စိတ်ထဲရှိသမျှ

When the question of how to cope with loss arises, it is far easier to offer words of comfort to a friend than to bear the weight of that sorrow yourself. After all, only through personal experience do we truly understand. I knew it was coming and thought I was well-prepared for it, both mentally and physically. But when I heard it spoken aloud, everything I had cherished and owned was gone, it felt like being hit by an enormous crashing wave, leaving me gasping for air. No, I do not think it was sadness

Before I begin, today is Shaw's birthday. It pains me to write this eulogy. He left many people behind on 28th May 23 and I unfortunately happened to be one of them. Today, he would turn 27 years old. I met Shaw and Lily during a protest in San Chaung, where we formed bonds and made memories. The three of us became inseparable. Together, we embarked on many thrilling adventures, and one of which took me to Mandalay , their hometown. We spent blissful days together in the city of Mandalay and its surroundings before Shaw

We named him စောချက်ဘူး because he could cook and flirt at the same time. စော was an honorific. We met in Sat Puu Taung village, our first stopover. We made our acquaintance to dine together that night under an open sky beneath the twinkling stars, but our break-the-ice session was cut short due to the unexpected rain pouring down in the late evening of early May. Eventually, we got to know each other. Saw Chat Buu was pretty resourceful. He became our cook and carpenter, someone we could count on for anything. He was

Stars are the souls of dead poets, but to become a star, you have to die — Van Gogh. Today, the state-owned media publicly announced that two prominent political figures and two activists had been executed on Saturday.  Needless to say, the news shocked the public; the anger, the sadness, and the reactions made by the general public inside and outside the country were

It was one of those lazy summer days in late May. Shali and I happened to visit a bookstore in Junction Square mall with zero intention of going there in the first place.  We were perhaps doing it out of boredom and despair following the unfortunate disappearance of our friend.  I was lazily browsing some books, I don’t recall now, but she was frantically looking for something else.   When I got bored browsing the books, I told her that it was time we left the place, and as we were about to, she quickly disappeared

I feel like I want to write a eulogy, having learnt the news of his passing today.  I named him Bobby TimSway, but he was known as ပျောက်ကျား by the community; he was a two-month-old stray puppy that used to roam the place where I live in.  He had 11 siblings. Most of them found a loving and caring home.  He and his three siblings, all females, were left out and struggled together with his mum, the dethroned queen of the place. I got to know him through his sister, whom I named Bella TimSway, aka လေးလုံး in the community;

When we are a child, we believe we can be anything we want to be, and go wherever we want to go.  There is no limit to what we can dream. We expect the unexpected, we believe in magic, fairy tales, and possibilities.  Then we grow older and that innocent is shattered and somewhere along the way the reality of life gets in the way and we are hit by the realisation that we can’t be all we wanted to be, we just might have to settle for a little bit less or perhaps a variation of what we once wanted.

Miffy  I've started like this a thousand times. Miffy I'd write, as if I knew what came next. But that was as far as I got. I never knew what to say or how to say it. But today I know exactly what I have to tell you. Miffy Days and nights fight each other. The minutes and hours are the bruisers. And as each day passes by, I know that I am alone. People say that no one really likes being alone, and I know that I am one of them. Having said that there is something tough in it. Miffy I am shaken and broken, unfocused. I feel so very vulnerable

I guess we all hate to lose money but love to spend money for no reasons.  I still remember the day I lost two NZD in Christchurch. I was so overwhelmed with guilt and even could not enjoy my dinner that day.

Death is weird.  After a while, everybody acts like it will change them and make them appreciate everything— friends, family, and each new day. But then, little by little, life resumes being normal again. You forget the dead person, or if you don’t precisely forget them, you just put them into deep mental storage, like you’re putting away jumpers for the summer. Years ago, I met a monk seeking solitude and self-transcendence in the jungle.