Just like in a Greek tragedy, the more the hero wants to fight against his destiny --not going to comment on the limited number of heroines, at least popular ones-- the more he runs towards it!
The same goes for Time, the more we try to "prevent" it from passing the faster it appears to do so... Certainly, it may all be down to our perception but then again
Is it that despite our efforts belief and act otherwise, determinism is just something we cannot escape? After all regardless of any beliefs we may hold true (or live by), at some level conscious or not, our actions and ultimately lives are determined by our limited lifespan.
Another of Life's ironies...
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Friday, 5 November 2010
Tyger! Tyger!
It has been a while since 'Jasmin', that is how I named my friend the cat, came to visit... I miss her even if she's the type to ignore me until she feels like she wants some attention...
She reminds me of my friend Carolina who has always loved cats. When we were kids, she had two: Lady and Othello. Othello and I didn't always see eye to eye... I think now I would be able to appreciate him more!
Carolina's affections for felines runs so deep that when we had to prepare an anthology for one of our courses this one had to make it! I wonder if I still have it at home...
Carolina's affections for felines runs so deep that when we had to prepare an anthology for one of our courses this one had to make it! I wonder if I still have it at home...
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaving in their tears,
Did he smaile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
William Blake (1794)
Te deseo primero que ames...
This poem has been going around for a while... It was my mum who sent it to me a month or so back.
It has been attributed to Victor Hugo; but despite my research I haven't been able to attest the veracity of this claim, nor have I been able to find a French version...
Nevertheless it is more about what it says than about who said it so without further ado here it goes; in Spanish...
It has been attributed to Victor Hugo; but despite my research I haven't been able to attest the veracity of this claim, nor have I been able to find a French version...
Nevertheless it is more about what it says than about who said it so without further ado here it goes; in Spanish...
Te deseo primero que ames y que
Amando, también seas amado.
Y que, de no ser así, seas breve en olvidar
y que después de olvidar no guardes rencores.
Deseo, pues, que no sea así, pero que si es,
sepas ser sin desesperar.
Te deseo también que tengas amigos y que,
incluso malos e inconsecuentes
sean valientes y fieles, y que por lo menos
haya uno en quien confiar sin dudar.
Y porque la vida es así,
te deseo también que tengas enemigos.
Ni muchos ni pocos, en la medida exacta,
para que, algunas veces, te cuestionestus proprias certezas.
Y que entre ellos,
haya por lo menos uno que sea justo,
para que no te sientas demasiado seguro.
Te deseo además que seas útil,
mas no insustituible.
Y que en los momentos malos,
cuando no quede más nada,
esa utilidad sea suficiente
para mantenerte en pie.
Igualmente, te deseo que seas tolerante.
No con los que se equivocan poco,
porque eso es fácil,
sino con los que se equivocan mucho e irremediablemente,
y que haciendo buen uso de esa tolerancia,
sirvas de ejemplo a otros.
Te deseo que siendo joven no
madures demasiado de prisa,
y que ya maduro, no insistas en rejuvenecer,
y que siendo viejo note dediques al desespero.
Porque cada edad tiene su placer
y su dolor y es necesario dejar
que fluyan entre nosotros.
Te deseo de paso que seas triste.
No todos el año, sino que apenas un día.
Pero que cada día descubras
que la risa diaria es buena, que la risa
habitual sosa y que la risa constante es malsana.
Te deseo que descubras,
con urgencia máximo, y por encima
y a pesar de todo, que existen,
y que te rodean, seres oprimidos,
tratados con injusticia y personas infelices.
Te deseo que acaricies un perro,
alumentes a un pájaro y oigas a un jilgero
erguir triunfante su canto matinal,
porque de esta manera,
sentirás bien por nada.
Deseo también que plantes una semilla,
por más minúscula que sea, y la
acompañes en su crecimiento,
para que descrubras de cuantas vidas
está hecho un árbol.
Te deseo, además, que tengas dinero,
porque es necesario ser práctico.
Y que por lo menos una vez
por año pongas algo de ese dinero
frente a ti y digas: "Esto es mIo."
Sólo para que quede claro
quién es dueño de quién.
Te deseo también que ninguno de tus afectos muera.
