Grace Irrespective

I open my eyes to the brand new day.
it's a wonder I'm awake.
Nothing is to be sure of, nothing's unchanged.
Except for Grace.

Plans for the morrow, I had made.
Already pondered over hopes and fears.
The clock keeps ticking, never still.
I move through the day because of Grace.

It is grace, that gives me strength to remember,
And grace that lets me forget.
When life becomes mighty tangled
It is grace that mends my heart torn.

Perfect days and perfect people
Are a concept born of perspective
But to belong to a perfect GOD;
That is Grace, irrespective.

The Art of the Imperfect

Artist Phil Hansen gave a TED talk on how he "embraced the shake", his limitation and harnessed potential in his creativity. He throws a thought at us that perhaps instead of telling each other to 'seize the day', perhaps we should say 'seize the limitation'. He's right. What if, everytime we hit a brick wall in things we're up against, we decipher ways to embrace the limitations that we have? What if, when I faced writer's block, I used words to make a painting in a somewhat 'free association' sense; would it help to let out what I'm trying to say?
     But really, how feasible is this idea? There are many children who grow up forced to study things that they do not have a capacity for or do not want to embrace the capacity. How would they embrace their limitations? How would they step back from their miniscule look to see the big picture and change it?
     Somehow, I feel compelled to say that this could only apply in the world of art and creativity where you have the freedom to test the waters and 'step out of the box'.
     But, if one actually thinks about it, one realises that this world runs on those limitations being pushed. Every scientific experiment, every technological development, it's all someone somewhere who pushed the limits or used the limits differently. So, the real question possibly is,
                                  "How do we learn to embrace our limitations?"

The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning.

Here is an excerpt from Robert Browning's 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin.' The link leads to the complete poem.

Rats! 

They fought the dogs and killed the cats, 

And bit the babies in the cradles, 

And ate the cheeses out of the vats, 

And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles, 

Split open the kegs of salted sprats, 

Made nests inside men's Sunday hats, 

And even spoiled the women's chats, 

By drowning their speaking 

With shrieking and squeaking 

In fifty different sharps and flats.

A Disney rendition of the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin'

More on the History of a Language we Thought we Knew.

Debayani and Namrata put together a presentation giving an introduction to Roman Britain, how the Roman Celts continued to war with the Saxons while Roman Britain came to an end. The Saxon Conquest of Britain, details of late Saxon England and the end of the Saxon rule to the beginning of the Norman conquest. Overall, it was informative and peppered with images and maps to help us visualize better.

     Bishal resumed his presentation with the aid of a Powerpoint, titled "Normans, here they come!" He spoke of the influence on English social structure and illustrated the invasion of the Normans using images of the Tapestry of Bayeaux, that is said to retell history... He went on to mention changes in architecture, literature and society, also giving an introduction to feudalism. Centralisation brought the French language and culture and the languages of French and English merged together to form 'Middle English'. The Normans introduced castles of wood initially and then of stone and established London as the capital. Women lost their right to consent to marriage and widows, the right to remarry.
     He showed us the Feudal pyramid headed by the King followed by the Nobles, Knights/ Vassals, Freeman, Servants, Peasants/Serfs/Villeins. He explained how Grammar was simplified and the middle class gained access to education causing both the Upper and Middle classes to become bilingual. The Feudal system was not created to provide social justice.

- A report by Caroline (parts of it compiled by Daniella) and photographs by Michael.