“Just DON’T THINK!”

Last night was Steve’s birthday party. Sunday People members were there. And as usual talk turned to:

1 people leaving the country
2 people thinking of repatriating

3 pros and cons of being in the country
4 coping mechanisms

So I now live in a country better known internationally for its system of organized chaos, and its endless supply of nurses and maids. And if you listen to every other AngMo/Farang/GwaiLo/Afam out there venting his frustrations on the flights back to Manila, it’s a country of liars, cheaters, and thieves. Basically, a hopeless pit of doomed people.

Oh yeah, and we got sunshine in the Philippines most days of the year too. Har har.

Repatriating has been easy. I came back home in 2003 for various reasons, one of which was because I needed a place to lick my wounds without having to worry about my papers and whatnots.

That part was easy, but it gets a bit tricky when one gets confronted by the reality that inconvenience is THE way of life. From the smallest of things…you can trust third world sensibilities to mess it up.

GUARANTEED.

EVERY.

SINGLE.

BLEEPING.

TIME.

Coping strategies were discussed last night. The one that stood out the most (for me) was Gail's strategy.

She said: “Just don’t think.”

It’s so simple, and so elegant a solution it rendered me speechless. Just be. Just don’t think. Stay with the moment. And every damn Zen principle you want to dig up. Dig it up, live it, and you’d better friggin’ LOVE it.

I don’t read newspapers here. I don’t like news. I don’t watch TV. I don’t like tv news. So I really don’t think I think.

But how can you not feel certain emotions though, when you know everyday life does not have to be this way? It’s Broken. Corrupt. Dirty. Poverty abounds. Ugly.

It’s not even poetic, or charming in any way. It’s just BAD. We try not to think, we try not to look. But everyday, reality just keeps popping up and slaps us across the face, demanding that we feel dissatisfied.

So I guess the best advice would be: "just don't feel."