20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

      One of my hobbies is flying kites. It is something I learned to enjoy during my years of university. It is something we can do alone or with other people. Kites are both colourful and powerful when they gain their height. That's why I was so excited when a friend's son asked me to go kite hunting with him. We need to understand the shape of a kite to know how to get it off the ground. It is not about power alone. We need to have the rhythm right. Sometimes we need to swing it back and forth. Sometimes we need to pull and then release. The kite's shape dictates how we should move at the beginning. It is like knowing where we are with God relationally so we might be able to exercise our spiritual discernment. Knowing where our heart fits in the heart of God helps us to see things further ahead. When a kite catches the wind and starts flying, we begin to have some fun. The higher a kite flies, the more stable it is. It is intriguing to see how a gentle an...

I went to a vegan restaurant located not too far away from the Buddhist Seminary in Calgary. The food is exceptionally good for a Vegan place. I am not a vegan, but any well-prepared food is lovely for me. My client is a vegan (militant one), so I didn't really have a choice. Her mother died a few years ago and this week is the anniversary of her passing, so my friend needed to talk. The owner came out and greeted us because she remembered us. We had a good conversation. She is going through her education to be a monk after marriage, kids, and a career. She used to work as an accountant before making this significant change in her life. I asked her what have been the main lessons for her during this pandemic time. The tranquillity of the heart is a gift. The restaurant shut down for more than two months. They didn't get any help from the landlord in terms of her rent reprieve for the restaurant. She said she learned that when her heart is at peace internally, the...

    Leadership is what many people are searching for during this time. Great leadership tends to provide some sense of security and direction in times of crisis. The opposite produces chaos and disparity. Many businesses, religious organizations, communities, and social groups depend on good leadership to navigate through this time. So what is good leadership? It has to be a calling to public service. Many folks today get involved in the political scene for power and not for public service. To be in politics is a high calling. It demands personal sacrifices. That is not what we see these days. There is not that much depth and commitments to public service, only slogans and superficial understanding of the high calling. Honesty is non-negotiable. It is hard to follow a leader if we cannot tell whether they tell the truth. We have seen in Canada recently how top federal politicians have shown disregard for the truth and disrespect for the office they hold. It ...

      Let us take a look at some other kinds of fear. Fear is one of the prime responses in human life. It is caused or initiated by different things. It is out human responses to what we perceived as threats. It can be a biochemical reaction or emotional response. It is real either way. Sometimes we have fear because we think about a specific event that might happen to us or our loved ones. Parents deal with this type of fear often. We ask questions like: "What if our kids cannot make friends at school?", "What if our kids date a wrong person?"...Even though it is not a real event that happens, the response is. Sometimes we are afraid if something happened in the past. Our memories play a crucial role in this. We are fearful because we have not been able to make sense of what happened. We have to live with our self-doubts. It takes away our ability to enjoy the present moment, and it kills joy. Many people I talked to during this pandemic have a deep ...

  Yesterday I used this verse from Psalm 112 to end my note: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;     all who follow his precepts have good understanding.     To him belongs eternal praise." As we pay attention to what is happening around the world today, it is not that hard to realize that wisdom is missing. So what does it means to say that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"? Fear in acknowledging that only God knows everything. He knows what is spoken and unspoken. God knows our thoughts, our longing, and desire. He knows something about us that we don't even know ourselves. In God there is no secret in our dealing with life, and that is both freeing and scary at the same time. Fear in acknowledging that we are in great need of mercy. We only know what we know,  and because of that, we make a mistake due to our limitations. We make many mistakes in life. We make some of them intentionally, and we make some others u...

