Leonard Ng

Don’t Force Things, Flow with Them (Part 2)

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Polyphemos
Image by Aaron Wolpert.
Reading Ancient Greek: A Case Study

This year I set myself the task of reading all 24 books of Homer’s massive epic poem The Odyssey in Ancient Greek. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I’m glad to finally be doing it.

I’m now 20 books in, with four more to go — well on the way to completing what I set out to do. And I have full confidence that I will finish on time, because I’ve aligned myself with the principles of growth deadlines.

To recap, growth deadlines:

  • Make you better than you were before
  • Involve doing difficult things
  • Are based on sound knowledge and experience
  • Are flexible and resilient enough to withstand chaos

Let’s see how those points apply in this case.

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The World Is Deep

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September desktop
My desktop, at the moment.

It’s been some months now since my last entry, which was all about living with focus; and living with focus is exactly what I have done. Apart from work and a social life, here’s what I’ve been up to: I’ve…

  • travelled across the United States, from Boston to New Orleans;
  • established a regular habit of reflection and meditation;
  • moved into a beautiful new office space in a good part of town;
  • doubled the number of strict pull-ups I can manage;
  • explored old ruins with the Urban Explorers of Singapore;
  • started writing several scenes for a new play;
  • and finished reading almost 17 books of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, in Ancient Greek.

Life has fallen into a clear and steady rhythm, and I’m reminded of Nietzsche’s lines Die Welt ist tief, Und tiefer als der Tag gedacht — “The world is deep, and deeper than the day bethought.” I first encountered those lines in the Fourth Movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and they’ve stuck with me ever since.

I am much clearer, these days, about who I am and what I stand for. But for now, just a quick note to say I’m still here, still going, still listening to the music of the world.