On Wings of Song

Listening Pleasures for Meditation

There are many ways of breaking a heart. We all know that ... but what really breaks one is taking away its dream, whatever that dream might be.   


What I'm listening to in reflection? An all-time favourite short piece "Auf Flügeln des Gesanges" (English: "On Wings of Song"), by composer Felix Mendelssohn. This lovely piece of music was dedicated by the composer to his beloved sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, also a composer.

The poet Heinrich Heine created the lyrics (1835) for its well-known operatic version. The video provides images of  various paintings from artists Chagall, Homer, O'keefe, Pissarro, Sargent, and Spadecaller portraying the beautiful night garden, where love is transported by the "Wings of Song." It's a Spadecaller Video: Mendelssohn's "Auf Flugeln des Gesanges." On the piano is Peter Nagy.   (Accessed January 20, 2018.)






Resource:

Mendelssohn - Lieder, S547/R217 (7 Lieder from Mendelssohn, Op, 19a, 34, 47): Mendelssohn - Auf Flugeln des Gesanges (On Wings of Song) (from Op. 34, No. 2), S547/R217, No. 1 by Péter Nagy.

(c) 2018. Tel Asiado. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

A writing life

Random Thoughts

If you're a writer, how's your writing life lately?  Although I don't buy a lot of "How to Write" books any longer, I still enjoy revisiting the select few I've kept.


My best friend and soul mate, and writing support, gone now, once told me that if I have lost my moment's inspiration, it's probably in the tip of my pen. She was my staunchest critic and same-time greatest encourager who never gave up on me especially when my pen seemed dried up.

I enjoy reading my fellow writer-friends' works. They inspire. 

How far can we as writers tell stories without as much revealing of ourselves? How much do we want to unveil of ourselves in the first place?

In sensitive wanderings, through range of narratives, how much can we show with freedom and candour our thoughts from our inner world, and our memories, fill our yearnings to let go those creative juices?

Oh this writing life!

Backing down and letting go

How do you feel when the day got to you? That is, from your ego’s point of view. A pricked self-esteem...  when the very "professional" people who are meant to provide the anodyne are the ones who let you down.

I’ve heard that before, they’re just doing their job, right? Please help, my collar pain is re-visiting.

Or people who profess to be our friends yet whose actions are far from caring.

We do need to practice the quieting and containing of ourselves for our own sake, you know, those times when things don’t seem to come together.

We need to just quiet down - even if that something is aversion and hurting the very values we hold on to.

Quieting down can take a while. Even many months. This month I've started cleaning up my Address Book. It feels good. Can't wait to clean-up my Facebook 'friends' who are never friends.

Who said life is a bowl of cherries. It can be, but not always.

To keep peace, we usually put on that ultra-flexibility, that is, not insisting our way, even if we should have. But then, there comes a point when, in the face of other people’s intransigent, unreasonable attitudes, we are challenged. That point when we can still give our piece of mind even if it means a bit of boat-rocking.

Giving one's peace of mind doesn't have to be always verbal. It can be an action signifying "enough is enough."

Sometimes, refusing to back down has its own rewards. It can even mean a breakthrough.

A point in time. 



(c) 2018. Tel Asiado. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Clearing a space to think and create

Inspired by what I've been doing lately, down-sizing.

As a writer, it hurts to let go many books I've lived with through the years, but there comes a time when we need to, for more reasons than one ... also, if we want more energy and new ideas to enter in.  It may not be true for everyone, but how relaxing it feels to be in front of a cleared space. It doesn't need to be huge to create a breathing space.

It's all about eliminating clutter and excesses. If you're a person who can thrive on clutter and still be proficient, good on you. For some of us who have been hoarders of too many things;  it's about time we do something about it.  I realize that - it's not going to be easy.


Many writers, and I'm guilty, have become so reliant on information. We save too many things, many of them we don't actually need. Magazines, old records, even outdated textbooks.  We keep folders and binders full of printed materials afraid that we just might need them one day.

