Sunday, January 20, 2008
On Competition And The Silence Graduated
"Solitude and reflection are necessary to give to wishes the force of passions, and to enable the imagination to enlarge the object, and to make it more desirable." Mary WollstonecraftAs I revised my notes for the semestral exams, I felt confident and in a joyously light mood despite having one tough paper to mug. I admit that I'm competitive in class. I wanna do well for the exams and I just think that competition is good for self-development and improvement.
However, my idea of competing with the guys was changed when my friend said to me: "Beating someone isn't important. What's important is setting a goal for yourself and beating it. Then when you do that, you can beat everyone else." After hearing it, I was like wow! What he said was so subtle but so powerful and stirring at the same time.
It was also funny to note that when I helped out at the SP Openhouse, the year ones were surprised when they found out I was in DNS, and in third year no less. Why is that so hard to believe? True I may not have the build of a seafarer but I'm still a seafarer after all and the soul of a seafarer is what I'm looking for. You know I really admire the way my class tutor talks about the sea and the sailors. The passion he has for it is inspiring, kinda as though he has salt water in his veins. Hahaha...
Most people say that when one returns from sailing, that person becomes more quiet and recluse. That I have to agree because after my first ship, I really wanted a place to be alone, somewhere quiet. Being in public with people everywhere really put me off in a foul mood. I think the reason is because when you're not working on deck or keeping watch on the bridge, you're just alone in your cabin and that gradually makes you more quiet in a way. At least, that's what happened to me, not that I'm complaining. It made me more contemplative and as Wollstonecraft said,
"Employment of thoughts shapes the character both generously and individually."
11:53 PM
Saturday, January 19, 2008
On The Lack Of Thinking
"The mind must receive a degree of enlargement and obtain a little strength by a slight exertion of its thinking powers." Mary WollstonecraftHere I am so happy after having dinner. The dishes were all to my taste - rice of the right ... when I am stumped by the lack of words to describe rice. How stupid is that?! I just wanna be able to write freely and let the words come naturally out of me. Succinct, accurate, fits the 'bill' per se and it just sucks when I can't express myself.
Like the rice I was just trying to put into words, I like to eat long grained rice and for the Chinese, some like to eat rice in lumpy morsels. I however, like them 'perfectly shaped', firm, fluffy and polished, if you know what I mean.
I remember reading
Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull, (which by the way is my favourite book) and wanting to be a painter because painters understand the meaning of colours and what each colour represents. They can paint a story, or draw the emotions of a person. They can read the minds of their sitter, understand them, read between the lines on their faces, yet sometimes the painting seems so surreal as if the painter had other plans so much so that the picture 'has truth but no logic'.
Once I had ideas about such 'stuffs' if you may but I was shocked when I realized how far I've strayed when I visited my teacher and found that I haven't been 'thinking' lately. We used to exchange opinions on so many different subjects but recently it seems that I've shriveled up in a way,
idling my time pursuing useless and frivolous amusements and desultory employments.
Wollstonecraft also said that a child should attach themselves to either a science as it strengthens the mind or the arts as it cultivates the taste. So now, I'm convinced that the only way I can get my writing and ideas back is to read again and I will endeavour to do so. January is ending. I better hurry on my book, hopefully the month's end will yield better intellectual gains for me.
10:00 PM
Sunday, January 6, 2008
On Random Thoughts . . .
I shan't blog much today, I've hit a block but here are my reflections.
"There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome." Mr. Darcy
"But pride - where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will always be under good regulation." Mr. Darcy
"I hope you have not been bored to tears by all the mumbo jumbo of CFM. It is not something that inspires love at first sight. And surely not to someone like you who is probably interested in the romance of travel." Mr. Low B C
"A strong woman today is the one who is not afraid of being masculine or feminine, what really matters is that she is confident and independent in her thought, action and is capable to take upon any responsibility with pride and dignity." Nav
12:20 AM
