Stars by Emily Bronte

Ah! why, because the dazzling sun
Restored our Earth to joy,
Have you departed, every one,
And left a desert sky?

All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And, with a full heart’s thankful sighs,
I blessed that watch divine.

I was at peace, and drank your beams
As they were life to me;
And revelled in my changeful dreams,
Like petrel on the sea.

Thought followed thought, star followed star,
Through boundless regions, on;
While one sweet influence, near and far,
Thrilled through, and proved us one!

Why did the morning dawn to break
So great, so pure, a spell;
And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek,
Where your cool radiance fell?

Blood-red, he rose, and, arrow-straight,
His fierce beams struck my brow;
The soul of nature sprang, elate,
But mine sank sad and low!

My lids closed down, yet through their veil
I saw him, blazing, still,
And steep in gold the misty dale,
And flash upon the hill.

I turned me to the pillow, then,
To call back night, and see
Your worlds of solemn light, again,
Throb with my heart, and me!

It would not do–the pillow glowed,
And glowed both roof and floor;
And birds sang loudly in the wood,
And fresh winds shook the door;

The curtains waved, the wakened flies
Were murmuring round my room,
Imprisoned there, till I should rise,
And give them leave to roam.

Oh, stars, and dreams, and gentle night;
Oh, night and stars, return!
And hide me from the hostile light
That does not warm, but burn;

That drains the blood of suffering men;
Drinks tears, instead of dew;
Let me sleep through his blinding reign,
And only wake with you!

Personal

Communication oughtn’t be so difficult. She’s my mother, she could just state quite simply that she didn’t want to go in the first place, weren’t interested in the first place. We can then put aside that awkwardness that affection brings, the consideration for each other’s feelings and thoughts and un-complicate things a little. So there’ll be no I-think-she-thinks-that-I-think sorta thing. It’s tiring, that.

And costly too, at a princely sum of 250 bucks for the cancellation fee of a tour booking for one person.

“Yes, I’ll take care of things, not to worry. Everything’s under control.”

“That was your mum?”

“Yes, why?”

“You were so polite, it sounded like you were talking to your boss or something.”

Maybe that’s all we have left, polite civilities, and wispy bonds that we try to hold on to. At least there is that, that saving grace termed politeness. At least that’ll make things easier, help things along.

I’m not upset that she doesn’t want to go. I’m upset at why she couldn’t tell me earlier. It’s not that difficult to talk to me. Could it be?

Under the same roof, but worlds apart. Welcome to the world of distant emotional attachment but as always, polite.

Ebola

An eighty old man died. The cause of his death: he was infected with flesh eating bacteria while eating crabs. I think the crabs came from Indonesia.

And life deals you its bizarre blows. It stinks to be healthy and going strong at eighty, and then to contract some disease (or attract some bacteria) that makes a mockery of one’s life. He was probably one of those that exercise daily and took pride in being healthy at his age. And his death turns out to be like one of those episodes of Six Feet Under and their bizarre death stories. It’s just… so unjustified.

Life is its own reward. We are all parallel straight lines.

But like my friend says, that’s life. We can take it as it comes, or … take it as it comes. There is no alternative. Much like the policy of some travel agency company. Or the pay increases of certain ministers. It doesn’t make a difference to talk about it, so one just takes it as it comes.

But the pay increase thing is seriously… too much. I am of the opinion that we should outsource all our ministers, cos foreigners are cheaper. That’s the beauty of globalization; one should definitely bring the free market to the political industry. It’s interesting though, how it works in Singapore. I know a China student who once lamented that China tried this very system and dished out high salaries to its top officials. However, the system flopped really badly, cos the high salaries didn’t stem the corruption but fuelled it. So now their pay increases every year, and they’re still on the take. But as usual, Singapore is an exception to the general rule. We like that, don’t we? It’s like we are “The Little Thought Experiment that Worked”.

Yippee.

 

To other topics of the day:

Law Ball was one of those bizarre events. It was fun while it lasted though, all those photo taking sessions and the squeals of ‘take-picture, take-picture’. I enjoyed it actually, the photo-taking part. It’s interesting to see your friends in a more dolled up fashion than usual. Hehe, whatever that means. The pageant was kinda lame though. But I guess all pageants are kind of lame in that way. Plus they are year ones, must be more forgiving.

Climate Change

Environmentalism is the new catchphrase in town. The Parliament was talking about how environmentally friendly Singapore would be by the year 2010. Ministers stood up and said that our water usage per person has decreased this year. Conservation of our resources was also highlighted. Use less electricity. When you’re brushing your teeth, use a mug and so on. We’ve heard that since we were in primary school, when brushing our teeth by the drain corporately was a weekly affair. Ahhh, the joys of bonding over something as routine as that.

