Wednesday, February 08, 2006

In the mood for love

Years ago, my wife Veron & I were deeply moved when we heard a heartfelt piano rendition of a love song 月亮代表我的心 (literally translated as "The moon represents my heart") by our late President, Mr Ong Teng Cheong. It was for his late wife, then amongst the audience and visibly moved. His dedication to her was apparent in the way the song was played and received.

Veron and I love this song for different reasons. For Veron, it is because she finds the lyrics simple, yet sincere & profound. For me, it was in a movie with a very compelling love story (& tragic at that) that this song really came alive to me. Since then, whenever I hear the most remote strains of this song or even just the tune, emotions of love would flood my heart without fail.

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This Chinese New Year, something interesting happened. While visiting a long-time former neighbour, Veron struck up a long conversation with him, as they exchanged tips on piano playing. He then passed her a music score for 月亮代表我的心. Why he did it, nobody knows, but here it is: the 2-page score sitting on Veron's piano.

Maybe it was the sight of the music score, or perhaps something within me was awakened, but I suddenly entertained the unthinkable thought of learning to play this song on piano for Veron as a Valentine's Day present. Yes, learn to play this song on an instrument I am not familiar with, all within the next 7 days. At about the same time, I suddenly realised that my left hand doesn't connect with my brain when I need it to. Wish me all the best (",)v

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Having been married for close to 10 years, I realise that love is almost never rational. To fall and stay in love, one has to go beyond the ordinary and natural love. Natural love is limited at best and selfish at worst. I would say it's more natural to gratify oneself and to hurt rather than love. Even in this new millenium and supposedly more civil society, not a day gets by without headlines of people killing one another, of people suing or divorcing each other, and of those exploiting others. And if you think that we can at least love ourselves naturally, just listen to the stories of people committing suicide, and of those hurting themselves and others around them through all kinds of addictions, from drugs to pornography, from gambling to work.

The love we are capable of giving and receiving is pathetic. Indeed, if we are able to love naturally, The Bible wouldn't be exhorting us repeatedly to love God and to love one another. If we truly want to learn how to love unconditionally and to receive love unreservedly, look to God. The Bible says in 1 John 4: 8 that God is love, and again in 1 John 4:19 that "We love because he first loved us." God's love is beautiful beyond description and definitely extra-terrestial. How many would love & die for someone without expecting anything in return? How many would love and care for total strangers whom others have rejected & despised? How many would forgive those who have hurt and betrayed them? To most people, this kind of love is foolish and must be avoided at all costs, but to God, this is the only kind of love He knows and wants us to have. It is love that touches lives and transforms them forever.

Just as it is unnecessary to use the word "free" with the word "gift" - all gifts are free, it's unnecessary to use the word "selfless" with the word "love". When you choose to love, it's always about the other person, not about yourself. To be able to love this way consistently and relentlessly, let the love of God first fill us. When we recognise that God loves us in spite of our unworthy nature, we will be able to love our fellow brother or sister in the same way. When we are able to receive God's love without having done anything to merit it, we will be able to receive love from another person unreservedly and complete that person's joy of loving.

With God, you will never have to get into the mood for love - you will always be in love, filled with love, and ready to love.

May God bless you, and me as I learn to play the song :)
Thomas
Category: cf_tht

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go man! Your wife is so lucky to have you

Anonymous said...

How's the piano session went? Good?

Thomas WH Tan said...

Haha, she ended up playing for me :D

Now, I am aiming to play a decent tune of it by our 10th wedding anniversary this November. Talk about shifting target, but it sure ain't easy like the electone.

Anonymous said...

hehe.. ok