Pero que, si muere alguno,
puedas llorar sin lamentarte
y sufrir sin sentirte culpable.
Te deseo por fin que,
siendo hombre, tengas una buena muher,
y que siendo mujer, tengas un buen hombre,
mañana y al día siguiente.
Y que cuando estéis exhaustos y sonrientes,
aún sobre amor para empezar de nuevo.
Si todas estas cosas llegaran a pasar,
No tengo nada más que desearte.
Peek-a-boo
It's unlikely that most of us have anything particularly insightful to share with the world...Few of us will go down in history as great writers or thinkers...
I have been wondering why I am spending time putting these postings together? It's not like the whole world knows about them. Only a few people actually do, and my guess is even less bother to read them...
It used to be that people kept diaries but they were kept away from prying eyes... today it is more like we seek to share almost everything with the rest of the world? What is it we are seeking (if anything)?
The world is so interconnected maybe we just feel smaller and our existence and experience insignificant compared with that of others. Maybe our need to leave a mark has turned us into some sort of virtual exhibitionist... Seeking attention, or admiration? Maybe we are virtual voyeurs, addicted to the technicolour adventures of other people's lives, which makes us feel better (or worse) about our own...
The stories of others may certainly be a distraction but they can also be an inspiration. The need to write pure eccentricity ora desire to give a voice to a cause... Like everything else in life it always comes down to intent...
Although I wonder what the world would be like had the likes of Victor Hugo and Zola had these tools at their disposal... Maybe social activism would be more advanced?
Then again, I guess for every one of them there would be numerous others that would have filled the same space with 'nonsense'... Maybe we'd be in the same place we are now, only there would be an even larger number of pages to trawl through (Victor Hugo wrote some 18,000 pages works, letters and others in his life)!
For me this exercise is therapeutic... Sometimes it takes me days to try to organise my thoughts, others just a couple of hours! A bit like the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office, only without the magic, writing has always been a way for me to create some space inside my head, to get some clarity...To get the 'voices' to quiet down...
But then it is also true that we exist through the 'recognition' we get from the gaze of others. So we display elements of our life as we peek into those of others'; sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly...
'Normal' was never going to be an absolute so maybe it is being a bit of a voyeur and exhibitionist... and who knows what else...
I have been wondering why I am spending time putting these postings together? It's not like the whole world knows about them. Only a few people actually do, and my guess is even less bother to read them...
It used to be that people kept diaries but they were kept away from prying eyes... today it is more like we seek to share almost everything with the rest of the world? What is it we are seeking (if anything)?
The world is so interconnected maybe we just feel smaller and our existence and experience insignificant compared with that of others. Maybe our need to leave a mark has turned us into some sort of virtual exhibitionist... Seeking attention, or admiration? Maybe we are virtual voyeurs, addicted to the technicolour adventures of other people's lives, which makes us feel better (or worse) about our own...
The stories of others may certainly be a distraction but they can also be an inspiration. The need to write pure eccentricity ora desire to give a voice to a cause... Like everything else in life it always comes down to intent...Although I wonder what the world would be like had the likes of Victor Hugo and Zola had these tools at their disposal... Maybe social activism would be more advanced?
Then again, I guess for every one of them there would be numerous others that would have filled the same space with 'nonsense'... Maybe we'd be in the same place we are now, only there would be an even larger number of pages to trawl through (Victor Hugo wrote some 18,000 pages works, letters and others in his life)!
For me this exercise is therapeutic... Sometimes it takes me days to try to organise my thoughts, others just a couple of hours! A bit like the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office, only without the magic, writing has always been a way for me to create some space inside my head, to get some clarity...To get the 'voices' to quiet down...
But then it is also true that we exist through the 'recognition' we get from the gaze of others. So we display elements of our life as we peek into those of others'; sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly...
'Normal' was never going to be an absolute so maybe it is being a bit of a voyeur and exhibitionist... and who knows what else...
The Inconvenient: Truth?
If you are a child of the 80s then A Few Good Men is part of the movies you must have watched growing up... More so if you were a teenage girl. Indeed who could resist Tom Cruise (Kaffee) in his impeccable navy blue uniform? ... I was just 13...