Actually, it's an important skill to teach ourselves to eliminate clutter, especially in our age of information overload. Or at least we can reduce some paper chase. Again, I'm reminding myself too. Besides, almost everything nowadays is available on the Internet, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee.

If you can stop awhile and look around,  is there any particular corner in your room that needs to be freed from clutter? Or anything you've been meaning to clear up?

Clutter is energy draining. And creating space can only make us feel better with good energies flowing back.  Let's go for it - redeem a space where we can relax, think and create, and give way to a good feeling.

Aesop's Fable of the Oak and the Reed

The need to respect and recognize strengths and weaknesses of each other.

A lesson from Aesop's Fable:  The Oak and the Reed


"An oak and a reed were arguing about their strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning with the gusts of wind. But the oak stood firm and was torn up by the roots."

As in our traits, they are only as strong as we use them.  Like the oak we can be strong and tough amid difficulties, and like the reed, we can also flex and bend to accept our weaknesses and flaws.

A matter of respect and recognition of our differing strengths and weaknesses.

Image Credit:

The  Oak and the Reed. www.uexpress.com.  Accessed Feb 2, 2014.

Gleaming

I love the word "gleam." My Oxford dictionary defines it as, "beam or ray of soft light, especially one that comes and goes."  What it is, I'm not really sure, but I'd like to think of it as something nice. Good feeling. Good thought. Which reminds me of another calming word: serendipity.

About the posts here. They are musings, factions, most of the time fictions, thoughts in a day or days, when I'm caught in the weave, knot, or crossroad, when I long for my Creator, a listening friend over a cuppa, the pull of the moon or the stars to burn bright, or a nudge in moments when I feel most alone and vulnerable.


As a lifelong lover of classical music, most of the time I write with with a favourite music nearby, from the earliest Madrigals to late Romantic eras, and most especially music of my all-time favourite composer, Wolfgang Mozart.

What inspires a writer to write? An artist to paint? A mezzo or contralto to sing? A small business to create a successful product or an entrepreneur to build his empire to success? Our motivating keyword is inspire.

I can't think of a good end of this post except quoting Alfred, Lord Tennyson, with his short but meaningful poem, exactly what I feel about "gleam":


"... ere it vanishes
Over the margin
After it, follow it, 
Follow the Gleam."


(The image is one lovely rose I captured in one of Vienna's parks just when the sun was starting to set. We were on our way to Domkirche Saint Stephan (St. Stephen's Cathedral), where Mozart and Constanze were married.)   

The courage to face changes

Our courage to face changes is challenged as trying times continue.  

When are our best days, weeks or months of our lives? When we’re kids, growing up? In college? Or at some later stage in adult life?

No matter how we view change, it's an inevitable part of life - and we can't experience anything new without it. 

What do we do when we feel trapped with trying times on and on, and seemingly endless?

Come to think of it, it’s probably not as bad as we think. There are always things we dislike and others we relish, some we may hold in our hearts forever. Once I heard the four-year-old lovely daughter of a friend say, “I don’t like school, but I might change my mind.”

I suppose it’s in the attitude we bring through. The week has been a bit exhausting, what with unforseen disruptions aside from already scheduled plans. At one point even my cool and patience were once again tested. It's probably not that bad either. It depends really on how we take things assuming it's not a major distraction.

I remember Lewis Carroll's words. He said, “The route you take depends a good deal upon where you want to go.” Well said, Mr. Carroll. No wonder, I’ve loved Through the Looking Glass and the lovely Alice in wonderland.   What keep coming back are these bits and pieces —

Finding the courage to face change.
Mary in the world of Marthas … (a lesson in work/life balance)
When you are not the prize of what you think…
Of love and passion.
Of friendship.
Of letting go.

Let go.
Let me go.
I want to go.

There are only diminishing things ahead.
Then I go back to where I started - Finding the courage to face changes.

Ode from Wordsworth ... Memorialis

Excerpt from William Wordsworth's famous  "536. Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood."

