It’s been just one bad news after another the last few weeks. Sometimes I think I’ve been so protected  under this invisible dome that I find it difficult to deal with bad news.

I wonder again if we have been chasing the wrong things all this time.

You know how it is, when we want things others have, think the things others want us to think, lead the lives we think others will approve of.

We romanticize things and spend our time focusing on man-made rituals rather than What’s truly important.

Find the perfect engagement ring, the perfect house, plan the perfect proposal, perfect wedding and perfect honeymoon, but forgetting to ask ourselves if this person is the one we want to love, to protect, to share all things with, for the rest of eternity. Most of us are short-sighted these days. We want these instant gratifications because there are some situations we want to get out of-the fear of loneliness, the need to flee the nest, social pressure, etc. what is it do we really want?what is it do we really want the other person to have? Are we the best for them? Are they the best for us?

I’ve ruminating on Ecclesiastes. How true it is that everything is meaningless under the sun. Solomon the wisest man had EVERYTHING and EVERY experience that one could ever have but eventually found no pleasure in any of them. What was his conclusion in the end? Obey God’s word. Period.

I think we will all reach a point where we find all this running and indulging in things, silly and futile. There’s always this insatiable appetite for what’s next.... what’s next? Do I really care? I don’t know.

Jane Austen- pride and prejudice

Pride and prejudice is so much nicer than sense and sensibility even though the subject matter revolves around yet again, courtship and marriages.
Much of the content were largely similar to sense and sensibility, so I’m not quite sure why I enjoyed this book so much more.
Perhaps much of it can be attributed to the highly likeable characters in the book like Mr Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr Wickham.
I am not sure what the debate was about Mr Darcy but I would think everyone would love to have a Darcy in their lives- someone who appears standoffish but is actually warm and kind. His unwaning love for Elizabeth despite the rejections and the lengths he went to, to help her out of sticky situations, sigh....
I guess it appeals to our “desire” to have a hero in our lives, much like how the Marvel Avengers appeal to most.

A little history of literature- John Sutherland

Meant to write a review on this book as soon as I finished it but procrastinated till I’ve largely forgotten what it is I wanted to say about the book. Although the subject matter seems a tad dry(history!), this book was anything but. The book comprised mainly of small chapters on various authors like Chaucer, Shakespeare, types of writing eg epics, tragedies, subjects eg utopian/dystopian worlds, etc, which made reading it both a breeze and thoroughly enjoyable.
I was fascinated by the history of  the King James Bible. Prior to the 16th century, the Bible was only accessible by those learned in Latin and commoners had to rely on these translators for the “truth”. Then came Martin Luther who translated the Bible into “common language”, followed by William Tyndale who translated the Bible into English. He was later executed for being a heretic by going against King Henry VIII and Roman Catholicism. During the reign of Mary I, the Protestant bible of Tyndale was not favored and no more work was done till King James I authorized the translation of an official English Bible. Tyndale’s version formed the backbone of what we now know as the KJV Bible.

To be honest, although I own a KJV Bible, I hardly ever read it as I find the prose a little too overwhelming. Still, one of the nicest versions of the Lord’s Prayer is the KJV version.

Anyway when I was reading this chapter of the book, I was fascinated by the length people go to for their beliefs and their love of God. The Bible is so precious that someone was willing to die for it. Yet, many of us take the word for granted, never reading and valuing it.

This book is a highly recommended read for all and not just literature buffs.