Do Not Ask Questions Of Fairy Tales.

(Today I saw a fairy tale.)

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”

- C.S. Lewis


Just because you're grown up, does not means you do not need fairy tales. Because you're grown up, you're even more in need of fairy tales.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Do not ask questions of fairy tales”

- Jewish Proverb


Fairies will never appear if you do not believe in them.

- Ghostwise

You Can Do Worse Than Marry A Gardener.

(Today I did a bit of gardening after my plumbing failed and flooded the bathroom. These are orchids from my garden.)

I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.

- Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden,


A gardener is an artist of the land.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.

- Vita Sackville-West, 1892 - 1962


You can do worse than to marry a gardener.

- Ghostwise

Did You Vote In A Lizard?

(Yesterday I saw a lizard crossing the road. All the cars halted to let it pass.)

“At noon in the desert a panting lizard waited for history, its elbows tense, watching the curve of a particular road as if something might happen.”

- William Stafford


The lizard thinks it has all the time in the world to wait,
Or it thinks something is going to happen soon.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.” [Ford Prefect]
“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.” [Arthur Dent]
“I did,” said Ford. “It is.”
“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”
“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”
“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”
“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”
“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?”

– Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish


Did you vote for a lizard?
Or did you vote for the other lizard?

- Ghostwise

We Drove Our Gentle Mother From The Land.

(Today I tried to get closer to Nature. Morning mist in Lucky Valley, Pahang.)

