I Dreamed a Dream ~ Les Miserables

From Les Miserables, I dreamed a dream by Fantine; cast by Anne Hathaway



Still remember my past blog: What's wrong with Susan Boyle? Yup, It's a story of village girl who lives her dream. Singing the same song, a story about her life:

I Dreamed a Dream

from Les Miserables

[Fantine is left alone, unemployed and destitute]

[FANTINE]
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/ 30 January 2013~

[Faith] A Story about FAITH

A Snowy Christmas

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet.

When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and could not go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed. The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and did not seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.

The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumbs trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.
 

"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn -- and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind:

"If only I were a goose, then I could save them!"

Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier.
"Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"

Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done.

We were like the geese -- blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.

That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:

"Thank You Jesus for coming in human form to show me the way out of the storm!"

 

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/20 January 2013~

Golden Rule; Still Applicable?

The Golden Rule

From the Wikipedia, the GOLDEN RULE or ethic reciprocity is either of the following:

• (Positive form): One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
• (Negative/prohibitive form, also called the Silver Rule): One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated.

And in the Bible, the Greatest Commandment stated by Jesus, said (Luke10:25-28):

²⁵And one day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

²⁶What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?” ²⁷He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”

²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”.

So all great teachers/philosophers/thinker/spiritual leaders/guru taught all almost the same thing, DO GOOD TO OTHERS, DON'T HURT OTHER AND YOU WILL GET NO HURT.

I would like to ask you this question: Do you agree with this view? Have you applied it in your life? Some will say that indeed they believe in it and that's the reason they are doing good deeds.

Others will say they never mind about it. They just don't give a damn and live they life as they would. There are so many critics arise from this rules, stating that it doesn't always follow the rule.

As far as we concern, didn't rule make to be disobeyed? Is there such thing as KARMA.

Let's discuss about this in my entry today. I found it interesting to talk about. Before that please kindly read the quotes on the picture above. Give a thought for a minute.

When I see my life it always follow the standard pattern, life is so unexpected.

I gave hard effort in my difficult subject but I ended up getting low mark.

I gave helps to my friends who are in most need but when I faced problem there no one there to listen.

I gave much donation to society but my family was scattered.

Maybe these some examples that you faced currently and made you have the conclusion:

THE RULE DON'T EXIST. 

It just don't work for me, what have I done to end up in this situation? Didn't I follow the rule?

You are not the only one facing this problem, I and thousands more people face the same issue.

Sometimes it is not right to uphold any faith and believe when we are facing the problem.

Should we give up on humanity then? Should we just break free and do anything?

My friend hold on for a moment. Close your eyes, take a deep breathe, and relax.

Life is not simple and don't follow any 'rules'. It's a surprise moment for you.

Just because one person hurt you doesn't mean the whole world go against you.

Don't give up your life just because one person who doesn't understand you at all.

Your life is much more worthy than that. Yes this person failed you, so what, move on with your life.

Just have a thought that one day he will pay price double than what person did to you.

For example your partner cheated on you. You loved him/her so much till the point you will give up your life for that person. However you found out that this person backstab you. Much worst, the person did it with your super duper best friend. Then you feel that you have lost everything. No one can be trusted. You end up hating others and yourself. Then reckless decision you made is to end your life. You gave everything but why this happened to you. Don't you deserve something much better? YES, you deserve the BEST. That's why life turns you to this pitch black condition. Life is the hardest teacher, he use our fear to stroke us. It feels more painful than rod stick. But it will not kill you, instead it will strengthen you. Don't take my words, think about past experience that you had. If you are currently having the problem, close your eyes and take the bitter medicine as it is. One day you will get heal and thanking the 'drug'.

Doing a good deed while expecting others to do the same will lead you nowhere. Trust me it won't gain you everything. But doing good deed for the sake of it and yourself will give you inner peace. Giving a bread to a hungry homeless beggar and receive a warm smile and thanking for him, this is just a heavenly moment. Don't your heart get flustered when doing so much more than meeting your boyfriend/girlfriend.  I think this is why we all want to do good, regardless of our religion doctrine. It's just our calling deep inside, a fulfillment for our heart most desire. I remembered the conversation between a murderer and detective on Detective Conan manga when the detective helps the murderer from falling:

Murderer: Why do you help me, don't you know who I am?

Detective: I don't know your reason for killing but do you need a reason to help others?

 I think all of us need to reflect on this: DO WE NEED A REASON TO HELP OTHERS?

Life will not kill you if you don't let your guard down. Remember what Kelly Clarkson said: What doesn't kill kill you make you stronger (listen to the music below). It's not the end of everything though it seems so dark and nowhere to go. This is the hope of humanity, the reason of doing good just because of nothing. Don't expect back and do give wholeheartedly. Maybe we can say LOVE is the reason behind. Golden Rule will just go around as it is and it still will be the big reason of what people doing now. Whatever the cause, the important thing is the mean and process. Though you get back what you give, think that life pay back its debt to you. If life pay you back double, just take it a bonus and reason to give more to others. Don't you think the world will go slightly better in time?

Make a decision for you now. Either you follow the rule or not, believe or not, you have no reason to do good deeds. Just do it like Nike said on their shoes logo. But do think about it cause sometimes good deed can turn out to be bad result. For example you want to help poor by giving donation, but it turns out that the donation go to personal wealth. Don't take hard on it. I know it will be difficult. It's money we are talking about, the hard earn money. How come this people cheat you for personal gain? Well I don't know the reason but I believe you will get back much more for your good intention. As long as you keep the good intention and trust to other, life will not disappoint you twice (or may be three times :p). Follow your heart inner desire and calling. At the end the payment due will come to you either in good way or bad way. Let the life take its own course.

