Opulent Odyssey

Life

Heavenly Blessed

By charline - Wednesday, October 31, 2012

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Books

War, Dreams and Love

By charline - Sunday, October 28, 2012

“Know your enemy and know yourself for you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.” –Sun Tzu, Art of War

Ancient China witnessed the political cunning and tactical ingenuity of Sun Tzu. His book Art of War has transcended time which helped formed the greatest generals, warriors, leaders and even ordinary men. This is far by one of my favorite books ever written.

Though his book is considered to be a book for political strategy, there are useful insights that can be applied in all aspects of life.

What do war, dreams and love have in common? All of them can be related to a battlefield.

War

Last weekend, I decided to watch historical movies for a change. (since I always watch romance, comedy and action movies lol) Amongst the movies I watched, Hannibal is the best movie that day. All historical books would revere and would label Hannibal as one of the greatest military figures in history.

Not only did he shake and threaten the political stability of the Roman power in the Mediterranean but he also showed how it is to defy the odds, to go beyond what your fate dictates and to finally seal your name in the annals of history.

Through his brilliance in military strategies, his Roman enemies were often left confused, agitated and provoked. Baffled with his famous “always-do-the-less-thought-of-option”, the Romans ended up incurring great and terrible losses. The biggest of which is the Battle of Cannae where thousands of Roman soldiers died.

Dreams

While watching the movie, I let my thoughts wander for a moment. I was thinking. How could a man with limited military resources can pose major threat against the Roman Army?

Hannibal surpassed his own limits and outwitted the Romans when he decided to cross the Alps instead of fighting them by sea. He opted to fight by land for he knew quite well that Romans have strong naval advantage.

For months, they suffered from long travels without food, they endured the long and cold winter nights, they walked for a thousand miles until they finally set foot on Roman soil.

All of these made me think a little bit more. Sometimes, I guess, most often, I would fret and complain and whine about my present circumstances. I find myself being more impatient than ever. My logical reasoning would always attempt to disguise as valued excuses for me not to strive more, not to work harder. But just like Hannibal, I start to remember the importance of pushing myself to the edge of my limitations. There are no limits but my own. My vision for the future starts to get clearer.

Many people will try to pull you down. They would do anything to stop you, to discourage you to achieve your dreams. But if it is something you have have been dreaming of, if it is something you have ever wanted all your life, you have to protect it. You need to try and try until the only last option is to just let things be and let fate do its work.

Love

The same thing goes with love. In the movie, Hannibal said, “Your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness.” I’ve always been strong and proud in this aspect. Deep down, I have continuously allowed my thoughts, my rationale mind to dominate my feelings, my heart in general. For years, my mind has succeeded to do what it is supposed to do.

But no matter how hard I try to protect myself, there were times where I ended up wounded and hurt and where I feel like the most plausible thing to do is to just give up and not care about it anymore. Then I realize, remaining complacent will do no good either. I must learn to stand up, to fight again and to learn again. In this aspect, I can say I am now willing to share it with the The One. My mind has coalesced with my heart in saying that I can have the love I need without suppressing my feelings and without compromising my raison d'être.

War, dreams and love are different settings of battles with useful lessons to teach- to continuously fight, to endlessly dream and to humbly love until your last breath. You have to know yourself for you to have the capacity to love someone. You need to experience your own weakness to discover your strengths. You need to fight your own battle to experience your own victory. Lastly, you need to find yourself to find God.

P.S
Im sharing to you a short music playlist of some of my best instrumental movie themes.

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

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Friends

Anachronism in Transit: My 24th

By charline - Friday, October 12, 2012

Writing love letters. Composing Poems. My fused attachment with books. My romantic ardour with music. Strong gastronomic appetite and finally, my zealous and constant search for knowledge and how it transcends real life.

Going back to my younger self, so many years aback, only mirrors how my passion and perception for certain things evolve. All these things sump up the 24 years of my life. I always find myself in a state of anachronism where sometimes I end up juxtaposing the past with the present, and the other way around. So, I can’t help but think. Is it a bad thing or a good one? Along with this belief is where most of my thoughts and my love for things seem to revolve.

Passion

Being an ardent aficionado of the ancient world, of the timeless beauty of Greco-Hellenic culture, of the intricateness and complexity of both old and present societies, of the universalities of mythologies and of the immortal personification of my highly admired legendaries, without a doubt this is where my passion lies.

But there was one point in my life where I felt under siege in this so-called midlife crisis. Hell, it can be really taxing, gruesome and tedious in a myriad of ways that only those people who actually experienced it can actually understand what it truly means. I kept posing senseless and futile questions to myself that sometimes I ended up being more confused than I truly was.

Suddenly it dawned me, why am I forcing myself to believe that I don’t know what my real passion is when in fact it has been there all along? Somewhere in my deep consciousness, it is there, waiting to be acknowledged, to be reaffirmed. Like most of my Eureka moments, right then and there, I realized these are the things I love the most, what I am good at. No matter how long it will take me to achieve my dreams of becoming a diplomat and wherever my endeavors take me, I will strive hard to get it.

Music

Even in music, my playlists would never fail to include old songs. The classics dominates my scanty interest for the contemporary. Why not? The Beatles, the Bread, Scorpions, Heart. I bet there are others like me who still appreciate and who hail these songs as the best songs ever written. Though, I would appreciate new songs, these classics have that exquisite sound I rarely here nowadays.

Love

I consider myself as a hopeless romantic albeit me being too rational and not to mention my feministic tendencies. My friends would usually dub me as Gabriela, a persona equivalent to Joan of Arc. (Haha). Having this kind of labeling is totally fine with me. Guess, I have not yet accepted to learn the ways of a modern woman towards love and dating in general.

I still operate in my conventional and conservative beliefs about courtship, dating, etc. Seriously, I don’t have future plans of changing my views especially when I get to witness the newfangled and in vogue romantic approach that would often lead a relationship in shambles.

But for that person who will put magic to it, for that someone who can really show me what a Shakespearean love is or even just a close share of it, I guess I might take down my defenses and risk my complacency. Even I myself cannot possibly tell who will that person be? ;)

Life

“You should live now and think of the future”. Funny, how this cliché appears to have a contrarian streak for me. There is no argument in that we have to live by the moment. But how can we live now if we don’t know the past hiding beneath our consciousness, to be exact in my case my stubborn consciousness.

Only by knowing the past and by learning from the circumstances which shaped it, do we truly find ourselves happy and living at the right time and place- enjoying the present and hopeful for the future.

And so, as I celebrate my 24^th birthday, I wrote this blog entry to remind me of my affirmation about life- that it is possible for the past to coincide with the present and with present to the future, even in subtle ways; especially when you are able to grasp the realities of life-may it be harsh or good and to just be grateful for the One who created me, who made me this kind of being and who continues to allow me to explore life in so many ways. God only knows what the future that lies ahead of me and for everyone else.

With this, I end my blog with a haiku.

Life will never be a perfect place

Who cares?

When you put smile on my face?

P.S.

Thank you for all those people who make my life a memorable one to live and for those who complete my life's ensemble. You’ve got me covered. I am truly blessed to have you throughout these years. ;)