  Being Burned Out is more common than people think sometimes. It is no longer just about men either. I have met people from all walks of life who are feeling burned out. There are many contributing factors to that. Some are personal, and some are professional. Some are emotional, and some are spiritual. Personally, I don't think that it is in God's desire for us to have such an experience. We take ourselves too seriously. There is a difference between being committed to what we do and taking ourselves too seriously. Sometimes we fail to understand that the more we are committed to what we believe in, the less we should become. When we put ourselves in the centre of that commitment, we are undermining its meaning and value. I have seen pastors who see more of themselves than God in their ministry and the outcome of that is not pretty. We witness both spiritual and emotional burnout. We don't take time to sit back and to regain perspective. Sometimes, we need t...

  I took some time off this week to meditate on the question: "Is my heart discriminating some people who happen to cross my path of life?" I need to examine the condition of my own heart. I am far from being free from subtle prejudice in my ways of dealing with people, and I am aware of my irritation while interacting with some people. Can my inability to care freely be the foundation of racism? Can my personal preference be viewed as an expression of racism? These are the types of questions I decided to explore when I spent time in meditation this week. This specific verse in the Bible will be helpful to reflect on while trying to discern our own heart (1 Timothy 1: 5): "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." A pure heart: God desires to live in it. It is a heart that free from conceit. It will reflect our knowledge of God. When our heart becomes pure,  it will be able to the light that shi...

  Someone asked me recently about "forgiveness." This friend of mine has gone through a horrific personal experience with someone she was not supposed to have a relationship with. She kept that as a secret from many people and myself included. The person whom she saw just decided he didn't want that anymore. She told me she feels so "dirty, betrayed and violated." Her reaction is one that fills with negative emotions, mental anguish, and spiritual confusion. She also knows that she has betrayed herself and her understanding of what is good and right. It was not a fling. It was a long term relationship she had with this fellow. I asked her whether she was asking about forgiveness for herself, the fellow, or both. She didn't answer right away. The final answer was "both" eventually. How can we forgive ourselves? The first step is to acknowledge that we made a mistake. If we cannot name the problem, we cannot find a solution. It will be b...

  I enjoy viewing other people's gardens when I go for a walk. In some ways, we can tell something about the owners by how their yard and their garden look. There are some incredibly meticulous ones just north of our houses. Some very unique ones have been set up by folks who moved here from the Far East. Some people seem to enjoy a wide range of mixtures of flowers that grow in a random pattern. Others who approach their gardening as if they are working on math problems. When we consider our life, the fruits of our lifework can also reveal a lot about who we are, what our priorities are, what are our talents, and what we value in life. Some of us have progressed quite successfully in the corporate world and have made significant contributions to that sector of the marketplace. These folks have possessed personal discipline and drive to make that happen. Many are also men and women of vision. Some of us have become established entrepreneurs and run different businesse...

    My son and his wife just got a puppy. It was a beautiful golden retriever. His temperament is a dream and he is such a joy to be around. They always want to have a dog after her dog (another golden retriever) died after being in the family for 14 years. So now they discover that this little dog needs serious time commitment to take care of him. In some ways, their life has changed (nothing compared to having a baby though).  Things we enjoy in life do require commitments on our part in order to sustain them. Sometimes it is easy to think that we can just have fun with no strings attached. That is the biggest lie I have ever heard. I have listened to men and women who have fallen into that lie only to discover that they have lost more than time and money. They have their integrity compromised. Things we appreciate in life sometimes are the outcomes of the hard work of many others. We would be able to gain greater appreciation if we stop tri...

  Many young people today are growing up without the presence of their father or mother. Please understand that I am not finger pointing at anyone in particular. I am just stating facts. Some don't even have any relationship with one of their parents. Whether we want to face it or not, this creates a void in these young folks. Some of them are looking for guidance and support. But that is hard to come by because we are too busy. Some of us might consider taking a risk to provide these types of care for some young men and women in your circle of influence. It is rewarding to get involved in someone's life and see him (her) grow and prosper. It is a chain reaction that creates hope. One conversation after another we invest in another human being. One decision at a time, we can see the maturity and courageous struggle of these young people. One challenge at a time, we can see how they are coming to terms with themselves. It is a calling to be there for someone, not ...

