The New Wave

makes it back

Like anything, if you leave it for a while and then come back to it, you might experience one of the following reactions: 1) Nothing 2) I've really come a long way since then 3) I'm a muppet! Well, in my case, it's the latter. OK, that's generalising things a bit because of course, nothing in life is ever as simple as 1,2 or 3 but I think we know what I'm on about.

I've changed my profile, I actually added hobbies, I actually have hobbies!!!! I'm still very spiritual but I hope I'll be less melancholic. The two are independent of each other.

For someone who declared a decade ago that the camera is not a personal necessity, I've taken a 180 degree turn and am now trying to understand and put into practice the basics of photography. It's a hobby that is taking the whole world by storm, most people I know are taking classes and are snapping away. Or it's just something that you do when you get to our age .... nahhhh .... It's fun, it captures a moment in time and more importantly, it encourages the individual to exercise his/her powers of creativity. There would be no movies if not for photography! And so, to the gods of photography, I extend to you my sincerest apologies.

Lots of have happened over the last couple of years, always better than nothing at all :) So here's to the future, here's to identifying the golf balls in my life before the pebbles and sand takes over!

Adios amigos for today!

Spiritual Lesson 2

Taken from 'Why Worry? How to live without fear and worry'
by the Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, J.S.M., Ph.D., D. Litt.
(Laser Press Sdn Bhd: 11th print, September 1998)

1. 'We attract what we fear and when we confront fears they disappear.' - pg 21

2. 'A noted British anatomist was once asked by a student: "What is the best cure for fear?" His answer was, "Try doing something for someone."' - pg 22

3. 'One should learn to recognize the nature of one's thoughts as they arise from moment to moment, distinguishing the wholesome thoughts from the unwholesome ones.' - pg 23

Inner Strength in the Face of Adversity

The Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda also quoted an extract of a poem by American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox. I found the rest of it from www.ellawheelerwilcox.org. Here it is:

WORTH WHILE
It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is one who will smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble,
And it always comes with the years,
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth,
Is the smile that shines through tears.

It is easy enough to be prudent,
When nothing tempts you to stray,
When without or within no voice of sin
Is luring your soul away;
But it's only a negative virtue
Until it is tried by fire,
And the life that is worth the honor on earth,
Is the one that resists desire.

By the cynic, the sad, the fallen,
Who had no strength for the strife,
The world's highway is cumbered to-day,
They make up the sum of life.
But the virtue that conquers passion,
And the sorrow that hides in a smile,
It is these that are worth the homage on earth
For we find them but once in a while.

Poems of sentiment by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Chicago, IL : W. B. Conkey Company, c1906.

Spiritual Lesson 1

Taken from 'Why Worry? How to live without fear and worry'
by the Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, J.S.M., Ph.D., D. Litt.
(Laser Press Sdn Bhd: 11th print, September 1998)

1. '... all conditioned phenomena, including suffering and all problems, arise out of causes and that nothing can arise by way of independent causes.'

2. '... we can put an end to each and every form of suffering by discovering the root cuases of our problems.'

3. On facing problems: '... act wisely in overcoming [problems] ... it is not so much who experiences problems that marks the difference between a wise and an unwise person, but the manner in which he faces them.'

4. The Buddha said: 'Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own mind, unguarded. But once mastered, no one can help you as much, not even your father, mother or any other relative.'

5. 'When we are faced with fear, considerable courage is required to recognise the truth of its origin, and still greater courage to accept the truth after we have experienced it.'

My Resolution for the week starting Sunday, 21 May 2006

It's been over a month since I blogged. I haven't had anything profoundly interesting, intellectually stimulating or heart rendering to say. Plus I've spent two weeks working on my plan for the next three years. It's a start.

I do not feel compelled to record my meanderings as it would be a complete waste of time and a further reaffirmation of my tendency to be wishy washy. But I feel compelled to do something about these unproductive personal traits.

My resolution for this week:
1. Note down spiritual lessons every other evening.
2. No specific number of lessons so long as I understand them.

I hope that in my quest to dig deeper to the core of myself, I may relief others of their troubles, even if only temporarily.

A True Artist ...

... submits to his art. A true artist does not need to be told when there is room for improvement in his works for the true artist knows that he is only as good as his last creation and that his soul thrives on perpetual creation. There is no rest for the true artist.

