Oh, if there's one thing I hang on to,
That gets me through the night,
I ain't gonna do what I don't want to,
I'm gonna live my life,
Shining like a diamond,
Rolling with the dice,
Standing on a ledge, I'll show the wind how to fly,
When the world gets in my face,
I say,
Have a nice day
- Bon Jovi, Have A Nice Day
*****
That gets me through the night,
I ain't gonna do what I don't want to,
I'm gonna live my life,
Shining like a diamond,
Rolling with the dice,
Standing on a ledge, I'll show the wind how to fly,
When the world gets in my face,
I say,
Have a nice day
- Bon Jovi, Have A Nice Day
*****
I love that song.
I've been thinking lately, and I've decided. I have not been very good at holding to certain ideals of mine. Not the important ones. I couldn't ever let go of the important ones, even if I do get so upset sometimes. I'm too stubborn to stop. But a certain few, I haven't been so good at. It's never easy though. I mean I was reading today at work, it's a book by Michael Crichton, Timeline. It's fictional, and basically about this group of historians who travel back in time (the explanation in the book is much longer and essentially much more convincing. But that's basically what they do.) in order to piece history together more accurately. But as usual something goes wrong and they get stuck there and have to rescue one of their members.
Anyway, there is this character, who is basically obsessed with all thing Medieval. He can joust, and swordfight, and wear armor, and speak Middle English, Latin and Occitan. During the beginning of the book, when they're still in the present, you can sort of tell that most of the other characters think he's nuts. I read this today and was like "Haha! So true..."
*****
He remembered how Marek's (The character in mention) intensity had always amused the other graduate students - "Can you imagine? He really believes this chivalry shit!" - and how they had assumed his behaviour was some kind of weird posturing. A role he was playing, an affectation. Because in the late twentieth century (this book is that old. :D) you couldn't seriously ask other people to think that you believed in honour and truth, the sanctity of true love, the defense of women, and all the rest of it.
- Michael Crichton, Timeline, pg. 346, Knopf Hardcover Edition 1999, ISBN 0-679-44481-5
*****
And that's true, isn't it? How can you expect people to believe that you're really a person who could sincerely believe in these things. Especially in this time and age. In an age where women are raped, where men steal from other men, kill them. In an age where people are downtrodden and have no means to speak out against the outrage. How can you possibly expect people to believe that you're a person who can hold on to such "outdated" ideals. But here's the thing. I believe in them. All of them. Honour, truth, the sanctity of true love and the defense of women. (Well maybe not so much the last one, I know girls who could kick me from here to Sunday.)
At the end of the book? The guy decided to stay in the past and let his team go home. And back in the present, which is over 500 years later, they manage to find him in historical texts and visit his sarcophagus. You know something? I was so jealous when I read that. I've said it over and over again, I never felt like I belonged here in this time. And yes, I'm sure there's a reason I'm here. But I don't feel like I belong. I've always felt like, I should have been at Troy, or fighting in the Colosseum for my life, or at the head of a barbarian horde even. Not here. Not in tame Malaysia in 2008 sitting up at night typing Blog posts on my PC.
But then, I'm here. And all I can do is somehow try to apply those ideals and morals of mine, to a world that no longer accepts them. And I suppose that is, in essence the cause of the majority of my hurts. I'm not living in this time, technically speaking. The way I live, the way I choose to live, isn't something that fits in with the way society today is. Okay, sure. Back then people talked about chivalry and still raped and pillaged and hacked pregnant mothers to bits. I'll give you that. The Medieval times were violent and dangerous. But people st least still believed back then. You could really be a knight in shining armor, and people adored you. You were accepted because those were the ideals of the day. Though not everyone adhered to them.
Just like the ideals of today are "money buys anything" or "do what you want, life's too short." or "life's a joke." Not everyone adheres to those ideals. My ideals are Medieval. Some might say backward, or unrealistic. But the world had those ideals once. And I don't see why it can't have them again.
I'd have made a good knight. I'm not bragging. I mean, I probably would've been a lousy swordfighter, a lousy jouster, and maybe only a passable archer. (Historically knights didn't practice archery, though. Archers were commoners who were paid a wage, this paved the way for the militia and mercenary system we use today. And knights were in great danger of archers. Quick history lesson.) But I'd have made a good knight. Knights were supposed to protect their vassals and upkeep their train. They were meant to be the protectors and succors of their people. Yeah, there were probably a whole lot more bad knights than good knights. More greedy, corrupt knights than just and benevolent knights. But I bet there were good knights. And I'd have been one of them.
My point is. I doubt it was ever easy to have these ideals, even when they were "in fashion." Yeah, it was probably a little easier way back then, but not by much. Bleh I'm just rambling. I'm going to stop here.
Basically?
