Seeing with the Heart...

desiderata.english

Desiderata is a poem or essay on the quest of seeking happiness in life. In the 1960s it became the subject of a hoax when it was claimed that it had actually been discovered in a Baltimore church in 1692. Desi had once bought a scroll depicting this as wrongly attributed, doing much injsuctice to my sifu Max Ehrmann (who wrote it in 1927) to whom this blogger owes eternal gratitude for INSPIRATION and a guide to daily living.
Desiderata is Latin for "those things most needed or to be desired".


Too often in mundane life, Man chases after wealth and power, and having succeeded, it's a life of Wine, Women and Song. To the ladies, it's not fair,
If seldom applies: Wine, Men and Song, does it?
Or perhaps Desi is too old-fashiond and has not kept up with
Women's Lib? You wanna burn that 20k bra?
As the season o merriment draws nigh, how many of us thinnk of:

At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth;
But like of each thing that in season grows.


A man in all the world’s new fashion planted,
That hath a mint of phrases in his brain.


A high hope for a low heaven.


And men sit down to that nourishment which is called supper.


That unlettered small-knowing soul.
Love’s Labour ’s Lost. Act i. Sc. 1.


As Desi knows it, all humans long for hapiness, and life is an endless journey in search of that indefinable, yet precious as a pearl, goal. An elusive dream, most times. But the quest goes on, as long as there is a breath left in the human breast.


But what if Love should take Leave?
as humankind are wont to --
failing each other --
in all spheres of endeavour
And Love is an Endeavour mostly of the Heart
Is it not?

So life is not all spring; even the feet,
especially tiny ones, get tired and need to rest.
Enter the autumn of our lives -- we grow older,
the hair grey and white
but even as the leaves fall, young buds come to life
the eternal cycle of life is repaeted
as long as we breathe,
hope lingers

hope to Desi is the thin' that beats one octave lower
than screaming passion
Of young lovers caught in ecstasy
the madness of all-consuming sex and lust
but when the Game is o'er, it's mere memories
of stored longings
of wanting
MORE
of the same

But for one with terminal cancer,
the hope for a medical breakthrough
surpasses the raging fires of passion
One longs for the desiderata
of wellness
maybe finally, settle for a painless death

for one without a job, the hope for a succesful interview
One longs for the desiderata
of job contentment
maybe finally, settle for paltry sum of self employment

God gave each a unique mind
No quite, no less
None greater
Each a one of his own
We strive, we gain
we lose in our own
Blood, sweat and tears

If life isn't fair
It's because we ask for more
than we've been blessed with
That's just, not fair



Emily Dickinson taught us well


'Hope' is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all
And sweetest in the Gale is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb of Me.




I Pray MyGoogfRiends see with their hearts
as li'l princes and princesses do
on life's humble thrones
of lives well loved, lives well lived
and hope will take care of what come may
live for today, tomorrow is just a hoped-for today

Remember what was a warm lesson taught us in The Little Prince Saint-Exupery, Antoine De :


The fox tells the little prince: “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes…It’s the time you spent on your rose that’s so important”.


Yes, humankind's vision seldom extends beyong the physical. What is the first feature that attarcts thee to a girl? Her face, her physical features that make up her outward appearance, is it not?

Do we learn of her "inner character" which may yet prove more beautiful than that enchanting smile upon an enchaning face enhanced by an enchanting bod?

No, man is so predictable -- Desi included -- we seldom see with our heart. A common weakness. Tomorrow I must blindfold myself and walk around like a blind man. Play blind man's puff again, like when I was six years old.
Ah, then I may gain sight again, in my heart...


Desi asks that my ER: pick the season of your life
Life is contentment sought, even half gained
Is a life well lived, even if a love is lost
It's almost wholly given, it's a sigh then: victory almost.
Still, had we not run that race
it'd have been mere regrets
we're still stuck at the
starting line.

Seasons In The Sun

Goodbye to you my trusted friend
We've known each other since we were nine or ten
Together we climbed hills and trees
Learned of love and A B C's
Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.

Goodbye my friend it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Pretty girls are everywhere
Think of me and I'll be there

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just seasons
Out of time......

Goodbye Papa please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along.

Goodbye Papa its hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them I'll be there.

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone.

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone.

Goodbye Michelle my little one
You gave me love and helped me find the sun
And every time that I was down
You would always come around
And get my feet back on the ground.

Goodbye Michelle it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
With the flowers everywhere
I wish that we could both be there

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfish on the beach

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the stars we could reach
Were just starfish on the beach

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song like the seasons
Have all gone

All our lives we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the hills that we climbed were just seasons
Out of time......

We had joy we had fun
We had seasons in the sun