My 2019 reflection - living in parallel universe

​(It’s time to reflect 2019 and welcome 2020. I have a mixed bag of feelings and this year-end reflection doesn’t seem very joyful. Below involves what’s happening in Hong Kong and you may not want to read it.)
 
In 2019, it is complicated. Living in Perth, I basically do what I want in everyday life. My study and yoga teaching occupy almost all my time. Yet I have time to do some fun stuff, having weekend brunch, walking my dog, meeting friends and family. I call this a simple good life and it is enjoyable, yet I feel so unsettled. I have been watching news about Hong Kong protest in horror and Hong Kong people pay high price for their civil rights. I know I live in a parallel universe. I am not very well when my family and friends, or anyone in the Hong Kong community are not well. I am not able to express my sadness in words.
 
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. If I had experienced what Hong Kong people went through in 2019, it would be:

• MP and police organized street gangs to beaten up anyone in the metro station to create fear, so people would not possibly go out for protest.
• Riot police fired thousand rounds of tear gas at my uni campus because they wanted uni students to escalate violence and then lose support from both local and international community. 
• Young people found dead in the river, with dumbbell attached to both legs. It was so-called ‘suicide’ and police found no suspicious circumstances.

 
It’s heartbreaking. The authoritarian state turns the society upside down and continues to stay strong. I know I need to be part of this civil rights movement. I am a believer of the butterfly effect. A small positive vibration can change the entire cosmos. Although I was not able to be at the forefront of the movement, I conveyed a message of yoga poses for mental health to the Hong Kong community. That’s the best thing I’ve done in 2019, if anyone in Hong Kong can feel better in this constant unrest.  

By concentrating on these postures, your body starts to shift from tension to relaxation. Regular mindful movements improve mood and prevent depression.

I cherish a simple life more than ever. I love my social capital from the yoga community and my family. However, life can never be simple when I see what’s going on in the world on a destroying path. I have to do something. I have to do something bigger.
 
Everyone has a place in the world. I can make yoga and occupational therapy solutions accessible and help people face practical aspects of life. Inner strength and physical strength are key elements for any bigger-than-life missions. Yoga helps people connect body and mind, finding pace to reach your goal. In occupational therapy, people learn new ways to cope with daily challenges after injury or disease. Down the path, I’d like to focus on community rehabilitation and chronic disease management, blending yoga and occupational therapy together.
 
Although I am an agnostic person, I am going to learn from a serenity prayer. “ God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” I hope I have clarity of mind to pour my time and energy to what truly matters. That will be my challenges in coming 2020.