Listen..

..to what others have to say, not how others say it.

So says the writing on the dilapidated, and warped wooden wall of this smelly, dirty and rotten toilet that lady just asked me 20 cents for to use not five minutes ago.

Next to it was a phone number, promising a good time. I have always wanted to give it a try, just to see if it ever means anything other than what everyone thinks it is.

Maybe a hot balloon ride over the wheat fields of the Ruhr. Then again, do they even plant wheat there? Oh well, something like that. Or a nice, friendly, open and intellectual talk over a cup of tea, earl grey perhaps, while Ratatat is playing in the background.

Today, I feel like a preacher. I should go and give that English teacher I never had a visit. Maybe not, it's my Malay teacher I miss more. Surely I don't think he would mind seeing me write in English. He's a teacher, it's beyond whatever subject he teaches.

He listens to what people say, not how they say it.

Fiat Sapientia Virtus so it reads in Latin. Manliness can only be achieved through wisdom, said the English translation. I can't be sure if that what it really means. Maybe, maybe not. Even if it is true, from here to there, I'm sure there are more meanings to it, lost in translation. Those little nuances, that makes Fiat Fiat, Sapientia Sapientia, and Virtus Virtus, and the history and emotions the Romans tied it with.. man I wish I knew Latin.

The same goes with an Estonian explaining to a Botswanan what 'Adat Melayu Pantang Derhaka' means. A powerful sentence, made out of four strong words, strong enough to stand on their own and still carry powerful meaning. It just wouldn't be quite the same isn't it?

Or perhaps 'Arbeit Macht Frei'.

Or 'Tanri Uludur'.

That is probably why humans learn. That is probably why humans learn languages, languages other than their own. For these nuances, tiny little notions that give strength, meaning and power to words. It is language that shapes our world. Our ability to describe things give meaning to the things our eyes see, our ears listen, our senses feel.

Manliness through wisdom.

As I write those words in this dirty piece of paper, my mind wanders back a few years back. That is a mighty strong word to tell young kids as they depart from their family to live hundred of miles away. Like a blanket when the cold night breeze brushes the skin, the words echoes clearly within the hallowed halls of the forefathers.

You are not a man because of your age, but by how wise you are. Don't just grow up; grow wise.

And with that, manliness through wisdom stood on its own from being the meaning of Fiat Sapientia Virtus.

Up on its own feet, with a meaning of its own.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “Listen..,” an entry on pelangi hitam putih

Published:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
by amerhadiazmi