I believe in cycles

I believe in cycles -- in the power of cycles and in the value of understanding cycles.

Everywhere I look I see cycles. From wheels and bicycles, to vibrating atoms and the seasons, to my own life and the birth and death of stars. Water and food cycle in and out of me. Blood courses through my veins. I wake up, eat, work, relax, and go to sleep only to wake up again. I was born, I live, I will die, and my elements will go back to mother earth. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." I am made of cycles and I am a part of cycles.

Cycles are powerful. They make the world go round. They are natural forces that shape the environment around me. Get on the right side of a positive cycle and I can do anything. Get on the wrong side of a negative cycle and watch my dreams go down in flames.

To make the most of cycles, I observe and try to understand them. It is hard to figure out what cycles to ride to success and which to avoid. It is work to influence cycles so they accomplish positive results instead of negative ones. Cycles don't care. They just exist. But I care.

Reduce, reuse, recycle is a mantra I follow because it helps me make efficient use of many of the cycles around me. In following it, I hope to leave this world a better place for my children and my fellow mankind.

There are two large cycles that especially worry me today.

One is the carbon cycle. Mankind is moving large amounts of carbon from the earth into the air in the form of carbon dioxide. The change in this cycle is warming our earth and will cause major changes in cycles our lives depend on. Glaciers will melt. Farmlands will become deserts. Coastal areas will be submerged. Mankind changed this cycle, and mankind has the knowledge, power, and responsibility to restore its balance.

The other large worrisome cycle is the cycle of hate. "What goes around comes around." Making war on others encourages them to make war on us. I need your help to break this cycle by spinning it a different way. Practicing peace is hard but provides a far better role model. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It is hard, very hard, but I personally work on this cycle by trying to help others, even when others hurt me.

I believe in cycles. I hope that all of you will join me to build a cycle of balance in our environment, and a cycle of peace in our world.


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Reflections:

It was easy and it was hard to write this essay. It was easy because it came out of a chat I had with my youngest son during a car ride to our recycling center. I wanted him to learn some of what I had learned. I wanted him to learn about cycles -- especially the cycle of hurt -- so he could learn how to stop this cycle from occurring (especially with his brother) and so he would understand more about why I spent so much time and energy recycling things. After this talk, I remembered listening to some of the "This I Believe" essays, particularly the one about believing in the rule of law. I decided to write down my own beliefs about cycles. It was hard because fitting it succinctly into less than 500 words was a challenge. Also I did this somewhat late at night on Christmas eve. But I finished it, read it to my family, and now here it is.

I too believe in the rule of law

I believe in the rule of law. While the law is not perfect, it is the best method of last recourse to decide contentious issues that arise between entities -- whether they be individuals, corporations, or governments. It is far better than resorting to violence or war.

For a great perspective on the rule of law, please read or listen to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5442573

While the rule of law is important, it should also be the last resort after other avenues are exhausted, because it can be very expensive (resource intensive) to decide a matter through the rule of law.

First of all, it is best to avoid legal conflicts altogether by centering on a good set of values or ethics. This keeps you on the high road and provides a good role model for others. Examine your values closely and stick to them.

If necessary, also establish a reasonable set of policies which keep people well within the bounds of laws. This mostly applies to organizations (and families). Be very careful with policies to make sure they are reasonable, enforceable, and legal. If you cannot really enforce a policy, don't make it a policy.

If this still does not suffice, talk it out. What goals and what issues really exist? It is most unfortunate when one party or the other is not able to engage in discussions, but it does happen.

When all else fails, then we are lucky to have a balanced legal system as the ultimate arbiter. And it is important for us to continue to refine and improve our legal system so that it stays balanced and reasonable.

Cheers,
Tim

Want Democracy? Then Practice It!

It is so easy to be lazy. And it is so easy to blame others.

It seems to me that too many people these days are lazy (at least in the US). And too many people are ready to blame others rather than take responsibility themselves.

All of us can control and are responsible for our own destinies.

Who are we to force democracy on others? Forcing others to practice democracy is by its very nature undemocratic. Would the US have become a successful democracy if some other country had come in and told us we had to conform or else? Hell no!

We don't want others to tell us what to do. Others don't want us to tell them what to do. Democracy by its very nature is rooted in the people. As such it has to grow from the people. Power to the people!

It is far more powerful for us to teach by example. It is far more effective to nurture and grow democracy through education. This takes patience. It takes time. But in the long run it can be successful. And the results are much more likely to sustain themselves.

For democracy (as well as our environment, efficient use of resources, and our world), the US was wrong to invade Iraq.

Who are we to force democracy on others when we oppress others and make them too afraid to speak out?

Be brave, speak out, and be heard. Free speech is necessary for democracy to thrive and spread. If you don't stand up for free speech, who will? It is a requirement for democracy. So do it!

Who are we to force democracy on others when so many of us choose not to participate in our own democracy?

If you really believe in democracy, prove it -- go vote!

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Copyright 2006 Tim Oey

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

Why Do I Write?

I write to educate and to communicate.

To understand something properly, it is important to read several viewpoints. Then, from these, draw your own conclusions. Do not trust any single source for the whole truth. Do cross check what you read and critically evaluate it to see if it rings true.