~Wilson Wijaya,Lee/12 July 2012~

What is my Passion?

Arghhhhhhhh again and again I complain about my life.
Well not really complaining more on the crying about it.
The reason is as simple as I don't know what my passion is.

Well I can ask other what they think about my passion,
but it's not the point of others tell me of what to do.
It'll be useless if it doesn't come from my heart.
When doing something with so much passion,
it doesn't matter about the result.

Let me talk stupid thing with you.
Have you ever realize your passion?
Either study, music, film, public speaking, acting, drama,singing, etc.
When you have the passion, you'll do it happily without hesitation.
Even in the point you'll fail, you still can stand up and redo it with your passion.
We can see how important passion in doing something.
It really helps you a lot.

Now, when you don't have any passion or mood doing something,
do you think you can do it?
Well, maybe yes or no.
Yes you can still do it, but you don't know the result.
If the result goes right, you'll just say it's good enough.
If the result goes wrong, you'll mostly leave it as it is.
No you can't do it.
How do you expect someone doing something he/she doesn't like?
It's impossible to make it, even it's possible, I bet you'll get good result of it.

I believe most of us can see the difference.
In our real life, you can see many people doing something for their passion or not.
Some people chase money, higher social status, fame, good grade etc as their motivation.
Others just do it for their satisfaction in life.

As we reflect to ourselves, what motivates you in doing something?
It is simply a calling of passion in your heart or any other motivation.
When you have enough money, will you feel satisfied?
When you have high social status, will you aim higher?
When you have fame as you wanted, will you die for it?
When you have the highest grade in class, will you feel proud of it?
When you had enough, you'll stop since you don't have other reason of doing it.

The passion sustains human in doing and accomplish many things till now.
The passion of film, drama, and acting make Oscar to be the most prestigious award.
The passion of music, singing, and harmony make Grammy to be the highest achievement award.
The passion of peace, God, and service make religious life to be the most valuable way of life.
The passion of science, truth, and charity make Noble to be the most honorable award.

Everyone is indeed different from each other.
Same passion can drive people differently.
But same passion will make people success in their pursuit of happiness.
So what is your passion in life?
Have you fulfilled your passion?

What's wrong with Susan Boyle?

Susan Boyle, 47 years old woman from British Got Talent. She is not really pretty lady. She is far away from entertainer's look like we often see on television. She is not really sexually attractive. She said she hasn't been kissed and lived with her cat in her house. But she has something that sometimes people forgot to see: DREAM.

I believe all of you know about her, at least heard about her. The phenomenal audition in British Got talent has struck everyone who watched it. More than 25 million viewers and still can grow more watch the audition on youtube. It's funny, isn't it.

What does make her so different?

I watched the audition for more than 20 times now. I looked for comment video from yotube; NBC, CNN, and other news program. There is a interesting comment made by the anchor:


"If Susan is pretty, sexy lady, will she become famous like this? It's just because she is not beautiful. It makes her interesting."

Well, I can say I agree and disagree with that.
Yes, it becomes interesting since she is not pretty.
But, she is truly beautiful.
She is full of confidence, brave, and never stopping to dream.
She chosen a right song for her audition "I dreamed a dream-Les Miserables"
Susan Boyle's audition

Like the Amanda, one of the judges of BGT, said:

 
"I'm so thrilled because I knew everybody was against you.
I honestly think that we were all being cynical and IT'S THE BIGGEST WAKE UP CALL EVER, and I just want to say that it's a complete privilege to listening to that."

Yup, that's what Susan brought to us. A wake up call. Never judge a book from its cover. From simple, humble, and unattractive woman, come out beautiful voice like an angel. We tend to think ugly people, the less attractive ones, is not important. They make our world become ugly, not beautiful.
They are like eyesore and need to be disposed or be covered.

What make Susan become superstar is not 100% her voice.
I agree she has beautiful voice, but other people also have it.
What she has that make her different is DREAM.

She dreamed for 47 years to sing in front of many people.
She dreamed for 47 years to become professional singer.
She dreamed for 47 years to rock her audience.

And this what sometimes other programs forgot to bring to surface. Not only family background, social background, appearance, but also about hope and dream. Idol program is here to make dream of person like Susan to become reality. We have a lot of entertainer with good look, sexy body, nice voice,and young age. But we do need person like Susan who teaches us never stop dreaming.

Someday your dream will come true and you need to believe it.

Even though people look down on you.
Even though people mock you in public.
Even though people laugh at you.
Even though people say it can't happen.
Even though people don't support you.
Just believe in yourself.

Show the world you have talent.
Roar to the world your voice.
Shout to the world your dream.
Tell the world your talent and dream.
That's what Susan has taught us and me.

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high,
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving."

Four Boyfriends in Our Life

 

Once upon a time there was a girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the fourth boyfriend the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the third boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her second boyfriend. He was her confident and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girl's first boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, 'I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.' Thus, she asked the fourth boyfriend, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No way!', replied the fourth boyfriend, and he walked away without another word. His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the third boyfriend, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the third boyfriend. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!' Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the second boyfriend, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the second boyfriend.. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.' His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.' The girl looked up, and there was her first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, you have four boyfriends in your lives:

Your fourth boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die. Your third boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others. Your second boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your first boyfriend is your spirit. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, your spirit is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day: