On His Blindness

Opening song: None
Opening Mood: Delighted.. Solved SuDoKu in the Operations Research Sessionals!

I know I've been just copy pasting stuff , in the past few posts, but I guess I can't help it.. Not that I'm out of ideas or anything, they are very much there, but no time to put them into words ... I very much believe in what Michaelangeo said - "Triffles make perfection, but perfection is certainly no triffle".So I've decided to wait and write a neat post when I get time for it.

Now for some arbit fundae I know about the poet John Milton.
Conspiracy theorists say, he was a prominent member of the infamous "Illuminati" and in his masterpiece, "Paradise Lost" , Satan, somehow gets more prominence than God himself! No wonder, Al Pacino's character was named John Milton in the Devil's Advocate!
Anyway, this is a poem called "On his Blindness" by John Milton. Had it in high school, don't exactly remember when.. But loved it back then...

WHEN I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,—

Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?

I fondly ask:—But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: God doth not need

Either man's work, or His own gifts, who best

Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed

And post o'er land and ocean without rest:—

They also serve who only stand and wait.

As we observe, Milton, (who did go blind) is really worried that he would not be able to utilize his talents to his fullest extent due to his disability, and hence,won't beable to serve God. In this angst , he asks "does God expect work from even those who are denied of light?". But good sense prevails and he realizes that God does not expect any living being to attribute their work to Him. Those who manage to face the situation, whether good or bad, and overcome it successfully, they render the best possible service.

There is a very strong sense of Karma in this poem. The last line, especially tells a lot about it. "They also serve who only stand and wait". Does it really matter what task we do, as long as we enjoy doing it? Should we try to do what we enjoy or,rather try and enjoy what we are doing?
Is doing just about anything and everything a compromise? I really don't think so.

As long as you believe in walking the path and enjoying the walk, the destination that you are heading for doesn't really matter. Because, you would have enjoyed the entire journey before you would have reached the destination. Hence , what's more important is probably, giving everything that we have in what we do.

I really can't help it ,I guess - Howard Roark's shouting aloud in my mind-

"Peter, before you can do things for people, you must be the kind of man who can get things done.But to get things done, you must love the doing, not the secondary consequences."

Closing Mood: Reflective.
Closing song: None.
2:10 P.M
23 April 2006