posted 28 Aug 2011 03:38 by Ashwin Subramaniam
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updated 28 Aug 2011 03:44
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A short story on experiencing happiness through the adventures of everyday life
In the cool, early hours of dawn, an elderly lady approaches me for a rest. The spaniel that she’s been walking climbs up as well and puts his head on my wooden seat. “New sounds, new smells and new squirrels again today! Oh, I so love these walks! And the best part is she knows I love them and so takes me out every single day”, he relishes. And as his beady, loving eyes rest upon her she thinks “He’s such a wonderful companion at this old age of mine - always by my side and always there for me”. I feel love and loyalty.
As the afternoon nears, a young couple strolls towards me. As they settle down I sense something is amiss for they don’t seem to talk to each other. “He’s just not present anymore when he’s with me and always looks far and distant. How can I relate to him?” she laments. “No matter what I say or do, I simply can’t connect with her anymore. The romance is fizzling out and the passion is disappearing. Is this going to be the end of our journey?” he sadly wonders.
I feel fear, helplessness and frustration.
A golden hue covers the sky as evening begins to fall, and a mother with a baby stops by. She lovingly feeds it and holding it close to her bosom tells stories. Its baby blue eyes watch her entranced, following every movement of her lips. “I hope you grow up one day to be strong yet gentle, tough yet caring and kiss this beautiful world and touch all its people with goodness”, she wishes deep inside. As if on cue, the baby smiles and puts his little finger on her cheek. I feel tenderness, hope and faith.
Dusk approaches, and the abbot of a nearby monastery walks towards me silently and calmly sits down to meditate.
I only feel peace of mind and compassion.
The next moment I’m puzzled. I wonder how this sudden peace and compassion came over me and for a few minutes I feel like a muddy pool of twirling water.
And then, as if the mud settles down slowly in the pool of my mind, I realise something that changes my way of being forever. I realise how in the course of just one day I experience all kinds of people, a myriad of emotions and a bunch of feelings - some interesting, some inspiring, some saddening and yet some heart-warming.
But just like what the monk cultivated and experienced today, if I allow all of them to be just as they are - make none of them right or wrong, none of them perfect or imperfect, and soak them all up, then there’s this wholesome peace that settles.
A peace unaffected by any trouble and which nobody can ever ruffle. And a compassion from which I have the power to create goodness all around.
I practice this and am a happier park bench each day from that day on. |
posted 30 Jul 2011 19:28 by Ashwin Subramaniam
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updated 30 Jul 2011 19:51
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When I think of "adventure" I think of a memorable journey that involves feelings of adrenaline, discovery, learning, challenge, fun, anticipation, accomplishment, and effort - all combined into one. Cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia was an adventure that I have always dreamed to do and now that I have done it, I am feeling a sense of achievement, not to mention, still on a high ever since the completion of the course! Cycling is a fantastic way to see and get a feel of a place. As we cycled the off-beaten track from Vietnam to Cambodia we learnt how the locals lived and we got an appreciation of how they build their simplistic life. You can sense the joy and the pride in these people as they care for their elders, children, neighbours, their land, which were all very refreshing to experience. I had an amazing time learning new things, being in the great outdoors, pushing myself to achieve the day's long cycle, and being inspired by everyone we got to meet. I thought, this is how every day should be like, "an adventure". The fact is, when you mentally prepare yourself for something, you start to anticipate; and if it's a positive feeling, your anticipation grows even more. The exciting and rather memorable cycling expedition has broadened my perspective, and it has encouraged me to treat each day as an adventure. So in my own city, I will explore new places, try new things, meet new people, catch up with old friends, try different cuisine dishes, do all the things I would do in a foreign city. I realise, sometimes, it's all about seeing things through a different set of lens, and that I have the power to make everyday more meaningful, even in a familiar city, if I want to. Much love and respect, Mai |
posted 9 Jun 2011 01:00 by Sabarinath Kumar
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updated 9 Jun 2011 01:07
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Where do you work/study and what do you love about it?