William Wordsworth (1770-1850), English Romantic poet.  He was born in Cockermouth, Cumbria, and educated at Cambridge University. In 1797, he moved with his sister Dorothy to Somerset to be near Samuel Coleridge, by which he collaborated on Lyrical Ballads.  Two years later, he lived in the Lake District, where his later works included Poems (with "Intimations of Immortality") and The Prelude, written to form part of the autobiographical work The Recluse, but not completed.  

Ode: Intimations of immortality upon recollections of early childhood.

Though nothing can bring back the hours

Of splendour in the grass,

of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind;

In the primal sympathy

Which having been must ever be;

In the soothing thoughts that spring

Out of human suffering;

In the faith that looks through death;

In years that bring the philosophic mind.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

~ English Poet ~

In Memoriam:  10th Death Anniversary of Jops

Loved one, Jops, soul mate for 35 years, who valiantly battled with ovarian cancer.  (Passed away, 5th August 2007, 8:00pm) 

Time heals sorrow.
Caring folks ease the pain.
Peace replaces heartache.
Warmest memories remain...

(c) 2007-2017.  Tel Asiado.  Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Writer's block and other musings

Musings / A day in a writer's life

I'm running late with my self-imposed writing deadlines, articles waiting to be written and I haven't managed a single draft.

Unavoidable issues got in the way some months back.

Today, I've been blest with some time. My cup needs a third filling of a hot coffee. I struggle to write even a line.  

Familiar?

I need to put my thoughts to paper but my pen freezes. My muse refuses to write.


Some writers call this mental block. But I don't want to believe it. I have too many things to write about. Many memories and sentiments to capture.

I'm overwhelmed ... a dozen evergreen articles waiting to be written, hundreds of articles more waiting to be revised,  stories started, and journals piled.  Ah, what with my blogs begging to be updated.  I'm facing all of them but can't seem to go on.

As a writer, this is not a sight of my heaven on earth.  Of course I could write meaningless words. But, this is different. I can't write at all. My mental faculties, my senses are frozen.  At the moment, I'm snared.

It's fine to be overwhelmed occasionally.

Now I know; it's Monday. The day when I want the week to start right, and I want everything done in one sweep. The very thought has freezes me but I'm certain this is momentary.

I've just compromised with my Muse.  And it's looking good.


Suggested reading:

The Psychology of Writer's Block (And How to Overcome It) by Jennifer Lachs. Accessed February 10 2019.   



(c) February 10, 2016. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Why do I write?

I write because I love to write.  Recently though, writing has become extremely therapeutic too.

For a while my mind went blank, not because I had nothing to say. On the contrary. It might have happened to you, when sometimes you have much to say but very little with which to say them. Well, I've been trying to look beyond the horizon and explore new ideas and topics to write about, but this time is one of those moments when words seem to fail me.

I'm glad that Virginia Woolf rescues me by putting my thoughts to pen when she said: "I must be private, secret, anonymous and submerged as possible in order to write." I've always been a private person in so many ways. I still am, but somehow, about five years after the millennium few things within and some ways I relate to others relaxed when I started writing seriously.


So, why do I write?  And I don't mean just any kind of writing. What I mean is creative writing, one that comes from the heart and my creative juice.  Horace summarised in part my answer and I'd like to quote what he said in Latin, one I've learnt ages ago...

spatio brevi spem longam reseces;
dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas;
carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

~ Horace, Roman Poet ~

Translated in English: "... from the short space of life you should exclude distant hopes; for while we speak, the envious hours are passing away; seize the day, trusting little as possible to what comes after."  Thanks, Horace, for putting words into my thoughts to pen.  An inspired pen certainly would want to capture these moments, these passing hours, and put them to paper.

I write because I love to write. I write because it satisfies a need. I write because it fulfills a purpose.      

Staying Motivated When the Blues Strike

Even with highly self-motivated people, there are days when "motivation blue" simply happens. Call it by any other name, these are moments when motivation is on a slump.  To a struggling writer, it might be "mental block" or moments when the mind goes blank.