We have one here in Malaysia and she is the composer, Saidah Rastam. She was the passion behind M! - the backbone, the driving force. Some will say that she should be for it is her brainchild afterall. I, together with many M! colleagues, looked deeper and saw a soul that created a work of art for us to create upon, bringing us on an eccentrically bewildering and exciting creative journey. Was that necessary? No. But Saidah did it. Saidah the artist, the composer, shared this with us.

How often does one experience such a privilege? I can now say that I had the honour to work with Saidah and she has further reinforced my believe in her and my respect for her today when she said that she will be reworking on M!. The run of M! the Opera in March 06 was just the first step. Such humility. I take my hat off to her as a person and as a professional for accepting criticisms from all around and for wanting to address the niggling issues.

As a musician, the general Malaysian audience's disgruntled reaction towards M! was a testament to the fact that our people (including those who think they are musicians or of musical authority) are shallow in their perception of art. They go for patronising entertainment - no thought is required. Entertainment does not automatically equate art. For many, face value is what counts. The majority of our audience cannot discern potential in a work of art. It further reinforced my long time suspicion that the majority of the nation is not ready to grow artistically. They do not realise the their position of privilege in being able to see original works being performed in their lifetime. M! is not without flaws. Many of them too! But art is a consequence of the journey of the artist together with his work - a relationship - and it is a continuous process.

As artists and creators, there is no need to wait for our audience, for we are creators and for art knows no boundaries. A true artist does not seek gratification from the general audience reaction. The soul of the true artist knows when he has achieved what he set out to accomplish.

This entry is not just about Saidah but it serves and will continue to serve as a reminder for my personal goal as a performer and hopefully an artist one day.

As for M! the Opera, may the gods, angels and spirits of creativity continue to look upon Saidah through her artistic journey and be her guiding light in her quest to realise M!'s full potential.

A Promise of a Lifetime

Marriage - a promise to be by the side of the one you love and treasure in happiness and woe, in health and in sickness, through thick and thin until one's time is up.

One of my many beautiful girlfriends crossed over to the land of coupledom officially today. The thought is still sinking in .. very slowly but surely. As I sang 'The Nearness of You', I could feel the wealth of emotions creeping up in my chest and my tearducts were very nearly activated - close call!

I'm truly happy that she has found that someone with whom she can spend the rest of her life. Truly happy that she will be making a life with that someone who we all know will treasure her, care for her, and love her in every way she could AND could not imagine. Blissfully happy in the knowledge that she has been rewarded accordingly for she is a wonderful friend and person.

Congratulations to my dearest and beautiful friend, Selin :)

Musings

Muse and be amused, I say.

Was reading some archaelogy and scientifically related articles on yahoo when I stumbled upon this little gem :) :) :) It's a treat for the ladies! :)

If I didn't already say this, Mr. Lewitus of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rightly said and so I quote, Having too many males "is not a good strategy for survival." Read on ladies ... and gentlemen of course! I don't discriminate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060330/ap_on_sc/dead_zones

So breathe more oxygen ladies! Buy tanks of them if necessary. Just make sure your husbands or boyfriends have no excess to them! It might just render their conspiracy to multiplication of the male gender a success! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Cod forbid!!! :)

An End to An Era ...

of eye-opening experiences, friendship, hardwork, toil, respect, tolerance, motivation, inspiration and dedication. There are lots more positive attributes I could list but I shan't. Call it a writer's perogative if you will. Infant blogger in this instance.

I met wonderful people from all walks of life during my 9 months with M! the Opera and I know that many of us will remain in contact with each other having forged such strong friendships. For this, I thank my friend, Fuad, who introduced me to M! though he himself left the production just as the ball started rolling.

Despite positive and negative comments (more negative than positive, and I call them comments as I've yet to read a professional review with constructive criticisms and not mere brown-nosing or dismissive), the cast has shown tremendous and unflailing dedication and belief towards this project, ploughing on day after day, night after night. That's first-timers for you (most of them are, including myself). Grit and determination. It's not one man's effort but every man's effort put together.

I shall miss all of this, miss the curry laksa/dim sum/bak kut teh supper after performances, and most of all, walking onto the stage every night. I shan't be missing my new found friends because I believe our friendship will continue to go the distance.