My all-time favourite hymn, in any language is Calon lân. I’d like to think that my attitude to life is summed up quite nicely in the first verse:
Nid wy’n gofyn bywyd moethus,
Aur y byd na’i berlau mân:
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus,
Calon onest, calon lân.
Here’s a literal translation into English:
I don’t ask for a luxurious life,
the world’s gold or its fine pearls,
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.
Or, as I’ve only just found, a nice rhyming English version:
I’d not ask a life that’s easy,
Gold and pearls so little mean,
Rather seek a heart that’s joyful,
Heart that’s honest, heart that’s clean.
Which is also quite lovely.
To aim for material goals, money or fame your whole life seems to be missing the point of life itself somewhat. To aim to develop a pure, honest, happy heart and soul is a much worthier target. The closer you get, the more things you find beautiful anyway. It’s perfectly unattainable, of course, but that’s the key. You always get to aim higher than where you are now.
I think that’s my Magnum Opus (which is Latin for ‘Big Ice Cream’, presumably) – to make myself the best Me I can be.
Stay Beautiful,
Al
We Are Monkeys 