Black Cat Syndrome

The "Black Cat Syndrome" is a pet topic starter for trainers conducting courses on the elements of change...the change agents, the change factors, the need to change perceptions, change mindsets.....nothing remains unchanged.

Another favorite is the quotation from Buddha: "All conditioned things are impermanent and subject to change".

The following is the story about the black cat:

Once upon a time, there was a temple on top of a mountain. Daily, the Chief Abbot of the temple conducts chanting and meditation sessions for the monks. During the chanting, the monks have to sit motionless.

One day during the chanting session, a black cat appeared and ran around the meditation hall. The blank cat disturbs the monks, scratching them and making noises. The monks could not do anything and continued chanting.

After awhile, the Chief Abbot then instructed two monks to catch the black cat and tie it to a pillar in the meditation hall. The monks could then chant in peace, undisturbed by the roaming black cat.

Henceforth, before the start of every chanting session, the black cat will be tied to the pillar.

This practice went on for a long time.

When the Chief Abbot died, his disciple replaced him as the new Chief Abbot.

One day, the black cat also died.

When the new Chief Abbot started the chanting session the following day and found that no black cat was tied to the pillar in the hall, he instructed two monks to go to the forest to catch a black cat and tie it to the pillar. The chanting session then resumed.

A black cat must be tied to the pillar before the start of every chanting session. This practice continued over and over and over....

Nobody ever tried to find out why a black cat must be tied to the pillar of the meditation hall before the chanting session could start.

What is the moral of the story?

Certain traditional practices are passed down over the generations and nobody knows how such practices originated, and why some obsolete practices are still continued because of the resistance to change.

I Am Back

Since my last blog update on May 18, 2009, my old buddies have been pestering me with numerous emails to ask me whether it is true that I have nothing to blog : )

They claimed to be my faithful ‘blog fans’ and are disappointed with my procrastination and irregular blog updates.

I simply replied, “Sorry, I am too lazy".

We have been verbal sparring partners for over four decades, so it doesn't matter if I tell the truth without sugar-coating my reply. No offence is intended and I know that they will understand even when I am blunt with them. Through our friendship over these many years, we have reached such a comfort level that few people can understand. We are from the generation of "The Rugged Society" and the national psyche at that time was "The world does not owe us a living. We don't owe the world a living" .

These “blog fans” are actually some of my childhood buddies whom I have coaxed to surf the Net to keep up with the times, and to “oil their brains”by blogging about their personal experience which younger people may be interested to learn. A few are retired teachers who prefer to spend time to look after their grandchildren or play mahjong to pass their time. No matter how much I poke them (the way people poke one another on Facebook) they will not want to start a blog.

I get to understand their apprehension better after reading

The Internet and Social Relationships

To my buddies and those who care to read the blog, I have stated frankly that I am not a professional blogger who blogs regularly for any specific purpose other than to use blogging as a communication media to talk to myself…a form of “soliloquy blog” : )

There were times when I was like the guy in the previous blog topic who has nothing to blog. As in real life, I could be quiet by myself without saying a single word to anyone for the whole day (except for the exchange of greetings when meeting them). I can be alone but not lonely, so to speak. The brain, the eyes and the ears are still functioning when the mouth is kept shut though :)

But then it would be a waste of Internet real estate and blogspot domain name to start a blog with nothing to share with oneself and others. People do not just buy cars to occupy the parking lots!

Blogging is not a top priority to me; but its nice to have time for other recreational activities and blogging is one of them. Like what my friends advised me, my brain will become rusty very soon if I do not oil them with mental exercises regularly by blogging, improve my writing skills and to keep my fingers nimble by typing on the keyboard. How thoughtful of them!

After all, the theme of my blog is “Blog to Express”, not “Blog to Impress".....so the grammer, typo errors caused by speed typing, choice of blog topics or thinking aloud within my own space doesn't annoy anyone as a "blog nuisance".

Fine. I will “Carry On Blogging” until the day I cannot do so when I become senile or whatever. I am grateful to them for their encouragement and good intention to nudge me to age actively.

Watch this space for more if you enjoy the rambling, folks. Thank you for reading.