Let’s Talk Money – The Happy Nation

Bhutan is ranked as the most peaceful country in South Asia for the 2021. Sure, we are happy and proud. On the other hand, how can we be at peace when Our Majesty is in constant worry fighting Covid-19 at the front line? How can we brand ourselves the happiest nation when we know for a fact that we are far from being self-sufficient? Do we want to continue being the back drop for the people from rich nations to come and take breaks from their normal busy life? Or do we want to strive harder to reach their achievements, of course while keeping our culture and traditions intact?  

Recently I have been involved in writing content for a certain paper related to Covid-19 and its impact on Bhutan. I know for a fact that the number of individuals living off Druk Gyalpo’s Relief Kidu is huge. Recently, with the floating of shares (held in the name of Sungchob Fund and Kidu Fund) for sale, the extend of the pressure caused to the Relief Fund can only be imagined. If this cannot make us worry, then I don’t know what can.

Read More

The Mind As Energy

If an individual wants to achieve the highest possible goal that lies within one’s ability, then one must harvest the energy of the mind. How fascinating is it that computers can store a large volume of information such as thousands of photos, videos, songs and perform varieties of task at a given time. This is nothing compared to the human mind. How many memories of events, people, past, future plans, ideas do we hold at a given time and still perform activities such as eating, watching tv, and analyzing all at the same time.

Our brain has been doing computation since the time we came into existence. One simple example to discuss; when crossing the road; we look to the left, to right, estimate the distance between ourselves and the moving car, estimate its velocity and calculate the time it will take to reach our point. All in a fraction of a second, and zoom, we cross the road without getting hit. Also, the brain never stops growing, in fact, learning new skills become easier as we stimulate the brain to allow more experience, it’s called neuroplasticity. It’s like learning to drive, scared in the beginning but gets better if we drive consistently. Similar interesting area to explore about brain is to explore the philosophical part of the mind.

Read More

My Forgotten Blog

Almost a decade since I last posted on my blog. Recently, a young blogger friend of mine, in a casual conversation happen to discuss about his variety of online works. He shared about how he was also able to earn few amounts, to support through his education years. After the conversation I came to check on my long forgotten blog. While scrolling through the pages, all the memories of those blogging days came back. It was also emotional that I have forgotten the blog, but nothing on the blog has changed, it stayed exactly as how I left it some 10 years ago. Friends who followed the blog were still here. I felt terrible that I let my passion for writing suffer a slow death. 

During the initial years when I stopped posting on the blog, the writing was on, but my articles were sometimes too personal and sometimes too sensitive to post ( or so I thought). Since I wasn't posting my articles on the blog, slowly it seem unnecessary to even write down. After that, many articles have been written in my mind and disappeared into thin air, without ever coming out in black and white. As more years passed by, even writing in my mind stopped. 

Read More

Being a citizen

:) my this essay won the best entry for "Beyond the Ballot" Challenge ( bagging me 10,000 Ngultrun  cash prize plus a certificate), Celebrating International day for Democracy 15 sept. Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy hosted the competition together with  UNDP, and UNDEF on the theme "Citizen". what does it mean to be a citizen?

Being a citizen

The meaning of being a citizen extends beyond just possessing the Citizenship Identity Card. Love and respect for the nation. It is about respecting the principles and laws of the government, abiding by the laws, which you as a citizen approved prior to bringing into effect. Being a citizen should mean raising your voice at the flaws of decision made by the law making body. It means not keeping quite when the government goes wrong. It doesn’t even mean you keep complaining. What it takes to being a citizen is your willingness to give opinions and point out the flaws, if any, and together working towards a better amendment.

He who is a good citizen will have the qualities; 1) Not being opportunistic and not misusing government resources. 2) Serving the Nation selflessly without seeking individual benefit and working towards upbringing of the people 3) Being compassionate towards the needy ones and extending a helping hand where possible. 4) Respect for the older, courtesy towards the young and consideration among peers. 5) Pride and respect for the unique culture and tradition the nation has, 6) and the mind to keep these traditions alive. 7) Being wise in adopting foreign cultures.

