WALKING

 

                WALKING

            “Walking’ is defined as “to move or go somewhere by putting one foot in front of the other, but without running.”Ways of walking have been described as : creeping, limping, pacing, padding, plodding, shuffling, staggering, stomping, strolling, tiptoeing, and trudging.         

            Walking is life. It is a movement which shows that you are not frozen. Somebody said, if you cannot run, you must walk.

            There is an anonymous quote: I love roads. I love lanes and streets : I love to walk, walk, walk, for it is an opportunity for thought developing into a clear process, often leading to self-illumination and discovery, thanks to the sound of one’s own footfalls. Walking is not merely physical exercise keeping the body fit; it is a spiritual training to the preservation of being itself.”

             

            In this industrial and mechanical age, with sedentary life styles, walking is described as medicine. You must do fast walking for at least half an hour to improve digestion,  control diabetes, joints pain, cardiovascular disorders and  to shed extra weight.

            Walking reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, enhances energy levels and also improves sleep.

            Whereas the best time for walking depends on personal convenience and objectives,  morning and evening walks provide remarkable benefits.

            The English novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870)  said: “ Walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose. The wandering man knows of certain ancients, far gone in years, who have staved off infirmities and dissolution by earnest walking ----hale fellows, close upon ninety, but brisk as boys.”

 

            Never think of walkers as vagabonds. They are purposeful travellers, observers, discoverers, inventors, educationists, thinkers, poets, seers,  creative writers, etc.

 

            One has seen people walking and talking together. Walking alone is also admirable.  There is a famous quote :  Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

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G.R.Kanwal

25 July 2025           

 

SOME MAXIMS OF ROCHEFOUCAULD

 

          SOME MAXIMS OF ROCHEFOUCAULD  

            Le Due de La Rochefoucauld was a noted French moralist. As an author he belonged to the era of French classical literature. He  was born in Paris on 15 September 1613 and died there on 17 March 1680.

            La Rouchefoucauld wrote a lot. However, Maxims and Memoirs are the only two books for which he is not only famous but will also remain alive for centuries to come.

            The dictionary meaning of ‘maxim’ is ---a short pithy, statement which expresses a general truth or rule of conduct. Some similar words are: aphorism, adage, precept, epigram, axiom, and proverb.

            A maxim is also considered pedagogical because motivates specific actions pertaining to a specific philosophy.

            One of the commentators says : Like his seventeenth century contemporaries,  La Rouchefoucauld did not believe in the goodness of human nature, and his maxims seek to expose lies disguised as truth, vice disguised as virtue, and the selfishness underlying good deeds.

            Look at one of his famous quotes:

“We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end, we become disguised to ourselves.”

            In his biographical sketch La Rouchefoucauld said: I am reticent with persons whom I do not know, and I am not very communicative even to such as I know.

            At another place in his personal sketch,  he says: My passions are not violent and are well controlled. Rarely has any one seen me in a rage, nor have I ever hated any person. Nevertheless, I am not above revenge if I have been offended in such manner that honour demands that I resent the insult. Indeed I am convinced that my sense of duty would so well play the part of hate that I should pursue my vengeance even more tenaciously than the next man.

            Finally, here is a selection of ten short maxims:

*An enthusiastic simpleton is more persuasive than a silver-tongued orator.

*However artfully we cloak our passions with piety and honour, the veil is transparent.    

*We all have strength to bear our neighbour’s burden.

*True happiness lies in the possession of that which pleases, not others, but ourselves.

*Grace is to the body what reason is to the mind,

*No disguise can mask love, nor feign it for long.

*Old people like to give good advice, since they can no longer set bad examples.

*Mind cannot play the part of heart for long.

*Many a marriage is happy; none is ideal,

*Nature creates ability; circumstances set it in motion.

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G.R.Kanwal

24 July 2025

 

IN PRAISE OF GOD

 

                IN PRAISE OF GOD

          Given below is a poem with the title “All Things Bright And Beautiful”. It is written by an Anglo-Irish hymn writer and poet Cecil Frances Alexander. Her full name was Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander. She was born in Dublin ,Ireland in April 1818 and died in Londonderry, United Kingdom in October 1818 at the age of 77 years.

