A new year
      but same as before
      no end of war
      the world persists in eye-sore

     civilisation has collapsed
     humanity perished so long ago
     2091--what would be the scenario?
     I don't want to know!

Art is beyond mind

nameless feelings interfuse

mysterious music

Dear Rosie,

many thanks for your views---they are profound.

May I add?

Human nature is prone to self-deception---death is a taboo.  
Ernest Becker , the renowned Canadian cultural anthropologist, has had a profound influence on me----
his THE DENIAL OF DEATH is a classic. His earlier book was
THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF MEANING.

He died of cancer before 50 but calmly gave an interview a few days before his demise.  Taoism's ideas on death are most profound and such are also echoed in the writings of the Stoic masters.

My 5th book IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ZEN--THE PATH TO A CALMER AND HAPPIER LIFE, Oct 2018, has a chapter captioned COPING WITH DEATH, SUFFERING, GRIEF AND EMOTIONAL PAIN-- a small book of only 83 pages, on sale in 14 countries and rated 5 star by 8 book-dealers (visit Lim Sing AbeBooks, et al).  Published by Brolga Publishing, Melbourne.

I am a humanist.

I admire your wisdom and insight.

Please stay in touch

humbly

Peter

Most of the posts in LI relate to success as though that's

the raison d'etre of life. There's much more than that.  

Success is tempting--who doesn't want success?

On the other hand, who wants to be a failure?  

But success is an addiction----once people are hooked into it, they are trapped forever.

Another pernicious side to success is that such people want more and think that this will be perpetuated.

Somehow, disappointment will set in as nothing is permanent in life.

Why's there so much of stress, discontent and anxiety in the West?

It's because of greed, hunger for power and self-aggrandisement.

Studies show that Buddhist societies suffer from much less neurosis-

this should wake the world  up to a better understanding of the deleterious aspects of capitalism.  



What then is success?

Vincit qui se vincit, goes the famous Latin saying.

It's about self-conquest----if one succeeds, one has overcome everything in life. Here's self-awareness, insight, peace, harmony and self-compassion.  In being fully attuned to oneself, one is able to reach out to others in the fullest empathy and humility--one enriches others, spreads calm and goodwill and is companionable to everyone he meets or interacts with.

Values last, not success or money.

But my religion
bears no name
it's the sum-total
of what I am

never in public view
none's there to judge
me in my nakedness
nor my reputation to smudge

do I dwell
in the light
or covered with
the blackness of night?

do I need
to supplicate
plead for things
to celebrate?

I stumbled
and I fell
my struggles
none could tell

face-to-face
as confronted
in the mirror
am I comforted

or do I choose
that image to change
as it's not what I expected
alien, cold, feelingless and strange?

life stays apart
it takes no side
religion is that
which I create inside.

A poem
even the most oblique
is drawn from some fibre
of the writer
in time, place and space
for inseparable they are

he can't hide
from the truth
as words are his servants
he is the master
and life-giver
or
no thought
would have been
what it is
as presented
to the reader
or listener

a poem
is the alter ego
of the poet--
the quintessential creator.

Love I passionately
once did pursue
she replied:
I'm not for you.

The sweetest words I did choose
persuaded she could not be
she said:  
all this is silly poetry.

I pleaded in tears and beg I did
hoping she would show me pity
she  mocked:
go away,  you are vexing me.

She heard some later day
I was engaged to Molly
she rushed to me one winter night
poured me kisses and said: will you marry me?

Rule nr 1         trust yourself

              Rule nr 2        be original, never be an echo of others

              Rule nr 3        be curious and explore

             Rule. nr 4       be thorough and diligent

             Rule. nr 5       experience and feel

          Rule  nr 6.      use both the right and left brain--integrate them

            Rule nr 7.       don't accept things at face-value:  evaluate

           Rule  nr 8.       be humble--open your mind to all possibilities

           Rule. nr 9.       be generous, be fair to and respect everyone

        Rule  nr 10      enjoy what you do, if not, it's not worth the effort.

Come to me
if you must
if it causes misery
such you shouldn't trust

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

Moments of the past
those that surface now
tomorrows'  awaiting
all to end in their languishing hour

time is a heartless machine
life but a frail summer flower
we look before and after*
asking questions that know no right answer.

Dear child, this song is for you
it's about the love of a mother and father
she tills the field, he sails the seas
they love you like none other.

