Colours of the wind

You think you own whatever land you land on,
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim,
But I know every rock, and tree and creature,
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name,

You think the only people who are people,
Are the people who look and think like you,
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger,
You learn things you never knew, you never knew,

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?

Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain?
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest,
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth,
Come roll in all the riches all around you,
And for once,
never wonder what they're worth,

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers,
The heron and the otter are my friends,
And we are all connected to each other,
In a circle,
in a hoop that never ends,

How high does the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down,
then you'll never know,
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon,
whether we are white or copper-skinned,

Can you can sing with all the voices of the mountain?
Can you paint with all the colours of the wind?
You can own the Earth and still,
All you'll own is earth until,
You can paint ,
with all the colours of the wind...

Life is all about what you want and what you really want...

One year ago, I set foot on the range for the first time, and my reaction was "wow"
One year later, today, the feeling is still the same.
It is a different thing that drives my love for ARC now though, and that is what makes all the difference.
I love the moments we climb out of our shells of sweat, blood and tears, and shake each other in congratulation with our smelly hands.
I love the times we went for SMT and did silly things at the beach,
I love the times we trained hard at SAFRA for the National shoot,
I love winning bridge games and giving Debby and/or esmond the AR high-five,
I love the way the seniors and juniors in AR can talk so freely,
I love the "Yay, my average's improved" moments,
I love wearing the AR jacket with the words "VICTORIA AIR RIFLE" printed out big and clear on its back, then going around and bemoaning the fact that the words can be read down the length of the T block corridor, but wearing it so proudly down the corridors anyway.
I remember the O.o moments in the "down-under" where we'd pile pellets, do footwork with the deflated ball, "smell-out" the "better" gloves and that afternoon we monkeys tried out the "power" of a pellet shot (8 target sheets thick)

In all these many ways, I love Air Rifle,
that was good but that is the worry.
I don't want to go to Air Rifle because of the people, because of the place but because of the sport.
For all the hours I shoot, I begin to realise I have long lost the sense of purpose in training.

Where do I want to go?
I do not plan, nor aim to become a National shooter,
I do not see myself shooting for the next 2-3 years.
I don't want to stand there for all those hours not knowing why I do the routine, why I continue to load and shoot, load and shoot, without knowing why.
Contemplation was not an overnight thing,
thoughts like plants, are not transplanted but grow with time.

A decision has to be made.
I grow sad when I think about it.

From The Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame


In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord, let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out


Lord my soul cries out.

That, was the silence and calm before the storm.
The tectonic plates have made their peace, now they begin
smiling,
shifting


We may have a Tsunami again, this time a big one.

Heard of the quake in Indonesia?

Let's not talk about school starting and all that,
the boring cycles of our lives are dismal as they are. lol.

Hmm... what can I talk about then?
I have got no idea.
Aha! Service Learning!

Last week's trip to the Childcare centre (kallang) was totally overwhelming.
The children were like little monkeys jumping around, running everwhere, sprawling on the floor one moment, and doing backrolls in the next.
In short, they were all over the place.
And my, we had dared believe the children were demure sweet little angels,
we were in for a rude awakening.

Mayhem, Chaos, babboons and chimpanzees all over the place!
We felt like a bunch of zoo-keepers trying to subdue animals on the loose!

First it was:"Who wants to play "Mr Wolf!?"

Children: *running and screaming and laughing all at once*

Then it became: "everybody, come around, we shall play a game!"

Children: *continue running and screaming and laughing all at once*
(somewhere from the corner of your eye, you see a little girl throwing her pink sweater into the air)

Then it became: " Who's a good boy? Who's a good girl? Good boys and girls come here!"

Children: * continue running and screaming and laughing all at once*
(To your horror you see a boy trying to tau pok Donovan)

When all fails and desperation takes hold: *Aha!* " Ooh my! look at my magic finger! Who can touch it?" * hangs finger high in the air*

Children: * Come running and crowd around all jumping to touch finger*

For us it was wow, realising that the only thing that worked, was one that's commonly used as Dog tricks.

It was quite a rewarding experience on the whole though - all the hugs they gave and seeing them laugh while playing the games. For Donovan especially, the little children were literally climbing all over him. It was so heart-warming to hear them call us "jie-jie"

I really respect Child care-givers now, it's really a marvel how they can interact with the little bundles of energy on a daily basis. They are the true kryptonians man...

kids love chaos.