Poem 1 & Poem 2: The Lamb and The Tiger by William Blake

Two beautiful poems by William Blake which represnt two different natures- The Tyger and The Lamb,  published in 1794. They mean much more when you read them together.

First is 'THE LAMB' from 'Songs of innocence' which describes innocence...

The second is ' THE TYGER' from his collection 'Songs of experience' which describes the evil. I had heard this poem but never realised its actual meaning till i read both together.The Tyger also presents a duality between aesthetic beauty and primal ferocity. Thanks to Wikipedia! And the best part is both the animals are used only as a metaphor! :) :P

An apt representation of the poem and it's message!

The element of surprise

A masterpiece by Renoir

  I go to the Tekdi when I am happy. I go to the Tekdi when I am sad. I go to the Tekdi  when I feel nothing...But going there always makes me feel good! Even if I get used to the beauty there, things keep happening which surprise me! Some things like walking along a peacock in breeding plumage, which I experienced recently. Or the different flowers, birds, clouds and hues and places I view daily. They add their novelty to the same old place. This is one part about the Tekdi I love the most! Experiencing something I don't expect....

  Its always enjoyable to experience a great work of art, be it- a movie, a painting, a book, a poem, a recipe or anything else. And, of course, I especially enjoy the recommended ones. But you must have sometime or the other discovered something on your own or stumbled upon something and found it engaging. That gives you a satisfaction which is unique in itself. That's the element of surprise which keeps things paced up and fresh in life! It doesn't always have to be something extraordinary or out of the world. But it is always something you never expected or imagined to exist. That is the blessing of innocence, inexperience, unawareness, which makes the thing so striking. As we grow old, the opportunity for this reduces and so does our appreciation of it!

  I so miss those times when I was used to these surprises! Now, ironically enough, I have to search for them. But they are still very inspiring ever time I experience them! But saying this, I have to admit that these out-of-expectation happenings also increase as you grow old. But only in a different way. Because you become judgmental about most things. Thus when something doesn't happen as you predicted it, that's another surprise for you! If you can take it that way!But mostly we don't because of the fear of disappointment. Richard Bach says, "The meaning I picked, the one that changed my life: Overcome fear, behold wonder." So what we really need to learn is to accept change and change the attitude of accepting things nonchalantly. As Albert Einstein puts it-'He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.' 

  Coming back to Tekdi and few such good things in life, even though they are not exactly surprises, there are some rare  but unpredictable moments which always take your breath away. I wish and hope that I capture them every time and many times! They inspire you every time you see them. So all this unexpectedness almost always leaves you overwhelmed. I don't have to describe how these moments affect you. Because I won't be able to do it as well as Guy de Maupassant does in his story Mother Savage-

We, whom the country enchants, keep tender memories of certain springs, certain woods, certain pools, certain hills seen very often which have stirred us like joyful events. Sometimes our thoughts turn back to a corner in a forest, or the end of a bank, or an orchard filled with flowers, seen but a single time on some bright day, yet remaining in our hearts like the image of certain women met in the street on a spring morning in their light, gauzy dresses, leaving in soul and body an unsatisfied desire which is not to be forgotten, a feeling that you have just passed by happiness.

  So here's my tribute to the joy of surprises!  And the unpredictable moments that always make life so worthwhile! I will end this blog with William Wordsworth's poem which again is about appreciating nature-My heart leaps up.

My heart leaps up when I behold

A Rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the man;

And I wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.