So what do you do when motivation blues strike?  Motivation is a broad topic. Out there we read heaps about motivation.  Writers write about it. Life coaches pump us up with it. Motivational speakers talk about it. Even well-meaning religious friends can overwhelm at times with rebuttal of biblical verses. 

If we don't lose sight of our dreams, our goals, then shouldn't this be enough to motivate us? This - despite all sorts of challenges stretching us in all directions, difficult situations and difficult people who seem to block our path consciously or unconsciously. We need to be realistic especially in times when our dreams seem too impossible to achieve.


If you ever experience this 'motivation blue'  ~  start by taking a deep breath.

I try not to get overwhelmed by the piles of things needing to be done, tackle them one at a time, and in smaller chunks of to-dos. It's always good to remind ourselves, and each other.

Touch base with a friend or two we can relate to. Ask them what they are up to. Let's hope that their effect on us motivates and encourages rather than the other way around.

Tidy up, declutter at least obvious clutters around you. This one task, I tend to do a lot. As a writer, I have piles of drafts all over, a dozen open books for references, etc.  Although, I know too - some writers thrive on mess around them because they say they can think better with clutter as is. So they say. 

You can always read inspirational books, success stories, and biographies of people influential in your life. 

Be creative. Think of your favourite things and react on it. I usually listen to Mozart andantes, adagios, violin sonatas. Lately, I've been more inspired listening to the French version of "If I Only Have Time" popularised by John Rowles in English. French song is sung by Michel Sardou. Or you can listen to other easy listening pieces of your choice. If you play an instrument, better still.  Play something and give your soul to it, con mucho gusto.

Intrinsic motivation must be present if we are to do our best. 

The Ugly Duckling and a Lesson on Acceptance

Many of you will remember the fairy tales "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling" written by 19th century Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen.  Lately, I've decided to include children's books among those I've scheduled  to read and do some nutshell abstracts. The authors Grimm brothers and Christian Hans Andersen come to mind.

To recall, "The Ugly Duckling" demonstrates Andersen's sympathies for anyone who in a way, is an "outsider" in search to belong, to be accepted. The story is about a duck ostracized by his fellow fowl because of his perceived homeliness. To his happiness and surprise, including the others, he eventually matures into a graceful swan.



In any kind of group - society, interest groups, workplace, church, or even in dot com community and forums - like the ugly duckling, we want to get in, to belong, to be accepted, especially when some "cliques" become quite apparent even if they don't want to admit it.

Sometimes we go through life when we feel different from some people around us. The duckling was not ugly at all. He was simply different. Yet, he suffered humiliation and sadness, teased and ostracized by his fellow ducks. He was even unjustly beaten by some of them. These can be uncomfortable, lonely and painful.

One day he flew --- then eventually "found" himself, fully realizing there's really nothing wrong with him. Like the ugly duckling, we can hope for acceptance and be appreciative when it happens. And, like the ugly duckling, our time will come when we will be accepted, even loved.

Image Credit:

www.CartoonStock.com

A Boost on Confidence

Speaking of this powerful word confidence, many insights on it have been written by self-help authors as well as it has been spoken about by numerous motivational speakers.

Literary writer Anais Nin, famous for her no-holds barred memoirs, comes to mind. She says it beautifully, and I quote to reflect: 

"She lacks confidence, she craves admiration insatiably. 
She lives on the reflections of herself in the eyes of others. 
She does not dare to be herself." ~ Anais Nin

Nin describes well a woman who lacks self-confidence. How many out there are. The disappointment, the pain, and the constant search how to be accepted, how to belong in the eyes of others, of a society laden with prejudices and status quo.    Sometimes, we waver, still needing the assurance that we are loved, that we are okay, that we'll get there. That's when we need one another for that boost, that gentle kick. Knowing that we understand each other's fears and insecurities, and being there, give that comfort and strength to go on.

A writer's life a lonely life

I'm sharing this lovely poem by J.M. Robertson which I found among my lifelong collections of writing gems. I don't have the exact reference where I got this from but worthy of reflection.

Life can be a journey
With many variations,
A challenge - an adventure,
With changing destinations.

