How Inequality Affects All of Us

When I lived in New York, it was so hard to choose. Out of the countless different things the city offered, I could never decide where to eat, what to do, who to see.

Since moving back to my home country — Myanmar — I have seen how the majority of people here have very little choice at all. They’re simply struggling to get their daily meals. It’s one thing to read about poverty and hunger, but it’s another to see the faces of hunger-pained people right in front of me.

I could have easily been another poor kid on the streets, but I happened to be born into a family who could afford to send me to good schools and provide me with a comfortable life. I was born into a situation which allowed me to grab opportunities, pursue life goals, and chase my dreams.

I’m haunted by this.

A few weeks ago, inequality and injustice took on solid numbers that have gone viral, shocking everyone. According to the 2014 Oxfam Report, the top 85 richest people in the world have more wealth than the poorest half of the global population. 

(Take the entire population of Canada and multiply it by roughly 20 and a half. Those 700 million people would have less money than a random group of 17 individuals. That’s the kind of gargantuan inequality we’re talking about here.)

Oxfam also points out that this inequality is growing due to “power grabs’’ by wealthy elites who buy out political systems...Continue Reading on Converge Magazine 

40 Days of Fear

In one of the episodes of Game of Thrones, Ned Stark said: “A man can only be brave when he’s afraid.’’ This shattered my world a little. I used to think you’re brave only when you’re not afraid to do anything.

The one thing I don’t like about being an adult is that I’ve become full of fear. I think too much before I do something, I rationalize possible failures, rejections and pains. I long for the days of my childhood, when I lived fearlessly, without constantly thinking about what could potentially go wrong.

Right now I’m actually living a long time dream of mine: running my own business. I had put off doing it for a long time. I told myself I needed more education, more experience, more time, more savings (just in case I completely screwed myself over) and a “specific” business plan.  

But the main factor that prevented me from becoming an entrepreneur was my own fear and doubt that I could even do it at all.

The idea of running my own business was idealistic to say the least. (Consider all the freedom and control I would have! Imagine doing something I love! And how much of an impact I can have!)

But being an entrepreneur means living with ambiguity, facing challenges regularly, having very little idea as to whether I will succeed or not...Continue on Converge Magazine.

Can Men and Women be friends?

In a famous film “When Harry met Sally’’, Harry asserts, “Men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.’’ I never really cared to ask why men are so wired into focusing on women’s physical appearance. I just accepted that’s how men are.

Recently, I was waiting at a saloon to cut 9’’ of my long hair in order to donate it to cancer patients. All the women at the saloon say my hair looks very beautiful, and also guys like such beautiful long hair. Even though I was determined to let go of that long hair for something I believe a great cause, I was trembled at the thought of not being attractive to opposite sex.

I realized how I put so much value on my look than who I am inside; how I’m reducing myself to a physical object of desire. Then I told myself, “I’m doing what I care about. If someone doesn’t like me because of how I look without trying to get to know who I am, I don’t like him either.’’ It’s quite empowering to feel adequate – just to be me, not an object.

I’m forever grateful to my mother for this.  When I was little whenever people said, “The boy (my brother) is much better looking than the girl,’’ my mom always encouraged me that look is not important. She taught me timeless values other than look –  intelligence, integrity, kindness etc. These values have given me a core sense of self to resist the external pressure on the look.

However, in the society today, a woman’s worth is heavily tied to her look and her physical appeal to men. A lot of intelligent girls dress up, play cute and dumb to attract the opposite sex. Fashion and cosmetic industries thrive on selling the idea that women are inadequate without the help of their “products” that can approximate and facilitate their self-defined physical ideals and sexual appeals. That’s also how I’ve always justified whenever I buy unnecessary clothing, “I will look great on this. This is totally worth it.’’

I recently saw this video on Upworthy.  I realize this sexual objectification of women is all around us.  It’s even more shocking to find out that I myself have been accepting this. One time, I accidentally ran into two male friends conversation about a female friend as a total sexual object. I was pretty shocked especially because one of them is my friend who I consider a very respectful gentleman. I confronted him and he defended, “That’s how guys talk.’’ I talked to another male friend and he said the same. I just accepted it at that.

In the future, I won’t accept it. I will confront any man who treats and talks women as sexual objects. I will remind any woman including myself that we are whole human beings to be treated with respect. We all have mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and friends, who are vulnerable to being treated as sexual objects. We should encourage our brothers, sons, husbands, boyfriends and friends to respect women and to be aware of sexual objectification of women.

It would be a very critical step to save many women from gender discrimination, unnecessary heartbreaks, sexual assaults, sex trafficking and all other abuses. I say this confidently because when I start seeing and respecting animals as living beings with a will to live, I no longer want to eat them and be cruel to them directly or indirectly, and I will keep trying my best.

