All Men Are Equal

With malice toward none, with charity for all.
- President Abraham Lincoln, in his inauguration speech

The Greatness of A Nation

Greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
- President Barack Omaba, in his inauguration speech

You Have A Choice

We live in a world that's in dynamic equilibrium. The forces that shape our daily lives are played out in the collective embrace of our choices.

The Chinese believe that the universe is made up of Yin and Yang Elements. Whatever happen at any particular time is the result of forces of Yin interacting with Yang. Yin refers to elements that are essentially feminine or exhibit the female characteristics. Yang is the opposite, and exhibit masculine traits.

Now that begs the big question? Is there a perfect Yin or a perfect Yang element? It all depends on the situation the person is in. One may show all the masculine sides this time, but may react every bit like a shy woman other times. It is this contradictory trait in the same person in different situations that makes it hard to believe that there exists a wholesome Yin, or a Yang character. The contradiction is not the result of psychopath gone haywire. Rather, it simply is not possible to find traits of either extreme.

Now that's exactly what brings about conflicts in this world. Because each is enveloped in different situation, each exhibits varying degree of either traits of Yin or Yang. The needs of each individual, vs his/her wants are manifestations of his upbringing and his environment. There is no limit to human wants, but there is a real limit to his needs. Everyday we are bombarded with media persuasion to get certain gadgets, or eat certain food that we do not really need for maintenance of our body metabolism and health.

With commercialization, we are sort of bought over to the ideas of merchants whose main objective is to increase sales of his goods and services. Here is one place where choices are plenty and the sanest and most educated may not make the correct choice for himself. What is right is often left to impulse.



Take the case of the new singing sensation, Susan Boyle. All these years, she did not partake in any contest with mass audience, until recently, when she picked up the idea to give it a go at the “Britains Got Talent 2009” audition. Guess what, she became an instant star. Nobody gave her any chance at the beginning. The audience, and the judges, chose to prejudge her negatively. How wrong they were. At the end of her song, it was a standing ovation from the crowd. What a stunning reversal, just a few moments before she sang her heart out.

What does that mean? Did she consciously choose that song “I Dreamed A Dream” to help condition her mind? Could be, but then again, if she had done that, she made the right choice.

Susan could have been cowed by those not so friendly remarks, those looks of disapproval. But she chose to ignore all these negative comments, and gave her all to silence her doubters. It was her choice, and she did it in grand style.

We meet a lot of such instances in our everyday lives. We can choose to look ahead at the positive outcome, or we can consign ourselves to defeat from the start. Choosing the latter would be really strange to me. There is no greater mental block than one's own.



To be contd......

A Star Is Born

What an instant fame. 47 year old Susan Boyle came to "Britains Got Talent 2009" audition hoping to give it a try. Instead she wowed the audience and judges. She got three emphatic "YESes" from all three judges, viz Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan, and Amanda Holden. It was a rare feat indeed, given that before she began, nobody seemed to give her any chance. She dreamed, and she made it.

That night, she sang "I Dreamed a Dream". As she progressed, the audience and judges were awe struck by her superb voices. At the end of it, they gave her standing ovation. One could sense the joy on her faces, the ecstasy and her own way of celebration on the stage. Susan Boyle must have been in cloud nine at that moment. Watching her sing on the YouTube is really heart warming. Imagine, from relative obscurity, she was transported to instant recognition. A new star is born. As she was going backstage, Piers said "what a voice!", and Amanda noted "incredible!". What's her dream? She aspires to be a successful professional singer, like Elaine Page.

Now, It really strikes me that to get noticed, one has to have the courage to stand in front of the world to prove his/her talent. I supposed she came to the right forum to make a try. Prior to that she had been singing at churches and karaokes, and nobody really thought she would have the material to wow the audience and judges, much less the world. She became an instant sensation. I believe from now on, with the media attention, her life will not be the same again. Her future is sure to shine, brightly. In the hours of glory, Susan Boyle said she remained a humble person. I salute her.

Watch her sing on the YouTube. As of now, over 37,800,000 people worldwide have viewed it on the YouTube



Here's the lyrics of the song:

I Dreamed a Dream

Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time and it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in days gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that god would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dreamed he'd come to me
That we would live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed
The dream, the dream I dreamed