The life of an ordinary person

means more to me than someone with millions

he or she typifies our human condition

to me millionaires make no difference

I wear no halo
if you see me
I am happy
if you but say 'Hello!'

Amidst life's pains and hardships

when things look so bleak and sombre

love and faith will see me through

to despair I will not surrender-



my dream still glows as before

my strength will grow further

my unyielding heart is my fortress

my longings will lushly flower

I have read and reread him.  His prose is excellent and borders on the poetical and transcendental---he conveys his ideas very well and nothing is obscure to me.  He's melancholic but not tragic;
in his dark despair, he still loves life; noting that life is brief, he opens his heart and mind to its possibilities and contradictions;
he lived by what he wrote; he conquered life and death in his unflinching faith in the ultimate decency of things.

In his smile, there was irony and, in his looks, he was a distant dreamer.

Too many dreams do perish

the dreamers they over-stretch

only a few should they cherish

the best outcome they would fetch

Nature has her moods

listen, you can hear her sighs

in echoes of trees

Mind's constellation

whole universe it covers

transcends reasoning

Where nature beckons
the heart faithfully follows
beautiful oneness

Memories awake
at night's deepest hours
my heart thinks of love

Moonlight shines gently

over emerald waters

boatman thinks of home

Loneliness, pessimism and melancholy often ignite
the imagination and creativity.
As such,  they have an upside.

Poetic Life
#doppelkreuz #daslächelndesemigranten #wdpress #info@hohenthalundbergen.de #reineropoku

Shapes in collision
constellation of feelings
depth of subconscious

1.  Expand your capacity for love, empathy and sympathy

2.  be humble , patient and content

3.  mind your own business

4.  don't judge or criticise

5    be fair and generous-
give everyone a chance

6  listen well

7.  accept the good and the bad

8.  pursue a simple life

9.  be grateful

10. have humour

If you can find your still-point

in the midst of life's chaos

you would be prepared for everything

and all equanimity will be yours

As with me, this is the truth-

I am not confident ALL THE TIME, in between I have doubts too-
they are of great help as doubts, properly recognised, enhance my confidence;  through them,  I have a wider vision and am not carried away by my unbridled confidence

You I don't judge

I was in your shoes before

had suffered much

was jobless, homeless, poor-



I worked, worked real hard

selling cakes I made at many a door

a rich young woman took me to her heart

now we live in Beverley Hills, the suite on the highest floor

I know so well my heart
has broken pieces--many indeed-
much did I struggle to find
but never did succeed

My heart dwells in beauty
in her ***** I find my perfect rest
I'll serve her in unfailing duty
I know I'll be abundantly blest-

let my brush be my ardent voice
let every colour in majesty  assume
our coming-together is all our joys
every painting should smell as perfume

If I had met Einstein or Wittgenstein,
I would not hesitate to talk to them, despite their individual genius.

I know they would not walk away----if they did, their genius would mean nothing to me as, without humanity,  I would count them less in the scale of human values.

Human wisdom, at its highest point, tends toward the transcendental and spiritual as it can no longer contain, comprehend or define itself.
It then realises that it must be silent to imbibe the Ultimate Sublime.

Night is my solace

the day my chagrin

the piano is my only place

my eternal shine--



give me not any praise

only let love be ever mine

sweetened by unending grace

my music is what makes my life divine

I don't think of time
but as moment to moment
with it I daily engage
though no word is spoken-

in distant days to come
past scenes will not be forgotten
despite the mist and the haze
feelings will never be frozen

If you will wait and stay silent

  a moment will visit you and speak:

  your life is a miracle, not an accident-

  live, create, rejoice, celebrate, aim for the peak!

Her sorrow she hides

she weeps when none is around

love is betrayal

The wise person sees no situation as negative but as an opportunity to turn it around to something beneficial and constructive

Viewed thus, the negative should not be spurned or held in contempt as it has a positive side---it's a raw material waiting to be processed into a desirable product.

Applied to a personal life, what's negative is a springboard for growth and self-realisation.   copyright 2021

Move away from sadness
replied the faraway friend
there will always be seasons of gladness
nothing to fear or make amend-

life is made for blessedness
true affection will never bend
faith knows no forgetfulness
until time's very end

The heart has its secrets and hides them from its owner

who will never know or discover for as long as he lives.

Tidal symphony

emerald waves in rough sea

like a troubled heart

I have a chapter on happiness in my forthcoming book.

Happiness is not a gift, it's a product of self-cultivation, self-awareness, self-sufficiency--it usually has a long incubation just like a patient bud waiting to flower in the ripeness of time.

True happiness is not about self-gratification but extends outwards in connectedness with others, in kindness, compassion and generosity.

Happiness is not only realised because a person has an easy or good life as many have found happiness after overcoming adversity, pain or hardship.  

It's not a constant phenomenon as it can be severely affected by adverse circumstances but the person recognises this and accepts and adjusts, knowing life is in perpetual flux.
When the storm is over, he recovers.

Happiness can be found only in a virtuous life---it's any enemy of immorality. At its most sublimest, it's both transcendental and spiritual.    copyright 2021

I look at the old trees which have shed their leaves, with brittle trunks and branches, with their barks scotched and in decay and notice how they struggle in the storms and shiver in the harsh winters and  then a deep sense of desolation sets in my heart---there's no turning back the clock--

I am like them but they are more sturdy and will outlive me.

