create your own Third Space

Let me replay some oft-repeated statements.

“This island suffers from a scarcity of land.”

“This is not just population density, this is hyper-density.”

(source: a 46-minute documentary. Metropolis – The Search For A Third Place. Hosted on Channel News Asia. includes advertisements. Published on 13 Sep 2025. Accessed on 15 Sep 2025.)

Hi, by way of introduction: I have gone by many names, and now I'm trying to move 3C humans (Curious, Creative, Crazy) from a place of suffocation and over-crowdedness in urban settings, to a sense of spaciousness and easy (or at least, easier) breathing. I do this through the following methodologies:

To do this, I must first:

The hoped-for outcome of all these practices: a sense of joy, identity, and meaning, in the life of a human being whom I shall term Hearth-Dweller Aleph.

Yes, that's right. A dweller of a hearth – not a city, nor a town.

And what is a hearth? A song expresses the idea of hearth better than my words can:

with what heart's content shall my mind sing for this wide and warm hearth we have all gone through wolves and storms and come together to sing this song

Are you hungry for a hearth, O weary traveller? Will you become Hearth-dweller Aleph, living a life that is rich with bliss, satisfaction and fulfillment?

Well, you know the way to your hearth. There's a voice inside you – that voice has known the way, all along. Some call it your “gut feeling”.

Traveller, there is no path Your footsteps are the path

As Steve Jobs has said (in his commencement speech at Stanford University, in 2005 – link on YouTube):

“Somehow your heart already knows where it wants to go.”

And I believe in this:

“Follow your heart; it will never lead you astray.”

By way of example of a rich, fulfulling life – which is not necessarily devoid of snares, traps and difficulties – I present a number of photos from other Hearth-dwellers:

mistakes and failures I've made

What didn't work for me?

I learnt, the hard way, that if the other party doesn't want to change, no amount of hand-holding or spoon-feeding on my part is ever going to change things for the better.

As my friend from England says: “you can't help those who don't want to help themselves.”

With some healthy sense of shame, I realise that it was my own pride talking, when I thought I could change them for the better.

For those who consistently struggle – and those who consistently use me as an emotional punching bag whenever they do struggle (which happens often) – I've learnt to “trade or train”: trade them for another high-potential person who is more likely to become Hearth-dweller Aleph, and who would be more likely to “fly on their own energy”, so to speak; or to send them to another community-leader's training ground (and hence, out of my social circles).

conclusion

May you be well. And may your suffering be eased.

And may the merit accrued from this blog-post serve to reduce the suffering of sentient humans in the following segments of society:

So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets. – Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12.)

#talmid