As much as one might think one is right with one’s opinion, one should respect the principles and views of other fellow citizens. Participating in community activities, the activity might be as small as a cleaning campaign or constructing a bridge. Nevertheless, your interest and willingness to be a part of that small event shall prove that you have the sense of belongingness towards your community.  A citizen should not lag behind in standing up for the rights of his own and at the same time should not fail in respecting the rights of the people around as much.

Sometimes being a citizen takes as little as having common sense. For example; by not leaving your waste/garbage behind at a picnic spot, you may be playing just your role but you are being a good citizen by not littering the environment.  Taking care of public properties or at least not destroying them.

When it comes to voting for the leader, we all should keep in mind that it is not the political party that matters. In the end, it all comes down to, how capable that particular person we are voting for is in serving the needs of our community. Our vote should not be biased towards a party background nor should it be based on a relation.  Most of all, it is about being true to ourselves while choosing the leader. 

Being a citizen (of Bhutan) is not just about holding pride talking about GNH somewhere abroad, but it also is about being able to think on the social, economic and environmental issues within the nation and showing concern. It doesn’t end by just showing concern, we all should come hand in hand and work towards how these issues might be addressed.

Well, wearing the national dress, speaking the national language and holding Citizenship Identity Card may be defined as being a citizen, but understanding and feeling yourself as one such citizen has a meaning broader than these physical proves. He is a person with honesty, a person true to himself and others as a whole. Above everything, all that takes to being a good citizen of any nation (for that matter, of the world) is being a good human being. Being a citizen is very simple yet a tough job, it is about playing your role with honesty and integrity. 

Lotey Om 
B.Sc (Physics) Hons, 4^th year
The University of New England                                                                

Armidale, NSW, Australia                                                                           

Read More

Talking to the bear :)

Knowing 'Love' + missing you 

Love is a crazy thing; it makes you want to cry, frustrated and messed up. It leaves you in total confusion and illusion. Because one is giving too much, so are the expectation and when these hopes go wrong, there is only hurting and pain at both ends. Sometimes you will wish if you didn’t love that person, because if you didn’t, walking away and never looking back would be an easy choice. But since you care, you will always want to compromise. You will notice how sometimes he tries not showing his anger just because he didn’t want to hurt you, even when it’s reached beyond tolerance. Love sees no ego. You will see yourself saying, ‘I am sorry, it’s all my fault’ while you still might be trying to figure out what went wrong.

Well off course, these little misunderstanding counts to nothing when compared to the happiness you get by being in love. Life is more beautiful knowing that there will always be him by your side not matter what. It is happiness to having found someone you can love and that happiness is more when you mean as much to the person. There is something I have known; as much as one care and love someone, it is equally important to know how much you mean to that someone as well. As long as there is true love and trust, a relation will have the strength to get through any misunderstanding. 


At the end of the day, love always makes me  smile :) 

Read More

Not just the roses alone

Going got so disheartening and hopelessly tough that now I’m saying, ‘ok life take your share, you have been kind to me till now’. Life has given me more than I even asked for, wondering if I ever appreciated.  How could I have had any complain those days? If ever I had

Read More

..dies but not by itself

At a point in my life, I tried to fit in with the people around. That didn’t just include: showing up at some festive gathering even at times when i didn’t wanted to because there is something the society calls it cooperation, wearing outfits which were supposedly in fashion, giving opinions which sometimes might not have been what you wanted to say but knew what the other person expected to hear. These ones are actually the simpler versions of what some of us do to fit in with the environment.

Read More

the act that goes unrealized

While a plate of well cooked, deliciously appealing beef may sound an amazing meal, that piece of meat suffered and went through a lot of pain to reach this destination. No one heard his cries when he prayed not to be killed. Every tear drop that fell from his eye would have contained pains unmeasurable, prayers asking for mercy. No one felt the pain when his blood got drained and flesh removed even before his heart stopped beating.  There is nothing unlawful, nothing that makes us look ugly in enjoying the beautifully prepared dish. But the truth is; we are all just a merciless, selfish, greedy and heartless flesh eater and blood sucker.Thoughtfully speaking, we humans are the most frightening creature to ever have walked this planet.