I'm currently finishing
my Master degree in International Business at Grenoble Graduate School of
Business. I enjoy collaborating with an international group of students with different
backgrounds yet striving to achieve our goals.
What inspires you in life?
People who persistently
follow their ambitions and care about more than only themselves and
materialism.
What positive change do you want to create in society?
I'd like to inspire people
to challenge themselves, push themselves out of their comfort zone and for them
to do achieve things they may not be aware of actually doing. Whether it's
cycling long-distances, setting up an own business or even simply presenting in
front a group of complete strangers.
Why did you choose to be a part of Gone Cyclin'?
The main reason to
participate in Gone Cyclin' is because it enabled me to engage in an
adventure while supporting sustainable charities. It was also a way to
challenge myself and see how I would cope with this challenge. With a passion
to travel, cycling is also an ideal way to explore a country. Having
previously worked for Carpets for Communities (the beneficiary of our cycling
expedition) made it even easier to say yes to this cycling expedition! | 
Random thing about Laurens?
He has lived in 6 Countries! |
posted 9 Feb 2011 03:17 by Mahmoud Shadid
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updated 17 Feb 2011 21:21 by Sabarinath Kumar
]
As with any project run by a bunch of enthusiastic young people, they don't have enough time or support but they have enough energy and enthusiasm to make up for literally anything, and this case was no excpetion, alot needed to be done in so little but as the A-team say " I love it when a plan comes together", tasks where handed out, and everyone worked hard, really hard.
So between phone calls, emails, twittering, FBing and web designing, the event started coming together and it was looking good. The event website was setup up, social media for Gone Cylcin utilized, ticketing set, venue chosen, bands looked in and as time went by more and more details where added to this puzzle to form the events. The Photo Exhibition which is now up and running, took quite a bit of effort, at around 6.15 am on a Thursday morning we met up ... I love it when a team comes together, and the setting up started, keep in mind none of us had our coffee fixes yet, and we are all still half asleep, but acouple of hours, a few carpets, heaps of amazing photos, some hooks and strings and a cup of coffee later ... things looked a lot better, and the volunteers had enough energy to go to their daily jobs afterwards ... amazing.
Feel free to have a look at the photos on the Gone Cyclin Group on FB to see the Exhibition as well as our awesome volunteers at work.
Next blog will be in a few days once details for the main event ..
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posted 9 Feb 2011 03:11 by Mahmoud Shadid
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updated 9 Feb 2011 03:18 by Sabarinath Kumar
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Wow … where does one start … ok calm down Mahmoud, * breathes deeply*
let’s start at the very beginning *Sound of Music voice* … focus Mahmoud… ok let’s
start from the events we are planning.
So... so far our efforts have the resulted in the planning of
the following events:
A photo gallery at Fed square: to be honest, I’m still in
shock due to the fact that we got to use Melbourne’s Famous Icon Federation
Square, but as always when you have crazy enough people behind any idea
anything can happen and as Mark Twain once said “All you need in this
life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure,”, I really like
this idea cause it really places people in the proper mindset for the event, as
well as it helps to spread the word for the East Timor cause as well as the main
event, this will go on for a week.
The other event is the spinning dreams documentary screening
that will happen after the photo gallery, we have a few up and coming bands
playing at the event, again some of them I was just astonished (you can tell I
wrote that last word with a British accent … can’t you ), and we have a venue
locked down.
So that is what is happening so far and the idea of this
blog is to get people to follow our progress, maybe comment or not, and basically
something to look back on.
As I update this blog, I can only imagine what the rest of
the team are doing, preparing posters, and aggressively sending out emails,
writing proposals, phone calls... All with a mug of coffee on their side (I know
I have that covered).
Writing this short blog actually takes me back to the first
meeting I had with the team, it was Me, the simply Amazing Veronica, Talented
Editor Jacqui and Magical voice owner Marielle, chilling on a rooftop watching
the Spinning Dreams documentary, and it feels somewhat surreal to think that it
was less than a month away that all this has been put together, Umm … Important
note here is that I cut my finger trying to open my non-alcoholic tiger beer,
buts it’s alright now, I knew you were all worried.
