Cathedral

Happy New Year.

I am honoured to host this special month to start the year 2014.

As you are aware, I am in London pursuing a master's degree since last October. Life has literally been a whirlwind here, inundated by lots of coursework.

While every week passes by at such a high velocity, it at times becomes a challenge to pace myself. Under circumstances like these, you need something that anchors you to what is important in life. What is it for you? Sports, hobbies, axioms by philosophers?

For me, it has always been tennis, running, reading, photo shooting, and training at the gym (including my pathetic attempt to swim in the pool). However, what if I could not find time (or more precisely, cognitive space) for them? It was a quest that I had in mind at the beginning of the term, which was partly philosophical, partly pragmatic (not to say being philosophical is not pragmatic..).

Walking in the path to school, I found an answer: a cathedral.

Although it indeed is rhetoric, where it could be anything else such as temple, shrine, mosque, home, etc., I was fortunate enough to live close enough to see the magnificent architecture with a roof of the beautiful blue, St. Paul’s.

Though not being so pious myself, I would go to church as a kid at times, and ever since, I have always had fondness to the Christian community, which might be why I was particularly drawn to the consecrated atmosphere here. As I pass by it on a daily basis, its colossal and monolithic presence provides me with a certain sense of reassurance.

The grand existence of it is strongly associated with the ideal exterior of me, which withstands storms, the cold, and anything that challenges. The magnificent inside relates to my interior, or what is of essential value at heart. Among all are friendship, sincerity, and dignity.

This view of what entails life’s significance seems to have been with me since a long time ago, but it was rather floating without forming a particular shape. Or put in a more poetic APLP way, I was holding the holy grail in hands, seeking where to place it.

Once I passed the entrance one day, I was immediately mesmerised by the tranquility that absorbed footsteps, the clatter of people and even the priest. Any noise that otherwise would be heard with annoyance became tamed inside the holy walls of Anglican. I was in a parallel world, shielded from the external terrene that had now transformed minuscule. I felt that the place anchored me, letting myself assimilated with the serenity in the midst of a metropolitan city.

I walked about inside for a while, perceiving what the ambience had to offer, and listening to myself like a person introspective, which I am. Gradually, I veered my attention outward, to the people around. People from different nationalities and cultures. Not many were talking too much or loud. There seemed to be one thing in common. Feeling of sanctity? To me, it was more like respect to this place special to many.

Looking back, I have visited places that possess significance to the local. An instance would be temples and shrines in Japan; another would be the ruins from the past dynasties in Cambodia, and the Tibetan Buddhist temple on top of the hill in Shangri-La old town, Yunnan Province, China, just to name a few. They are all open to the general public (that is why I could visit), and have the power that is stupefying in a way to engross their visitors regardless of where they come from, literally and figuratively. In such places, we tend to look back on ourselves and be more mindful of our own behaviours, quite naturally.

(However, on the other hand, we do hear about contaminations of touristic places by their visitors. It seems to be true that there unfortunately are those who are obtuse enough to be careless. This contamination is also an occurrence in the minds of people in general as in the potency of the place is being diluted.)

When I was in Cambodia, I found a little cool quiet place in a ruin surrounded by mossed stone walls with a ray of the afternoon light for a self-reflection and contemplation upon the course of journey in Asia so far and ahead. Having secluded myself from other tourists in a personal space, my cognisance started to swim more freely, perfect for delving into the inner universe and examine each slate of experiences.

It is amazing how difficult it is to find a quiet place in our daily lives. Even in your room, you would hear some noise, maybe even in the middle of the night. Or the noise might be a silent one that sneaks into your mind and clouds your thoughts.

Putting yourself in a new, special place might help.

- Will try to develop a bit more on this thought in the next entry.