At a speech about bicycles and computers for the 1993 LAW National Bicycle Rally in Pennsylvania, I extended the quote "The pen is mightier than the sword" from Edward Bulwer-Lytton to read "The pen is mightier than the sword, and the computer is the mightiest pen yet invented by mankind."

I am pleased that computers and the Internet have greatly expanded the ability of us all to write and to communicate. The US Constitution protects a US citizen's right to bear arms (the second amendment). I believe it is much more important that it continues to protect our right to bear a pen (the first amendment). Freedom of speech is critical to the proper functioning of a democracy.

While I strive to make my writings as accurate, truthful, concise, and clear as possible, I am only human.

Thus, I offer you, the reader, my writings on this blog and hope you find them useful on their own or in conjunction with the writings of others. Peer review is the best way (perhaps the only way?) to build a solid reputation of trustworthiness.

If you find inaccuracies, please let me know. If you find accuracies please let others know and link to my blog.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey
Sunnyvale, CA

Copyright 2006 Tim Oey

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.

The American Way, Osama, and Truth.

Today I wrapped up a business trip in India and had the pleasure of visiting the Taj Mahal with a colleague. I also had the pleasure of talking about the world at large with Sanjay, our tour guide in Agra. Sanjay shed new light on my knowledge of the American Revolution. He said that many in the world greatly admired the United States after it successfully gained independence from England in 1776. And the US inspired many other countries, like India, to also seek independence.

I wish the US could continue to inspire people rather than hurt them.

In Greg Mortenson's book "Three Cups of Tea", one Pakistani says regarding the US-Iraq war "I'm a moderate Muslim, an educated man. But watching this, even I could become a jihadi. How can Americans say they are making themselves safer? Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years."

In response to Greg's retort saying "Osama had something to do with it, too." The Pakistani goes on to say "Osama, baah! Osama is not a product of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He is a creation of America. Thanks to America, Osama is in every home. As a military man, I know you can never fight and win against someone who can shoot at you once and then run off and hide while you have to remain eternally on guard. You have to attack the source of your enemy's strength. In America's case, that's not Osama or Saddam or anyone else. The enemy is ignorance. The only way to defeat it is to build relationships with these people, to draw them into the modern world with education and business. Otherwise the fight will go on forever.

These words ring true whereas much of what President Bush has had to say has not.

I highly recommend that everyone buy a copy of Greg's book and read it. It is chock full of insights and real truths. Please read it and let ignorance fade away in the light of reason and accurate information. The truth shall set us free.

Sincerely,
Tim Oey

Longevity, durability, and death...

I was very pleased to learn from Blogger Support that their intent is to retain information on blogspot "forever" (must fall within their TOS -- which means it basically must be legal -- and, of course, they have to stay in business).

This is quite reassuring. As a historian and archivist, I value permanence and durabilty. Plus I would really like my writing to stay around for a very long time, so that others may learn about me and what I think. Here is the email I got from the blogger folks.

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Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:39:54 -0700
From: "Blogger Support"
To: "Tim Oey"
Subject: Re: [#443986] Longevity, durability, and death...

Hi Tim,

Thanks for writing in. Blogger will never delete or remove any blog
content unless the blog violates our Terms of Service. We intend to retain
content "forever," even after the author dies. Please let me know if you
have any further questions or concerns, and thanks for using Blogger!

Sincerely,
Karl
Blogger Support
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Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Tim

Death is hard...

Today was a hard day. Actually this whole week was hard.

Young people think they are invincible or simply don't think about death because they have so much life in front of them. They are lucky. They deserve to enjoy their youth as much as they can; before they become more burdened with other realities of life.

I am no longer as young as I once was. As you get older, you are exposed more to death. While my educated philosophical perspective says that death is as natural as life, death still hurts. A lot. Especially for those of us left behind.

This past week, Ben Sumner, the 20-year-old son of a good friend of mine, hit a tree and was killed while skiing. My wife and I attended his memorial service today. It was a beautiful service full of his friends, family, and wonderful memories. He was a fantastic guy -- bright, witty, and full of life. As a parent of two growing sons, I am heartbroken over this tragic loss.

Also this past week, we lost Karen Ballantine, one of our good family friends, to cancer. She was a mother of two children just a bit younger than our own. Our families are both a part of the Minnows Mariner group at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. As a part of this group we got to know each other before any of us had kids, and our families grew up together. Her memorial service will be in a few weeks.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we lost another good friend to cancer: Lonnie Toensfeldt. She was older with two grown daughters. She had accomplished much for hundreds, even thousands of kids through her outstanding work in the California 4-H program. She was my mentor as a 4-H leader during my adult involvement in the program. I had the good fortune to get to know her well and to share memories with her at a celebration of her life hosted by her friends last summer when we learned her cancer had taken a turn for the worse.

Life is so delicate.

These recent life passages make me appreciate more fully the short, precious time I spend with my kids, as well as with my friends, my family, and my wife. Here's to them and to all of you reading this. May all of us enjoy each others company while we have the chance. And remember the good times and friendships of those who go ahead of us.

Sincerely,
Tim