Thailand: The Negatives

I feel that perhaps I have been giving the wrong impression on my blog. I love Thailand!! But that does not mean that everything is great or amazing here. There are negatives... some rather serious ones. So to balance things out, I figured that I would make this post.

I will mention but 2 things:

1) People - it's my third time here... and it's the same story. I don't like the people here. Thailand being the 'land of smiles' (promotional slogan) is a load of crap. From the perspective of a white male: Thai men are generally unfriendly (because they see you as competition), and Thai women just want your money. Foreigners who come here are mostly either sex tourists or drunks. Not all of course, but this is the norm. Not great company at all.

2) Health Hazards - food poisoning and getting a nice intestinal parasite are but 2 hazards of eating street food or even in a restaurant (I speak from experience!). Also, traffic is EXTREMELY dangerous. Thailand has the SECOND HIGHEST fatality rate on the roads in the WORLD. The drivers here are insane. Never assume the right of way and you better rectify your karma or it could have a rather ugly ending.

I like Thailand a lot. Is it perfect? Not at all. Far from it. But the positive outweigh the negatives for me. Everything has its challenges. No such thing as upside without downside. The key is finding something that is compatible with our personalities.... and then accepting it wholeheartedly, negatives and all. You live the way you do because that is what you have chosen... so accept it happily. Want what you have and be happy. :)

Happiness and Creativity

One of my favorite articles related to work here. All his books are excellent, especially FINDING FLOW and FLOW.

Midnight Feeding

Pretty soon, we had a hungry crowd around us. :) 

Meanwhile....

Toronto Monday morning commute to work, -20 C, 25 cm. of snow.

Meanwhile back at the beach...

I must say that I am enjoying the warm weather here. It was about 33 today, and it was perfect. Can't get enough of the sun.

You guys coming or what? :)

The REAL Secret

“The unconscious will let you have only what you think you deserve.” - from Letting Go by Dr. David R. Hawkins

Fountainhead

"But you see," said Roark quietly, "I have, let’s say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards—and I set my own standards. I inherit nothing. I stand at the end of no tradition. I may, perhaps, stand at the beginning of one.”
― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

Middle Path in Work

I notice that there are 2 extremes when it comes to work:

1. Being a Corporate Slave - you know, the 9 to 5 drudgery, doing it for the paycheque, selling your soul to pay the bills. Miserable security of a slave.

2. Being a Bum - I see that here in Thailand... bums, drunks, people who spent all their walking hours at a local bar, drifting, no purpose, zombies, passive suicide.

Neither life seems worth living to me. There is a middle path. It is the way of meaningful work. Doing things that have meaning. Sure, everyone has bills... but not everyone pays them the same way. Having a little bit of guts and balls to be authentic can go a long way. Thinking that you have no choice means you chose no choice.

I'm still finding the way in my own life. I don't like being a slave... or a bum. I like being my own boss, doing things that make my life worth living, thinking my own thoughts, taking shit from absolutely no one.

What makes your life worth it?

Freud said that in order to be happy, 2 things have to be in order in a man's life: his work and his love. 
Something to ponder. 
0/2 is miserable. 
1/2 is bearable, but not happy.