            Mrs. Alexander had started writing poetry when she was a little girl. As she grew up, she continued writing hymns and poems. Their total number touched about 400. Besides “All Things Bright and Beautiful” she is also famous for “There Is A Green Hill Far Away” and “The Christmas Carol. “ Her love for God and devotion to God were immense. She was greatly loved by the poor and one of her achievements for them was a school for the deaf.

 

            In the eyes of Mrs. Alexander God is the creator of all bright and beautiful things, creatures great and small, wise and wonderful things, little birds with glowing colours, colourful purple-headed mountains, flowing rivers, sweet mornings and evenings, pleasant seasons like summer and winter, delicious fruits, tall trees, green meadows, and,  in fact,  all bright and beautiful things which we see with the eyes also given by God himself.

 

            The poem ends with the lines:

            How great is God Almighty,

            Who has made all things well.

 

Finally, look at the full text of the poem:

 

All things bright and beautiful,
   All creatures great and small,
  All things wise and wonderful,
   The Lord God made them all.
  Each little flower that opens,
    Each little bird that sings,
  He made their glowing colours,
   He made their tiny wings.
  The rich man in his castle,
  The poor man at his gate,
 God made them, high or lowly,
  And ordered their estate.

  The purple-headed mountain,
  The river running by,
 The sunset, and the morning,
  That brightens up the sky;
 The cold wind in the winter,
  The pleasant summer sun,
 The ripe fruits in the garden,
  He made them every one.
 The tall trees in the greenwood,
  The meadows where we play,
 The rushes by the water,
  We gather every day;—
 He gave us eyes to see them,
  And lips that we might tell,
 How great is God Almighty,
  Who has made all things well.

 

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G.R.Kanwal

23 July 2025

 

 

THERE ARE TOO MANY FEARS

 

                THERE ARE TOO MANY FEARS

            “Fear” is defined as the feeling that one has when something dangerous, painful or frightening is anticipated to occur. Even otherwise life is surrounded by a number of fears. It is fearful to feel unsafe in many places like roads, rivers, mountains, forests, and conditions like extreme heat and cold, heavy rains and darkness with probability of accidents.

            Almost all people  are afraid of death, disease, failure and loss. Poverty, unemployment, homelessness, loneliness, enmity are also replete with fears.

            So many of us are afraid of thefts, robberies, fights, injuries, physical attacks and murders.

            A totally fearless existence is a dream. So many individuals hire body guards or equip themselves with weapons to cope with possible dangers.

            Some synonyms of fear are : dread, horror, fright, alarm, panic, terror, scare, apprehension, etc.

            The English author Samuel Johnson (1709-80)  says : All fear is painful, and when it conduces not to safety, is painful without use. Every consideration, therefore, by which groundless terrors may be removed, adds something to human happiness.   

            Fear is also described as result of wrong-doing, errors, mistakes, faults, crimes, vices, sins, evils, fool-hardiness, immaturity, rashness, etc.  All these  breed a sense of fear of punishment or revenge or retribution. A thief, a robber, a bad character, a murderer cannot be fearless. The fear of God’s wrath or the punitive action under government laws is always there.   

            The American clergy Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) says: God planted fear in the soul as truly as he planted love or courage. It is a kind of bell or gong which rings the mind into quick life and avoidance on the approach of danger. It is the soul’s signal for rallying.

            According to the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1628-62): there is a virtuous fear which is the effect of faith, and a vicious fear which is the product of doubt and distrust. The former leads to hope as relying on God, in whom we believe; the latter inclines to despair, as not relying upon God, in whom we do not believe. Persons of the one character fear to lose God; those of the other character fear to find him.

            To conclude, here is a quote by the Greek  writer and journalist Nikos Kazantzakis ( 1883-1957): “I hope nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”   

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G.R.Kanwal

22 July 2025

THE BUILDERS

 

                THE BUILDERS

            “The Builders” is a poem written by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who was born on 27 February 1807 and died on 24 March 1882 of peritonitis, a disease that causes belly pain and bloating or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen.

