依然选择相信世界的善良: a Reflection from Yunnan

Being close to nature and to animals has always been the best kind of therapy for me.

There’s something about their innocence, their quiet freedom, that softens the noise inside my mind.

Playing with the goats that evening cheered me up. Their ease reminded me how lightness still exists

For a while, I forgot about the city, the people it it ,and somewhat the restless world I’m often immersed in.

I simply stood there, present, and grateful to feel at ease

As we are near the end of 2025, here is a moment of reflection, written in Chinese, from Yunnan:

偶尔，在生命里，

我们感受的伤痛，并不代表我们软弱。

那是我们依然坚信世间善良的代价。

我们仍然选择

相信爱，相信友情，相信善意。

我们把真心给了不懂珍惜的人，

把坦诚交给了只会隐藏的人。

但请不要让你的心变硬，

因为总有一天，会有人，

无论是朋友，还是爱人，

能与你的深度相遇。

(依然选择相信世界的善良 · Yunnan · 2025 — by Xi Ting)

Liberation: To Feel or To Float in Life

---

Sometimes I am happy.

Sometimes I am sad.

Sometimes I am very angry. 

And sometimes, I am happy again.

I feel it all. Do you?

---

Art title: Liberation [Painted in layers of emotions, each layer a feeling. Liberation is acceptance, the quiet art of embracing our emotions as proof of life]

We all have feelings, yet somewhere along the way we learned to hide them. We started labelling emotions as “too much,” “dramatic,” “emo,” “too sensitive.” We turned tears into silence, anger into polite laughter, sadness into “I’m fine,” and swept the rest under the carpet, because somewhere along growing up, we were taught that we need to be in control of our feelings and to never lose our cool.

What if adulthood isn’t about learning to suppress emotions and what if it’s about unlearning that suppression? What if strength isn’t composure, but rather, the honesty to admit what we feel?  When did we start believing that feeling less meant that we are doing better?

Adulthood changes us: 

Not because we don’t feel, but because we were never taught to hurt out loud

See how the artwork transformed over time - each layer an emotion; each layer a feeling

The fact is, we all have feelings. It’s not about controlling them, but learning to live with them. Life is a beautiful myriad of emotions and experiences where some days are bright, some days are rainy, some days burst into rainbows, and some days turn storm-like.

It’s a beautiful thing to feel life fully, rather than to simply float through it unscathed. Yet, many of us choose the safety of floating, keeping life steady and predictable; a life where nothing hurts too deeply, while nothing moves too deeply either. 

Would you choose to float or would you choose to feel it all:

To open yourself fully to love, even when it might not last

To walk through beginnings without turning away, even knowing endings may come

To see beauty even in heartbreaks, because pain means you truly cared

Comfort has its peace, but it can also become the softest kind of numbness; because if you don’t risk, you might never truly experience life at all.

It will be harder this way. We lose more, we ache more, but we also Live More: where laughter rings louder, love runs deeper, sunsets glow richer, and quiet moments feel more alive. Our hearts, though bruised, learn to hold both grief and gratitude in the same breath.

In the end, that’s what Liberation  asks of us and it’s our choice to feel or to float in life. Emotions are a proof that we’re still human, still feeling and still living. To embrace them all,  that’s Liberation

A little art reveal here - video from my IG @xiting.art

This piece became bigger than I imagined, and somehow, so was the feeling behind it. Seeing it in real life gave a sense of scale that no photo could capture — the size, the colours and the weight of emotions that built it layer by layer.

Celebrating Liberation today, in art, in self, and in every choice to feel life fully

To Feel or to Float in Life  — Your choice 

Sail me Away

A letter to the ones who stayed too long, and are finally learning to rise

Art title: Sail me Away

Dearest you, be the one who has sailed.

There was a time I painted this from a place of ache, when I wished someone, or something, could sail me away from the pain, from a world that once felt too heavy to hold. The hot air balloon became my metaphor for escape; it’s bright, weightless, and rising above the dark.

Over time, I came to understand that no one was coming to save you. You are the one who must learn to lift yourself, piece by piece, breath by breath.

Ever felt how we pour our energy, our care, our emotions endlessly into someone, thinking love means staying, holding, fixing? And then one day, you realised… you had the right to walk away too.