It's time to rest, to have no more desire, to let go of every memory and to walk gently and peacefully into the darkness of no return---the last note of the symphony has ended and to have heard it is itself sweet eternity.

Love is not ownership---we don't own the person we love

2. he or she is their own person

3  the couple need not share the same interests as each is different and independent

4.  a loving couple nurtures and supports each other to further their goals/realise their dreams

5. in love, despite each lover being different, they converge in being united irrevocably in heart, mind and soul--throughout their life

6.  love is symbiotic relationship, equality and complete freedom

7.   at its height, love is spiritual and divine

8.   the love that has survived all adversity is the strongest ever

9.   love is not about the self but in caring more of the person treasured

10. love is stronger than death

If that we wished for
we have had
we'd seek more
and still aren't glad-

our desires-- how they wax and never abate
we wake up only when our present joys have fled
time too soon sweeps us away from our treasured gate
it would then be futile for us to weep or regret

Dear Professor A.G.,

1. Talent is ubiquitous, in most cases, it's not discovered
2. Talent is not enough--it has to be tempered with values and character
3. None should claim to be 'smart'---that would be egotism-
it's what that person can contribute to general welfare
4. Be careful of cleverness---it might be cunning (Tao Te-Ching of Lao Tze, 600 BCE)
5. I agree. Listen to the smartest in the room, but
among the listeners there might be one or some who are even smarter---we wouldn't know until the debate starts-
perhaps the speaker might turn out to be what he's not.
6. He who regards himself smart falls short of humility which is the hallmark of Confucius's Junzi (the Ideal Person, the Gentleman, the Exemplary Man).
7. Confucius again: I walk with two persons, making a company of three---I count one of the two my (potential )teacher.
8. Yes, every encounter is a chance to learn something new but we need to be humble and learn to listen well, without being prejudiced or judgemental.
9. We should always remind ourselves that what we know is but a drop in the ocean of wisdom
10. It's not what we know that makes our life worthy--
it's the essentiality of our moral character

THE GENTLE ART OF TAO LEADERSHIP Nov 2020 is relevant to our discussion.

Once upon a time
but I wasn't there
not part of the plot
of a fairy-tale-

now here I am
can only say
I was a little boy then
life was my daily play-

the radiance of innocence
smiles without guile
purity of heart and soul
that made angels cry-

life the restless ceaseless river
once had a glimpse of what was I
it didn't stop nor speak a word
nonchalantly it sped by-

there wasn't 'once upon'
fairy-tales are  just dreams that lie
time ravages all hopes, love and hate
it's long past my hour--now it's goodbye

My life is in

my own palms

not in any card--

I create my desired outcomes

Flowers drift in pond

at first light of cheerful dawn

nature's early smile

I was there
it was real
I breathed
and sweated
as each moment
did its power peel--

my ground
I stood
I didn't yield
despite the wounding
in calm acceptance
myself I managed
to heal--

life is lived
much in suffering
despair I would not-
my equanimity
nothing nor anyone
could ever steal

What's trusted might not be understood
what's understood might not be trusted

How childish I was

when I was least aware

after the moments had passed

ardently I wanted to return there

Please don't follow me

    I am no one's leader

    you are your own infinity

     to move away would be a grievous error

Hidden faraway

evening light falls on pond

leaves rustle gently

I'll watch over you

not only for the sake of love alone

my heart is ever-true

without you, nothing would I own

My heart said:
i know you love me
but it's sad
you don't really understand me

Come to me my darling-lover

let my heart be your chapter

read me and you will remember

every sweet moment we had been together

Another summer
have I changed
how and why?
I wonder--

summer
it's not a season or weather
but us--do you love me still?
I wonder-

the next summer
what would we remember
joy or sorrow?
I wonder-


the eternal summer
will be the love we rediscover
when our hearts again come together
in unending wonder

We tend to think we are someone who's special
as it makes us feel good, at least some times in our lives
but this can be self-delusion and we  will get depressed or feel disappointed when we discover later on we weren't that--
then the wall collapses on us.

So few do realise that self-honesty is very healthy
and that we can achieve so much with a sense of purpose, though being ordinary

Old age is reminiscences-

   often and more of sorrow than joy

   as the former bitterness outweighs the sweetness of the latter.

The day is not the time to set targets

      that should have happened long before

      what was once sown is what one now gets

      this well-deserved harvesting needs nothing more

We will come together

the joys of life to celebrate

in song and in laughter

mirth and goodwill we'll create-



we'll not cease to remember

in every dawn and every sunset

each of us is a family-member-

every act of kindness will ingratiate.

Dear Moriah, may thanks.

C19 has changed our psychology and way of life. I started on my latest book, the 8th since Dec 2019 and thought it would be done within a year--I was wrong and am still struggling as at now.

It's about resilience and finding meaning in troubled times.
It's hard to write as the subject is essentially abstract. I shall advise you in Nov?

Life is the imponderable and the pandemic has caused even greater uncertainty.
How should we live? How should we find meaning?
How should we look at ourselves, those whom we love, those who come into contact with us?What makes for humanity, compassion and magnanimity?  Is there hope? How should suffering and pain be addressed?

Can we triumph over tragedy or adversity?