The field will bring you flowers
sweet things to eat everyday
mum will mend your clothes and shoes
dad will bring you diamonds from faraway

This is yours
to write
alone
for yourself-
the anthem
of your life
crystallised
from your tears
purified
by your own heart
carved
from the depths
of your soul

unknown
unheard
by the world

not sung
by the nation
to the raising
of the flag
nor to the sound
of trumpets
horns and brass
nor to the march
of medal-wearing soldiers

every note
forged
from the furnace
of your pain and sorrow

life is yours
yours alone
it belongs
to no nation
nor to the world
you are the keeper
the preserver
the nourisher
the nurturer
the alpha
and omega
the only knower

where you stand
is your self-crafted
sacred ground
that tiny spot
you count
as your right
and legacy
unalienable
verily
to the end of time

what though
the wildest storms
come your way
what though
the ground
were to shake
what though
all were in flames
what though
you were inundated
by sweeping waves
from the tumultuous sea
what though
you are drawing
your last breath
what though
all the past
would be reduced
to dust--

there your head
you'll still hold high
and look upon
every adversity
without fear
or a single sigh

and claim
'I'm my own
and myself
I don't let down
as a hero never
would I count
even as tears
are welling
I'll complete
the composing
of my anthem
that would sound
nowhere
but only
in my own ears

then myself
I'd have overcome

my anthem then
is my life'.

Pluses are minuses
and minuses are pluses
the Zen mind takes no sides
nothing is permanent--everything comes and passes.

The day is never made
     for my competing or winning
     quietly I should seek to create
     something that has lasting meaning

Good night
we'll meet again
as the first break of light
shines through our window-pane

Be smart
  don't revisit 2018's rut

Early spring flowers

sprouting in faraway dale

against dawn's blue sky

You have your right
but it doesn't mean you are right!

I never wanted more

not having is where I best score

Such a common error:
to take the major
as minor
and the latter
as the former

Dear Peter,

But you are a peaceful person
while I have never been-
my extreme tendencies,  while they have given me strength and courage to be what I am,
are also the cause of my unpleasantness, my peremptoriness and my rudeness--also crudeness and sometimes, insensitivity.
I don't enjoy it but just as a dog has a tail, I am stuck to what's in me and what I am.
Cutting the tail off? You might as well **** the dog!
Cut half of it?  The animal would never be the same again-
it has lost its pride, dignity and disparate self!  Its existence would have no meaning, it would count no more but would rather perish.

I don't compromise or, even if I do, it's a reserved and partly insincere compromise-
in short, not only do I have more faults than others
but, more importantly, they are enormous  in size and proportion
and are damaging sometimes.

Yet strangely,  there are some who like my accompany
but perhaps more who would keep their distance.
I don't blame the latter--they are right in their judgement and perception.

You might ask: are you happy being ruled by extremities?

My answer: I can't help it and I can't say I'm unhappy on account of this--my ugly blemish.

However you might interpret,  it's that you had seen me as a young man of 20 in 1960?
and have the chance now to compare that person with a very old man who is turning 78 this year.

My last word: I don't hate myself for my faults--whatever good that I have done, it's up to my family
to decide. But I know they would be biased.

These are my last 5, 7, 8 and at most, perhaps 10 years--I would waste no time
to do what I must, free and unencumbered, letting the world and people go by in their own  way--which means so little to me
(as I have to think of my self-interest first) and then fade away, hopefully without pain and with calm acceptance,
into the night to which I would return no more.  'Someday it would be good to die…', from a poem of Christina Rossetti whose poetry
has inspired several of mine.

Be of good cheer--you have a wonderful family and are already blessed.

Your unpopular friend
M.S  
dated 1st January 2018

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

Saying yes or no
is equally hard
two forces are at work-
not just the brain but also the heart.

Those who are seen in and out of banks are people not likely to have peace of mind.

They worry when they have too much money while others worry about settling their debts.

Banks are not cheerful places to be.

You would never see me in any bank as I have no money to deposit nor debts to meet.

What should I write today?
my heart I should consult
but it would be much easier
if I ask you--the result
would be ten-fold more endearing
love is not about me alone but surely
both you and me in the sweetest embrace
what should I write today my love? do tell me

Dear Sigmund

I am sorry to hear
about your travel-anxiety
if I were near
I could help with my Zen therapy

The flower isn't aware
that it has been kissed by the dew
after such a long while
you still don't know I love you

did you not feel my kiss
when in your dreams you met me?
don't you deny what's in your heart
don't you ever say love is silly!

Dear ...

Letting go is the main theme of Taoism.  
We take our self* too seriously,
we hold things too tightly (our job, our belongings, our love and desires, other people's opinion of us, values...)
but everything in life is fragile, ephemeral and transient.  

The more we cling to things, the more vulnerable we become and lose our equilibrium too easily.

Let go, hold everything lightly, the good and the bad for life is always in a flux.