It wasn’t cruelty. It was clarity: 

You can love deeply and still choose distance

You can wish someone well and still choose peace

The act of sailing away was never about abandoning others. It was about returning to yourself, because:

Only when you choose yourself first, can you truly love others

Only when you rise, can you lift another

The flame that carried the balloon upward wasn’t magic; it was fuelled by inner determination, the quiet strength we all carry, even when we momentarily forget it exists. Maybe healing was never about escaping the darkest nights, but finally learning to rise within them 

So … Dearest You ❤️ To be loved is a form of blessing To love someone requires a form of capacity  Therefore, choose yourself first

Photo taken right before Oktoberfest

Thought it was a nice day to take a shot with my painting as I was all dressed up in bright colours that almost clashed with this colourful painting. Life has come full circle. Today, I celebrate life, with friends, bright, light-hearted, alive and of course, with many many beers 🍻🍻🍻

Slow Down: 让我们活在当下

It was my eleventh solo trip in three years. In 青岛, I had a quiet breakthrough. After years of embracing slow and mindful living, I finally felt myself truly slow down. My thoughts were fully here, in the present moment, in this present space, in 青岛.

In Chinese, we often say 活在当下 : Live in the present moment. It sounds simple, but the way of living it is far more profound. For me, living in the present means not being anxious about the future, and learning to honour the past without living in it. It took years of slow practice to loosen the past, quiet the future, to let go, to trust, and to return to the present moment, to NOW.

I was walking along the streets of 青岛 when I suddenly saw my art. The blue 青岛 letters stood against a soft beige wall, and for a moment, I was surprised. The colours mirrored my own graffiti piece, SLOW DOWN. I stopped in my tracks, feeling both happy and quietly romanticized. It felt like a déjà vu.

Maybe that’s what slowing down does… it allows you to finally see what’s always been there.

There were years when slowing down felt like a luxury. There were seasons when I lived almost unconsciously — clocking through work tasks, chasing the next milestone, the next career progression, completing my postgraduate degree, and repeating the same cycle of waking, working, and sleeping. The days blurred into each other, and the motion never seemed to stop. Amidst life’s hustle and bustle, did we ever truly pause to feel, or ask ourselves: was this the path we truly wanted, or just the one we managed to push through?

Slowing down isn’t about doing less, and it’s not the opposite of ambition. It’s about doing with intention. It’s living consciously and being fully aware of how we spend our energy, our time, and our emotions. It’s choosing what truly matters, instead of being pulled by everything that doesn’t.

In 青岛, standing before that wall, I felt as if life was whispering the same message back to me and that perhaps I had finally arrived where my art had been trying to take me all along.

让我们活在当下 ； Live not in the past, not in the future, but right here, in the PRESENT

The Gold Within : Beyond the Singaporean Dream

Since young, we’ve been taught to aim for the same pot of gold, to work for the Singaporean Dream. We are told to study hard, work harder, and one day, “you will make it.” This pot of gold was painted for most of us in identical colors: an education, a stable career, a respected title, marriage, children, a life path that conforms neatly to societal standards.

And so… we run! We chase! We measure ourselves against others, running endlessly on the same wheel, believing that the prize lies at the end of the path.

One day, I arrived at what looked like this pot of gold. On paper, the picture was perfect: the career, the marriage, the life path that looked about “right.” Yet inside me, it felt hollow and empty. The “gold” outside could not fill the emptiness within me. I was shy of being happy, as though even when everything looked complete, joy never truly arrived the way it should have. Everything I thought would make me feel whole, in fact, did not.

That was when I began to realise:

True gold does not live in titles or milestones.

It glimmers beyond achievements,

in the quiet qualities that carry us through both triumphs and heartbreaks:

Love that deepens beyond romance

Courage that rises from fear beyond comfort

Wisdom refined by loss beyond knowledge

Kindness that endures disappointment beyond reciprocity

In my painting, The Gold Within, the stark black and white mirror life’s extremes, the binaries of successes and failures, gains and losses, what society deems “right” and what it dismisses as “wrong.”Flowing between them is gold. The Gold Within is not the kind of gold we chase outside, but the kind we chose to define for ourselves: the learnings, the lessons, the experiences, the qualities that shape who we are becoming.

It is up to each of us to define our own pot of gold and perhaps the question for each of us is this: what is the gold that truly matters in our own journey of life?

The Singaporean Dream may point us towards a pot of gold at the end of the path. But the truest treasure is not at the finish line. It lies in the journey itself, in discovering, again and again, the gold within.

