HAPPINESS RUNS ON THE 10th IT MAY BE ten days too late, but I’ll write it anyway in big bold letters: HAPPY NEW YEAR, kith and kin! Well, this is highly irregular yet purely intentional. I wasn’t into some kind of writer’s block. Except for when I felt obliged to greet friends and family celebrating birthdays or anniversaries, or post my song from audioboom for utilitarian purposes, my ten restless fingers have been into self-imposed hiatus from January 1 to 10. Ten days of inactivity, of idle pursuit. That is, only touching FB to the minimum (which is a huge sacrifice, considering my penchant for hifalutin words in long “dull” posts. Just ask Mameng, my wife, whose unwritten job it is to compassionately like my posts when no one else does!) However, it is not coincidental that I choose January 10 to break the silence of my pen. 10 is a very significant number. I am wishing everyone today, January 10, a happy and prosperous new year. Happiness on the 10th and onwards! Why so? 10 symbolizes completion of a cycle. 10 symbolizes heaven and the world, and universal creation. Our number system is base 10. We usually judge things in scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the ideal. 10 in female figures is totally seductive and admirable. 10 forms the tetraktys, a figure like how the bowling pins are arranged — 1+2+3+4=10, forming a perfect triangle. 10 is the perfect number. “In the Bible…Ten is also viewed as a complete and perfect number, as is 3, 7 and 12. It is made up of 4, the number of the physical creation, and 6, the number of man. As such, it signifies testimony, law, responsibility and the completeness of order.” “In Genesis 1 we find the phrase God said 10 times, which is a testimony of His creative power. God gave the 10 Commandments to man. Ten therefore represents man’s responsibility to keep the commandments. A tithe is a 10th of our earnings and is a testimony of our faith in the Lord.” (biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/10.html) Can any other number be more remarkable for such a wealth of symbols and meanings? The Scottish folksinger-songwriter Donovan, who became famous in the 60s and 70s, made up a song that wraps up what I want to say today. It’s called HAPPINESS RUNS. “Happiness runs in a circular motion. / Love is like a little boat upon the sea. / Everybody is a part of everything anyway. / You can have everything if you let yourself be. La la la la la la la….” Our 4th Grade Music textbook happily adopts Donovan’s song with a minor change in the last line (but a major change in meaning), thus: YOU CAN BE HAPPY IF YOU LET YOURSELF BE! One interesting note, incidentally, Donovan composed and sang the songs in my favorite St. Francis of Assisi movie, Brother Sun Sister Moon. In that movie, one of the many beautiful songs he sings is The Little Church (or better known as “If You Want Your Dream To Be”). It is a round song. HAPPINESS RUNS is a round song too (a canon, as Donovan and music teachers call it). As a round, it is so rich in harmony it goes round and round in my head continuously and buoys up my spirit everytime I feel lonely or alone. I know how exactly it affects me, so the song is a part of the songlist I teach my 4th and 5th graders. It never fails to produce the desired effects. I teach it to grace the first school week of the New Year. Accompanied by recorders and barred instruments, it is one of the songs in our repertoire that easily become a favorite by both teacher and students alike. And why not? Its melody is lighthearted yet lilting, its message simple yet profound. “You can have everything if you let yourself be!” “You can be happy if you let yourself be! Happiness runs on the 10th. A perfect combination.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 06:38:06 +0000