make women too busy to take care of their own?

This is not to say that women should go back to being followers of men, give up their careers, or force themselves to be soft and sweet all the time. Rather, it’s worth asking: have we swung too far in the opposite direction? Are girls trying to abandon their own gentleness because society praises a different kind of personality? Protecting oneself from abuse or exploitation is, of course, a woman’s right — and an essential one. But that is not the same as radical feminism that seeks to overthrow all gender distinctions. (Have we forgotten that women were created different from men, and for good reasons?)

More movies and TV shows now depict women taking revenge on men through violence (The Brave One, I Spit on Your Grave, Lady Vengeance, etc.). Some media even advocate prostitution and abortion purely in the name of women's rights. But does this really make our society better?

The final question is this: have we forgotten that gentleness, kindness, and grace are also noble traits — for women and men alike? The world would be a better place if more people embraced these qualities. Strength doesn’t have to be shown through a fearless look, harsh words, or violent actions. True strength can lie in the depth of one’s character, expressed through quiet firmness and inner determination — and it can coexist with compassion and tenderness.

Since my early years, I have witnessed such strength in the women around me — and they didn’t need to act like men to show it. Miss World 2025 and the pride of Thailand, Opal Suchata Chuangsri, is a wonderful example. She is both graceful and strong. If you watch her closely during interviews, you’ll see gentleness and sweetness shining in her eyes. When she stepped out of the car at her homecoming and kindly offered her hand to help an elderly woman beside her, she looked almost as graceful as the Blue Fairy herself. Opal doesn’t need to appear rough, tough, or overly confident. Her strength is shown in how she’s overcome life’s challenges — including her battle with cancer.

I truly hope that Disney will create more princesses with this kind of character — so that our younger generation learns that gentleness is not weakness.

Written by Me

Edited by Echo


Tuesday, 25 February 2025

Another Reason To Die


 Have you ever get followed everywhere by that dark rainy cloud of bad lucks? Have you ever felt your life is cursed to feel series of bad lucks almost every day? It is normal to have some bad days once in a while. My life used to be that way, too. It used to be normal like other people. Bad days come and then they go, and once in a while it might come back. But now, it is like ALMOST EVERYDAY is a terrible day. Bad luck after bad luck after bad luck of all sorts come pouring down all day almost non-stop. You just hope that it will be for a period of time and then things will come back to normal. You pray for help from above. But nothing works. It's been months, and actually such period of time is like come every year for many months for more than ten years already. My life is Hell. 

Have you ever prayed and get shunned by God, felt so abandoned by Him when you don't even have the faith to hold on to your religion anymore? . 

Have you ever felt that if life continues like this there is every good reason to die? If every day of your life is going to be cursed non-stop with pain, accidents, sickness, bad fortune and all other bad stuff and no one can help you and this period of terrible curse keep coming back to your life.

You know this is done by the Devil. You know this comes from bad karma. But you don't know why the God who promised to be there just not there anymore. The God who said he is Love. The God who said he would protect. You don't know where that God is anymore and you don't know why bother going to church anymore. 

In conclusion, I went back to walk and then came back to the same abyss again. All roads lead back to the same abyss. I'd rather jump down because there is no other way to go anyway, is there? 

Same pain, same misery, going in loop over and over and over again all my life? Then why live?

I will not go back to church again until it stops. That's all I can say for now. If anyone want to say a prayer, then please do so. Someone is about to become a lost soul and falling down to Hell right here.

Wednesday, 19 February 2025

My Reason to Live


 It might seem to be a very small thing, but the truth is that feeding the pigeons on my rooftop in the morning give me a reason to live everyday. Seriously. That is the moment when I find that my life is worth living more than any moments of the day. 

I am not a good daughter, rather useless to my parents and can help very little at home. I don't have lots of money to buy them a new house, a new car, or even a really good comfortable trip. 

I am not a very good friend. After my mental health goes down, my mood is often sound and I frequently snap and burst out in anger. I did that to some of my friends, too. I'm not useful to them like before. I used to be that calm and cool listener to all, but not anymore.

I am not a saint or someone who easily find opportunities to be kind to others. I don't know how to be helpful to any of my relatives, although I want to. I need to set a thick wall against some group of relatives because of the hurt from some traumatic events in the past so I didn't lend any helping hand to the ones whose mother was very sick. I could not step out there...they probably won't know that if I stepped out there in that area of the community, I would be triggered, my heart would race and I would feel like throwing up. So, they think I'm just a mean and distant relative, quite useless. Well, the latter is true...I'm useless. But I'm not mean, nor cold...I can't let them in but I don't hate them...trying not to. 

