I need some GOoD vibrations: UPDATEd

RECENTLY, Desi has been meeting a lot of logjams in his endearvours. I had bumped into "people" who were good to you only when it suited them -- translated to mean, THEY NEED YOUR SERVICES OR/AND SPECIAL SKILLS TO ACHIEVE SOME TASKS. However, once their goals have met met, they ignore you -- they don't take your phone calls (you know it's ringing...), and they don't even answer your SMSes. During the time when they needed you, they immediately picked up the phone or called back soon after, or eagerly answered your SMS!


These people send out BAD vibrations -- hence the title of this post. I need to ruminate more, seeking quiet times, heeding Max Ehrmann's opening lines in Desiderat, the name which inspired my BlogName, yes!: "GO PLACIDLY AMID THE NOISE AND THE HASTE, AND REMEMBER WHAT PEACE THERE MAY BE IN SILENCE."

YES, I need to learn to say "No" and "cut" off potential users of people. I've indeed told some long-standing contacts: "Drop the R, drop the R!" when such called/call you a fRiend. Words come easily to some people in calling others "friends", but what the mouth utters the heART doesn't synchronise with.


IN TANDEM

So in such "down" moments, WHEN I AM SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO GIVE OFF BAD VIBRATIONS, quite challenging to the spirit indeed, Desi turns to his songs and POETRY.
Yes, MAX ERHMANN is one favourite, especially his DESIDERATA (of Happiness), from which I would later pinch two poems delighting my heART!:)

UPDATEd @1201AM -- c how heART desi works for his ER! buy me endless rounds of ttarik, will ye? --I extract parts of Chaper 9 from my first and only book titled "Midnight Voices..." for context OK!

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9.1  Read Some Poetry

The writer is glad to observe that in the past few years, the Malaysian government has re-emphasised the importance of English in the schools and at university studies, and this indeed augurs well for the nurture and advance of this rich heritage. It is heartening to note that English literature has been incorporated into secondary school syllabuses again, after two decades of absence. From now on, it is hoped that when a teacher quotes from any poems of Shakespeare or Dickinson, he does not receive blank stares (as indeed this writer experienced when tutoring some sixth form students two years ago, and when the opening stanza from Leisure (What is this life if, full of care/ We have no time to stand and stare …) was quoted, it didn’t draw any response in the form of recognition from the students!). It is hoped that this thesis will spur more studies on poetry in the Malaysian education context, beginning at the school level, and continuing at the undergraduate and post-graduate, to promote a rich legacy inherited from the British which in no small measure has contributed to our country’s development and progress since we gained Independence in 1957.

It is even recommended that perhaps the Government might consider requiring that a Form 5 students must score a Credit in the English Language paper, and encourage English Literature as an optional subject, in Form 6 or matriculation studies. English proficiency, and appreciation of poetry in the English language – will not only make Malaysians more competitive internationally, but also enrich our journey in life, reminding us that in the hustle and bustle of the materialistic life,  “A poor life this if, full of care/ We have no time to stand and stare”  (closing lines from Leisure, by W. H. Davies; see Appendix 5).

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........ Poetry has a significant role to play in the “civilisation” process of Malaysians. May the day dawn quickly so that while we proudly trumpet the Petronas Twin Towers as the highest such structure in the world, the citizens can also stand tall in terms of their grace, culture and heritage, displaying first World civic behaviour and tastes.

Malaysians may do well to heed this wise observation from Thoughts on Virtue¹¹ by one of history’s great thinkers, Charles Darwin (who propounded the ‘Theory of Evolution’ in his opus, “Origin of Species”):

            If I had my life

            to live over again,

          I would have made a rule

            to read some poetry

            and listen to some music

            at least once a week….

            The loss of these tastes

            is a loss of happiness,

            and may possibly be injurious

            to the intellect,

            and more probably

            to the moral character.

I conclude with Bell’s recall in his Introduction  (p.7) to Desiderata that Ehrmann once told an interviewer: “At De Pauw I contracted a disease which I have never shaken off. The disease was idealism. Because of it, I did the thing in life I wanted to do – Writing.”

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Two of my fave poems from Ehrmann's anthology for thee to ponder over:)~~

"You with the Still Soul"


"Maybe you have a still soul that
goes murmurless like water in the deep
of rivers;


And perchance you wander
silent amid the din of the world's
grinding barter like one
journeying in strange lands.


You, too, with the still soul,
have your mission, for beneath the
dashing, noisy waves must ever
run the silent waters that give the tide
its course."

"I Journeyed from University to University"

"I journeyed from university to
university, and I saw everywhere the
past rebuilt before the eyes of
young men and young women -
Egypt, Greece, Rome; language,
architecture, laws - saw the earth and
sky explained, and the habits
of body -
Everywhere chairs of this and that,
largely endowed.
But nowhere saw I a chair of the
human heart."


And one of Desi's own poems, short, and I Hope, sweet2!:)~~~

Hope
You descend in my day dreams
An angel on wings yet not landing
I was hoping you would speak
To this boy young and meak

Nights are long, sometimes frightening
I dreamt that you were lost, wandering
Waking up in sweat, face ashen
It's not fun, my flowery one
When do I see thee again?

When do you whisper my name
When do I then say yours in return
Pray I'll soon see thee again
It's alright, e'en in my day dream

Chong Yen Long

YES, in the quest to attaining socalled DEVELOPED NATION status, Malaysians must remember there is the mental and philosophical aspects of the human endeavours we must progress IN TANDEM with material development as exemplified by modern infrastructure eg skyscrapers like the Petronas Twin Towers.

In living life to the fullest, Desi heeds Ehrmann's closing lines in Desiderata: "...... With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.