March 2025

Well, another month has passed. February, as it seems, was divided into two parts – the first one a little bit stagnant, and the second one seemingly more productive.

Let’s strive to keep the momentum gained in the second phase of the last month, shall I?

And let’s try to note things down regularly, so that I have, kind of like, ‘a light in dark places, when all other lights go out’. No matter how tired or busy I am.

Even if it’s just a few words every day. Even if it’s just some check-in lines.

March 1

This morning I woke up feeling a little tired. I guess it’s self-explanatory following a somehow ‘busy’ week. Well, maybe I should give me a little break this morning.

And then in the afternoon, maybe let’s pay a visit to the coffee shop before heading out to meet my friend around 4. After that, time to go back to hometown.

The content for the edition is, as of now, already prepared. I only need to refine it a little bit, then move on to creating a pdf file, and to localize it into two other languages. I assume these things are going to be finished all within next week.

I’ve noticed that working on these editions is quite brain and time-consuming; maybe I should try to work on the next editions before resuming the plan for my other agendas, shouldn’t I?

Let’s try to think more about it.

Ok, sounds like a plan. Here I come!

Tenki ga iikara, hajimemashou!

(09:30 AM GMT+7 – March 1, 2025)

March 2

Today has been a pretty tiring day so far. This morning, I attended the baptism ceremony of my nephew (also my godson) in my hometown. Then this afternoon I travelled back to Saigon. Let’s say there has been a lot of movements within the last 24 hours, so… I assume I may need some rest soon.

Anw, let’s jot down a few things here.

Just attended Mass. The sermon, I feel, was still a little theoretical. That being said, I can say that the priest was pretty enthusiastic about it, and I do feel that there is something – both in today’s reading and his sermon – that has been making me thinking.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

On the surface, it seems that the message is about the need to refrain from being critical of others without first taking a look into what’s in here. And also, the priest noted that giving feedback to others is important; the thing is, as much as we want to improve, we are very reluctant to hear something bad about us from others.

How can we give feedback and help others improve without being critical of people?

I assume, as it seems, that it all boils down to the heart. The intention & efforts in whatever we are doing.

When we point out somebody else’s flaws, is it because we want them to improve? Or, as it is most of the time, to make us look better – or, at least, feel better about ourselves?

I assume that most of the time, the only one who can answer that question is the individual alone. Nobody else can, or should try to answer that – otherwise, we risk falling into the trap of hypocrisy.

So it seems that we should refrain from giving opinion about matters, especially if we do not know about the situation/ persona clearly enough, right?

People should stop discussing others’ matters, and instead focus on their own, right?

Is it a sign of apathy, or a sign of real courage and wisdom?

I’m not sure if I can arrive at a satisfactory conclusion yet, so for now… maybe let’s just keep thinking.

As it seems, there is a gap between the theory and reality. It’s so easy to speak about things out there when you yourself are locked inside a confined space. A monoethnic society. Without venturing out and experiencing things yourself.

I cannot help but recal Father Ferreira’s quote from the movie Silence:

I pray too, Rodrigues. It doesn’t help. Go on, pray. But pray with your eyes open.

And also, what Helen Keller has said:

My eye passes lightly over no single trifle; it strives to touch and hold closely each thing its gaze rests upon. Some sights are pleasant, filling the heart with happiness; but some are miserably pathetic. To these latter I do not shut my eyes, for they, too, are part of life. To close the eye on them is to close the heart and mind.

Also, I remember the priest mentioning a story about Confucius. After Googling it, it seems that it’s a story about his disciple Yan Hui, which goes as follows:

Confucius and his favorite disciple, Yan Hui, were traveling, perhaps on a long journey or during a time of hardship. They were hungry and tired. Yan Hui, being the diligent and respectful disciple, was tasked with preparing the rice for their meal.

Confucius, feeling weary, went to rest for a while. He lay down and soon drifted off to sleep.

While Confucius was sleeping, he suddenly awoke to a peculiar sight. Through a crack in the wall or a gap in his makeshift sleeping area, he could see Yan Hui in the kitchen area, near the rice pot. And what Confucius saw shocked him!

He saw Yan Hui lift the lid of the pot. Then, to Confucius’s utter disbelief, he saw Yan Hui take a handful of the cooked rice and put it into his own mouth!

Confucius was deeply troubled. He thought to himself: “Is it possible that even Yan Hui, my most trusted and virtuous disciple, would secretly eat the rice before offering it to his teacher and the others? Could he be so selfish, even after all my teachings?”

He was very upset and felt a pang of disappointment. He decided to wait and observe, and then confront Yan Hui later about this shocking behavior.

When the rice was finally ready, Yan Hui respectfully presented it to Confucius and invited him to eat. Confucius, still burdened by what he thought he had seen, accepted the rice with a heavy heart.

Instead of eating immediately, Confucius decided to test Yan Hui. He said to Yan Hui in a seemingly casual tone, “Yan Hui, just now, I dreamt that our ancestors appeared to me and wished to partake in the meal before us. Since this rice is not yet offered to them, can we present it to them first?”

Yan Hui immediately replied, “Master, I am afraid this rice is not fit to be offered to our ancestors.”

Confucius, surprised, asked, “Why not? Is there something wrong with the rice?”

Yan Hui explained, “Just now, while I was cooking the rice, some soot from the stove fell into the pot. I quickly scooped out the soot, but some of the rice was inevitably stained by it. I felt that this part of the rice was not clean enough to be presented to you, Master, let alone our ancestors. Therefore, I took that stained rice and ate it myself. The rest of the rice is perfectly clean and ready for you to enjoy.”

Upon hearing Yan Hui’s explanation, Confucius was deeply moved and filled with shame. He realized how wrong he had been to judge Yan Hui based on a fleeting glimpse and his own hasty assumptions. He had doubted the integrity of his most beloved disciple without seeking the truth.

Confucius then turned to his other disciples and said, “My dear students, even in what we see with our own eyes, we cannot always be certain of the truth. Understanding and judging a person requires deep observation and thoughtful consideration. Even I, your teacher, almost made a grave mistake in judging Yan Hui just now. From this day forward, remember: Believe in people’s good nature, but always verify with careful observation.

Well, as it seems, understanding others is not so easy, given our innate judgmental tendency. Even sages like Confucius are no exception to this flaw.

…

Let’s stop the reflection for now. Tomorrow, I’m going to back to the edition, which I strongly hope to have published by the end of this week.

After that, I assume I am going to speend the next 2 weeks trying to finish the next edition too, so that I can wholly dedicate the time to some critical agendas without risk of disruption – both in my thoughts, words, and doings.

What about this evening then?

Maybe just try to take care of the red one, do some outreach, if possible. Cause I’m pretty worn out now.

OK, sounds like a plan. Here I go!

(08:00 PM GMT+7 – March 2, 2025)

March 3

Another week has started. This week, my goal is to have the edition of Q1 live – and to start rolling the edition for Q2 (so that I may have time to dedicate for some personal agendas).

Let’s work on revising the EN version & translating it into my mother tongue first (I assume this should take the whole day – if not a little bit of tomorrow).

One day, I’m gonna have a look back at the activities of the subscribers to better figure out their interests – and how I can align my direction with theirs.

Anything about my part-time job that should bother me then? I assume not for now – for this week.

Before bedtime, let’s try to refresh my mind with a good watch then.

OK, here I come!

Tenki ga iikara, hajimemashou!

(08:35 AM GMT+7 – March 3, 2025)