Read More

Into the 'living'

If I can turn back in time and to live my past one more time, will I want to keep all those mistakes made from happening? Or do I still think those mistakes were worth making to get me the person I am now. Did I even learn anything? But whether mistakes amendable or not, there always was a way forward, every moment had its reason. Living is a weird event, experiences bring realization. We were preached many lessons from the times we hardly remember now, but most of the time, facts and realities are learned the hard way. Yet in this hateful and disgusting world, hard to deny there still are many things worth living for.

 

Read More

Little things, big things..in the end?

Places become home after sometime, only to realize at some point that your soul has been sucked from the core. 

Unable to make it work with the people around. With the selfish ones, you try to make it up but for how long. After sometime you will just want to leave them alone saying let them be blessed. With the good ones, I was not good enough to take in their good nature. 

Read More

True words of me to my love

Because of love and care we have lived. Out of love and care there comes a tear. Out of attraction there comes a fear and with the fear there brings a confusion. Most of all, it is the humanity in us that creates misunderstanding. Out of affection we feel sorry, for, the fragrance of a true love will never let the soul die, no matter what.

 

Read More

If anything make sense

Time goes by, life move on and we get dragged. Because it is a cycle, every phase is unavoidable. Sometimes we don’t want to open our arms, if only that will make any difference. Some moments of the past, I wish I had it still but the reality, even the stillness is on move. Whatever it takes and where it might, I still keep this hope in me but when the lights are down in the middle of the night, truth never lies in saying your vision is still clear.

Read More

look up in the sky

You are too less important a figure in my world to even think I’ll get offended by your comments. The very reason why I do not really care what is being said around. Evil and anger is in everyone. Some choose not to show for they understand nothing good but only evil will be reciprocated.

Read More

Story of a man

Sky is my brother, he tells and no one knows not what he means, I dont either. I ask 'how are you today?' He answers he been drinking the whole day. 'You didnt go to work again today', I ask. He tells me what do he do? The world sees him mad. ' I talk nonsense' he confess ' can I sing a song for you?'

Read More

..and you'll know there is a soul in you

An angel at the beach tells her story; saw a star falling down. Unable to believe the beauty created, almost lost her breathe. Just a blink and the star already plunged into the salty ocean. All she got was a drop of water thrown back. Sad for not being able to catch before it disappeared but looking at the sky she was happy to see many stars looking down at her. So she sits, waiting for the next star to fall. People live on, for there is still hope.

Read More

Nothing unusual; my day

Thursday the 25^th Feb 2010

Who could be calling me at this early hour in the morning? Disgusted and with eyes still closed I reach out for the phone. Unfortunately it is the alarm ring. Damn it! Its college time and I have class at nine o’clock. Wish I could sleep at least one more hour but no, this time I want to be good to myself and so a sincere student.

Read More

Not in the prize!

photo by myself

The worth to a gift is not in the prize it hold but in the message and the symbol that comes with it. Action and words, whatever it may be, with time loses its charm, if not, forgotten..but the gift remains unless you decide you don’t want to keep them anymore. And every time you see it, you are reminded of the person who gifted, bringing back the history.

Read More

Night and the rain!

I knew something was unusual. It was already pass midnight when me and kezang left our friends' home. They were all drunk but trust me we didnt, not a sip. They insisted on dropping us but our denial :p Half way on the way it rained. She suggested we sit under that big tree until the rain subsided but I told we keep walking cuz the street sounded so damn silent. Few steps and more rain drops started hitting us.

Read More

To those friends..night of 19th Jan 2010

Dedicated to Kezang, Ngajay, Kencho and Kinzang

You have such wonderful friends and of course mine like always the best. Those singing sessions were awesome. Learn to live each moment, we proved it, tomorrow is never certain. It is not the place or the time that counts but the company and moments we make out if it that makes all the difference.

Read More

Awake after midnight!

When asked, what do we really speak? Many times we just want to bring out the words which are already expected to hear by the other. Fail to bring out the truth just in case you might hurt the other person. Even when you know, what he is convinced a right in his way is an absolute wrong notion. Forget about speaking, even in writing, people produce in a way from a reader's perspective. 'We' being referred here doesn't mean I am one among 'us' nor doesn't either mean anyone who comes across this article has to feel offended. 

Read More