Between Thought and Reality

Our minds shouldnt drift too far from the reality we're living in. When we do, we may become discouraged or feel inadequate when facing difficulties. In our belief system, we call this imbalance lawka-dhamma the way of the world. Success and failure are both inevitable parts of life, and we must learn to face them with resilience.

If we succeed but forget the real reasons behind it thinking I deserved it or I got it because Im good then failure may hit us harder later. It could cause us to blame ourselves and spiral into more failures. But if we understand why we succeeded and stay grounded in the present, even sudden failure wont shake us.

These thoughts came to me this morning, and Id like to share how my current reality looks.

Right now, Im unemployed. My only job is sharing my thoughts and daily life on Hive Blog. I usually wake up around 7 a.m. Most mornings, I go to the market to eat noodles for breakfast. But today, I just made myself fried eggs at home.

Out behind the house, I saw a mother hen with four chicks. They arent ours they belong to another house nearby. Sometimes, my mother gets upset with them because they sneak into our house and eat the food we leave for the cat. One time, they even knocked over the rice bin! Still, my mother, being soft-hearted, often feeds the chicks herself.

After breakfast, I watched news updates on YouTube. One story showed starving children in Gaza, and it brought tears to my eyes. I think it was out of sympathy. But Im not a rich person myself. Those children are suffering only because of war. Without it, their lives might be far better than mine. Ive survived before by picking items from garbage piles and selling them to make a living.

After that, I stopped watching the news and started reading Flower School by Min Lu.

Outside the front of our house, I noticed a light pink flower blooming. It only lasts for a single day. The next day, it withers and falls. So I quickly took a photo of it before it was gone.

In the afternoon, I went to the library to return the books I had finished and borrow new ones. So far this month, Ive read four books. On the way home, I bought some fritters for my mother. She liked them so much that she asked me to go buy more. While I was on my way to do that, my scooter ran out of fuel and stopped suddenly. I had to push it all the way to the nearest gas station, refill it, and then go back to buy the fritters.

And that all of that is what my day looked like.

How do you stay grounded when your mind drifts?

Thanks for reading!
#KoKoMoeHein
@myanmarkoko