Happy New Year

It is a New Year again, how time flies!

I am glad I have spent the first day of new year at East Coast - where there is sun, sea, sand. It is a pity so does a lot of people. The entire stretch is filled with people!

Cycle to the far end of east coast and wow - there is the National Sailing Centre, a place where Singapore trains our young medal-winning sailors. How time flies; it has been some time back when I took up basic sailing course here.

So here is wishing everybody and myself 一帆风顺 in the coming year. There is a wonderful philosophy about sailing ( and windsurfing as well) - you cannot change the direction of the wind, but you can control your sail.

Also as the all famous Serenity Prayer goes:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

It is so true that world around us is changing so fast, sometimes overwhelmingly fast and unexpected, that it drags us along in its current. In cases like these, a very apt metaphor here will be to flow like water. It flows through the terrain; it seeks the path of least resistance ; It does not compete; Yet, there is nothing stronger - Water erodes the hardest rocks. This seemingly ironic state-of-surrender-and-yet-get-things-done scenerio is describe in:

Then one does nothing, yet nothing is left undone.
One who wins the world does so by not meddling with it. (TaoTehChing 48)

Or simply put Surrender and Grace.

Ok, after philosophying for so much. Let us rejoice at the development of the East Coast. The picture below is Singapore's very first cable ski. Let's hope more of such developmental projects are on its way. It provides more fun for Singaporeans and also attracts more tourists.