Here's from one of my favourite adverts:

If you are, you breathe;
If you breathe, you talk;
If you talk, you ask;
If you ask, you think;
If you think, you search;
If you search; you experience;
If you experience, you learn;
If you learn, you grow;
If you grow, you wish;
If you wish, you find;
If you find, you doubt;
If you doubt, you question;
If you question, you understand;
If you understand, you know;
If you know, you want to know more;
If you want to know more, you are alive.

That's right. Live Curious.

The other day I was having a chat with my friend Leong on what comes to our minds when we are running.

Yesterday, I decided to go out on my own as I wanted to find my way from Shing Mun to Tai Po for the Wilson Challenge. It was just after heavy rain, and there were very few hikers. For hours, it felt like I was the only person living on this planet and I had a dialogue with myself. But the dialogue was not based on reasoning, it was just a clear voice coming from within and there was great clarity of the mind.

The questions on life choices which I have been pondering for a while became simple and clear. The perspectives became direct. I then realized that my passion and sense of purpose were the answers to my questions and they came straight from the heart with no "but" or "if". Of course there is an unanswered question of "when", but that is a question which I can comfortably surrender to God.

 
 

Francis won the 10 Outstanding Young Persons Award in Hong Kong earlier this year and I was so excited to know that he has just been nominated as one of the finalists for the Outstanding Young Persons of the World.

Let me see how should I describe Francis. I first met Francis at a dinner about three years ago. Anyone first meeting him would be impressed by his genuineness and his passion in making the society better. At that time, I didn't have much understanding about social enterprises and so I considered him just another NGO friend who lives his dream and passion, but in a world quite separate from mine.

Eventually I joined SVHK's activities from time to time and I saw how their work and team mature and flourish. I saw SVHK growing and making more meaningful impact to society day by day. I began to sense the massive effort he has put into SVHK's work.

Francis came representing and fundraising for SVHK at this year's Gobi March. He doesn't look like a super athlete, but he did better than our colleagues who were 12 to 15 years younger, and those who had prior experience of military training. As timekeeper, I have seen him crossing the finishing checkpoint on several days, his eyes so full of determination no matter how many hours he had been running out there.

It was destiny when one day I decided that I wanted to set up a social enterprise for middle-aged unemployed women from our former factories. Francis was my support from day one. The preparation work has gone on for more than a year now and I would have dropped any day without his encouragement and mentorship. Through him, I stepped into a new world which I found a new sense of purpose, a whole new territory of creativity and possibilities, not only in myself but also in the people I want to serve and help. I started to realize Francis is the type who cannot last a day without moving someone. If there is only one person, he would move one by one, few by few, or sometimes more strategically, move the critical movers who can help to achieve a critical mass.

You are such an inspiration mate!

It is important to learn to see life from different perspectives.

I was so happy to see my friend Stephanie in Hong Kong and our group of Gobi friends had so much fun at Soho. At some point Stephanie and I were in a debate about whether we can have a roving race in Burma. She and I are on two opposite ends, hers being "absolutely no no" for a long time, and mine being "anytime".

The discussion made me want to reflect more on this topic. I guess there is no right or wrong, but from what perspective one is seeing life from. IOs have lots of access to information, official and unofficial. No matter how hard the Burmese government is trying to advertise its reforms, it remains to be seen whether the reforms are genuine and even if they are, it will take a long time.

But from my humble experience of working with IOs for a few years, I have always felt that something is missing. Behind the objective and well-researched information and analyses, I have always felt a lack of understanding to what the locals were really thinking and feeling.

It was a blessing to have the opportunity to work at grassroots level. Most of the time I was lucky enough to stay outside of the government's radar and did our own stuff. At the grassroots level, the rules of the game are different. You have to live the local way in order to understand their culture and needs.

This is taken from the Irrawaddy Delta disaster area back in 2008. I spent quite a lot of time travelling in and out of the delta working on relief and reconstruction projects. I will always remember the learning. Our priorities are completely different from the locals. You may think that after the cyclone, a bed or a tent is important for them. But actually, they were more desperate for fishing boats so that they can continue to make a living. Accommodation wise, they could do a pretty good job with palm leaves, bamboo thatches what have you. As a result, I have seen tens of thousands of tents donated (with good intentions) by IOs lying on the outskirts of Yangon serving no purpose at all.

And what about the moral dilemma that we are giving credit to a government which doesn't deserve it? I was privileged to have met Reverend Sitagu-Sayadaw (see below). It was certainly an enlightening experience talking to him, but seeing what he has done on the ground has changed my life forever.