These are probably measures as to combat climate change. Something which is felt the world over. Odd winters and unpredictable weather. Not to mention how it has exacerbated the scale of the natural disasters, causing the death toll to rise dramatically. So when I hear about how people think that Satan is the reason for climate change, I get mad. Well, maybe it’s better than saying that it was an act of god, literally. I was in a church service once (in Canada), after Hurricane Katrina has hit, and the pastor from the pulpit was preaching that it was a judgment from God. I was just disgusted. There were people dying, and there he was, just saying that all these people deserved to die. Yep, all of them, children and all. It’s callous. And cruel.

This post is to counter the point that Ben made, about how it’s strange that there are some out there who believe that Satan is the reason for Climate Change. Actually, I don’t get it. If Satan is truly the reason for climate change, is that the reason why so many Christians see global warming as a moral issue? The below extract is from The Economist, dated 27th Jan 2007:

“At the same time, a growing number of evangelical Christians are beginning to see global warming as a moral issue. They argue that mankind, as steward of God’s creation, has a duty to protect the environment. One outfit, the Evangelical Climate Initiative, encourages prominent pastors and theologians to sing a ‘Call to Action’. Another group, the Evangelical Environmental Network, runs a website called ‘What would Jesus Drive?’ Last year Pat Robertson, a prominent televangelist, told his flock ‘We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels.”

This differs from the view based on the Old Testament where Mankind was told to ‘rule the earth and subdue it’ and ‘have dominion’ over its wildlife and creatures. This green movement evidences a more enlightened, modern interpretation of the Bible. These groups are driven by a sense of stewardship, a recurring theme in the Bible. Therefore, for those who are waiting for Armageddon to approach in the form of melting ice-caps, I think they should be snuffed out by the green movement.

Peace out.

The God Confusion

I am disturbed by how religion is the whipping boy of so many issues these days. From homosexuality to wars and politics. The list is endless. I’m upset because religion, particularly mine, i.e. christianity, is used as a tool of intolerance, for closed minded people. All this in the name of God. This is enough to makes believers and unbelievers alike doubt his existence.

That’s the problem of a moral code. It defines right and wrong, but there is also a big grey area that is not defined by this moral code. This code does not dictate how you dress, or what you eat– at least not for the majority of believers. And a code not only restrains and constrains behaviour, it also creates positive action — it promotes charity and cultivates other desirable traits in one’s character.

Jesus promoted tolerance- He was the one eating with sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors (the outcasts of the society in his time) even though the holier-than-thou Pharisees (the religious leaders of his days) were not. He was the one reaching out to people. He came ‘not to condemn the world but the world through him might be saved’. He told his followers not to judge: ‘Judge not, that you be not judged.’ He made it very clear who the ultimate judge is, and it’s definitely not his followers. He wasn’t keen on governing as well — “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and to God the things which are God’s.” The separation of church and state was not a problematic issue.

Christianity is divided into so many denominations, and has a wide set of beliefs that some believers are more inclined to, and some that others are not so crazy about. The Bible is of course, subject to interpretation, and there is a mainstream set of beliefs and core value systems.  I suppose this can be embodied by the Apostles’ Creed and are the fundamentals. As with any belief systems, there will be extremists and people who preach hellfire and brimstone. Yes, but these are not what most of the Christians go around saying.

With proselyticism getting more prolific, one needs to appreciate the spectrum of Christianity doctrines. (I’ve heard stories of them grabbing bystanders hands at the MRT stations and praying for them.) For every mad zealot out there, there are five others who live completely normal and fulfilled lives.

Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that Christianity in Singapore doesn’t even come close to being a tool of oppression. The IRs are being built as we speak, the Da Vinci Code was still shown in the theatres no matter what the National Council of Churches did. (I’m of course, not in favour of banning the movie, which was really quite bad in my opinion. Not because it was blasphemous or anything, it was just one of those bad book-to-screen adaptations that just didn’t fly. More to the point, I think a person’s faith is unlikely to be shaken by a movie anyway.)

I don’t think there are that many Christians in Singapore to form part of the majoritarian view that has significant persuasive weight to oppress anyone. According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2006, Singapore’s estimated Christian population is about 15%. Among the Christians, the Protestants outnumbered the Roman Catholics by slightly more than a two-to-one ratio. 51% of Singaporeans are Taoists, Buddhists or practise some form of ancestor worship. Sure, there are always that one or two irritating Christian friends of yours perhaps, with that smug look on their faces, so much so that you wish that they would just hurry up and go to the heaven they are working so hard to get into. Those that judge and criticise and criticise and judge some more. No one is perfect, and definitely, definitely not those who professed to believe in Christ. Some are also painfully aware that they are not as moral as those who do not believe. Which is why they need God to help them in the first place. The problem is when one holds oneself out to be a Christian, others automatically measure them by using the standard of Christianity. This standard of sinless perfection is one that will not be achieved in one’s lifetime. One remains human, with its weaknesses and flaws. One remains shaped by his or her own experiences, which usually has more of an impact than doctrine.

And that’s my 2 cents worth.

Disclaimer: The views above are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views of any particular denomination or church.