But the pigeons....every morning the sound of pigeons and their eager way of coming to eat the food made me feel that my life is worthwhile to them. Their hungry stomachs got filled because of me. They happily ate up the food...all of the seeds...all of them. They made happy sound while eating too. My life matters to them. At least now some lives are happier because of me. 

Yes, I'm selfish,  I admit, for the way I stubbornly continue to feed them although the neighbors are so annoyed by their sounds and their bird drops.  

But I'm telling you this....I will be selfish about this.

THEY ARE MY REASON TO LIVE.

I an rather useless with people, but when I had to work away from home for 4 months and could not feed those birds, I fed the stray dogs instead...filling hungry stomach of animals made me feel that I worth some thing on this Earth. 

Sometimes giving to the poor on the street helped me feel better about my life, too. But I can't find such opportunity every day. 

Sorry if the birds or strayed dogs annoyed you but my life has meaning because of them. 

That's why...I go crazy when it comes to this matter. I selfishly announced that I would not stop giving the food even if I would be jail for it. After I finish my prison time, I will come back and feed the birdies again no matter what anyone said. Let them hate me because when I really, really have no reason to continue living...these little winged friends saved my life. 

Good Days, Bad Days: Percentage Matters


 I have noticed how my life has been processing itself. It's true that after some bad lucks, a good fortune will happen at the end. BUT...it just simply lacks equivalence in the degree. It just does not balance. In a week, I usually have 4 very bad days, 2 ordinary days, 1 very good day. How exhausting! 

In a very bad day, like yesterday, I got 5-6 bad lucks...some of them continuously happened in a row. Got overcharged by a motorcycle, forgetting my phone so more payment for another motorcycle to go back home and return again, having diarrhea, going to church but it closed, going to a restaurant that I have only one favorite dish but that dish is not available, got a taxi who didn't know the way at all and not accepting his fault, terrible noise shook my nerve before leaving the house, didn't get important things done, buying something and found out that the price tag was for another product and the real price was double of that amount. Embarrassing myself by paying sanitary napkins at Seven Eleven and left it on the counter with my drink, male staff had to pick them up and called me back. Get the picture? Now, imagine that about four days a week. Including bad day of teaching, bad day of working part-time in the office when everything goes wrong and a big mistake made. 

I know that there are good days. But isn't it so sad to think that after that short wonderful day, you'll go back to the long period of darkness and pain again. Sometimes I wonder how long it will go on like this. Do I have to keep crying for four days in order to smile for one day? 

Another reason to think of dying as a way out, I admit. If it does not stop, if it keeps continuing like this. Just simply Hell on Earth with a few breaks. It's not really life...it's a tormenting machine with breaks. 

Oh, by the way, a bad day also means that my prayer got the opposite thing as an answer. Sometimes it really feels like you ask for bread and the Father gives you a snake. Don't mind me. I just feel that way sometimes really. 

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

When it's Grey....

 




Lately there have been this grey thing covering my heart and I can't get rid of it.  Being grateful for little things use to make feel a little better, but this grey thing block me from feeling those little good moments. Having confidence and faith is essential for someone to move forward, get things done and feel hopeful, but this grey thing take away my ability to have all of that. A thought that very bad days often come before very good days  but this gray things make me think back that I've been having bad days for a week or more but there is still no particular good days in sight. 

This grey thing makes me sad. It makes my heartache during the day when I'm busy doing ordinary things. It's like a grey color is painted all over me and the air around me.

This grey thing is terrible. Even for an event that is unlikely to happen in a wrong way, I can imagine it going wrong anyway and feel so anxious and afraid about the future. This grey thing double the power of negative thinking. 

You may call it depression and you may say go and take your medicine. Well, that is the last thing I will use for it has bad effects on health in the long run, something most people look over.

Looking back to the past, I remember that this grey thing could disappear by itself when situation changed and really good things happened. Sometimes it even miraculously disappear....maybe someone prayed for me. Depression...maybe, but let's see how long it last first. If it goes away some time soon, it might be just a bolt of blue.

But...if it keeps covering my heart in thicker and thicker layers, I'll take those pills. If I still want to live I have to. 

Just wait and see how long it stays this time. Please pray for me if you can. It's better than chemical medicine, much much better.