So I disagree with Harry. Men and women CAN be friends if and when men start seeing women as people, not sexual objects.

Multiplying Positive Habits

"We first make our habits, then our habits make us.'' - John Dryden

I've loved meats and never thought about becoming a vegetarian. I used to get annoyed when eating out with vegetarians or friends who eat meat to the minimum.

Last year June, I went to a ten day meditation retreat that only served vegetarian meals. I was also told that the reason behind is to support our wholesome actions with wholesome habits during that period. Surprisingly, I was completely fine and enjoyed every meal. I was even happy that not eating meats helps keeping some animals from suffering.

After I came out from that retreat, I continued not eating meats until I moved back home. Once I got back, there was food that I'd been missing and couldn't resist meats in it. So I went back to my normal habit just eating whatever that's available.

Recently, my brother talked about interest in becoming a vegetarian after his conversation with a friend. So we started discussing about 'factory farming', googling those pictures of factory farming, watching a documentary 'farm to fridge', and learning about the book Eating Animals. Not to mention helping the environment. (Animals raised for food eat enough grain to feed the world.) He went as far as doing a photography project about meat markets and meat industry here. I accompanied him when he went to meat markets and slaughterhouses. It really was horrifying to see animals' sufferings and how they are treated as commodities.

I decided to try becoming a vegetarian. I said 'try' because I really am not sure how long I can keep up with this. I know myself how many times I have failed doing something I thought I "should''.

I will still eat meats if I get too agitated not eating or it'll be a burden for others to make vegetarian food/meal for me.

Since I decided to stop eating meats, I have paid more attention to my eating habit. I try to eat more nutritiously adding more vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains etc. Since I've been eating healthy, I wanted to add exercise to my routine.

I feel really great and positive doing exercise for a month. Then, I wanted to get up early to exercise. Morning run or workout has been lovely- I love seeing the sunrise, hearing the birds signing and breathing the fresh air. I've picked up a habit of making healthy breakfast that energizes and prepares me to begin the day.

Since I'm up early, I usually have extra time so I spend time reading a real book (not browsing internet) over a cup of coffee. I still have extra time so I meditate for half hour, which really clears my mind. I've got all these things done before I start working at 9 am.

I normally need 6-7 hours of sleep. To rise early at 6:30, I go to bed early around 10:30 with my kindle so I can read an hour before I fall asleep. (I stopped the habit of bringing the computer to my bed browsing the internet.)

It's been so wonderful to begin and end the day. With all these great habits influencing each other, it'll be hard to quit being a vegetarian. Even if I did give into my temptation, it'll be a good reminder that my morality is not that strong...

Why I love traveling

I have always loved traveling. But why I love it now is different from why I did in the past.
In the past, I loved it because:
1. I got to escape from boring routine and reality of life - school and work and other mundane things.
2. I got a chance to see totally exotic things and experience cool adventure like walking around the streets of Paris, getting lost in Venice, ziplining across beautiful rain forests and mountains of Costa Rica.

When I lived in the U.S., everyone around me was so optimistic. I followed some news just so to keep myself ''informed''. When I saw bad news somewhere outside the U.S., I just shrugged ''Thank God, I'm grateful for having a good life.''

Now, since I moved back here to my home country, I started realizing how little I know and understand about the world around me, and how much I'm out of touch with lives of others around. I began to see struggles of most people just to get daily meals. Reading about the poverty and hunger is one thing, seeing right in front of my eyes is the other. I learned how little understanding I had about issues that are bigger than me. Then I decided to approach travel differently, not just vacationing to have fun and relaxation any more.

Here are main reasons why I love traveling now.

1. It's a good reminder that I'm incomplete.

In this information age, we get access to news all over the world very instantly and see pictures of many parts of the world. It often leads me to this delusion - I know just enough. But it's when I travel, I realize how little I know, how incomplete I am. It's an uncomfortable truth but it's something I often need to be reminded of.

2. It makes me more human.

In daily lives, I just let things pass me by and don't notice much. When I travel, I notice things and people more. I felt bad and uncomfortable when some people look at me as their superior or serving me instead of treating me equally as their fellow human being. It made me really sad to see the kids waiting to eat my leftover meal. I found it hard to resist when a poor street vendor begs me to make her very first sale. The experience softens my heart and makes me learn to care more.

