Old Men on a Bench

Ventured out this morning for a cup of coffee and thought I'd try the newly opened branch of the 85°C cafe/bakery chain. I bought a hot Americano coffee and two pastries. Initially I only intended to buy one pastry but, on second thoughts, I decided on two (one for now and one for later, at home). There is a wide pavement outside the shop and a circular bench on which to sit and watch the passing parade. I sat down next to a little old man who was clearly down on his luck.

I took my pastry out and shortly afterwards handed the other one to him for which he was instantly grateful. He didn't say anything but his face lit up. I think he put it away for later consumption; before long he gathered up some plastic bags he was carrying and stood up, gracing me once again before he left with a nod and a wordless smile. He wandered off, accosting passing strangers for coin money by holding out a plastic cup.

Prior to this I'd been feeling a little sorry for myself, living alone and unloved in Shanghai. The little old man and I were similar, probably, in that respect but I had the comfort of a warm, modern apartment, plenty of food and other advantages. I was grateful that I'd had the opportunity to spontaneously offer him some food rather than just drop a coin in his cup and my reward was that I felt more appreciative of how comparatively well off I really was.

Resurrection

No posts for August, September and October but with the start of November, it's perhaps time to resurrect this blog. Part of the problem has been the Great Firewall of China that prevented me from accessing Blogger directly. I could still have posted via Ponderous but for some reason I chose not to. Yesterday however, I managed to circumvent the Chinese Government's censorship using Hotspot Shield and it also marked the first day that I really accepted the reality of my changed circumstances, namely the fact that I now live in Shanghai and not Jakarta.

In my meditation I practise letting go of the past and future and sinking into the present but I really wasn't incorporating that ideal into my day-to-day life. I was still clinging to my old life in Jakarta and somehow feeling I was here in Shanghai on a holiday. I'm not. However, it's taken me nearly three months to realize that. My recent interest in learning more about the language was a sign I guess that change was imminent. About a fortnight ago, I'd started listening to Chinese language podcasts on my way to and from work and generally becoming more interested in the language.

Connecting with my last post, I can say that my daily practice of meditation has continued. I meditate every morning for about twenty minutes and sometimes I'll meditate later in the day if I'm feeling in any way perturbed. I've become quite practised and sensitive to such "perturbations" and can only marvel how I survived for so long without meditating on a regular basis. However, I'm far from self-satisfied and I'm definitely feeling a need to integrate physical movement and mental orientation. Recently I've become more diligent in my physical exercise but I need to anchor it in something like Tai Chi. Let's see what opportunities arise now that I'm more open to the possibilities of my new home.