Ideals. We need them. A standard to hold our lives to. And it's not always easy holding to them, I know. But if we don't even have them, we're like Tom Hanks in Cast Away after he throws away his oars.
This post barely made sense. ~_~ But I already wrote it. And It's so long. So I'll post it up. I was totally planning to write something else, though. Blehhh.
Waaaai~
Jared
I've been thinking lately, and I've decided. I have not been very good at holding to certain ideals of mine. Not the important ones. I couldn't ever let go of the important ones, even if I do get so upset sometimes. I'm too stubborn to stop. But a certain few, I haven't been so good at. It's never easy though. I mean I was reading today at work, it's a book by Michael Crichton, Timeline. It's fictional, and basically about this group of historians who travel back in time (the explanation in the book is much longer and essentially much more convincing. But that's basically what they do.) in order to piece history together more accurately. But as usual something goes wrong and they get stuck there and have to rescue one of their members.
Anyway, there is this character, who is basically obsessed with all thing Medieval. He can joust, and swordfight, and wear armor, and speak Middle English, Latin and Occitan. During the beginning of the book, when they're still in the present, you can sort of tell that most of the other characters think he's nuts. I read this today and was like "Haha! So true..."
*****
He remembered how Marek's (The character in mention) intensity had always amused the other graduate students - "Can you imagine? He really believes this chivalry shit!" - and how they had assumed his behaviour was some kind of weird posturing. A role he was playing, an affectation. Because in the late twentieth century (this book is that old. :D) you couldn't seriously ask other people to think that you believed in honour and truth, the sanctity of true love, the defense of women, and all the rest of it.
- Michael Crichton, Timeline, pg. 346, Knopf Hardcover Edition 1999, ISBN 0-679-44481-5
*****
And that's true, isn't it? How can you expect people to believe that you're really a person who could sincerely believe in these things. Especially in this time and age. In an age where women are raped, where men steal from other men, kill them. In an age where people are downtrodden and have no means to speak out against the outrage. How can you possibly expect people to believe that you're a person who can hold on to such "outdated" ideals. But here's the thing. I believe in them. All of them. Honour, truth, the sanctity of true love and the defense of women. (Well maybe not so much the last one, I know girls who could kick me from here to Sunday.)
At the end of the book? The guy decided to stay in the past and let his team go home. And back in the present, which is over 500 years later, they manage to find him in historical texts and visit his sarcophagus. You know something? I was so jealous when I read that. I've said it over and over again, I never felt like I belonged here in this time. And yes, I'm sure there's a reason I'm here. But I don't feel like I belong. I've always felt like, I should have been at Troy, or fighting in the Colosseum for my life, or at the head of a barbarian horde even. Not here. Not in tame Malaysia in 2008 sitting up at night typing Blog posts on my PC.
But then, I'm here. And all I can do is somehow try to apply those ideals and morals of mine, to a world that no longer accepts them. And I suppose that is, in essence the cause of the majority of my hurts. I'm not living in this time, technically speaking. The way I live, the way I choose to live, isn't something that fits in with the way society today is. Okay, sure. Back then people talked about chivalry and still raped and pillaged and hacked pregnant mothers to bits. I'll give you that. The Medieval times were violent and dangerous. But people st least still believed back then. You could really be a knight in shining armor, and people adored you. You were accepted because those were the ideals of the day. Though not everyone adhered to them.
Just like the ideals of today are "money buys anything" or "do what you want, life's too short." or "life's a joke." Not everyone adheres to those ideals. My ideals are Medieval. Some might say backward, or unrealistic. But the world had those ideals once. And I don't see why it can't have them again.
I'd have made a good knight. I'm not bragging. I mean, I probably would've been a lousy swordfighter, a lousy jouster, and maybe only a passable archer. (Historically knights didn't practice archery, though. Archers were commoners who were paid a wage, this paved the way for the militia and mercenary system we use today. And knights were in great danger of archers. Quick history lesson.) But I'd have made a good knight. Knights were supposed to protect their vassals and upkeep their train. They were meant to be the protectors and succors of their people. Yeah, there were probably a whole lot more bad knights than good knights. More greedy, corrupt knights than just and benevolent knights. But I bet there were good knights. And I'd have been one of them.
My point is. I doubt it was ever easy to have these ideals, even when they were "in fashion." Yeah, it was probably a little easier way back then, but not by much. Bleh I'm just rambling. I'm going to stop here.
Basically?
Ideals. We need them. A standard to hold our lives to. And it's not always easy holding to them, I know. But if we don't even have them, we're like Tom Hanks in Cast Away after he throws away his oars.
This post barely made sense. ~_~ But I already wrote it. And It's so long. So I'll post it up. I was totally planning to write something else, though. Blehhh.
Waaaai~
Jared
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