Saturday, October 28, 2006

Fragility of Life

Life is the time phase that everyone of us have to go through. It is of utmost importance to all of us individuals who seek to ensure our life is what we want, and seek all means and ways to preserve it. When approached with the question of what is the most important to someone, it is very likely that someone would repond that it is being able to live that is most important. The average lifespan of a male in Singapore is 79 years, while that of a female here is 84 years. Living till the age of around 80 is indeed a long period of time, and yet people still complain that life is too short.

Life is precious. It is the voluntary ending of their lives when people who commit suicide that certainly irks me, as there are people out there who would be willing to switch their lives with these healthy individuals who give their lives to run away from trouble or despair. Having a healthy and working body is a blessing in itself, and one must never forget that every trouble can always be solved. It is only a matter of giving yourself another chance at life by correcting the mistakes you made.

Personally, I have had the misfortune of having to be there for a friend's funeral, something which I had never expected to happen that quickly. A handsome young man, still fresh in the prime of his life at the age of 18, doing well in his studies with straight A's for his subjects and a few Special Papers, with a girlfriend, good at sports, what could go wrong? Everything. The phone call came, and I was informed of his demise by jumping from a flat in Bedok. Fact was, he survived the impact, and only succumbed to his injuries in hospital. It was unfortunate as that moment of survival must have been a painful one for him, for the regret and the pain he managed to inflict on himself would have told him how stupid he was. For him, life was so meaningless. For us, life portrayed its fragility.

The Straits Times had two reports recently on what they termed as "sudden death". The first tells of Danil Shagimardanov, 16, a Broadrick Secondary School student, who was found dead in his bed by his family on his birthday when the family entered his room to wake him with a birthday song. He never woke (2006 ST, Thurs 26th Oct). Another relates of how a 35 year old docotr by the name of Dr Lai Siang Hui, a forensic pathologist at the Health Science Authority, died of an apparent seizure in the early hours of the morning (2006 ST, Sat 28th Oct). Both individuals were healthy people until their deaths, which was so sudden and unexpected, leaving behind confused and distraught family members and loved ones. Never did they expect such a tragedy to happen. Never did they expect life to be so fragile.

Life was cruel to these people, yet it serves as a timely reminder for us that our life is like a mirror. Who we are is what we reflect, for mirrors do not lie. If we do not take proper care of our life or treasure it, the mirror might fall and shatter.

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

Treasure this gift and live life to its fullest while you can.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

A Musical Dialogue: The Music Behind Inspiration

Walking along the tunnel connecting City Hall MRT station and the Esplanade, I came across this phrase which left a lasting impression on me. "All it takes is inspiration". This led me to ponder about what it is that makes music ever so beautiful when composed from the heart of an individal. Is it inspiration? What kind of inspiration evokes such melodious thoughts and feelings which a composer pens down? Perhaps Beethoven's remark could enlighten us on this issue:-

"Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life".

Music has always been another part of my life, serving the purpose of life fulfilment in my everyday doings and washing away the dust particles shrouding my eyes. It has been a comfort in distress, an outlet for which to relase pent up emotions, as well as a means of communication for me. For Gustav Mahlet once quoted:-

"If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music".

Music is what feelings sound like. I have been exposed to music since the tender age of 4, from Junior Music Course in Yamaha Music School, to my current (albeit stagnant) level of Grade 8 (ABRSM). I have heard of things such as physical age and mental age, but let me now introduce you to something I would call "musical age".

"The years teach much which the days never knew". ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

From my years of exposure to music, I can safely say that music is something that needs to be grown in oneself. Witness those so-called musical 'prodigies' which garner so much attention, and whom people claim are musical geniuses at a mere age of, let's say, 5? How is it possible that a 5-year-old is able to have experienced enough about life and music to evoke the thoughts of others? I'm not saying it's entirely impossible, but the chances are low. Personally, I would define their new found talents as "technically superb", not 'magic'.

"Play the music, not the instrument".

Music has always been of a different pedestal from the instrument to me, for I believe that it is the instrument which serves the purpose of enhancing music which already contains its emotion. I have seen people who profess their love for music based on their ability to play an instrument, and also people who seek to impress other with their instrument-playing capabilities. Who cares if you can produce the most wonderful quality of music using the latest sound engineering technology, and who cares if u can play practically any song by heart or from score? The music is not there for our personal desires of attaining fame or praise, but rather, it is for the understanding of the feelings of the individual who played or composed it. Considering the former, music would then be merely an organisation of sound.

"The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic"
~Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

For my part, I have had the wonderful opportunity to share my music through 2 albums, Heartstrings 1 and Heartstrings 2 (part of a serial collection of piano instrumental CDs entitled 'Heartstrings'). Those two albums have a combined collection of 22 original songs composed by me, or rather, played by me. Yes, I am implying that composition was not part of the recording process, for each song was an in situ expression of me which did not require any prior preparation. Being able to improvise has been a blessing for me as I am able to truly express myself at any point in time through the piano.

