If you exercise, you should read read as well

Most city dwellers use public transport when they commute to and fro from work. The most common mode of transportation is the train. Similar to most train systems in developed Asian countries, the the local trains are usually packed with drowsy and sleepy eyed commuters, who look as though they have crawled out of their graves. These commuters either stand in the carriages with their eyes shut, or they have plugged themselves into their Iphones.

Among those languid Iphone users, approximately 50% are either watching a video clip or playing a game. Whatever they are doing, I had notice that they simply cannot take their eyes of the screen. I am not opposed to playing games and watching videos on Iphones, and I am usually entertained by the myriad of expressions I see on people's faces when they are engrossed in their games. I am referring to the sudden twitch or the furrowing of their brows when something unexpected happens in the plot of the game. I also appreciate the silence whenever I want to read during my journey.

Yet, I am not simply writing about the pleasure I gain from these merely superficial observations. I supposed my interest in train commuters' attitude is piqued by a statement my professor made when he claimed that we are essentially a product of what we are exposed to. Having said so, I would like to rephrase the statement into a question and asked, are individuals aware of the effects of the media they are exposing themselves to? Truth is, most people don't stop to think because they want to relax and unwind from the stress of work and life. Therefore, the thought of analyzing any form of entertainment is viewed to be mindless and mundane.

Yet our choice of entertainment for the purposing of unwinding should not contribute to the eventual deterioration of the mind. For instance indulging in hours mindless youtube videos or computer games can dull our ability to articulate intellectually because we are neither engaging the present knowledge we have. Knowledge left dormant can very easily grow to be non-existent. Most graduates do not realize the mental risks they are exposed to as they indulge freely in their video and games. Yet the problem can be easily rectify by developing a cultivating the habit of reading. Apelles Poh, the author of Live Well Love Much and Laugh Often concurs with me. He compares reading to exercising. Similar to our need to keep our bodies toned and fit through daily exercises, our minds can be tuned and sharpened through the constant engagement of new knowledge.

Reading need not be boring and mundane in natural. In fact, if we read about our topics of interest, we can easily sweep off our feet. Adding to that, the morning train ride can be an ideal reading time since no one talks and everyone plugged into their phones, thus why not relax with a good book before you reach the office? Therefore, we can still seek entertainment in the form of games and videos, however we need to be consciously fortifying our minds as well, otherwise all that we have learnt will be wasted.

To Julie and Julia

I have just found a life saving formula through a movie, and now I feel and know that can live on an urban island and be happy. The movie is Julie and Julia. I have recently downloaded the move, and this is my first viewing. I first heard about this movie from Kimber, who loves to cook. She had once said that after watching Julie and Julia, she feels that she can cook, and that nothing is impossible. I share the same sentiment. I watched the movie, and fell in love with the characters, particularly the female protagonists, Julie and Julia. Both of these women love to cook, and the activity provides them with an outlet for self-expression in an otherwise stifling environment.  Forced by social circumstance in her life, Julie, along with the support of her loving husband, decides to publish a blog about cooking, particularly on her feat to cook and master the Julia’s 524 French recipes.  Julia on the other hand was led to her passion for a different reason, because she wants to rid boredom from her life. Both women emerged successful in their endeavors.

I want to do what those women did. I want to be successful and I do not want to be bored with life anymore, but what can I possibly do? I am nearing the big three zero, and I am not married and single. Furthermore I am working as an English teacher who tries ever so desperately to relight her perspective on her stifling city life. Maybe I can pursue my passion, and what would I be passionate about? Reading. Writing. Those are the activities, which I am excited about, but I am not a good writer, and even if I was a good writer, what would I write? Cooking? I don't feel comfortable cooking at home, because the kitchen belongs to my mom, and she is very protective of her kitchen, therefore not a feasible idea.

Other than cooking, I think I know what I can write about. I will and I am going to write about my observations of city life.  At this point in my life, I feel that if I participate as a observer, I will be happier because I am no longer standing by passively; instead I am an observer who is actively trying to catch a glimpse of city life on a island that exist as city and country at the same time. Hence, from this day forth, I will contribute a minimum of two entries each week to this blog.Therefore if a year has some fifty weeks, I will make a approximately 100 entries in a year. This is a challenge that I will fulfill because I want to be live life, and cease being bored. 

To Boredom

I have been in Singapore for some eight months. Within this period, I have invested myself in the work of a tutor. I enjoy most aspects of my job, yet there are moments of solitude where I will inevitably say, ‘life in Singapore is a dread.’ I do not understand why and how I could manage such a statement about my home country, Singapore. I realized that the utterance of such a statement bears reference of a credible reflection of my mental state since graduation. I have lived in America for some five years, and coming home to Singapore, I feel as though I have been uprooted from my life and transplanted to a foreign home.  I was born and bred in Singapore until I was 21 years of age, when I move to Hawai’i for college. My initial move to Hawai’i gave me a cultural shock too, where I was transported from an urban to a rather primitive environment. In my new surroundings, the ocean encompassed me, and the mall was ninety minutes away. I could not quite recall how I got over the cultural and environmental shock I experienced, however I remember going on a mission, and returning with a new appreciation for my college environment.

Cross-examining my current situation with my predicament in college, I suppose I could easily stop my life, and whizz off to some place. However running away to another land is not a viable option because I can be in a new land and still be bored. Hence I have decided to take sometime off from work and contemplate about my life and readjust my attitudes and mentality.

Boredom isn’t merely a state of mind which one experiences at various intervals of their life; rather, a mental condition that is debilitating and unavoidably warps one’s perception of life, thus leading one to feel that life isn’t worth living. The root of boredom lies in mental inactivity and action is the only permanent cure to boredom . The article explains the correlation between mental inactivity and boredom, pointing out that when one allows themselves to get bored, he/she is creating obstacles that blocks their road to happiness and fulfillment. Thus action and finding a renewed purpose to life is vital in one’s attempt to clear mental obstacles.

After reading the article, I was a little shocked, and subsequently realized that my inability to recover from my current physical ailment might be due to my negative mental state. Fearing that I might kill myself, I decided to take some form of action because work is necessary in breaking the abounding order of inactivity in my current mental state. Thus I have decided to apply myself in writing and reading. I have also made some plans to visit a new spot in Singapore every weekend. In addition, I am also going to look forward to the outcome of my JET application instead of thinking that life in Singapore is a dread. I am determine and I will end the vicious cycle of boredom and mental inactivity.