“This is My Song” – Ray Conniff

Love, this is my song
Here is a song, a serenade to you
The world cannot be wrong
If in this world, there is you

 

I care not what the world may say
Without your love there is no day
So love, this is my song
Here is a song, a serenade to you

 

I care not what the world may say
Without your love there is no day
So love, this is my song
Here is my song, a serenade to you

 

Here is my song, a serenade to you.

 

Joseph Raymond “Ray” Conniff, also known as “Jay Raye,” was an American band leader and arranger best known for his ‘Ray Conniff Singers’ during the 1960s. Conniff learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book. He can best be described as a composer – his albums consist of both vocal and instrumental works. In 1959, he started ‘The Ray Conniff Singers’ (12 women and 13 men) who became enormously successful over the years – they are still tremendously popular to this very day. Conniff was a quiet, modest and sympathetic artist. He sold about 70 million albums worldwide and continued recording and performing until his death in 2002.

 

“This Is My Song” is an LP album, released by Columbia Records in 1967 – it contains mostly songs from musical plays and movies. The song, mentioned above, is a love song – probably the best of its time. The singer feels a love that is so complete and so intense for the woman whom he calls, “love,” that he cannot imagine even a day of his life passing by without her presence in it. He cares very little for any criticism or opposition from the ‘world’ (‘I care not what the world may say.’) This makes us imagine that he did not share the same status of wealth and position in society as the woman who he loves so dearly – he has little else, by way of material means, that he can offer her except a heartfelt song that he has composed himself about his passion for this beautiful woman – this song is his ‘serenade’ to her. A ‘Serenade’ is a piece of music sung or played in the open air, typically by a man, at night, under the window of his lover. The male singer’s sincerity and genuine feelings of love and caring make this song his legacy to her.

 

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In technical language, a LEGACY is an amount of money or property that is bequeathed to someone in a last will and testament before a person dies – this bequest or inheritance is created with a particular beneficiary in mind and is drafted and signed while the said person is of sane and sound mind.

 

However, what very few people realize is that a legacy need NOT always refer to a bequest or an inheritance of wealth to someone before a person passes on for a new spiritual journey, after death. It is, to a very large extent, the passage of one’s heritage to another – it is the passing on or sharing of one’s breeding, values, morals,  principles and the qualities of strength of character to another – usually passed on from parents to their children; from teachers to their students and so on so forth. It is the lesson of learning about what is RIGHT and what is considered to be WRONG and being able to distinguish between the two conditions.

 

This heritage concerns the active and general pursuit of benevolence and goodness, for its own sake; it is about being taught to follow the ‘straight and narrow path of righteousness.’ One is taught, from an early age, in this way, to be driven by the courage and the strength of one’s convictions –these convictions will inevitably make the person stand up for what he/she believes to be true and right in the future, as and when such an occasion arises.

 

If your parents and teachers have taught you these things, then you really ought to consider it as their unparalleled legacy to you for a Better and Brighter Tomorrow. If so, consider yourself as being extremely lucky and believe that you have been blessed with MUCH – with much more than even what is due to you. Be grateful and thankful if you are in receipt of such an invaluable gift – it is a legacy of goodness and munificence worth its weight in Gold – it is, in every single way,  several tons more valuable than even the largest amount of wealth known to Man.

I am going to tell you a story – this is my story and every single word of it is true. It started, as a dream, in the very early days of my childhood when I was barely 8 or 9 years old. It always starts with a dream doesn’t it? What do I mean by a dream? It is, as you undoubtedly already know, a glimmer of hope and vision for the future; a growing desire that blossoms, over time, into a fervent ambition.

 

As part of our daily school curriculum and moral education, all the students, of the school that I attended, were compulsorily made to attend ‘school assembly’ every morning at 8:30 am. I think that some students felt this daily duty to be an imposition – the stories we narrated to us by a teacher were followed by many a cough, yawn and stifled snigger from my fellow-classmates. I must tell you this – for those of you who might not know this fact – my family and I are all liberal-minded Parsi Zoroastrians. Yet I remember to this day, many of the well-loved Biblical stories that I listened to so avidly and attentively in my youth. Well-loved Biblical Stories like Noah’s Ark, The Tower of Babel, stories of Abraham and his family, David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah – to name just a few of such stories, greatly interested me.

