Advice & Thoughts

by Hla Min & Friends

Update : July 2025

Slow Down

• U Aung Min (M69) was worried that I might burn out. He asked me to slow down.
• Completed five decades as a Volunteer. Spent 26 years as an Organizer & Messenger for the RIT Alumni. Want to slow down, but have things to do.

Take Rest

• Some said, “You write more & faster than we can read. Take some rest”.
• Paying back to my benefactors, mentors & alma mater while I am physically & mentally OK.

Find Young Helpers

• Some suggested to find young volunteers to help.
• Easier said than done. Not easy to find even paid volunteers. Much difficult to get unpaid volunteers.

Memory

• Some friends & even young people had memory lapses. My young cousin said, “I forgot what I wanted to say”.
• Saw people with various levels of memory problems. At first, one could not recall names & faces of friends. Then, he could not remember his children. Finally, he could not recognize his spouse. Some time later, he passed away.

• Compared to geniuses with phenomenal memory, I am at a lower rung. I am glad that I recall people & events more than the average person. I know thousands of names & people.

Story Tellers

• From Thin Sayas, Myin Sayas and Kyar Sayas, I learned interesting episodes that cannot be read from the history books. Sadly, many good story tellers are GBNF.

Dream

• If one can dream, others can (help) fulfill.
• My first dream was to get sayas and alumni get reconnected physically & virtually. RIT Alumni Newsletter and SPZP-2000 are some realization of that dream.

• My second dream is to compile and publish Oral & Written Histories. As a member of the HMEE project, I was able to realize a part of that dream.
• Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint, Dr. V Nyunt Wai, Dr. Khin Maung U, U Khin Maung Zaw & several others have added valuable insights to my posts. I hope the “Tumbleweed effect” will help turn my raw thoughts and writings into memorable articles and may be even e-books and books. It will be a fuller realization of the second dream.

Worry

• Someone wrote in my autograph : “Worry is like sand in an oyster. A little produces a pearl. Too much kills the animal”.
• I do not worry about Longevity.

• I have seen some people live long lives, but a few were not physically or mentally active for some time. I prefer to have quality of life for our moment on this earth.

Last Journey

• I was emcee for the Last Journeys of Dr. Htay Lwin Nyo and Sayadaw U Silananda.
• There will be no service for my last journey.

• I gave several Eulogies. I prefer to acknowledge the good deeds of people while they are still alive.

Sharing is Caring

• I am delighted to share my thoughts and experiences — with mentors, colleagues, friends, former students & those who value dissemination of knowledge.