"The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes - ah, that is where the art resides"
~Artur Schnabel

Though I consider my musical capabilities as mediocre compared to that of many others whom I have come to know, I feel that the magic is in the reason behind the performance of the piece, for each little pause, each sudden change in tempo, or each wonderful chord that appears in my playing tells of my emotion at that very moment, and this is very magical to me.

As a final remark, music has made me really question myself about how much I know about life when I think about the difficulties I experienced in trying to play out what I have in mind. Such are the many complexities and wonders of life that should be experienced, have been collected, and are waiting to be gathered, that my music has not been able to keep up with it. Being a mild perfectionist myself, each piece of my playing encourages a greater desire to explore life, although it is the result of a feeling of voidness due to lack of understanding of what I am trying to play. I'll leave you with a final quote to ponder upon:-

Are we not formed, as notes of music are; For one another, though dissimilar?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Music can never be perfect replicas between two different individuals.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Passage on Love

Many a time we stumble upon the question of what is Love. Is it a feeling? A gift? Or is it merely a fantasy? Such qustions differ from various individuals, and this arises due to the different opinions of people about love.

Here I am talking of Love in the context of interpersonal relationships in general, and I am not catering to those who have suffered heartbreaks or such stuff. I came across this definition of Love from which gave 28 definitions of Love, for which I am very sure it was because there is no proper way to define it, hence they had to cover as much as they could.

However, for those who seek to find meaning in this wonderful thing called Love, here is an extract from the Bible which I feel truly defines the little thing we call Love:-

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

But when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.



This extract is a famous passage on Love which is reiterated commonly at weddings, for it gives an undisputed viewpoint on what constitutes Love. Many times when I question myself on my doings, my thoughts never fail to drift back to this passage, and it is very often I find myself doing the wrong things which hurt other people. Love is so clearly and beautifully defined here, that I hope it serves its purpose of helping those who are searching for some meaning in life to clear their doubts about Love.

There is always a reason for living, and that is to Love others,

for Love Never Fails.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Building Blogs of Life

Blog - "an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page" (http://www.dictionary.com/)

Weblog - "a personal Web site that provides updated headlines and news articles of other sites that are of interest to the user, also may include journal entries, commentaries and recommendations compiled by the user" (http://www.dictionary.com)

Living in the age of modern technology (albeit relative to the past and not so for the future), it is imperative to note the changes mankind has imparted to generations upon generations. One of the most prominent evolutions we have witnessed to date is the creation of the internet, which I would term as the wires of life, and even more lately, the "wireless" of life. That aside, it has provided an outlet for individuals to express themselves, and in this case we are talking about BLOGS, a man-made mutation of weblogs.

Changes are something we pride ourselves in, especially if they play around with definitions. People, if you actually made an attempt to read the above definition, you would notice a minuscle contrast between Blogs and Weblogs, namely, it's purpose. Note that 'blog' as defined encompasses thoughts and feelings, while that of 'weblog' cites the purpose of providing information. Amid your cynical thoughts about the legitimativity of them, I would prefer to assume those two definitions as correct for the sake of this argument. Pardon me.

One of the more common verions of weblogs I have come across is the "online diary" as people call it. Speaking of which, I guess I forgot to include the definition of diary. Is it not a private record of a writer's own experiences, observations, feelings or attitudes? Apparently not so to many. Unless you are more comfortable with the definition of a diary being a record of appointments to keep, I think we should note the word 'private'. I'll leave you to think about it, for I am in not position to comment on who is right or wrong in this case.

Another case that leaves me wondering about the direction mankind is heading is the use of weblogs as a means of attracting unwanted attention. In this case, it usually describes weblogs which rotate around emotional ranting about the writer's life, hate messages, vulgarity, or even using languages from another dimension in an attempt to portray a certain 'cuteness' about themselves (think 'mi' and 'euuu'). Such is the decay of human nature which I am unable to accept. Peace, people, peace! Try watching more Miss Universe pagents.

In my opinion weblogs should be an outlet for constructive arguments, records of experiences or reflective thoughts which cater to the peaceful yet cynical spirit of human nature. People should seek to use their god-given abilites of writing wisely in upholding the beauty of writing, as well as making a positive impact on those who happen to read their entries. The sardonic and attention-seeking nature of individuals is something we can afford to avoid. Weblogs should have the effect of evoking thoughts from individuals through invoking from the writer. Only then can the purpose of leaving a public account of one's thoughts, accounts or opinions be a benefit to the internet community, and leave people with a better understanding of you as a writer and of themselves when they make an effort to reflect on their lives based on your comments.

Hence I urge you bloggers out there to start making it a point to validate your articles or entries and think about how much of an impact you words can make on people who read your entries. As for me, I will continue writing discreetly on my thoughts and feelings based on my life experiences, and hopefully you readers out there might find my comments useful in maintaining a holistic and sensible purpose towards life.