I never expected to have the opportunity of meeting Reverend Sayadaw in person. He was once an opthalmologist and gave up his job to become a monk. His organization is a registered charity in the US and he spends time travelling all over the world fundraising for worthy causes. He has built numerous schools and hospitals in different parts of Burma. That day, I was only intending to deliver a small amount of construction materials as a donation and I was completely amazed by the resources that he was able to mobilize. I saw fleets of hundreds of boats and thousands of people working for him as volunteers. He saw me, a non-local, and came to talk to me. He said, "the government is not doing its job and so we take matters into our own hands." He knew I came from Hong Kong and said, "please keep up with the good work. This country needs you." Even now, I still have a clear impression of him - his inner strength, wisdom, courage, compassion and influence.

 
From the past 12 years of working as a volunteer in different parts of the world, my humble two cents is that it is all about the people I want to serve. My values and moral judgment simply don't matter. When I interact with the children and families who are in need of help, to be able to talk to them, to look into their eyes and see things they way they see...that for me is to be in touch with real life and that's all that matters. Politics has no place there.

But I must concede, the reason why I think it's really difficult to have a roving race in Burma any time soon is really the logistics. Because of the embargo, every cab in Yangon is made of scrap parts. The handful of new cars are owned by a small group of the super privileged class. I find it hard to imagine getting together enough 4 by 4s for a roving race. But having said that, the beauty of living in Burma is that it is very similar to Cuba, people make the best out of what they have. So you would often find the coolest vintage cars. I was privileged to have been driven around the country in this.

How do you get the best of yourself out?

This morning when I woke up, I saw Tristan's post on Facebook. I met Tristan at the Gobi March this year. It was very touching and I was in tears.

So I started doing a little bit of quote search. This is one which I quite like:-

"The answer to the big questions in running is the same as the answer to the big questions in life: do the best with what you've got."

I never really hiked much until some 10 years ago. My mother used to enjoy hiking but I hadn't been much of a company. 15 years ago, she got alzheimers' and I started to hike with her at the early onset. I was hoping that even though she could not manage anything intellectually, she could at least walk enough to keep herself healthy. Also, there was just me and her and mother nature. Nobody would judge her by her uncoordinated and unexplainable gestures and language. But even that luxury was gone soon. After my mom lost her mobility, so did my dad since he had to take care of her 24/7.

I was born anaemic and blood pressure is lower than most people. When I try to run or go uphill, I feel dizzy. This mental programme is deeply embedded in me for decades. For some reason, I felt a big urge to break these rules this year. I decided that I want to train myself for running. I don't know how I can get rid of the feeling of dizziness and weakness, but I have signed up for competitions, signed up for a coach and started reading books about marathons. I really want to give more than what I've got. But why? I guess the more I think about my life and how fortunate I am, the more I feel like bringing out the best of myself or more than what I think I can achieve. Or perhaps it is not about myself, but an inspiration reminding me to give the best of myself for others. If I can bring out this energy in me, I will be able to give more meaningful service for the rest of my life. I also want to devote this to my parents, to thank them for giving birth to me and for raising me to become a courageous and compassionate person.

Follow your heart and it will take you to where you belong.

This is Bagan, an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.

Mary Gadams said Myanmar is the kind of place where Racing the Planet would like to have a roving race. Destiny has first brought me to this country since 2008. The experience I gained from working here and interacting with the people has to be one of the most enriching life experiences I have ever had. From building schools, disaster relief, post-disaster reconstruction, I have seen beauty, love, happiness, compassion, kindness, patience, wisdom and inner strength. This country has never ceased to amaze me. I would be so happy to help organize a race to share all these with the RTP community. It's also a coincidence that I finally have bitten the bullet to start my own micro project there, working on a holistic village model benefiting both education and livelihood in rural villages.

The feet are going to where the heart is.

I was chatting with Gavin, one of our Gobi March volunteers, who runs a travel agency business in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was telling him how I had spent the weekend, hiking in the mountains. I said I had enrolled in a 78km challenge in October and plan to do another 100km next February and see if I could handle. If yes, I might consider signing up for Gobi March next year. 2013 is the 10th anniversary for our Foundation as well as for Racing the Planet events, and it would be very meaningful if I can join and run for charity. Gavin said that since I have a plan, it will happen. I said whether that happens or not, is God's plan not mine. Gavin said if I have God in my heart and mind, that is my plan too. I said yes. You got me there, young man.