not to understand my 'work' for there is none. I am simply following a path I found.

I welcome you whole-heartedly to join me - at least, part of the way - and enjoy together the same life we are all called into. You will probably find that there is actually nothing to understand except your own, and understand why - that on my part, there is 'no work' to be done at all.

Inasmuch, may I beseech you to listen to the rustling of the fallen leaves that marked our common path. And may it be, that the sound of fallen leaves and our steps be the sound of our sense and sensibility when we behold Mother Nature in her maginificence. You could be visually-impaired as such, but never mind; in listening - you could say - you 'see' and 'feel' more. It is nothing religious, but amply spiritual. It is a path for all.

Some people thinks I am a good 'teacher'. I don't know. I believe one thing though - I have a gift and it is meant to be shared. And to this end, I need to frame who I am and what I do within the context of reality and place that is Singapore. I would like you to think of me as a sounding board echoing the call of Mother Nature who is here and now, and in Her we move and have our beings.

Who am I then?
I am a Pupil who never grow old, a Papa who loves his son very much, a Poet at heart (and as sad as any Philosopher could be at times), a Plant-man by training ('botanist' would be a nicer-sounding name), a Poor man to the dot, a happy Pathfinder who loves to explore nature and life, and inevitably, an ordinary person who felled deeply in love with Mother Nature and became her Page. I was born an ordinary boy in the year 1959, and had attained a very ordinary 'O' Level Cambridge Certificate that has not been replaced sinced by any other significant certification to my name. My formal education had been brief and perhaps that is why I have an unsatiable hunger to learn. What I know I did learn from the University of Life, and I believe the most important lesson had been humility. I strive to be a good People-person always though I failed at times. I have also learnt to laugh at myself and the Playful me is what you will find as my friend.

Is what I do important?
Yes, to me at least. Geographically-speaking, Singapore is my birthplace and homeland, and I am destined to be here. I say 'geographically' because I would not have you believe I am 'patriotic' in any sense of the word. I love the community and the cultures I am borne into very much, but I believe in being a responsible global citizen as well. My commitment for Nature's preservation is not only for you, me, our children, and the ones who come after them, but also for the rest of humanity. To do that, I have to start and do my imperfect best here. I believe this is the inherent responsibility of every human person on this earth.

How do you want people to remember you?
Nothing at all. Only perhaps, for my son to remember his dad who had loved much, and shared all he could the gift he found in life. That within the context of a place he called 'home', he had sung native folk songs of outer freedom and inner growth that he found in Nature here. Yes, I rather he remembers me a 'folk singer' - who neither had the cold complexity and 'higher learning' of chamber music, nor the self-consuming voracity of the new age. That the stories he told and the 'soulful songs' he sang were full of hope and vibrancy for him and for all the children there be.

Thank you for listening, and welcome to my world. Won't you come on in?

Joseph lai