It starts at Optimism,

Then moves along the way,

Passing through Confusion,

Delight, and then Dismay.

There's the all-important question,
That the cross-roads stop entails -
Take the straight and narrow,
Or wander off the rails?

Watch out for the sign-posts,
And study them with care.
Some can lead to Happiness,
Others to Despair.

Though no one knows for certain
What lies around the bend,
Always travel hopefully
Until the journey's end.

A writer's life can be lonely.  If you are one and truly passionate about writing especially creative writing, hang in there for those long nights or early dawns. Keep going my friend. Some endeavours need to be done alone.

The Art of Being Content One Day at a Time

On impulse,  I wanted to write “Living Life in Chapter” on the title line.  It means the same thing to me.  The idea that we do everything in one sweep has been a notion with busy people. For many years I was in that path until I got burnt out. Really bad.

It's been a go, go, go once we feel better.  Never stopping to breathe normal. Well, until the body caves in once again.

While healing, I’d like to be able to savour time, and each chapter of the book I’m reading away from all these deadlines, most of them imposed.  Capture that breathing space and keep up with breathing.



Some of us have been running nonstop.  Guilty? I sure am. Then we get burnt out.  Ulcers.  Migraines. Stresses. Others with worse illness. And so forth.  I just got a call from a friend, and another one an email. Two in a row, one re-trenched, the other ill. I'm trying... positive thinking. However, on top all this, I thank God for all blessings, trying to make the most of what the day offers.

A researcher-friend set out to try to discover what is it that enables some people to live to a great age. Did they enjoy their work? A happy childhood? Enough rest? Good food? Meat eaters or vegetarians?  And the result of the researcher’s analysis? He found out that despite varying lifestyles, the old folks had one thing in common: they all learned the art of being content.

I'd like to share an inspirational quote on being content and living the moment from German novelist Thomas Mann:  "Hold every moment sacred. Give each clarity and meaning, each the weight of thine awareness, each its true and due fulfillment." - Thomas Mann, German Novelist

I'm trying to stay cool.  When we start devoting more undivided attention to what is the moment’s, we relish that moment. We live that moment.

Sure, some pursuits need to be taken up early from a biological clock, but this is not all, is it?

Earlier, I've just deleted two blog sites I've decided I no longer have the time to fiddle with. Right now? I’m about to have a cup of good coffee, while trying to decide what chapter I’m in.  Whether it’s chapter 10 or 11, I’d like to give myself to it, enjoy the rest of the afternoon and take it easy.  In about four hours from now, I should come out re-energized. Hopefully.

And you, dear friend?

Controlling the Power of our Minds

As psychologists continuously turn focus to positive thinking, researches have been showing that positivity has significant effect, that it can support us flourish in life challenges.

 

 
A good weekend. And the power of the mind caught up. Whilst adrift in one of my favourite local news agencies shop, there was this interesting motivational book that caught my eye. This small but quite contained news shop often sell remainder books piled on top the other in a tiny corner of the store. Any avid reader would want to dig in when the price is right.

The back precis of a particular book caught my attention, enough to scribble down the practical way to unleash the powers of the mature mind. The book is The Forever Mind with authors, Priscilla Donovan and J. Wonder. In the end, I decided to buy the copy, and for almost 80% discount of the recommended price, why not.

What are these ways of unleashing the powers of the mind?

The authors suggest 8 ways in easy and enjoyable ways:

• Remember names, faces, places, and ideas
• Control the details of your life
• Learn more, and absorb it more easily
• Make wise decisions
• Think your way through emotionally charged situations
• Keep your brain healthy
• Learn to love change
• Have more fun by pursuing your passions.

They make sense.  Hindsight, other things and abilities may change as we age, but it's up to each of us to take the proper steps to work on those that we can still harness to keep us strong, a matter of taking advantage of whatever powers are still available in our minds.

Good tips. Guess what I've been musing about whilst browsing the book? How I can age properly by managing the power of my mind.

When were the best moments of your life?

Recalling some best moments of my life, I remember an old popular song I used to sing with my university friends: "Those were the days, my friend, those were the days."

