Putting On A Mask...

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. - Oscar Wilde

Is it only me but does everyone in today's society wear a mask to hide their true selves? Its akin to hiding your emotions with a false smile on your face. Are human beings always trying to show only our happy side to everyone else? Is it a matter of pride; to hide their weakness from friends and strangers alike. Or is it a matter of pretending to be happy to forget your sad emotions?

I've always been attracted to jovial personalities. People that seem to have an ability to be happy at anything, to laugh at everything seemingly without a care in the world. It certainly seems like a juxtaposition because although such people have the capability to remain cheery most of the time, they would also be blissfully ignorant about some of the more important things in life depending entirely on other people to fulfill all their needs. That is definitely not a quality that I find endearing.

Perhaps I truly am a cynic at heart, doubting the existence of truly happy go lucky people. Is it a case where such people have such low expectations in life, they are so easily contented and thus can go around blissfully unaware of the toils and tribulations that most people are going through?

Couch Surfing???

In this day of high crime rates involving rape cases and snatch thefts, I'm genuinely pleased to see that there are still people who do believe in the fundamental good nature of human kind.

These would be people who accept offers of help without second guessing the people offering the help to them. The same people who are very willing to return the favour whenever the next opportunity arises.

I'm actually referring to a project called "Couch Surfing" that I heard about over the radio this morning. This project started by a non-profit organization involves hosting travelers from other countries in your home in exchange for meeting new people, sharing your culture and your lifestyle with them together with the opportunity of being able to guest in someone's home the next time you travel. Like most good ideas, you've probably heard of some variation of this before but this is the first time, I've seen a site with such active participation on a global scale.

Safety is of course a paramount concern and the website creators have managed to assuage the fear of being the target of criminal activity by implementing a trust circle in the form of guest and host reviews via a vouching system. In this way, a guest can see all the responses and comments left by other members before deciding on a particular host to stay and likewise, a host can also checkup on a potential guest.

Its' projects like this that warm my heart and renew my faith in my fellow humans. I'm thrilled that many of my fellow Malaysians have also jumped on the Couch Surfing bandwagon. I wonder whether I should sign up too? =)

For more info, click here

Women's Effect Over Men...

In this day of women's liberation and the strive for gender equality, it still seems to me that the two genders still aren't exactly equal. I believe it is not entirely because of our lack of social evolution but merely our human nature to behave in this way.

The greatest difference herein lies in women's effect over man. In my weekly badminton session, we are an all male group with the typical male camaraderie issuing insults and jibes especially when someone makes a silly mistake or loses a game without putting up a fight.

However, a young woman has recently joined the badminton group and her effect on the rest of the badminton team is quite noticeable. Much of the crude insults and teases have ceased especially from the younger men. In fact, when playing against her, I also observed a slight increase in mistakes caused by the men possibly due to lack of concentration. =)

I wonder whether this effect is merely temporary lasting until the rest of the guys get used to her presence or will it last a lot longer. Looks like only time will tell...

The Routines In Our Lives...

While in the midst of my morning routine, I came to a realization that I have been performing each task at exactly the same time every morning. It has been this way for sometime now.

Every morning, the alarm clock will ring the same number of times before I arise from my bed. After a drowsy journey to my bathroom, the hot shower begins to awaken me to meet the new day. Soon after, its dressing and heading for breakfast. It amazes me that I constantly keep the same timing for my entire morning routine. Sometimes, when I happen to sleep in a few extra moments, my body automatically compensates for lack of time and again I find myself getting ready at the same time.

Personally, I think having a routine does reassure me that I have some semblance of control in my life. I know what time I'll wake up, what time I'll be ready, what time I'll head out of the house, what time I'll reach work, etc. Having that knowledge gives me some measure of peace, its as good as being able to foresee what's going to happen.

Nevertheless, no matter what steady reassurance that my routines allow me, I always look forward to a change in routine. Typically it would be a holiday or another unexpected adventure that deviates me from repetition. What can I say, human beings are so complicated. =)