The gold outside may glitter, but only you can define your true gold.

Ebb and Flow - Accepting Ourselves and Life in Waves

Art Title: Ebb and Flow

On a recent solo quiet escape to Langkawi, I spent hours by the sea. Looking at the ocean, I felt so small. The horizon stretched endlessly, and the waves rolled in and out, without rush and without resistance.

The waves reminded me that life has its own rhythm. No matter what we are going through, there is a greater tide moving around us. Life is made beautiful by its ups and downs. The beauty comes when we learn to embrace it; we discover meaning in both the calm and the storms, and we allow ourselves to be gently carried by the flow.

Chasing sunsets in Langkawi

What is Ebb and Flow?

The rhythm of the ocean is called Ebb and Flow:

• Ebb is when the tide recedes, pulling back from the shore.

• Flow is when the tide rises again, returning to the land

Together, Ebb and Flow describes the natural rhythm of the ocean and also the rhythm of our lives

When I was at the Ebb

When I was at the Ebb of my life, a few voices around me said:

• This too shall Pass

• Give it Time

• Remember that you will not feel This Way forever

These words stayed with me. They reminded me to keep showing up in life, to hold on, and to trust that the tide would turn eventually. Slowly, it happened…

The Rhythm of Self-Acceptance

The Stillness:

Some days feel quiet, even stagnant. In those moments, self-acceptance means allowing the silence to be enough. Still waters are not wasted time — they give us space to pause, to reflect and to slowly find ourselves again

The Turbulence:

Some days crash loudly, full of self-doubt. These are the days when I felt lost, when I no longer recognised myself. It was unbearable at times. But I have learned that acceptance here means not fighting the waves but to accept the imperfections in me. Even turbulence has its place in shaping us, strengthening us, reminding us that losing ourselves is sometimes part of the process of finding ourselves anew.

The Return:

Just as every wave eventually finds its way back to shore, clarity and calm will return too. Each new day offers another chance to grow, to improve, to begin again. As long as we live for one more sunrise, the possibility of Becoming remains.

A Closing Reflection

There are seasons of loss and self-doubt, where everything feels heavy. But remember, there will be seasons of renewal and self-love again, where the light returns.

If you are in the ebb right now, know this: you will not feel this way forever. This too shall pass, the tide always turns.

Eventually, the day came for me too — I began to like myself again. Slowly, quietly, I started to love this version of me: imperfect, ever-changing, yet always becoming. And now, I find myself beginning to love this newer season of life as well

Life is beautiful this way

Pralines — the Art of Becoming

Art title: Pralines

On a random day you will notice something small:

• the warmth of the sun on your face as you lift your eyes to the sky;

• the scent of freshly baked bread drifting from a neighborhood bakery as you pass;

• the pure laughter of people and children around the corner

Becoming is rarely instant. It doesn’t arrive with a single revelation or a neat before-and-after. There is no fixed timeline. It can take months to years of feeling empty, as though nothing is changing, and then, suddenly, it shifts, as if a hidden hinge eases open.

On the outside, Pralines appear polished, glossy, almost flawless. Yet beauty is never only on the surface. It lies in the layers within, soft, sweet, sometimes bittersweet, and within those layers, strength unfolds. Life feels the same: we carry our façade on the outside, while inside we hold both ache and sweetness; we discover the quiet strength that comes from living through them.

Becoming is a layered process. For a long time, it can feel like walking through a tunnel with no glimpse of light. And then, without warning, something shifts, the air feels warmer, the scent of bread sweeter, the laughter around the corner brighter. The world opens to you again, as if for the first time. You begin to see the world with childlike wonder once again.

Pralines is not just an artwork, but a reflection of this journey, layered, imperfect, bittersweet, yet quietly beautiful. Becoming does not mean erasing the past; it means learning to taste life fully, once more. This is what Pralines carries in its layers, an invitation to taste life, bittersweet and whole.

And we are all in the works of Becoming

It began with Love (爱）

It began with Love (爱)

Lately, my mind has been wired towards a new series of paintings, a trilogy carrying the mottos I hold closest to my heart: Love (爱), Kindness (善良), and Courage (勇气). These are my life anchors, the principles I try to live by.

Some days, I feel myself drifting away from the person I want to become. On those days, I pause and ask myself: Am I still kind? Am I courageous? Is this an act of love? These questions bring me back, reminding me that becoming a better version of myself is always a work in progress. It is my life’s journey, a personal growth journey, with no final destination in sight.

