Soothing and Tranquil Mornings

Every morning, as I ensconced myself on a rattan chair at the front yard of my retreat  -  a small house in the suburb  -  I see, over the fence, the tall trees and the shrubs; and hanging on the awnings, a few Japanese fish flags, a few tubular Balinese bamboo chimes, a bell chime from a temple, and a small set of tubular, metallic chimes from Canada.

Whenever a gentle breeze rises, the Japanese fish flags will begin to flutter, and the temple bell-chime and the tubular chimes from Canada will tinkle slightly, too. When the breeze begins to be stronger, the wind causes the Japanese fish flags to shoot and flutter wildly, and the Balinese bamboo chimes, then join in the frantic tinkling of the temple and Canadian chimes with their low stuttering sounds.

When the strong wind dies down, the Balinese chimes stop chiming, the Japanese fish flags wave gently and the smaller chimes tinkle softly. Then there is a lull as the breeze completely disappears.

I then turn to my book and enjoy a few sips of coffee while I wait for the breeze and wind to come on again to activate the flying of the fish flags and the tinkling of the chimes.

I find this morning ritual on my front yard very soothing and tranquil. I can spend hours on end there, enjoying such peace and quiet. It's here, too, that I feel the presence of the Higher Being. Would you like to join me here?

ltbs


Every day look at a beautiful picture, read a beautiful poem, listen to some beautiful music and if possible, say some reasonable thing.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A Fräulein From Bremen

I met a young, pretty girl from Bremen
When I was on holiday in Vienna, years ago
She spoke in German and in broken English
I spoke in English and in broken German
And we got on very well together.

After a teary "auf Wiedersehen" in Vienna,
We left for home
She, to Bremen
I, to my college in England
And we corresponded for a while
But then everything petered out to a goodbye.

I wonder what's happened to that fräulein from Bremen
With blonde hair and a pleasantly pretty face
I guess, she must have either after all these years,
Bumped up to a matronly lady
Or shrivelled to a skinny one
And consigned into  the oblivion of the past.

ltbs


If you want people to be glad to meet you, you must be glad to meet them   -   and show it.

Johann von Goethe

A Dictionary Had Done the Trick

I was at a social club when I bumped into someone who I knew when he was a young kid. He was the elder son of my former neighbour. We had a pleasant chat about the past.

Then he asked me, "Did you remember giving me a dictionary?”

I replied, "No, I didn't. Why?"

" That dictionary was what made me a lawyer, today. Thank you so much".

I was surprised and asked him," How?"

"Well, my English was very poor before you gave me the lexicon. I was then in Form 3. After getting it, I started studying English seriously and I improved greatly. It was better late than never. I learnt a lot and improved so much that I could study law. So you see how grateful I am to you for that dictionary. We were very poor then, too."

" I'm glad I did that, but you weren't poor. Not now".

"Yes, we were. I wouldn't be able to afford that dictionary. We're OK now, thanks to your kind act."

I felt very blithesome to know that. I had given dictionaries and books to a lot of other children, too. This was the first time that I knew the result of my having given the books.

After talking a bit more, we left, hoping to meet again.

ltbs

If we meet someone who owes us a debt of gratitude, we remember the fact once. How often we can meet someone to who we owe a debt of gratitude without thinking about it at all!
Goethe

Dedicated in friendship to Su Eng Hock, advocate and solicitor