 

What may surprise you is that even though I was ostensibly a child myself, I safely stored away the essence of these stories somewhere at the back of my mind – as if I knew, all along that they would help me (and so many others) later in my life. Well, one beautiful, bright morning (let’s presume it was so – I honestly don’t remember such minor details,) I heard the evergreen Biblical story of “The Good Samaritan.” I will relate it to you all here – you’ll soon realize why it had captured my attention so intensely and why it has continued – till today – to fire my imagination, like no other such story has. Please do read through this very beautiful, short story – you’ll soon understand why.

QUOTE: Luke 10:25-37

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ In reply, Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denary and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” UNQUOTE

 

Now, of course, as I’ve already mentioned earlier, I was only about 9 years of age at that time and I kept getting the lingering thought, “Why can’t I be a Good Samaritan to the world too? What can I possibly do to contribute something to the world? Surely I can do something concrete – anything – to make this world a better place to live in? Now, this thought was again tucked away safely, somewhere at the back of my mind – ready for quick retrieval, as and when the case arose. Being a child and all, I had much more ‘weighty issues’ on  my mind, as I’m sure you can well imagine – amusements such as playing, singing, day-dreaming, skipping, listening to music, sleeping and wondering what the menu for the next upcoming meal was – my BIGGEST problem was HOW to help the world.

 

I grew up to be an adult, in the intervening years, but The Dream for A Better Tomorrow never quite disappeared from my mind. It is only last year – in October 2012, to be precise – that I finally realized how I could bring my ambition to fruition. I have chosen my writing to be my contribution – my legacy –to the world at large.

 

I’m sure that some of you must be silently saying in your minds – “It looks as if this author is suffering from a severe case of having ‘gone crackers’ – she’s really ‘lost her marbles’ now, hasn’t she? Why, in the world, would she want to go out of her way to help people who are (and who will remain being) total strangers to her? Why should she try to help people whom she doesn’t even know or may never know, for that matter? It is all quite ridiculous and being totally idiotic and idealistic, that’s what I say!!!”

 

Here’s why I would do it – WE CANNOT POSSIBLY KNOW PERSONALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE WORLD – WE WILL REMAIN TO BE TOTAL STRANGERS TO EACH OTHER – NOW AND ALWAYS.

 

NEVER FORGET THAT A FRAGILE STRING HOLDS ALL OUR DESTINIES TOGETHER – our common Fate – “From Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust.” WE ALL SHARE TWO VERY COMMON AND IRREVOCABLE DESTINIES -, WHICHEVER WAY YOU CHOOSE TO LOOK AT THE SITUATION – BIRTH AND DEATH. PROBABLY ‘RE-BIRTH’ OUGHT TO BE ADDED TO THIS LIST OF COMMON DESTINIES TOO – BUT WE ARE NOT HERE TO CONTEST THE OCCURRENCE (OR NOT) OF THE EXISTENCE OF REINCARNATION. IF THESE COMMON DESTINIES DO NOT MAKE US ALL A BROTHERHOOD OF FELLOW-BEINGS, I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES!

 

Do you recall how John Lennon became world-renowned with his beautiful song, “Imagine?” Let me remind you of the lyrics, if I may.

 

“Imagine” – John Lennon (of ‘The Beatles’ fame)

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no country
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one.

  

IF YOU ARE INCLINED TO BELIEVE THAT JOHN LENNON WAS A ‘DREAMER,’ AND A FOOL, ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU HOW WRONG IN YOUR PERCEPTION YOU ARE. HE WAS NO MORE OF A DREAMER OR AN IDEALIST THAN MOST PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET – HE WAS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, A REALIST AND AN OPTIMIST IN THAT HE SINCERELY BELIEVED THAT WE COULD ALL LIVE TO WITNESS A ‘BETTER TOMORROW’ IF WE INDIVIDUALLY MADE EFFORTS TO BECOME BETTER PEOPLE OURSELVES.

 

IN THIS SENSE, I DON’T THINK THAT YOU WOULD QUITE DARE TO CALL ALL OF OUR  WISE ANCESTORS, OUR PROPHETS, OUR RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND THE SUPREME BEING HIMSELF AS BEING ‘DREAMERS’ AND ‘FOOLS,’ NOW WOULD YOU?