I chose to begin with Love (爱) because my mind has been living in love lately - love in its purest form, and love in all its complexity. This piece began with the single character “爱,” painted onto a blank canvas. As I worked, the emotions shifted. The lines twisted, collided, and burned into layers of color. What began as something simple transformed into something raw, complex, and alive.

This is how It began with Love was born. It is a reflection of how love itself refuses to stay still. It moves, it collides, it reshapes us. And in that movement, there is both chaos and beauty. We learn from every experience.

It began with Love is the first chapter of my trilogy. It will be followed by Always Choose Kindness (善良) and The Weight of Courage (勇气) — together forming a series that reminds me to live by these mottos, to stay anchored in love, kindness, and courage.

Next in the series: Always Choose Kindness (善良) — still a work in progress, waiting to take shape on canvas.

On the road to Self: Finding Clarity in a World of Mixed Signals

One day, I was “ driving” through the chaos of my confused mind, and suddenly, I found myself inspired by the road signals we see every day.

It struck me. Life, I’ve come to realize, is just like a long road trip. Doing Life is US navigating through roads, full of signs - some that warn us, some that guide us, and others that simply leave us puzzled. Some signals steer us towards safety, whispering: “Hey, slow down here,” or “Hello you, keep going”. Some signals can be confusing and overwhelming, making us question: Are we on the right path? Or are we stuck in negative life patterns?

I’ve often felt overwhelmed and defeated by the human elements in my life. As someone who deeply values human connections, it’s natural for me to stay engaged and vulnerable with others. And just like on the road, some signals come from family, friends, lovers and even strangers — through their words or actions. Some people help guide us, lift us up, show us the way forward. Others leave us confused, or even derail us.

Over time, I’ve been learning to interpret these signals, recognizing who helps me stay on track and who might lead me astray. This project, the signs, the colors, is my way of mapping my mental landscape. It’s about noticing the signals that tell us to keep going, to stop and reflect, or to take a different turn. Life is a road, and every encounter, whether helpful or confusing, is part of our journey of learning. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is slow down, listen to our inner voice, and trust that we’ll reach where we are meant to be.

Today, I aspire to be the kind of person who, like a helpful road sign, uplifts those around me when they’re down. I hope to be a guiding light, reminding others to slow down, pause, or keep going when the road gets tough. Ultimately, we are all traveling through life’s twists and turns, and a little encouragement can make all the difference for all of us

xoxo

And… I am still a work in progress

A world of Grey

Throughout my youth and into adulthood, I was told that the world is “black” or “white.” But soon, I realized that this is not the truth. We are all just shades of grey - very much imperfect, real, and human. On this journey to discover ourselves, we strive to be where we want to be.

Not long ago, I was grouped into boxes of blacks and whites.
My blacks have been stained with whites,
My whites stained with blacks.
And I cannot accept this world
Because it’s Grey.

Who will own up and identify with me?
I’ve stopped expecting anyone to.
Drown me today, if you must

For I never asked to be awakened.

How did I get involved in Art?

Burnout? Toxic Humans?

During a busy period in my career, I experienced what many might call, a burnout. This was a period of exhaustion for me, driven by intense competition and toxicity amongst fellow humans at the expense of personal well-being.

In the midst of this, I found myself losing touch with who I truly was.

At a junction of struggle, I saw it as an invitation to reconnect with myself. I picked up a paint brush mid-term, just to try something different . This simple act opened a door I hadn’t realized that it was waiting for me.

The art piece above - Vivid Awakening, was my first art piece. Sometimes, it is indeed through a quiet act of doing something different, that we find our own Awakening, its been close to 2 years now since I began my art journey

What began as an experiment evolved into a burning passion. I explored different mediums, attended some workshops, and connected with others who also found strength in creativity. Each piece helped me see that challenges, even those rooted in a hustling corporate culture, can lead to personal growth and authentic expression.

Today, art is my refuge, a way to find balance amidst the hustle of the corporate world. It’s an ongoing journey of self-discovery, a space where I can celebrate imperfection, embrace vulnerability, and reconnect with who I truly am.

Through my art, I have learnt to reclaim my happiness and stand confidently in a world that often emphasizes endless productivity. Each piece reminds me that true fulfillment comes from staying authentic and nurturing the parts of myself that bring joy and meaning

And… I dont want to lose myself again