    A friend asked me whether I am traveling much these days. I didn't know how to answer it because I was not sure he was joking or not. "If I can collect points between moving from the living room to the kitchen, I would rack up tons of them," I told him jokingly. Traveling has become the most unlikely option for people nowadays. We might go to some places by driving but taking a plane is another story altogether. Many cities have begun to promote the idea of discovering their own city. I saw an ad a few days ago in Calgary, and it says: "Come and Discover Calgary Northwest." That is where we live, so I asked my wife what would be exciting to see besides the fact we are the gateway to Banff National Park? Shopping Malls? Restaurants? Amusement Parks? Coffee Shops? Well, we decided to take that ad seriously and have been going to various locations so we can get out of the house. We discovered that we had fun and started to appreciate the corner of...

  Celebrations are important. We celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and many other personal or corporate accomplishments. It is healthy to celebrate. It is appropriate to celebrate. It is intuitive to celebrate.  However, celebrating what is evil is another story. We struggle as we witness the society slowly is going out of its way to make evil acceptable. We believe that we are the author of justice and we are so aware of ourselves that we know what is good for everyone. We are so quick to condemn one form evil in one hand and embracing another form of evil in another. By doing so, we are condemning anyone who dares to think differently. Celebration demands that we acknowledge what is good. When we ignore what is good, we might just celebrate a good spoiled (evil) as C.S. Lewis put it. He went on and said this in his thesis about God and the problem of evil: "You know what the biologists mean by a parasite—an animal that lives on...

  Sometimes we ask, "What would be the right thing to do?" when we have to make a difficult decision. We should be thankful that we still have a moral standard left to ask such a question. The problem I am afraid that we are facing today is not to be able to entertain those types of questions because we might offend people.  When we can not engage meaningfully with one another in our differences, we will hurt both the majority and the minority of any group. That lack of engagement will breed misunderstanding, distrust, and dishonesty. We live in a society where cultural diversity is a reality, and yet we are pressured to embrace conformity regularly. That is the problem with political correctness. When we raise a moral question, we should expect a variety of answers because people with different cultural histories and backgrounds might have different takes at the question.  We will be able to encourage one another to develop our thoughts and establish a mor...

  Yesterday was one more day of dealing with the consequences of Covid-19. Most of the cases I am dealing with are indirectly related to Covid-19. We are now facing the impact of the pandemic on many other people who are also sick. The language of grief can have many tones and expressions. My emotion is one of sadness in knowing and faith in not knowing. It was about a lovely grandmother who had been a tremendous presence in her grandchildren's lives. She just went to bed and died. She was afraid of going to the hospital and ended up dying from having a heart attack. Her daughter is a single mom and had to rely on the grandmother for help to take care of the kids. One of the granddaughters said to me: "Grandma did not die. She always has a place in my heart." That is one of the best descriptions of our influence on others. It was about a young person who just began her adult life as a university student. She was worried about her future. She withdrew fr...

  From time to time, I take time and listen to Vietnamese music. Some of these songs are very close to my heart. They bring back many memories and emotions that I would not want to forget. Sometimes I know that much of who I am still very Vietnamese. Sometimes my heart is sad and grateful while listening to these favorite songs. I think a lot about how God has carried me through all these years. I have thought about the foolishness of human selfish desires (mine included). How much of our meaningful relationships have been damaged by it? As we think about our family and others whom we loved ones. The biggest thing that can separate us is the self-serving approach we have in these relationships. I have thought about wrongful pride that destroys our needed humility to seek for forgiveness. We allow that to eat away blessings we have in our relationships with others. Pride does not have to be loud. It can be quiet, but it is like water. It will find its way to bring abou...

