Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Of Battles, Wars and Fights...

Battles have been and will always be waging in the universe. Fights have been and will always be fought anywhere, anytime. From the dawn of time, every species of living beings on Earth, have fought rigourously to continue their existence, from the tiniest microbe, to the gigantic dinosaurs, to us, the humans.

Even today, in a civilised human society, there are plenty of causes for fights - a bar brawl, for example, may simply occurs just because someone ate too much peanuts. Sometimes, the fights are not neccessarily physical. Even in our very selves, light and darkness are struggling with each other, as good and evil contest to lay claim to us.

No matter what battles you fight, seldom does the chance occured that you fight to lose. In order to win any battle, you must first know your self, your enemy, your battleground. As Sun Tzu quotes in his Art of War, "To know thy self and thy enemy is the key to win every one of a hundred battles." Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of you and your opponent will allow you to exploit them and gain the upper hand.

Yet, we sometimes lose ourselves in the heat of battle. We got carried away, and we sometimes did things we might regret. "When you're pushed, killing comes as easy as breathing," said Stallone, and its not just the act, or thought, of murder that may come to us. So, we must know, when we are fighting, what exactly are we fighting for, be it to protect others, to test our strength, etc.

For myself, I fight just for the sake of fighting. The strain, the adrenalin, the injuries suffered - they all break the monotony of my life nicely. And as I said, those fights aren't neccessarily physical. The nature of life is that when one battle ends, another will begin in its place. Looks like I wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Battle on!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Music - Part of My Life, My Soul.

Alright, anyone out there who'd never listen to music? If so, Then you're either deaf (my sincerest sympathies) or inattentive to the sounds around you. Music isn't just some piece of squiggles on lined papers that maestros write and translate into vibrations of the air, it is simply the feeling you get when you listen to sounds around you, when your heart is at peace or soaring. Music is a universal language for all to hear - it lets you relate to it to others who'd have the same feelings. It is one of the greatest most beautiful things of the world, and you have my greatest sympathies if you cannot appreciate it.

Nature has its own symphonies. Compared to those writen and orchestrated by humans, each and every one of nature's are far grander, more beautiful, more powerful, more terrible, more touching, more...... The list goes on. You get what I mean. It resonates with the very fibre of the core of humans, stikes a chord so deep within us, we'd never realise it until then. The gentle trickling of streams, the rustle of wind-blown leaves , the roar of thunderstorms... these are all the music that Gaia, Mother Nature herself, write and play, and we, as children of the nature, should revel in their presence, and learn to be at one with our All-Mother.

Man-made music had always strived to match nature in that aspect, to produce music and lyrics that are capable to struck that chord in our soul. Some release the wild side within you, some move you to tears, others may have different effects on you. Yet, I believe that if you play out the song with your heart and soul, everyone who would listen could appreciate and relate to it like you do, especially if they had a similar connection to the song as you have, or, just a connection with you. (Try "High School Musical")

Nowadays, popular musical artists are so famous, their lives were on the constant interruption from fans and reporters. Some stray from the path. Instead of producing music because they love to do it, they do it for the money. The fame. Some even go for certain "promotional" pieces in order to sell their music better. Sigh......

Music is one of the passions of life. Yet, some people twisted it for their own perverse gain. As a listener, there's nothing I can do, except listening in silence to the music without bothering what happened to the people involved in its production. I mean, who cares if people boycott a certain artist's song because he/she had a scandal? Just appreciate the music. I didn't ask you to care about the artist, or the producer. All artists die like people do, but true music is ageless and will remain immortal.

Don't turn music into business, or politics, or something else. Music has been around for a longer time than even humans. So stop pretending that its a man-made discovery or invention that can be twisted. LOVE THE MUSIC.

(Su Ziheng, this post is for you, from a music lover, to another. Thank you for inspiring me about a topic on music. I guess having a friend who shares a name really makes a difference.)