How relationships hide the dark whispers of your inner-self

The heart knows many dark secrets of life, and whispers tempting promises to the soul. A human being spends time listening or ignoring the whispering. In a relationship, the person succumbs to the distraction of affection and attention, caring little or ignoring the whispers. The complexity of a relationship does mute the inner-struggle and offers […]

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the WORSE part of advocacy on social media [tools for change?]

For a long time, the streets and the social-media platforms are where advocacy lives and breathes. Gone were the old-school ways of sharing the passion face-to-face with another worthy ally or opponent, though now I do enjoy seeing (and reading) advocates pitting themselves against politicians, corporate captains and other advocates sitting on the opposite side. […]

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Nightmare, the edge of reason, the endless unappetizing cycle

“Oh fuck, why am I dreaming this again!” As a student of activism and humanitarian relief work in the late 1980s, I often had bad dreams. What struck me the most was how lifelike they were. The nightmare followed, stalked me, often senselessly when I was in the field, either endlessly coordinating supplies to be […]

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Rainforests ~ a sacred & fertile heartland for the Orang Asli [indigenous]

Throughout my many journeys, I met many Orang Asli who shared a respect for Nature. Orang Asli are the indigenous people of West Malaysia (Peninsula), with less than 200,000 people within a cluster of tribes. Trees have always been held in particularly high regard : by their many communities, who show unearthly reverence or a […]

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South East Asia, the times of bounty, the times of calamity [Nature]

Physically, the huge region of South East Asia is not one land at all. From north to south it is a sprawling mosaic of hills, dotted by volatile clans of volcano and rolling green rainforests, placid lakes, vicious rivers, tapering off between fertile shorelines beset by treacherous tides. In many parts a cruel sun and […]

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Storm, the giver of life, brings joy and misery to all

The soil is baked lifeless by the sun and desiccating winds, and the inhabitants and their blank gaze move at a weary pace. Then, five months later, just when the heat seems unbearable, stifling, the clouds that have been piling up in the distance burst open to disgorge torrential rains. Much to the cries of […]

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