I realize there is still a lot to work to do, but the fact
that a lot has been accomplished in the past period really brings me -and I believe
the rest of the team- comfort.
More updates to come as we get closer to the events Mahmoud M.Naser
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posted 14 Nov 2010 10:33 by Ashwin Subramaniamam
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updated 14 Nov 2010 10:36 by Sabarinath Kumar
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Dear all, The Gone Cyclin' Initiative invites you to an inspiring evening of celebration of East Timor!
An evening where you'll experience the beauty of this young, resilient nation through art exhibitions, cultural showcases and screening of a documentary based on the 410km Tour de Timor mountain bike race in a bid to raise funds for the women weavers and craft-workers in East Timor.
We invite you to support us by coming down and helping us spread the word about our cause!
Date: 28th November 2010, Sunday Time: 7pm Venue: National Library Building, Level 16, The POD To register for the event please drop us an email at events@gonecyclin.com
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Proudly brought to you by, The Gone Cyclin' Initiative - www.gonecyclin.com Championing Sustainability, Inspiring Humanity
A project of the Rotary Club of Bukit Timah, Rotary District 3310 Airline Sponsors: Air Timor | Energy Bars & Gels Sponsors: Power Bar & Athlete's Circle | Cycling Jersey Sponsors: Crest Pursuit Email: events@gonecyclin.com | ashwin@gonecyclin.com | HP: 81251377 |
posted 9 Sep 2010 22:01 by Ashwin Subramaniamam
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updated 9 Sep 2010 22:03 by Sabarinath Kumar
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Big thanks to Epichouse for providing an efficient and good quality printing service
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posted 6 Sep 2010 06:15 by Info Gone Cyclin'
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updated 9 Sep 2010 17:51 by Sabarinath Kumar
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A couple of months ago I found out about Tour de Timor, a 410 km mountain bike race for peace. It’s one of the toughest in the world and my friend and I decided that we would do it to raise funds for a cause. As East Timor is the poorest, newest and neediest SE Asian country, where the annual GDP per capita is a mere US$542. Goal:The goal is to cycle 410 km to raise funds of USD 37,000 (SGD 50,000), to enable 360 rural weavers and craft workers to develop their skills and become sufficient. All the proceeds will go to Timor Aid, a Timor-based NGO of which Nobel laureate and President José Ramos-Horta is the Honorary Chairman and Patron. 1) Pass along this email to your friends and families 2) Email, facebook, blog, twitter (#gonecyclin) about us 3) Help donate for the ladies in East Timor 4) If you want to make a pledge and want something in return... post it below :) This is crucially important because due to the rise of the digital revolution, women are being left behind in the job market. It is becoming more and more competitive for them to have financial means to cover basic costs for themselves and their families. As a result, we aim to which will help support their skills based training program. My journey:In the past 5 months, I have challenged and have myself further than I thought I could. I sacrificed spending time with friends, weekend getaway even going home in December. I spent long hours training on a bike, but it all seemed worth it knowing our goal was to inspire young people to make a positive and sustainable difference in this world. Personally I have learnt that with endurance sports it both a mental and physical battle, and I have been able to break multiple barriers. However, these barriers are nothing compared to the people living in poverty who are struggling daily suffocating for a breath of fresh air. Results:We recently partnered with Rotary Club of Bukit Timah, Singapore, to assist us with fundraising centered around the upcoming race from 13-17th September 2010. As of today, our team has confirmed one sponsor - Air Timor, and has already received contributions from donors totaling 6,000 dollars. We have a long way to go to reach our SGD 50,000 goal by November 15th but with your support and loose change, we can make a difference.