  Many people have asked me about my political views. I have been quiet about it in this forum because I think it is a personal betrayal if I do that. The sole reason for me to write these notes is the belief that it is one of the most effective ways I can serve during this Covid-19 pandemic. Some other aspects of my work indeed remain the same. However, people's needs in crisis sometimes change and that opens opportunities for me to serve them differently. I will indeed write about what I believe, see, observe, learn, and experience.  Some people have asked me why politicians behave the way they do. I think that there are many reasons and we can say the same thing about ourselves. Individualism is at the core of human struggles.. Here is one description of Individualism in America: "Individualism is a prime value in US society. In an individualistic society such as ours, the needs and wants of individuals take precedence over the needs of the g...

  There is a beautiful street in my city dedicated to the memory of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the Armed Forces. "Memorial Drive" is the name. We went for a walk there yesterday. We can see the beautiful red colour of the poppy flowers for miles along the drive. That is why we wear the red poppy pin as the symbol of remembrance. A thought came to my mind during the walk. What would happen when some people decide to rewrite history and accuse our Armed Forces of participating in "unjust wars"? Would the name of this beautiful drive be changed? Would we deny these men and women their rightful place in history because they died for their country? America has taken a long time to come to terms with the place of the Vietnam War in her history. Some still prefer the term "Vietnam Conflict" instead of the "Vietnam War" when talking about it. It was a war that divided and tore the USA apart. The most rece...

    Yesterday I went to a shopping mall for the first time since late March. It was one of the most popular ones in my city. It was interesting because of the new safety protocols we have to observe due to Covid-19. I was greeted by security personnel who briefed me quickly about the basics that I need to know. She was quite clear about where I could not go. That reminded me of what I used to do with campers at the beginning of a camp. I used to tell them  that if they observe the rules, everyone will have a great time at camp. I reminded myself of that when I said thanks to the young lady. I was now about to discover the new freedom to be in a mall. Freedom sometimes needs to be restricted by a needed agreed-upon framework. We know that people have different views about this Corona Virus and how we should deal with it. However, most of us would agree that there is common sense for us to conduct ourselves in a public place to keep people safe. The...

  It has been a summer of many heavy storms. We have gotten more water than I can ever remember. Coming along with that is the tornado warning we had about a week ago. We did not see a funnel cloud, but some folks from the outskirt of the city did. Last night we had another one as the sky turned dark in a hurry and the air became so still. It was an eerie time. There are also many other kinds of storms in 2020. It has been a year that many of us find it hard to find rest although we have not much to do. It has been a year that many funnel clouds have covered our nations. It is hard to find stillness in our hearts. The cloud that creates fear:  With all of the knowledge of medical science we have around the world, we have not seen the real leadership in battling this pandemic. We are at a loss in not knowing who will be the dependable voice of reasoning. We have become ambivalent toward what we hear from "medical experts." The cloud that creates mass confusion: T...

A friend invited me out for lunch to celebrate my belated my birthday. We have not seen one another for more than four months. We talked about many things that have happened since we last met and how God has answered our prayers. I know her and her brother for more than 15 years now. Her brother was in a motorcycle accident fifteen years ago, and he was severely hurt both physically and neurologically. He has become angrier and more violent during the last few years. The accident damaged his metal capacity severely.  He developed some form of paranoia. We talked about him during our visit with one another in Feb, so it was natural that he came up in our conversation this time. She shared with me that she and some good friends decided to commit a day of prayer and fasting for him. They were asking God for new a sense of peace in her brother's life. He had been angry and suspicious about everyone. He had been arrested by the police many times. He had not been able to r...

  It was one early morning, and I was up. I was reading in my study. Suddenly, there were noises in the back alley. It sounded like someone was going through the recycling bin. I peeked out of the window and saw an elderly Asian man was doing just that. I left a note for him on the same recycling bin the next day and asked him to come back every Saturday and pick up a bag from us at the back gate. He has been regular about doing so until two Saturdays ago. We have no idea what happened to him. I don't know this man, and something has stopped me from pursuing the idea of meeting him. It was not respecting his privacy that stopped me. It was not my fear of meeting strangers that kept me away, my reluctance to help that held me back. The truth is that I was afraid that I would be too angry if I learned that he has children who live in our neighborhood. People who live in this area are not hard-pressed economically. Why would they let their father be out early morning to ...

