My favourite army song goes like this:

They say in the army, the food is pretty nice.
You ask for curry chicken, they give you plain rice...
I don't want to lead an army life,
Corporal I wanna go, Sergeant won't let me go,
Mama I wanna go home...

They say in the army, the pay is pretty high.
They give you 100 dollars, you pay back 99.
I don't want to lead an army life,
Corporal I wanna go, Sergeant won't let me go,
Mama I wanna go home...

A major theme occurring this month for me is my army reservist training, so I thought I will write about my thoughts on it.

Well, I was away for 11 days this month in the army camp doing my in-camp training. In Singapore, all males who are deemed medically fit are conscripted to serve 2 years of compulsory full-time national service either in the armed forces, police or civil defence. Beyond that, we still have to serve another 10 years of reservist training to keep us operationally ready.

Isn't it an irony that Palestinians and Israelis often find themselves reincarnating on the other side of the fence?

I have never really liked the army. I dread the regimental life and the loss of freedom. I am also against war and killing so I do not wish to lend my energy to an organization that is built around this idea. There are also power issues in the army such as commanders abusing their given powers. It is also a place where separation is heavily emphasized since its very nature makes us see some fellow human beings as enemies or that our homeland should be protected from others, as if we own this land forever and we must keep others out. Isn't it an irony that Palestinians and Israelis often find themselves reincarnating on the other side of the fence?

The self-contradictory part is that I had actually signed on as a regular in the air force for half a year. I was a pilot trainee but I failed the course. Come to think of it, I have always wanted to be a pilot since I was young. I was once told that I was a Japanese Kamikaze pilot in a past life and that may also explain why I like the idea of flying and yet I suffer from motion sickness in this lifetime. I was obviously not meant to be a pilot again in this lifetime. Otherwise, I would not be writing this now.

I was posted to the army after my short stint in the air force. In the beginning, I simply went through the motions of infantry training and did reasonably okay to become a junior commander. When I am into metaphysics later in my 20s, my view of military service changed.

In my vocation, training is quite tough and I often lament why I have to do military service when countless others in the world do not have to undergo it. But what I have learned from metaphysics is this. I came to the realization that I am fully responsible for my life and my soul has planned and deliberately chose to experience the military service. If I had not and still wanted to incarnate in Singapore, I would very well be exempted from it for some reason. Nothing is an accident!

This reminds me that the world is really fine and perfect and everything is as it should be.

So why did I choose to experience the military? I once asked Irsha, a group of ascended masters channeled by Elmarilla Bailey, why I have chosen this and they told me it is because I wanted to learn and develop discipline. This reminds me that the world is really fine and perfect and everything is as it should be. If everything is only “good” and “angelic-like”, then it is very hard for us to learn and grow. This is probably why the earth plane is also known as a place of accelerated learning for the courageous souls.