...the sea will swallow up the mountains...

...
and gone are the days of rainbows
and gone are the nights of swinging from the stars
for the sea will swallow up the mountains
and the sky will throw thunderbolts and sparks
straight at you, but I'll come running
straight to you, but I'll come running one more time.

(Josh Groban - Straight To You)

The song is written by Nick Cave. The original version, sang by Nick, is also very nice, although his voice is very different (for those who want to listen :) ). Anyway, a big credit must go to him, as the lyrics are truly nice.

Very nice lyrics...

All the towers of ivory are crumbling
and the swallows sharpen their beaks
this is the time of our great undoing
this is the time that I'll come running
straight to you, for I am captured
straight to you for I am captured one more time...

(Josh Groban - Straight To You)

This is the time

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

(You raise me up - Brendan Graham)


...it's time to learn that our joy has no meaning if we do not share it.
...it's time to think of life as the chance for growing wiser.
...this is a time when nothing we could say matters more than a good memory.

(Dedicated to...)

Believe

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe...

(Josh Groban - Believe)

Bond over life and happiness

Dedicated to...

It’s strange how many people are impressed by physical suffering, but so little of them actually know what suffering really means. It’s strange that we cry when we see others in physical pain, even if we did not meet them before in our life. We bond over pain, we bond over death… but we are so stupid that we do not to learn how to bond over life…

We phone our friends when they are sick to ask about their state and wish them well, but much rarely we call them when they have no health problem, to ask about their life, about their activities, to wish them well from now on also. It would seem that we are more interested in knowing their pain than in knowing their happiness. It would seem that we forgot that life and joy is worth sharing… but we are so selfish… when we are happy we do not wish to take the chance of giving others the possibility of casting a shadow over our bliss, but when we are suffering, we hope that others will come and soften our pain.

It’s therefore a miracle when we see people who, despite their suffering, want to share the little happiness they have with others. It’s wonderful to know that if they have a chance to get even a drop of joy in their life, they are willing to spread it to everyone around…

old pond

古池や　蛙飛込む　水の音

furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

old pond.

a frog leaps in

water’s sound

( Matsuo Bashō)

Be Praised by Those Who Only Do the Right

They think that having honor is everything that matters,
To be praised by those who only do the Right,
They’re proud to know themselves always being fair,
But they know no mercy, nor they know forgiveness.

They think that standing still in front of the injustice
Raise them much above the ones around,
They are proud to know that this is their goal,
But they don’t know that mercy lifts you even more above the ground.

And if it happens once for them to be mistaken
And you show them what means to be forgiven,
Could they realize that more important even
It’s not to do the Right, but to have the power to forgive
Those who are undue?

Not being criminals doesn't make us better than them

It so often happens that people judge you by your appearance or even by considering things that others have said about you as being true. So many times in these situations you'd wish they would try to pay attention to your character, to your actions and establish their praise or criticism according to these more important traits that define a person.

But what of those people whose actions define them as being reckless or inconsiderate or even evil?... What about a thief?... you see a news on TV showing a thief getting caught and you're inclined to say or think “I hope he gets what he deserves, I hope he stays in prison for a long time”. Or what about a more evil person?... a criminal... Most of us consider killing a deed which is much worse than stealing... And we so often think that a criminal deserves to die himself in order to pay for his crime(s). It's odd that we never stop to think about the punishment for our actions...

It happens sometimes that we regret wrong judging a person, but almost never we regret judging that person at all. It doesn't matter if it's a grave or a trivial issue, we just never think of our right to judge somebody else. Better said, we don't realize or accept that we don't have that right. Just as we don't have any rights over someone else's life, we also have no right to judge that person. It would be nice if we remembered that at least from time to time...

Right or Wrong

“People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than for being right.” (Joanne Kathleen Rowling)

How strange it is?... and why?

… because it's much easier to accept that others might be wrong. This automatically gives us a feeling that we are better, that we are at least a little bit right – even if this is rarely true (someone else being wrong does not necessarily make us right). When someone makes a mistake, we are quickly in judging him and labeling him as inferior and that gives us such a feeling of satisfaction... we are so foolish not to realize our own infatuation. We are so insignificant and yet we think we are so important, we are so powerless and yet we feel we ought to be the rulers of everything around, we know so little and yet we claim to be the smartest...

Forgiving others for being wrong gives us the chance to prove this superiority we have, to show our so-called mercy, but in fact we so often don't even understand the meaning of forgiveness and sympathy. We long to have such a chance, because it makes us look good in front of everyone, but we have no idea that true mercy doesn't need approval, nor recognition from anyone else.

These “values” would be demolished in a second if we had to accept that our reasoning is not the (only) right one. It's even harder to admit that we are capable of making mistakes, that we are not perfect and that what we say doesn't necessarily hold in any situation. One of the greatest values one can have is to know that acknowledging his mistakes and trying to rectify them is more important than trying to prove he's always right.

… and why not... we can admit from time to time that it is indeed difficult to show our kindest nature when no one else is watching...