Sex & Culture ( Genes & Memes )

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of Life? Have you ever asked, "Why are we here?"

"To drink from the fountain of youth" may be someone's purpose in life but how can you avoid eternal pain & disease? Since we can't live forever, another choice may simply be to replicate oneself biologically thru' sex & marriage. But how about celibates & childless couples?

The answer may lie in the idea of passing on our Memes, as opposed to genes. For those unfamiliar with the term, Richard Dawkins is first credited for defining a meme as a unit of cultural transmission that's passed on from one generation to the next.

A meme can be a Tune, a catch-phrase or simply a more efficient way of doing something. To paraphrase Dawkins, "Just as a gene gets propagated from body to body via egg & sperm, a meme leaps from brain to brain via a process called imitation."

Love, Being Real & Remixing

How do toys become Real ? And (as the song goes), what's Love got to do with it ?

I'd like to quote from Margery William's book, when Old Skin Horse gave this piece of advice to Velveteen Rabbit : "Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been Loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints & very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

An interesting analogy is in "textual poaching" on humankind's great literary preserve, passed down through the centuries. It is conceived that good ideas get Reworked & Remixed. One may see it as Poaching but others may view it as acts of Loving Use.

Ethical Wills & Remixing

When my father passed away in 2004, we felt a great loss. However, while trekking in the sacred mountains, we felt his spirit moving in the mists & clouds. We also remember him through his Letters to his Sons, a form of Ethical Will.

If you read his Letters, you'll come across familiar quotes from ancient China & Europe - he talked about filial piety & dignity in old age. And yet they are made unique in his own words & exemplified in his lifetime. Call it Remixing.

I'd like to paraphrase an anecdote from Jonathan Lethem, "For we are all nomadic readers, poaching our way across fields we do not own,... yet adding value to great ideas & making them even better."

Mountains as Sacred Places

Mt Mazama blew its top around 6688 years ago. Snowmelt filled the resulting crater to become Crater Lake, Oregon. Just like Mt Kinabalu, the native people have considered them Sacred. No matter what religious background, one will be imbued with respect for such places. Certainly, appreciation for their environs, so different from the city & town.

One will also have respect for the weather. On Kinabalu, my wife had beautiful blue skies after sunrise at the summit, but rain & mist halfway coming down. Crater Lake, on the other hand, let us experience a last snowfall in June, 2007, creating a wonderful winter landscape that was all too transient. Enjoy the Oregon Album.

I'd also like to share that fabled speech by Chief Seattle in 1854 which was refashioned into a plea for eco-conservatism; and transformed into a poem entitled "This Earth Is Precious".

Climbing a Mountain & Cancer

Everyone will face difficulties in Life, big or small. My wife, a paediatrician, got to thinking that climbing Mt. Kinabalu, one step at a time, was somehow like conquering a Big Cancer for a little child.

So she decided to make it a charity climb by canvassing for donations to the CCF or Children's Cancer Foundation in Singapore, if she made it to the summit. Now that she's succeeded, everyone including the brave young “climbers”, will be inspired to persevere whenever the road ahead seems like an uphill climb.

Believe in yourself, and you will achieve.

The Best Currency in the World

Now that we're back home, safe & dry, it's time to reflect upon our Kinabalu adventure. I realise that although money may buy you lots of stuff; like warm hiking socks & a sturdy walking stick, the best currency to have in your pocket is not the Ringgit, US Dollar or Euro. It's Trust. Especially when you finally stumble out of the Timpohon Trail at 9pm in the rain.

Trust in your travelling companions, your mountain guide, porter & bus driver. It's something intangible but instantly recognisable like when you look at the face of Leo, our little chihuahua, asking, "Will you be there for me?"

Down To Sea Level

And now, the bags are packed, we're checking out. Everyone's relieved, relaxed & ready to go Home. Time for a last groupshot !