3. It pushes me out of my comfort zone.

I live in a fairly comfortable life. But when I travel, I often have very limited options due to limited resources - money and time. So I often push myself to make the most of it, take some risks and face some fears. One time, I got up at 5 am to see the sunrise over the grand canyon, hiked half day into the canyons and drove myself 8 hours to Los Angeles, all of it in the same day! I learned to make a camp fire (not as easy as I thought).  My friend and I tagged along with a random stranger across the bay in Costa Rica to experience a promising paradise. ( It was indeed a paradise and the most memorable part of our trip!) I jumped into deep water regardless of my fear. I did rock climbing and found myself afraid when nothing to grab or step to move up. The experience of taking risks and facing fears comes in handy when I'm challenged in my real life.

4. It makes me live in the moment.

Well, there is enough teaching out there about living in the moment. In reality, it's hard. I either get caught up in the past or too concerned with the future. But, when I travel, I am completely in the moment, the most I will care is what to do the next day. There is nothing more joyful than living in the very moment. It makes me aware of myself more and things outside at the present. Even if I find ugly things about me and situations outside, I learned the present is much more closer to the truth.

5. Nature inspires me.

When traveling, I get to be in touch with nature. Taoism says nature inspires us because the nature is very strong. It's true. I get exhilarated and refreshed to see ranges of enormous mountains, endless sea and sky, and deep green forests. All these structures in nature are very strong unlike me. I often get weakened, toppled, insecure every time I am criticized, afraid or rejected. 

It takes extremely strong wind or forest fires or man-made equipment to impact a significant change on the nature. Well, human beings are destroying our own planet but still the planet is quite strong and beautiful.

All these reasons make me love traveling more. I want to travel far and wide whenever I get a chance... 

I had it. Did I?

"Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.'' - Khalil Gibran

I often struggle with "I lost this thing; I missed this opportunity; I lost this person''. People say ''Get over it and move on; Let go and don't waste your time.'' It is much easier said than done. In reality, when I lost something or someone, I just feel as if this is it, I feel lost and hopeless. Often times, I hardly know what are appropriate actions to take in order to overcome those depressing times. I know there are a bunch of self-help guides out there but most of the times, they just guide me to get 'distracted' from what I am feeling.

Sooner or later, I do bounce back from sadness, obstacles or great loss, no matter how big the loss is. However, I don't want to leave it at that. I want to understand how I bounce back each and every time, what I learn and how I continue living after a loss of any kind. How do I let go every time?

So I gave it a thought and reflected on my losses and my 'reactions' towards those losses. Often times, I put limitations on all the things I want and set the condition for my happiness - I 'have to' have this; I have to do this; I want to be with this person. Otherwise, I am incomplete; there is 'no better' thing out there for me. There is no other options or opportunities out there. There is no other way for me to be happy without this particular someone. As much as each thing, opportunity and person are unique and important to me in different ways at different times, I have been defining myself attached with all those things and love and care of the other person that were offered to me as gifts. That's the reason why I felt as if a part of me lost with someone or I lost something I owned, and thus, that made me become incomplete as a person or deprived of an ownership of certain things.

There is the moment I finally realized that I do not have or own anything or anyone. Once I realized that, it's a great relief that I can't lose what I never had. In fact, I've just been so lucky to be offered things to use; offered care and love of people; offered many opportunities to pursue my dreams; offered chances to experience great moments of my life. I know it is much more difficult to think that way when you bought a house worth millions of dollars and spent a life together with someone for 30-40 years or even more.

I continued questioning myself if I invest a lot more money or time in a property or a person, do I get to own it or him or her? If I gave a lot, I must be entitled to ownership, isn't it reasonable? I'm afraid the answer is 'No'. Then what's the use of money or intellectual effort or emotional investment or time? Money was created to use for efficiency in exchanging things among us so that we can all share and enjoy all the gifts our mother Earth provides us. However, problem arises when some of us want more than others. Mother nature blessed us with capability to learn, love and care for others so that we can fully enjoy our limited time on earth. However, we want to exchange those gifts for ownership of more things, love and care. I know this is too idealistic. Still, I will try one bit at a time. I will learn to be more grateful for all the gifts I'm offered, and giving more and sharing my gifts with others. Every time, I feel I lost something or someone, I will just ask myself “Did I?’’

A New Beginning...

Once the plane touched down the ground, after nearly 26 hours of travel in the air, I was quite nervous and all the questions came into my head:
"Am I stupid or what?"
"Why did I do this? I had such a great life in New York....''
"Did I make the biggest mistake in my life by making this stupid move?''

Then, I had to fight myself back, telling myself "there's an exciting new project and a happy family waiting for me. it's worth the shot. I'm gonna be fine. hey, didn't I want a change? here I have it, grab it and make the most of it...!"

And the GOOD news is that I no longer need to take the CPA exam!!! :D