Morning Meditation

Morning Meditation

by Jean Lee

As I wake up to the darkness of silence in the early hours,

Only the woodnote peacefully dilutes the serenity from the bowers.

Imagining countless droopy eyes out there,

I mumble to myself “Let’s live it up as loud as we dare!”

World news from the radio would make a lot of velitations.

Allowing the noise in our lives would take so much patience.

Turn the volume down.

So the voice of your heart and soul won’t drown.

No greetings or friendly faces in sight.

Same old footsteps of mine follow me in delight.

Another day, another night, ….and another day is here.

Still smudged with yesterday’s color that doesn’t disappear.

Although it might not be viewed as a wholesome whole,

Your today is building a bridge of hope on which you’ll stroll.

Keep smiling until all your concerns and wounds come to halve.

Say your prayers until the flowers in your garden become a salve.

Words to Live By

No matter where we are or how we live, life goes on. Some may say “YOLO, so enjoy every minute of your life to the max!”, and others may argue “Do your best in whatever you do and search for great cause beyond your ken in life. Do not waste your life being irresponsible”. Some may be purse-proud and focusing only on their own prosperity throughout their lives, and others may uphold philanthropic spirit. Some may have sleepless nights due to carking anxiety or doubts, and others may be interested in merrymaking all the time and not care about anything in the world. Which modus vivendi belongs to you? his week, I would like to share some golden words to live by.

(source from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/life)

Expressions

YOLO: (phrase) You Only Live Once

ken: (noun) Understanding or cognizance; mental perception

purse-proud: (adjective) proud of one's wealth, especially in an arrogant or showy manner

philanthropic: (adjective) seeking to promote the welfare of others, especially by donating money to good causes; generous and benevolent.

carking: (adjective) causing distress or worry

merrymaking: (noun) the process of enjoying oneself with others, especially by dancing and drinking.

modus vivendi: (phrase) way of living

  1.   “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” …… Joseph Campbell

  2.   “There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”………….. William Barclay

  3.   “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”……. Buddha

  4.   “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”………. Albert Einstein

  5.   “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”……….Maya Angelou

  6.   “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”……….. Reba McEntire

  7.   “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”………. Voltaire

  8.   “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”…… John Dewey

  9.   “Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”………..Steve Jobs

  10. “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”…….George Bernard Shaw

  11.    Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”……….. Confucius

  12.     “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”………….. Pablo Picasso

  13.  “The greatest pleasure of life is love.”………… Euripides

  14.  “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”………… Winston Churchill

Idioms Related to a New Beginning

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean.

Using the given list of idioms (that are related to ‘a new beginning’) and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below. (source from https://www.spellzone.com/blog/post.cfm?title=Twenty_Idioms_for_New_Beginnings)

a a.   new blood: new members of a group (who usually bring with them fresh ideas about how the group might run)

   b.   to blow away the cobwebs: to refresh yourself from a state of sluggishness.

c  c.    a new lease of life: an occasion or circumstance that leads you to becoming more energetic than you were previously

   d.   to quit cold turkey: to abruptly and completely give something up (i.e. drugs, alcohol, caffeine)

   e.   to blaze a trail: to innovate in a particular field and thus lead the way for others.

f  f.    at a /the crossroads: at the point where you must make the choice between two courses of action with diverging consequences

   g.   to go or be back to square one: to acknowledge that an idea has been unsuccessful and that you will need to come up with a new one

   h.   to make a clean breast of it: to admit to your mistakes/ to confess completely

<1> In any field of work, we need someone who has the courage to ______________________________________ so that people could follow or benchmark at their own pace.

<2> _____________________ can sometimes show you the way that existing people may not see. That is why my team manager wants to use this rookie to break mannerism in their projects.

<3> Today we see a lot of victims of sexual harassment or violence step up and let their voice heard in public. It is time for the sexual criminals to ________________________________ all.

<4> Eddy has been a heavy drinker for years, but he wanted to change his life one day. He quit alcohol '___________________,' and started to work out every day.

<5> Spring is in the air!!! We’ve been staying cooped up, being a potato couch all winter long. Now is the perfect time to go outside and _________________________________ !

<6> Another relationship went down the tubes! Ugh! I’m back to ______________________________ yet again.

<7> Since her artificial knee replacement surgery, she's had a __________________________. Now she’s even considering signing up for a Zoomba class at her local gym.

<8> Jess is standing at ______________________ as to what to do in this critical situation.

<Answer Keys>

  1.   blaze a trail

  2.   new blood

  3.   make a clean breast of it

  4.   cold turkey

  5.   blow away the cobwebs

  6.   square one

  7.   lease of life

  8.   a/ the crossroads