Some Lines Can't be Crossed

 

Some Lines Can't be Crossed.

Lines are meant to be lines. Demarcations to define

boundaries. Marks to set apart black versus white. In fact, in principles, in between lines, real-meaning friends are not to be found but if there is/are, these are the chameleons, the phony, the distorter, the deluder, the trickster. Don’t every fall prey to them.

But as life is never a ‘walk in the park’, compromise will always be a fact of life and the way you compromise is what matters most. Develop and enhance that art of compromise. While recipes abound with regard that art to compromise, be aware that you can be threading a fine line between what is right or not. And don’t copy and paste recipes in the art to compromise because no one size fits all.

Oh, this quotable quote from KVNDM really delivers the sting: “Don’t compromise on your values in the chase of increasing your value”. Guess you would agree with me, this tune is so relevant to sing these days. People [my lips are sealed] are often times tempted to increase their value. But at what cost? At what price? Principles given up? All because we are so obsessed in increasing our own value. Unfortunately, many souls are lost along the way because the main highway is seemingly the ‘right way’ because the plurality, if not the majority, are threading along that path. To make things challenging, more often, the ‘right way’ is that sharp turn over there, that detour, that 180-degree U-turn.

But who dares to cross the Rubicon? Few and far in between and one of them is Julius Caesar. But today, over in Thailand, there are hundreds of thousands following the steps of Julius Caesar. Despite this pandemic and despite the age-old law that no one can speak against the monarchy, here are the throngs of Thais, weathering the threats of Covid infections in their daily demonstrations not just again the government but against the monarchy. Through the centuries, their monarchy was next to God. In fact, the Thai monarchy is akin to God.

But for the Thais. They can’t give up their age-old values. Which reminds me of how Thais can warm their way even when I first visited Bangkok more than 20 years back. Chauffeured by my host, the first present I received was the Book of Buddhism’s Sacred Texts. Twenty years after, I am still in awe [and extremely envious] of these amazing Thais, how they continue to stand up to their values and principles even if they now have to be stand up against the King, the monarchy.

Elsewhere, let’s look over the Brits. While Queen Elizabeth remains very much revered, 2 days ago, anti-monarchists have forewarned the Queen NOT to use taxpayer’s money for the [future] funeral of Prince Philip who’s 99 years old now. These are the principled ways to manifest what we stand for, where our values are founded.

Not looking very far across the globe in the most recent week, have we heard 200 politicians supporting the incumbent and two days after, those [almost] 200 politicians swung across to the incumbent’s nemesis to swear their allegiance? BTW, by the time the new leader took his oath, 95% are now supporting that hitherto nemesis of the previous incumbent. REALLY? Only in that Southeast Asian country [my lips are sealed, again].

Take it from the former Baroness Jane Goodall: Lasting change is a series of compromises. And compromise is all right as long as your values don’t change”.