The Great Tiller Man: Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens has created a lot of soulful songs in his early music career before he left the limelight and sought a new faith. But I believe his songs and his words transcend generations, beliefs and religions. I don't have a favorite Cat Stevens' song. They're little masterpieces all on their own.

The Wind

I listen to the wind

To the wind of my soul

Where I'll end up well I think,

Only God really knows

I've sat upon the setting sun

But never, never never never

I never wanted water once

No, never, never, never

I listen to my words but

They fall far below

I let my music take me where

My heart wants to go

I swam upon the devil's lake

But never, never never never

I'll never make the same mistake

No, never, never, never

On busy days...

On busy days when the steady hum of mundane chores overwhelm me, I look back on the quiet, bright places I've been to and everything else disappears.

Someday soon. I'll roam once more. To places where everything is new and different.

Corregidor Island, Philippines

Then I snap out of it and I get back to my chores. :-)

Here's my latest attempt at screen-writing! :-)

At 26

Dear Life,

Let me be wrong today than risk the fear of not knowing.

Let 26 be the age to start a new adventure.

Let me be 4 again and be shameless and arrogant.

Let me be 12 again and be confused in the middle of a daze.

Let me be 16 again and live for romance and summer dances under the starlit sky.

Let me make just one more mistake, before I leave all else to fate,

before I let go of the little girl in me.

Let me be careless for one more day.

Let me take that leap of faith.

-with fingers crossed,

Me at 26

Janeism

No, I am not turning gay over some girl named Jane.

For the past 3 months, I have been going on a Jane Austen craze all thanks to a dear dear friend who loaned me her mother's copies of Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Emma. Hence my un-updated blog. :-)

Here are some mental notes I have made while traveling through the renaissance period in my pajamas.

1. I would have been considered dreadfully attractive THEN. Yes, contrary to what those magazines and TV shows have been making you believe in, there was actually a time in history when it was pretty to be plump! Hahaha! Take that Olsens!

This explains why Gwyneth Paltrow shouldn't have played the part of Emma, hahaha

2. However due to my lack of social connections, want of finances and inability to play the piano-forte, I would still be considered ineligible and would therefore shrivel up to a decent old age before I die of pneumonia or tuberculosis.

3. I would have found it impossible in this present day and age to find enough house-help to do the laundry. All those empire-cut gowns with crinolines and bustles would have been a chore.

4. I should be thankful for the fact that I don't have to write this blog or any other printed article under a false name or wait until after I die to have it published posthumously.

5. It's sad to realize that some people can never experience the thrill of awaiting a letter or the intimacy of hand, ink and paper. I vow to write more letters today.

6. I should be so lucky to have the luxury of airplanes, jeepneys, taxis, tricycles and more comfortable shoes. You can never see too much of the world.

7. I should probably stack up on classic literature just in case my future children turn out to be as bookish as I am. There's no use filling a library with outdated issues of Cosmo for your grandchildren to appreciate.

8. Knights in shining armor don't have to come in Brad Pitt packages. Just so you know, Darcy was rich and pleasant but not handsome, Mr. Knightley was 16 years older than Emma, and Fanny Price married her cousin (though this I don't really recommend to any of you).

How about you?

What's your favorite Jane Austen insight?