This year, Professor Foo Keong Tatt gave me a copy of his Foo Family Art Calendar. I wonder whether it was by chance or by design the collection of 12 pieces of paintings started with a work depicting morning – “Sunrise Over the Rocky Shore.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Write it in your heart that today is the best day of the year.” And I would add, every best day starts with a good morning. Any day will be the greatest when we look forward to living the unfolding hours to the fullest; any day, by the same token, could very well be the worst if we dread facing the hours ahead. We have a choice. I chose to make it the greatest!
I have chosen for today the pleasure of fond memories. I love the Bee Gee’s song, “In the Morning.” Barry Gibb started the piece by declaring he loves morning the best. I concur with him. The first few hours of the day are my prime time. My mind is at its clearest, and I enjoy the fluidity of flow – thoughts, reflections, and the play of outrageous ideas. If we liken a day to a battle, half the battle is won with a good start. It sets the tone for the rest of the day.
“Morning Mood” in “Peer Gynt Suite” is one of Edvard Grieg’s most successful compositions. This song brings me back to my postgraduate trainee days in Nottingham and how I planned my solo backpacking trip to Norway. I included a trip to Troldhaugen in Bergen as a “must-see” item in the itinerary. But I have no pictures to show because my photos were all recorded on “Kodachrome”, “Ektachrome” or “Fujichrome.” Fungus loves the chemical base and destroyed most of my old slides. I have instead borrowed pictures from the web.
Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen wrote Peer Gynt as a five-act play in 1867. The drama was about a Norwegian antihero’s downfall and redemption. The play was originally a poem and was not intended for the stage. Ibsen later changed his mind and asked Edvard Grieg to write the music for the play. The composer found the work much more challenging than he anticipated. However, he committed himself to completing the undertaking because he could identify himself with the antihero.
Antihero? Now, what is that? Heroes are those characters that we admire exemplifying idealism, courage, and morality. Antiheroes lack many characteristics we’ve come to expect of traditional heroes. However, they do the right things. Despite the flaws of bad decisions and questionable moral code, an antihero is ultimately guided by good intentions. To many people, antiheroes are more realistic and likeable. Edvard Grieg was one of them. We need not be heroes. Be antiheroes.
Nostalgia is great, and I enjoy it in small doses as I go along. Fond memories give me a balanced perspective on how I view my life. I now have many more days behind me than ahead. I want to make the days to come equally memorable if ever I have the chance to look back. And I believe I can do so if I get off to a good start every morning.
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