When were the best moments of your life?  When you were a child? Growing up? First love? College years? First job? Now?

Reminds me of my friend's four-and-a-half year old daughter Caitlin who said, "I don't like school, but I think I might change my mind when I leave it!"

At all times and in any stage of life, there are always things we dislike and at the same time those we relish.  Whilst writing this post, one of Matt Monro's songs came to mind, an oldie, but leaves too many memories in time:  "They are so few, the precious moments of our lives... Which would they be..."

Thanks to YouTube, I found the song featured in the film "The Sea Wolves" (1980), starring  Gregory Peck, David Niven and Roger Moore - all brilliant and popular actors in their time.



It's never easy to accept things as they are... as well as accept ourselves as we really are.

YouTube Link of "The Sea Wolves" if the above doesn't work.

The Need to Belong

It's often been said that writing is a lonely pursuit for as writers, we need a lot of time alone to put to paper our thoughts, our creative juices. So, yes, it is lonely. But it doesn't need to be all the time. It isn't really.

We are familiar with that famous Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Come to think of it, doesn’t loneliness push us to behave in a way that sometimes compounds more loneliness, writers, artists, or not?


Aside from immediate family, we need that sense of belonging - to a group with common interest, workmates, fellow writers, church mates, neighbours. Yes, a group we call friends for whatever levels of friendship.

Some of my good friends the past years have been my online friends especially from my Mozart groups and some writing groups, few I've been blest to have met in person. Only a handful nowadays come from the Information Technology (IT) world where I belonged for many years. Today, I was blest to have a late afternoon tea with a friend I consider one of my greatest blessings the past 3 years.

The security of knowing we belong to a group, or the loyalty and thoughtfulness of friends, eases us from the seeming loneliness, a sense of feel good. We view and embrace the world with a much better outlook.

If we expect the best or try hard to keep positive thoughts, something wonderful might just happen. Have you ever tried smiling to the first person you meet? It feels good when the other person smiles back, or even better, when the other person is ahead in smiling.

Are you feeling alone? Someone has just upset you? Go for a walk, a drift to the shops, to your favourite book store. Have a hot cup of coffee or tea.

An old song is haunting: 'When life is making you lonely, you can always go --- downtown.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

A quote from one of my favourite motivators, Zig Ziglar:  "Sometimes the most effective motivation is just to say "thank you.""

Image is from my favourite cartoon characters of all time --- Charlie Brown's Gang with dear Snoopy happily saying "Thank you."  

And to Charles Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000), creator of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Gang - from the bottom of our hearts - thank you - for all the wonderful years your insightful and heart-warming creations have showered us.

Mr. Schulz, you remain a favourite cartoonist for always.   

Pathway to Success

A day's reflection on the word 'success'

I'm not even going to define it, but this is my thought about success ... to forge our mighty visions and dreams though checkered by defeat... We need something to believe in, for which we give wholehearted enthusiasm. Like believing in success, until we find it.

Even those born with a silver spoon want to succeed at something, one way or another. The fact is, we are all struggling to succeed despite the differences in forces we individually apply through the strengths of our drives. Our lives are confronted with major and minor challenges that interfere with our path to success. Sometimes these challenges hinder us, but other times they encourage us when we see them as opportunities, a part of our growth and learning experience.


Everyone has his or her own thoughts about what success is. What is success to you?

Most likely have your own thoughts about your pathway to success. Newspapers, magazines and the internet are all full of it - success stories and testimonials. Almost everyday, we hear of people who started small business or an adventure with hardly any financial backings or other obvious advantages, but are simply courageous and have the persistence and dedication to pursue their dreams.

At the moment, here's my random thought I consider related to my success pathway ...   

My path forward is as certain as far as my commitment. I can only derive my strength, enthusiasm and motivation from God, especially when things are not what they seem and when times are so troubled. He did not promise skies always blue, but He did promise unfailing sympathy and undying love. With this in mind, I face my day to day challenges. And as I go through my own passage, I trust that I'll arrive at a proper destination, content and at peace.