Market Friday: observing boats at Sathorn Pier.

Life is getting more stressful as geopolitical conflicts have started to intensify during the last few days. Things are often what they seemed to be and we would need much questioning and critical thinking to try to ascertain some truth of the matter. The Orwellian dictums are turning into reality these days. With weary mind and confusing head, the positive solution for maintaining my inner balance was to be walking or resting by the river. If I were in the faraway countryside, I would seek the solace of quiet moments by the old river bordering between Laos and Thailand. If I were in the big city, I would be close by the main river, Chao Phraya River which seemed forever busy but full of powerful hidden forces.

These two rivers have very different memories and secret stories from a thousand years of history. So many generations of Siamese people have gone with time, the river still perseveres with all the earthly occurrences and traumas. The river could endure as long as a long range of old mountains in Laos. Chao Phraya river has seem countless European invaders, Chinese merchant boats, skirmishes among adversaries during confrontations and thousands of Chinese tourists. I wished the some river guardian would come in my dreams and showed me some episodes from recent past history.

The local minibus took me to Sathorn Pier in about thirty minutes. I would try to get a coconut ice cream so I could enjoy my ‘quiet’ moment by the river. But the ice cream vendor had not returned from his break. I had to get an iced cold tea to sustain me during a hot afternoon. The newly renovated Sathorn Pier looked much brighter and more spacious. I found a nice seat in the waiting area to enjoy my boat watching by the river. There would be occasional pigeons around the pier but boat watching and people watching were more interesting.

I noticed that small boats with the names of five star hotels along the river offered free boat rides for their customers. These small hotels’ boats would give free rides to and from piers along the river so that their customers could connect with skytrain system and visit big shopping malls by the river. Last year, there eas free boat rides between Sathorn Pier and IconSiam. This year passengers have to pay for their boat tickets. This might be because hordes of guided Chinese tours haven’t come back to IconSiam, so the management needed to cut costs.

The recent news about a teenager went crazy shooting people in Siam Paragon mall had discouraged Chinese tourists from traveling to Thailand. One Chinese tourist was shot dead, another was injured. This was big news on Chinese social media. The young teenager had a psychiatric record at a hospital and he was obsessed with computer games, especially shooting games. So, this created commotions between people blaming violent games and many gamers. This might be a copycat’s case as he seemed to imitate the latest news about shooting in a school in America.

I found that boat watching could be quite grounding and therapeutic for me. People from all walks of lives waiting for their boats which would take them either back home or to their hotels. Everyone carried on their daily lives with some objectives. Young and old, rich and poor, local people or tourists; they all shared the common driving force for their daily lives. To stop moving in tandem with the need for survival would be to invite the process towards decay and deterioration. With hopes for better days and faith in their own efforts, the will to move forwards to achieve better living conditions and situations.

I sometimes wondered what these rich tourists were thinking about their lives while sitting in exclusive boats from famous hotels. How come we were all separated by our thinking; each brain knew only their own thoughts and feelings. That gave a sense of separation as ‘you’ and ‘me’. I was always puzzled by this fact which seemed artificial to me. I felt that we were more or less the same people sharing same kinds of fears, anxiety, hopes and dreams for better and happier lives. So, we should naturally share a feeling of ‘oneness’ of having similar kinds of sufferings, fears, gratifications and desires for fulfillments.

The river was very choppy as some long boats travelled at high speed. They weren’t supposed to do that; they ought to be more considerate and safety minded. Some boats looked so small and flimsy that I thought they survived on cheer luck. Watching all these boats, big and small, with various tourists from around the world made me realize that we shared the same Buddhist teaching that we were born into this world and we would suffer from illnesses, we would get old and we would finally face death. So, Buddhist teachings reminded us not to waste our life time and to focus on spiritual matter to enlightenment the mind and find peace.

The rhythms of the river with the daily human activities continued like clockwork. Things would change continuously, people would change very fast as our lifespan has become much shorter than many thousands years ago. The river would stay like she has always been hundreds of years; the sky would still be high up there. I looked at the river, those travelers and boats; they have already become my past memories. I could hardly keep up with time and changes. I have only the present moment which I could’ve made any positive movements to influence my future moves.

I had no idea that boat watching could turn me into philosophical mood and got my mind to see reality differently. I finished my ice cold drink in about thirty minutes. I had become sober and calm by the time I had to get back to fetch my car. I had only three hours’ free parking at the nearby mall. So, to survive on a daily basis, I had to buy some carrots, onions and greens for the whole week. I pray for compassion and healing to shower on those who were caught in very painful and difficult situations. There are more unnecessary sufferings and struggles caused by wretched human beings whose hearts were empty of love and joy for life. May the river send healing vibes with the currents of water everywhere on earth.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.

#marketfriday created by the lovely and kind @dswigle