Some religious people will tell you that "'the' truth will set you free.."
'The' truth... More like 'a' truth because nobody possess it wholly but we all own bits of it...
As for it setting us 'free' it may be more complicated than that.
Saying it carries different considerations than hearing it. Indeed, a truth may appease our conscience vis-a-vis a particular issue but what if 'coming clean' with the truth only transfers the burden unto someone else?
The truth, a truth, it is quite a delicate thing to handle. So delicate sometimes a moral dilemma ensues: should it be told or should it be kept quiet? I guess partly it depends on who should hear it and who will say it (and how).
Do you tell your friend a truth that can be so difficult to accept that s/he may decide you are lying and refuse to accept it? Knowing this will be the case do you withhold the truth for the sake of keeping her/his distorted view of reality alive? What is it to you in the end? If they are happy living in delusion why should you shatter the illusion?
Should you speak this truth? Do you bite the bullet and risk a friendship over principles? Should ethics take precedence? Would being ethical/pragmatic equate to being insensitive? Or are there some truths that are better left untold?
Now if this truth you are not saying pertains to you and you are withholding from saying it out loud to yourself, it will start to eat away at our tranquility. Whatever tranquility we may have! For through the awareness of its existence, this truth -whether accepted or not - this truth won't be denied!
Sometimes we don't want to hear a truth because deep inside we are aware of it and speaking it will make it real. Once it is real we must choose to face it or run from it... This choice can be troubling for it MUST be made!
Running away from issues/truths seldom gets us anywhere in the end... and if we're running away from one of those unspoken truths, then it is already too late for it exists and not acknowledging it probably only cause more harm than good. It is more than likely that these truths catch up with us sooner or later...
Arguments can evolve in any direction... Ultimately however, I think that as hard as it can be I rather hear the truth -albeit presented as tactfully as humanly possible. Some people will rather run...
Maybe the decision to say/hear/accept this truth is ruled by game theory... It will depend on what is to be gained. Sometimes saying it won't change anything, and if it is not your life then might as well forget it...
Maybe time will erode it...
Nah! That's just wishful thinking!
Some religious people will tell you that "'the' truth will set you free.."
'The' truth... More like 'a' truth because nobody possess it wholly but we all own bits of it...
As for it setting us 'free' it may be more complicated than that.
Saying it carries different considerations than hearing it. Indeed, a truth may appease our conscience vis-a-vis a particular issue but what if 'coming clean' with the truth only transfers the burden unto someone else?
The truth, a truth, it is quite a delicate thing to handle. So delicate sometimes a moral dilemma ensues: should it be told or should it be kept quiet? I guess partly it depends on who should hear it and who will say it (and how).
Do you tell your friend a truth that can be so difficult to accept that s/he may decide you are lying and refuse to accept it? Knowing this will be the case do you withhold the truth for the sake of keeping her/his distorted view of reality alive? What is it to you in the end? If they are happy living in delusion why should you shatter the illusion?
Should you speak this truth? Do you bite the bullet and risk a friendship over principles? Should ethics take precedence? Would being ethical/pragmatic equate to being insensitive? Or are there some truths that are better left untold?
Now if this truth you are not saying pertains to you and you are withholding from saying it out loud to yourself, it will start to eat away at our tranquility. Whatever tranquility we may have! For through the awareness of its existence, this truth -whether accepted or not - this truth won't be denied!
Sometimes we don't want to hear a truth because deep inside we are aware of it and speaking it will make it real. Once it is real we must choose to face it or run from it... This choice can be troubling for it MUST be made!
Running away from issues/truths seldom gets us anywhere in the end... and if we're running away from one of those unspoken truths, then it is already too late for it exists and not acknowledging it probably only cause more harm than good. It is more than likely that these truths catch up with us sooner or later...
Arguments can evolve in any direction... Ultimately however, I think that as hard as it can be I rather hear the truth -albeit presented as tactfully as humanly possible. Some people will rather run...
Maybe the decision to say/hear/accept this truth is ruled by game theory... It will depend on what is to be gained. Sometimes saying it won't change anything, and if it is not your life then might as well forget it...
Maybe time will erode it...
Nah! That's just wishful thinking!
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