Much Respect and Thank you for supporting make this world a better place
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posted 4 Jul 2010 07:10 by Ashwin Subramaniamam
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updated 4 Jul 2010 07:20 by Sabarinath Kumar
]
Reconnecting with nature helps slow down my thinking and gets me to reassess myself. Early Friday, I found myself embraced in nature when we initiated our climb to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. The mountain was really “No Joke”. Although I started off the year hyped and ready to get into step training after climbing Mount Ophir, the Gone Cyclin’ project and coaching consumed my time, which meant training for KK took the back seat.
Time flew by and next thing I am at the bottom of Mount Kota Kinabalu about to embark on a journey into its lush rain forest. After an hour, I started cursing internally that I should have trained on some HDB steps. The path was peaceful and we saw glimpses of waterfalls and endless forests. There were many times when there were huge steps, and Laurel's sarcasm made the climb very entertaining. My brother was climbing with a broken arm and he challenged the laws of gravity because the mountain seemed to go up and down. Our slow pace with plenty of breaks meant we arrived at base camp at 6pm to gobble up dinner and reconnect with fellow climbers. The next thing I knew, I woke up from an all too short sleep to leave my warm bed and begin the toughest part of the climb.
All climbers lined up to begin with steep wet wooden steps that lead towards the granite rocks at around 2.30am. I started having trouble breathing and regretted not packing properly as my cotton pyjama pants were already wet. The part that was unbearable, was forgetting to get waterproof gloves, the wind made my fingers freeze. The part that scared me was seeing people walk back to base camp because they were scared. I kept thinking why do I need to do things like this? I don’t know what happened, but my brain seemed to tell my feet to keep walking. The last two kms on the granite rock were super steep and it required me to haul myself on the ropes. My imagination got the better of me and I thought that if I lost control, I would fall into an endless cliff. The supportive words of two older couples, Japanese and Chinese, helped me as they told me that it would be fine and urged me to continue.
Freezing, wet and tired, we reached atop Mount Kinabalu at 6am to see the stunning view. The image from the top made it hard to believe that there was nature only a few kms away, all we could see were granites. It was as if we had landed on the moon. Even though I was freezing, I got a great feeling of satisfaction by climbing KK. But the race was only half done. Coming down, the slippery rocks got the better of me and I slipped on my ankle four times! Nevertheless, it was a great adventure and I recommend it to anyone who is in Asia. I was impressed by the amount of older, more fit people who took their health and fitness seriously and made the mountain climb seem effortless.
Yasmine Khater
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posted 25 May 2010 11:27 by Ashwin Subramaniamam
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updated 27 May 2010 22:53 by Sabarinath Kumar
]
On 22nd May 2010 I completed for the first time something I had dreamed of more than two years ago - successfully raising awareness and funds for a social cause through sports.
Ever since my late teens, I had always wanted to take up sports - especially endurance sports, but had never got around to doing it. And ever since my involvement with the youth organisation AIESEC during my university years, I knew I have to make my life to be a big contribution towards the benefit of humanity - but hadn't got started on that either.
Settling down one sleepy January evening two years ago for a lazy bed-time read, I never thought how one book would create a massive difference in my life by making these two interests come together. Lance Armstrong's auto-biography 'It's not about the bike' I realised was not the kind of book I can read myself to sleep with. It turned out to be just pure inspiration in every page. And by the time I had put the book down, I heard a calling from somewhere within. Somewhere deep in the recesses of my consciousness a spark was ignited with Lance's story of turning around his life after cancer - beating it, winning the Tour de France and using his fame to raise funds for cancer awareness and research.
I had then dreamed of doing something similar - and doing a triathlon was the first thing that came to my mind. And after 2 years of intensive physical and mental training, last weekend I finished my first triathlon (the Bintan triathlon in Indonesia) for a social cause and raised more than SGD 1,700 of funds for school scholarships for children in Seam Reap province in rural Cambodia. Family, friends and colleagues came in full support and helped me reach and exceed my fund-raising target within two weeks, and that too just before the day of the competition.
The wheel now has been set in motion!
Ashwin
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