              In educational circles, Longfellow is a famous poet for his short, inspirational poems like The Excelsior, Village Blacksmith and The Psalm of Life. According to Arthur Compton-Rickett ,the author of A History of English Literature the first insistent impression conveyed to us by Longfellow’s verse is its skilful and delicate elegance ; and his briefer pieces throughout his long career ripple  with graceful fancies.  

            The main idea of the poem “The Builders” which is quoted below is that the world is very old. It has been built by many builders who have played their specific role in its continuous evolutionary progress. As has been said by a critic the poem highlights the importance of individuals who are willing to stand for truth and honor, make sacrifices, and endure a hardship for the nation’s progress.

            Commenting on this poem a British naval historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909-1993) said: The world is one vast building and human beings its architects. We should all make our contribution, however humble, to the building of a clean and beautiful edifice.

            The full poem reads as follows:

 All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

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G.R.Kanwal

21 July 2025

 

 

FRANCIS BACON SAID

 

FRANCIS BACON SAID

            The English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was also a great essayist. He wrote fiftyeight essays on a wide range of subjects. Some of the titles of his essays are: Of Truth, Of Death, Of Unity In Religion, Of Revenge, Of Adversity, Of Parents And Children, Of Marriage And Single Life, Of Nobility, Of Friendship, Of Studies, etc.

            Writers’ opinion about his character and caliber differs. According to Alexander Pope he was “the wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind.” Ben Jonson found him “one of the greatest men, and most worthy of admiration that had been in many ages. “

            Many writers regarded him as a scholar of tremendous learning who took all knowledge for his tremendous learning. Moreover, he represented the first union in English literature of the man of letters and the man of science.

            Given below are some of his eternal sayings:

1.Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.

2. Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.

3. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

4. Conference maketh a ready man. Conversation makes a quick-witted man.

5. Knowledge is power. A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.

6. Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.

7. Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.

8. A man that is young in years may be old in hours, if he has lost no time.    

9. Praise is the reflection of virtue, but it is as the glass to the body, which giveth the reflection.

10. Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set : and surely virtue is best in a body that is comely, though not of delicate features; and that hath rather dignity of presence, than beauty of aspect.  

11. Travel, in the youngest sort, is a part of education: in the elder, a part of experience.

12. Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.

13. Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark.

14. Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age, and old man’s nurses; so as a man may have a quarrel to marry, when he will.

15. Whoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.

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G.R.Kanwal

20 July 2025

 

 

 

 

LITTLE THINGS

 

LITTLE THINGS

            “Little Things” is the title of an inspirational poem written by Julia Abigail Fletcher. Also known as Julia Carney, she was an American educator, poet, author, and editor. Born on 6th April 1823 , she died on 1st November 1908.                          Her  four-stanza poem “Little Things” is not really little. It is great and  she is remembered for it all over the world. Many of her other poems are set to music and published in school textbooks.

            Little in her poem does not mean little. It is a metaphor for big.  In fact, most of the big things in the world are collections of little parts. An ocean is an aggregate of uncountable small drops of water. Our nose is not a single lair, but an assemblage of many lairs. The innumerable contents of our world are accumulations, conglomerates, groups, heaps, assemblages, assortments, clusters, piles, etc. Just as an example, a library is a collection of several books on different objects.

            According to an overview Julia’s poem “ emphasizes the significance of seemingly small actions and their cumulative impact on the world of our lives. It highlights how even the smallest acts of kindness collectively create a positive and significant change, making the world a better place.”

            Here is the full text of the poem:

Little drops of water

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean,

And the pleasant land.           

 

So the little moments,

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages

Of  eternity.

 

 So our little errors

Lead the soul away

From the path of virtue,

Far in sin to stray.

 

 

Little deeds of kindness,

Little words of love,

Make our earth happy,

Like the Heaven above.

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G.R.Kanwal

19 July 2025