Nature, the Gentlest Mother
-Emily Dickinson

Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest,
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon,--
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

~~~~~~~~~~"

We drove our Mother
From the valley to the sea,
From the forest to the hill,
Till there was no place she could go.
She shed bitter tears on the barren land
And drowns us all.

- Ghostwise

We Cannot Forget Sleep In Food.

(Three days after returning home, I'm still sleep deprived.)

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast.

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth


We can forget food in sleep,
But we cannot forget sleep in food.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep.

- Fran Lebowitz


Life is hazy motion, a blur.
Life is food without taste.
Life is emotion without edge.
Life is meaningless without sleep.

- Ghostwise

Took My Mother-In-Law To The Airport.

(Newark airport, New York - Think I'll stay away from airports for a while.)

“Just got back from a pleasure trip: I took my mother-in-law to the airport”

- Henry Youngman


But the trip back was hell, she followed me back.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

“It's no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase "As pretty as an airport" appear”

- Douglas Adams


Only in the language of Hollywood in the form of Catherine Zeta Jones in "The Terminal".

- Ghostwise

Leaving On A Jet Plane.

(Have never taken so many flights or fly so far in a week. Think I'll stay away from aeroplanes for a while).

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The taxi's waitin' he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

- John Denver


I'm leaving on a jet plane
And I won't be returning on a slow boat.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

So we'll open the throttle and gather speed,
For an Airman's life is a life indeed,
As the engine roars away;
Gone are the cares of the earth below,
As up through a gap in the clouds we go,
With an ever-increasing sway.

- AC Kermode, in Mechanics of Flight, 1956


The one flying the plane
And the one sitting cramped inside
May have different feelings about the same flight.

- Ghostwise

You'll Know When It Is Time To Go Home.

(It is good to be back home.)

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm I've got to go home

- Christina Conseco


Some places it may take a week
Some places two
Some places a month maybe more
But there always comes a time
When I long - to go home.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

- John Howard Payne


Somehow, I always sleep sweeter,
In my own bed, In my own home.

- Ghostwise

There Cannot Be An American Solution To Every Problem.

(Ghostwise is taking a break. It is going to "the land of the free" for a week and hope to find that their people thinks and behaves differently from their government. See you when I get back.)

“We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient; that we are only 6 percent of the world's population; that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind; that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity; and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.”

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy


The United States is a great country but it will only be a great country if it remembers it is one of the countries of the World.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

- Alexis de Tocqueville


Once many nations considered America great. Now many nations don't even consider America good.

- Ghostwise

All True Religion Starts From Compassion.

(Some kind souls came to seek compassion for others at my door.)

There is no substitute for a direct concern for other people as the basis of morality.

- Thomas Nagel


Being religious without being compassionate is just following a ritual.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Compassion is the desire that moves the individual self to widen the scope of its self-concern to embrace the whole of the universal self.

- Arnold Toynbee


If you've compassion, rest assure. You've feelings for others beside yourself.

- Ghostwise

Nothing I Never Said Ever Did Me Any Harm.

(Today I ponder about silence in silence.)

"I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm. "

- Calvin Coolidge


That did not mean what others said about me cannot harm me if I said nothing.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself."

- Harvey Fierstein


I define myself in silence.

- Ghostwise

Statistics Said Birthdays Make You Live Longer.

(My head is still swimming with the wine I drank in the birthday party.)

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.

- Larry Lorenzoni


This time statistics did not lie.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.

- Plautus


I toasted with red wine but the sweet words, I keep to myself.

- Ghostwise

Grant Me The Courage To Change.

(I look at change and whether I'm changing.)



"Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

- Saint Francis of Assisi


I don't know which of the two is the more difficult to attain - the serenity or the courage. But I know which of the three is the most illusive - the wisdom to tell the difference.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

"Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me."

- Carol Burnett


And no one would either.

- Ghostwise

Be On Guard Against Silent Dog & Still Water.

(Today I tried to enter a heavily guarded building.)

“Be on your guard against a silent dog and still water”

- Latin Proverb


Misfortune and malice strikes silently.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“It is wrong to think that misfortunes come from the east or from the west; they originate within one's own mind. Therefore, it is foolish to guard against misfortunes from the external world and leave the inner mind uncontrolled.”

- Buddha


In the safety of our mind, we let down the guard on our thoughts.

- Ghostwise

On Earth There Is No Heaven.

(I went to the hills, and I came back down to earth.)

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance,
the wise grows it under his feet.

- James Oppenheim


I went to the hill to seek peace,
I came down from the hill to live peace.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.

- Jules Renard


When I have picked up enough of the shattered glasses,
I'll make my own mirror.

- Ghostwise

I Seek Wisdom And Foolishness In Equal Measure.

(I just came down from a Zen retreat - a little wiser, a litter more foolish.)

Spring has its hundred flowers,
Autumn its moon,
Summer has its cooling breezes,
Winter its snow.
If you allow no idle concerns
To weight on your heart,
Your whole life will be one
Perennial good season.

- The Golden Age of Zen, p. 286


I found that it was one season -
In the green of the tropical jungle.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

A little foolishess, enough to enjoy life
and a little wisdom to avoid the errors,
that will do.

- Osho


I went up the hill,
To seek a little more wisdom
And a little more foolishness
In equal measure.

- Ghostwise

A Balloon Steals My Worries.

"Swishing on by" by JancyLi

(Today I thought of balloons after seeing this picture goes swishing on by...)

The Balloon

I went to the park

And I bought a balloon.

It sailed through the sky

Like a large orange moon.

It bumped and it fluttered

And swam with the clouds.

Small birds flew around it

In high chirping crowds.

It bounced and it balanced

And bowed with the breeze.

It skimmed past the leaves

On the top of the trees.

And then as the day

Started turning to night

I gave a short jump

And I held the string tight

And home we all sailed

Through the darkening sky

The orange balloon, the small birds

And I.

- Karla Kuskin (adapted by James W. King)


I was sad
I went to the park
I saw a balloon floating
- Away with my worries.

- Ghostwise


“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”

- Winnie the Pooh

Let Love Go, If Go She Will.

(I believe - Let Love Go, If Go She Will.)

Let Love Go, If Go She Will


Let love go, if go she will.
Seek not, O fool, her wanton flight to stay.
Of all she gives and takes away
The best remains behind her still.

The best remains behind; in vain
Joy she may give and take again,
Joy she may take and leave us pain,
If yet she leave behind
The constant mind
To meet all fortunes nobly, to endure
All things with a good heart, and still be pure,
Still to be foremost in the foremost cause,
And still be worthy of the love that was.
Love coming is omnipotent indeed,
But not Love going. Let her go. The seed
Springs in the favouring Summer air, and grows,
And waxes strong; and when the Summer goes,
Remains, a perfect tree.

Joy she may give and take again,
Joy she may take and leave us pain.
O Love, and what care we?
For one thing thou hast given, O Love, one thing
Is ours that nothing can remove;
And as the King discrowned is still a King,
The unhappy lover still preserves his love.

- Robert Louis Stevenson


Let Love Go,
If you want Love to still remain.

- Ghostwise.

Friends Are Like Bras.

(Today I talk about close and closeness.)

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”

- Flora Whittemore


Do not let close doors deter you and make sure you close the doors you open.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~"

“Friends are like bras: close to your heart and there for support.”

- Author Unknown


Is that why those who wears bra understand the value of friendship better?

- Ghostwise

How A Story Writes Itself.

(Today I try to explain how a story writes itself.)

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

- Muriel Rukeyser


The story of mankind would be rather dull if it is told from atoms.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

My subject is beginning to oppress my mind as a nightmare does the body. My head is full of ideas, of which the order is not yet clear to me, and which I must consider singly. I should like to run, but I can only drag myself slowly along. You know that I never take up my pen to support a system, or to draw, whether wrongly or rightly, certain conclusions. I give myself up to the natural flow of my ideas, allowing myself in good faith to be led from one consequence to another. Therefore, till my work is finished, I never know exactly what result I shall reach, or if I shall arrive at any"

- Alexis De Tocqueville


At last I could explain how my stories are written.

- Ghostwise

The Grass Grows By Itself.

(Today I cut grass in a light drizzle.)

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself”

- Zen Proverb


Life goes on, even if you don't.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies.

- Boris Pasternak


If you don't lower yourself to the grass, you'll not hear the sound of the earth.

- Ghostwise

Why Do Willow Weeps?

(Today I wrote a story about the tears of weeping willows that filled a lake).


Weeping Willow (From “My Girl”)

Weeping willow with your tears running down,
Why do you always weep and frown?
Is it because he left you one day?
Is it because he could not stay?

On your branches he would swing,

Do you long for the happiness that day would bring?
He found shelter in your shade,
He thought his laughter would never fade.
Weeping willow stop your tears,
For there is something to calm your fears.
You think death has ripped you forever apart,
But I know he'll always be in your heart.

by Laurice Elehwany

But I weep,
Because he is always in my heart.

- Ghostwise.

I Shouldn't Need A Visa For Beautiful Days.

(Today I applied for a visa to a land far far away.)

“It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast.”

- Julie Burchill

A visa can always be renewed, but a pretty face...

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Open all the roads of earth

Open all the locks of the borders

Me I have my visa for the beautiful days

I have my passport colour of love

- Celine Dion (The Collection 1982-1988

I am told I need a visa the color of gold

To enter the land of the free.

- Ghostwise

Have You Made Use Of Both Hands?

(Today, I went out of the way to help a colleague the way I hope others would help me when I'm in need.)

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. . . As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

- Audrey Hepburn


I have two hands, so I try to make use of both.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.

- Thurgood Marshall


When you help others, you're remembering and paying tributes to all who had helped you.

- Ghostwise

If Napoleon Did Not Envy Caesar.

(Today I have a little bout of 'good' envy.)

“Envy consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.”

- Bertrand Russell


If Napoleon did not envy Caesar, he would not be Napoleon.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Who among us hasn't envied a cat's ability to ignore the cares of daily life and to relax completely?”

- Karen Brademeyer


I don't think the cat envy us.

- Ghostwise

Love Is As Dangerous As The Sea.

(After a couple of days in the sea, land looks to be a bit different.)

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore”

- Vincent van Gogh


Love is as enticing and as dangerous as the sea.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea.

- e.e. cummings


I search the sea -
And found the sea.

- Ghostwise

The Eye Is Not Reliable For It Can Only See.

(Today I listened to the explanations of an eye doctor.)

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those.”

- Michael Nolan


But too often we don't try to see further than what the eyes can see.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~~"

“The loveliest faces are to be seen by moonlight, when one sees half with the eye and half with the fancy”

- Persian Proverb


Where we cover the blemishes and enhance the glow.

- Ghostwise

Darkness Reigns At The Foot Of The Lighthouse.

(I just came back for a lighthouse.)

“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.”

- Dwight L. Moody


The light from the lighthouse is easy enough to be seen, but the light that shines within; now that requires you to look more carefully.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

“Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse”

- Japanese Proverb


I discover that the lighthouse only shines for those far away.

- Ghostwise

There Is Nothing Romantic About Sacrifices.

(Sacrifices sounds honorable but what are not painful are not sacrifices. There is nothing romantic abour sacrifices.)

Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.

- Norman Vincent Peale

When we retreat, we sacrifice our pride.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

Life does not require us to be consistent, cruel, patient, helpful, angry, rational, thoughtless, loving, rash, open-minded, neurotic, careful, rigid, tolerant, wasteful, rich, downtrodden, gentle, sick, considerate, funny, stupid, healthy, greedy, beautiful, lazy, responsive, foolish, sharing, pressured, intimate, hedonistic, industrious, manipulative, insightful, capricious, wise, selfish, kind or sacrificed. Life does, however, require us to live with the consequences of our choices.

- Richard David Bach


Life doesn't even guarantee us that a 'good' choice will have 'good' consequence.

- Ghostwise

The Sound Of Basho.

(I was still troubled. So I sat quietly in the room and listened to silent sound of the haiku of Basho. It was a time for listening so no word was spoken.)

All along this road
not a single soul - only
autumn evening comes


Heard, not seen,
the camellia poured rainwater
when it leaned


This dark autumn
old age settles down on me
like heavy clouds or birds

- Basho (translated by Sam Hamill)

It Was Not Pride That hurts Me.

(Today I was hurt. I have not learned not to be hurt.)

... pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our own hurts — not to hurt others.

- George Eliot


Call me "proud", I hurt alone.

- Ghostwise

~~~~~~~~~~"

To live is to hurt others, and through others, to hurt oneself. Cruel earth! How can we manage not to touch anything? To find what ultimate exile?

- Albert Camus


And even when we live in exile, we have not lost the capability to hurt ourself.

- Ghostwise