The Tao way is acceptance of the process of natural laws, being in harmony with The Way which leads to self-understanding and insight, humility, compassion as the more we move away from our fixated  and deluded self, the freer and happier we become as we would have removed the self-imposed and false shackles that have impeded our growth for so long.

Unhappiness, according to the Tao, is caused by our ceaseless strife and restlessness; we don't own our self anymore and are thrown into the maelstrom of perpetual wanting and acquiring--
we never seem to have enough and the more we have, the more we want; we die a little everyday as we have forgotten the most essential things of life--
love, compassion, simplicity,  contentment, family life, friendship, the beauty and wonders of nature and all that which lifts us to a higher consciousness and a state of grace.

Let us learn to slow down, let go, listen, learn to be still and quiet and for those who take time off to meditate, all will be peace and self-fulfilment.

Be one with the Tao!

Invest not in bonds or stocks
   but in work and health--
   a happy home and a steady income
   will be your greatest wealth

Let silence be your teacher
your friend and healer

The poor man has worries, but so has the rich man. No one knows which of the two worries more.

Every life
has a gap
unbridgeable:
the wish
is not achievable
but such so few
will accept-
human nature
this is--with no exception -

life--the chasm
beyond
the reach of reason

we each seem
lost in the dark
seeking a spark
of light
for deliverance
while time
looks askance
in indifference

so much
of life
is lived
(in silence)
in dreams
too many
that are broken.

I can't
you can-
take over
my man!

I can
all others too can
any credit can I claim--
I'm no special man-

isn't all life
about can't and can?
The two stay with us
up to the end-

I've little talent
my life is less  of 'I can'
of the 'I can't' I'm not ashamed
truly I can't be a leader of men!

Worm hid in flower
  autumn winds blew rough and cold
  it found its haven

I would have
no reason to stop
my heart is driven
ready is the daily prop-

the field I've tilled
hoping for a fruitful crop
this is a glorious summer
its best is yet to drop!

The answer lies not
in the sunshine hours of daylight
its true dwelling is in the silent sacredness
of the heart's deepest night

A poem is
a slice of the heart
the person's continuous story
from the very start

a journey filled with hope and promise
stained with tears in many a part
words lose their way in description
living well is the hardest art.

It's not
what I desire
that marks me
but what I don't
it's the difference
between earth and sky
two poles each
unto its own-

desires oh
how they imprison
caged is the heart
it weeps alone-

I had wished
to be made of stone
walled into bricks
I wouldn't have to moan-

but the harsh winds
of time had blown
and chillness had congealed
into my very bone

now as age rages
every desire I disown
my feelings have frozen
seeds of irreversible angst
I have sown.

Life is the summary
feelings are the raw material
perfected by love and experience,
the heart finds its holy essential.

I am not the problem

This is the IT era
download and upload
never mind whatever error
is down the electronic road

THROUGH MY EYES -
BRAHMS’S HIDDEN POEM (1857)

Women I love with my heart and soul
But I am not made for matrimony
A domestic life and its trappings
Would destroy my creativity.

Clara I would protect and worship
With my life - she is perfection -
Love I would blemish and defile
If I were to mention - ‘Give me your affection’.

Ah, my beloved Robert is gone
In his tomb my heart is interned
My mentor, my friend, my inspiration
Alas, how little I gave my master in return.

My music is Robert and Clara
Our souls are by destiny wrought
History shall remember
But would understand us not.

[The reference to Robert is Robert Schumann (1810- 1856) and Clara, his wife (1819-1896). Johannes Brahms lived from 1833-1897.]

What love-letters?
an anachronism they have become
text or speak over Face-time
never mind if sterile amorous words is the outcome

Do you remember
do you remember
that autumn day
when we first met
faraway by the gentle lake?

still was the water
silent were the trees
to me was your whisper:
I'll not forget
today's tender splendour
stay, oh stay
it's not sunset yet...

Now all alone
the lake is a reminder
of the day you've chosen
not to remember

yet I look
at the silent water
and your face
still does appear---

I'll walk away
and learn
not to remember

Cottage by the sea
windows slammed by heavy winds
there is no respite

There's a point beyond which

suffering shall no longer shed its tears

it looks squarely at the face of fate

it's stronger and has conquered all fears

Lotus in clear pond
white swans glide by one by one
under summer sun

Life-
the inevitable
of self
in juxtaposition
with everyone else

the prelude
to relationships
beautiful
unsavoury
beneficial
or hurtful

the nexus
that's hard
to sever
even when
one has to suffer

in silence
unknown
to the other

sanity lies
in knowing oneself
in self-certitude
unshaken
by the world

where true selfhood
and freedom unfurl

My friends did ask me in earnest
' At your ending, what do you have to show?'
  what a difficult question! My answer:
  ' Truthfully I don't know'.