She is a Beast is a collection of fairytales, but not the ones that we heard in our childhood. It is not a book of damsels in distress waiting for their knight in shining armour to rescue them. It is a book where women take the reins into their own hands. They are brave, witty and glorious. It’s a book where men are foolish to fall for the traps laid out by a woman and completely powerless at her hand.
In Egyptian myth, the afterlife was just as important as life. The dead stood before Osiris in the Hall of Truth, and their actions in life were weighed. If they were found worthy, they would pass on the Field of Reeds where they would life their ideal life, exactly it was on earth.
Sunim’s book inspired me to re-read Religion in Korea: Harmony and Co-Existence. It’s a little book that I borrowed a while back from the library. I mainly picked it up because I was interested in studying about Korean Shamanism–a practise that prehistoric Koreans brought with them as they migrated to the peninsula from Central Asia.
Writers in the spirituality genre are called to the craft. They are vessels for messages from the divine. When you read their words, they express what you’re feeling and give words to your secret emotions.
Fathers play a huge role in our lives. To me, the concept of family goes beyond the people who we are related to by blood. In The Lion King, Mufasa and Scar are perfectly juxtaposed against each other. Scar is a power hungry tyrant willing to kill his own kin to advance his political agenda whereas Mufasa is a brave and exemplary leader who will stake his own life to protect the ones he loves.
The literary world is filled with many works that dwell on such abstract concepts of time. From time travel to time dilation and alternate universes–the fictional world has sung laurels on time being relative. This made me wonder about the laws of physics and how they interpret time.
“The earliest time measurements were observations of cycles of the natural world, using patterns of changes from day to night and season to season to build calendars. More precise time-keeping eventually came along to put time in more convenient boxes. But what exactly are we measuring?”
Running taught me who I am, made me a better person and gave me an exceptional spiritual experience. I don’t run to lose weight or win a race. I run to reveal the best version of myself. I run to express my gratitude to Mother Nature. I run to celebrate life. I was born to run.
“Giving importance to money over art may cause problems. Artists may start feeling insecure and disheartened to see their work not being appreciated after putting so much effort into it. Losing patience makes them act differently. For fame and money they may sell their souls. But those artists who know the power of patience will keep exploring and experimenting till they leave a mark of their own.”
When our hearts break, the first thing we wish to do is to forget all the sweet memories of our beloved. The best memories become the most painful ones. And on our lonely nights, the memories come back to remind us of the stark contrast between our past and present. Yet, our heart is unable to forget them as it doesn’t come with a ‘delete’ button.