Thursday, October 20, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Effervescence of Dreams
Passion and Dreams, are they actual motivations or simply childish optimism? They are often uttered simply to maintain a glimpse of hope, in the buffeting winds of cynicism and realities. Passion, hard work and drive may in fact not take us anywhere. Growing up perhaps means recognising the limits of our endeavours, just like how we have ceased having grand ambitions of becoming the president or prime minister. Somehow, knowing our limits do not reduce the pains of unfulfilled dreams and futility of effort, just as in The Solitaire Mystery, "the one who sees through destiny must also live through it". The pain has always been present, the only difference is between regret for not trying and the disappointment in failure. It all depends on our ability to comprehend it and bear it stoically. Try, even if dreams and even ourselves, disappear like Ariel into bubbles.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Results!
down to the essence of JC life: how many As?
A for math, econs, B for lit. Hist is for tomorrow to worry about.
Need to find some way to stop messing up my lit papers... (for the record: 30 for one of the PC pieces; 31 for Othello. Grrr.) Afterall, I need 4 As, and I need a scholarship if I am ever to dream of going overseas (of course, preferably oxford, after spending 92.77 singapore dollars on application.)
There may be more rantings tomorrow. It all depends.
A for math, econs, B for lit. Hist is for tomorrow to worry about.
Need to find some way to stop messing up my lit papers... (for the record: 30 for one of the PC pieces; 31 for Othello. Grrr.) Afterall, I need 4 As, and I need a scholarship if I am ever to dream of going overseas (of course, preferably oxford, after spending 92.77 singapore dollars on application.)
There may be more rantings tomorrow. It all depends.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Utopia
Utopia
Island where all becomes clear.
Solid ground beneath your feet.
The only roads are those that offer access.
Bushes bend beneath the weight of proofs.
The Tree of Valid Supposition grows here
with branches disentangled since time immemorial.
The Tree of Understanding, dazzlingly straight and simple,
sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.
The thicker the woods, the vaster the vista:
the Valley of Obviously.
If any doubts arise, the wind dispels them instantly.
Echoes stir unsummoned
and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.
On the right a cave where Meaning lies.
On the left the Lake of Deep Conviction.
Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.
Unshakable Confidence towers over the valley.
Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.
For all its charms, the island is uninhabited,
and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
turn without exception to the sea.
As if all you can do here is leave
and plunge, never to return, into the depths.
Into unfathomable life.
By Wislawa Szymborska
To leave certainty and meaning, to search for adventure. Is that misguidedness, misadventure or part of human hubris? Seeking ambitions, I drift further away from shore, perhaps on the brink of drowning. Even truths previously unadulterated in the childish minds, such as striving for perfection, speaking the truth and other moral standards, have almost all been shattered by adult, societal necessities. Every single deviation has been conveniently described by my parents as "life is like that". There is nothing much I can do, the waves push me on. The future is uncertain, the past is the only thing that has so far been decided. Yet, even the past as created by humans, is neither the truth, nor terribly lucid.
One day, I may just turn around and struggle towards the shore. I am not so ambitious as to seek the truth of the world, just the essence of my own being.
Island where all becomes clear.
Solid ground beneath your feet.
The only roads are those that offer access.
Bushes bend beneath the weight of proofs.
The Tree of Valid Supposition grows here
with branches disentangled since time immemorial.
The Tree of Understanding, dazzlingly straight and simple,
sprouts by the spring called Now I Get It.
The thicker the woods, the vaster the vista:
the Valley of Obviously.
If any doubts arise, the wind dispels them instantly.
Echoes stir unsummoned
and eagerly explain all the secrets of the worlds.
On the right a cave where Meaning lies.
On the left the Lake of Deep Conviction.
Truth breaks from the bottom and bobs to the surface.
Unshakable Confidence towers over the valley.
Its peak offers an excellent view of the Essence of Things.
For all its charms, the island is uninhabited,
and the faint footprints scattered on its beaches
turn without exception to the sea.
As if all you can do here is leave
and plunge, never to return, into the depths.
Into unfathomable life.
By Wislawa Szymborska
To leave certainty and meaning, to search for adventure. Is that misguidedness, misadventure or part of human hubris? Seeking ambitions, I drift further away from shore, perhaps on the brink of drowning. Even truths previously unadulterated in the childish minds, such as striving for perfection, speaking the truth and other moral standards, have almost all been shattered by adult, societal necessities. Every single deviation has been conveniently described by my parents as "life is like that". There is nothing much I can do, the waves push me on. The future is uncertain, the past is the only thing that has so far been decided. Yet, even the past as created by humans, is neither the truth, nor terribly lucid.
One day, I may just turn around and struggle towards the shore. I am not so ambitious as to seek the truth of the world, just the essence of my own being.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)