  I received a phone call from a young man who knows one of my associates. He was quite distracted and nervous during the call. He kept telling me that he had some terrible nightmares, and he has called in sick and not showed up for work for about a week. He assured me that he is not addicted to any substances and not a heavy drinker. I asked him about seeing his family doctor, and he said he did. He got a prescription for some sleeping pills, and that did not help. I asked him to walk me back to the beginning of this struggle that he has. It started about two months ago, he said. He said that he surfed the internet a lot in April and May due to no work. He lives alone and doesn't have any hobbies besides computer games. Most of his nightmares have something to do with what he reads and sees online. Sometimes he relives his games in his sleep. He told me that he has a hard time remembering normal daily things and yet has vivid memories of his bad dreams. Many of thes...

  One of the favourite activities we have on Saturday is to go food shopping at local ethnic stores. We love to try different kinds of food and spices. So yesterday, we stopped by a brand new Middle Eastern grocery store. We ran into a good friend of mine who is a Muslim Iman. I have not seen him for a while, so it was good to catch up while waiting in line. Our conversation was about life during Covid-19 pandemic. Many of his people have been struggling with the consequences of Covid-19. They have not been able to travel back to their countries to visit families. When things are difficult, we tend to think about our families more. The disconnectedness in family relationships with one another has created some very damaging stress consequences. Family is the foundation of many cultures. Somehow we have undermined that in the West. It might be a good time to work on it if we hope for a better future. He talked about a few weddings that have been impacted ...

    Have you ever heard this phrase: "I am too old to change"? It sounds like an excuse when we refuse to take a look at a situation that demands a serious reconsideration of our ideas or positions on specific issues. Sometimes it sounds like a resignation to the fact we are just unable to cope with a very changing world. It might be a good idea to consider a different word when it comes to change - TRANSFORMATION - The continuous change of oneself while impacting others. Transformation starts with the desire to reflect on all of the life lessons we have learned. It requires the courage to look at what we have gone through and who we have become. We will need to have fair and honest conversations about our successes and failures. For some of us, it is time to examine our journey with God. Transformation is always the beginning and never the end. Transformation is based on a desire to make a difference in other people's lives. We should not forget t...

  I am going to be 62 in a couple of days. Mentally, I am not feeling my age. Birthday is strange to me because I had this wicked thought when I was younger. Why should we celebrate the fact we are just one more year closer to death? However, this year's birthday is different. 2020 has been a year to remember and not to remember at the same time. Since March this year, as the pandemic spread around the world, I found myself dealing with many things on many levels. There are also many thoughts. Think about how quickly things can change in life for all of us. Nothing can be or should be taken for granted now. One day we can go anywhere we want, see anyone we like, eat anything we desire...The next day all of that is taken away. We realize that our notion of freedom is artificial and fragile. Are we truly free? Why are we so easily manipulated by various forms of media, and special interest groups? Maybe we are not at all free and are just apprehensive. Think about what ...

    This was written on July 1st, Canada Day. Today is Canada Day. The entire city is quiet due to Covid-19. There is no public celebration, no parade, and no firework. It is rather depressing. The more I think about it, the more I see that we as a country are not in the celebrating mood because there is a strong push against cherishing what is our history as a nation. There is a movement that has been advocating deleting history and cancelling culture altogether. Those of us who have a different understanding, now feel threatened to be accused of crimes that we do not commit. Once again, celebrating our national history by no means implying that we support what happened at this present time. It is about how a nation can move forward truthfully despite all of its mistakes. Let us pretend that we can go back to where we were born then discover that all of the landmarks and all of the physical memories have been destroyed and erased. We know that not ever...