Thailand

We are making the relatively easy move from Vietnam to Thailand. Closer to 'home' by about an hour...

It is a relief to know where we are headed - uncertainty can be tiring.

Senses

I can see: my keyboard, a little grubby, I note. Dust and stuff between the keys. It needs cleaning. A hastily scribble telephone number on a scrap of white paper – belong to? No idea. There’s a red-and-white airways envelope from Tahiti, where a friend is doing a six month residential course in air traffic control. The postcard it contained is up above the computer screen: Moorea, looking temptingly idyllic. My mouse is flashing red – AGAIN – informing me that it wants more batteries. I must get hold of a charger and rechargeables. There’s a coffee mat with a sepia illustration of Bolingey, Cornwall which was a gift from my dad last time we visited. A half-empty cylindrical case of blank CDs, a rubber (eraser, if that made you smile) a permanent marker, a diary and a wad of A4 paper make up the ensemble that is my desktop.

I can feel: the pain in my back and neck. Omnipresence. It is occupying more and more of me. As I concentrate, I can sense also a mild tingling in my fingertips, and of course the pressure as each key is hit. A trickle of sweat begins its journey down my back. As the fan reaches the edge of its arc, a brief respite of cool air reaches the left side of my head and body. And then there’s the pain in my back and neck…

I can hear: The electric shutters next door grindingly open to greet the day. The strains of Bach, oddly enough, coming from somewhere way behind the house. And now a taxi, struggling to squeeze passed the bikes parked outside and resorting to his horn. Padlocks being unlocked. And some one spitting loudly.

I can taste: the memory of the carrot and ginger juice I made myself ten minutes ago.

I can smell: hmm, my weak suit. Not much really. Even concentrating, I am unaware of any smells.

Re-cognise

To recognise me, you must first know me again. Re-cognise. First, you must believe there is a God to know. Second, you have to be open to new ideas about me. Third, and this is the biggie, you need to be ready to embrace a God who embraces you, without condition.

Ask yourself every day, ‘Is this Who I Am?’. Every decision you make is not a decision about what to do, but a decision about Who You Are. The other five word magic question is, ‘What would Love do now?’

If you require a certain result to be happy, you have an addiction. If you simply desire a certain result, you have a preference. If you have no preference, you have Acceptance. And you have achieved Mastery.

Suffering has nothing to do with events, but your reactions to them. What’s happening is merely what’s happening. How you feel about it – how you choose to feel about it – is another matter. Can you simply accept what ‘Is’?

Bits pinched from Neale Donald Walsch…

There is only what there is

There is only now

There is only your life

Your happiness

Your desires

Your existence

The rest is background scenery.

Whilst it can be very nice,

Interesting even,

It’s not you.

It’s not Who You Are.

It’s Who You Were

Perhaps,

Or Who You Could Be

Maybe

But right now,

Today

Who You Are is Who You Choose To Be.

Who do you choose to be?

Just back from an exhausting but enjoyable school camp to Hoi An. The odd quirk about this lovely little town is that it has the highest concentration of tailor shops in the world. So the kids kept buying us ties - decent silk ties for only 1 or 2$ are a bargain, and we now have many of them! They were impressed that we wore them on camp.

Hoi An is a world heritage site. When I first went there over 5 years ago there was a choice of 3 hotels. Now there are over a hundred. The over-reliance on tourism is scary. There clearly is money around now, but I dread to think what another Asian market crash or Bird Flu scare would do to the people here. I wonder for how much longer we shall still see buffaloes roaming down the beach...

DIY publishing in Vietnam

I have just discovered that I can get print-ready PDF files published in book form on single-book digital file basis here in Vietnam!

I researched self-publishing for the children's book I finished, and the lowest quotes came in at almost $2000. I can do the same job here for a fraction of that - the only difference being the lack of an ISBN number. How important is that? Well, for my purposes (a few sales to people I know and then review copies and carrots for a real publishing contract) this will do more than adequately. I'm quite excited - not least because I have three other children's book ready to go once I have sorted out illustrations.

Let's not get too carried away - this is Vietnam and I've only had email contact so far. Samples and definitive quotes to come next week...

Coming soon...

A children's full-colour picture book with a surprising twist. If getting a publisheer for an adult novel is hard, then finding one for a children's illustrated book is nigh on impossible. But I am hopeful, even so. The illustrator is a friend and parent of an ex-pupil. Out in time for Christmas 2007 is the aim... Watch, as they say, this space!