 

GOD HIMSELF, IN HIS INFINITE WISDOM, HAS FOREVER CRAVED FOR THE CREATION OF A BETTER WORLD FOR US ALL. YOU WOULD NOT CALL HIM A ‘DREAMER’ NOW, WOULD YOU? I HONESTLY DON’T THINK THAT YOU BELIEVE SO.

 

CAN YOU HONESTLY THINK OF ANYONE WHO DOES NOT WISH TO BE HAPPIER IN A WORLD THAT IS TORN ASUNDER WITH STRIFE, WAR, HATRED, BLOODSHED, VIOLENCE AND HEINOUS CRIMES? I CAN’T THINK OF ANYONE WHO DOES NOT WISH TO BE SAFER, BETTER AND HAPPIER – I VERY MUCH DOUBT THAT YOU CAN TOO. THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION HOPES AND PRAYS DAILY FOR WORLD PEACE, HARMONY, JOY AND BROTHERHOOD OF HUMANITY. ARE WE ALL DREAMERS THEN?

 

THIS AUTHOR DOES NOT MIND IF YOU CALL HER A DREAMER OR AN IDEALIST WITH UTOPIAN IDEOLOGIES. FRANKLY, SHE’D MUCH RATHER NOT BE CALLED A FATALIST AND A PESSIMIST. I’M SURE THAT MOST OF YOU WILL AGREE WITH MY  POSITIVE IDEOLOGIES, THOUGH MANY PEOPLE WILL TEND NOT SPEAK OUT IN FAVOR OF THEM, FOR FEAR OF OPPOSITION, MOCKERY, SARCASM, NASTINESS AND CRITICISM FROM THEIR OWN COUNTERPARTS IN SOCIETY.

  

Chase your dreams and ambitions, fervently, with all your heart and soul and make them YOUR reality – it would be very wrong not to do so – provided its result is not harmful to others. Never fear what others might say, along the way – for each day of praise, prepare yourself for days of criticism too. People will always talk badly ‘to your face’ or ‘behind your back’ – one way or another – we cannot stop them from doing so. Let them do what brings pleasure to them. You must continue doing what you need to do. Let such people go their way and you go on yours.

 

Who are we to judge others anyway?

 

Let me now tell you a few, salient things that have helped me along the way – along The Road of My Life – about the perspectives and changes in the way we think that have helped ME a great deal and are aimed at helping ALL OF YOU too. What I am about to tell you are events that have actually occurred – all the conversations related here are true and factual.

 

Several years ago, I had a serious conversation with a teenager who was almost in tears when she spoke to me – it was a conversation between a teacher (me) and her student. You will soon realize why I would like to share this conversation with you all. Her name is Maya. (That is not her real name) Maya confided in me as to how she had such a lot of problems ‘getting along compatibly’ with her mother. This girl – told me that her mother was constantly nagging her, criticizing her, angry with her and seemed (to this teenager) to be least satisfied with any – or all – of her efforts to the contrary. Absolutely nothing seemed to satisfy her mother.

 

I think that Maya was rather surprised at my answer – I was barely in my twenties myself at the time and she least expected it. Here’s what I told her – “Maya, you really need to change your perspective and the way you think. You feel that your mother never leaves you alone – her criticisms and constant nagging drive you up the wall, I’m sure. That is your perception of this situation.

 

Let us suppose that you had a mother who was ‘never there’ for you – whether it is by her physical presence itself, or through moral, emotional and spiritual support and guidance, believe me, you would feel it deeply too. You just have not thought the situation through in another way. Supposing your mother spent all of her time gallivanting here and there, shopping or partying incessantly – whatever the situation may be – you would feel greatly neglected and unloved too – don’t forget that!

 

You ought not to take her complaints and grumbling personally – she is not invading your privacy, even though you imagine that she does so – more often than not. A mother’s love is God’s Greatest Gift of all – she is, after all, your mother and don’t grudge the fact that she corrects you whenever she feels the need to do so.

 

Remember that she chose to call you “Maya” – this name implies that you are, in every way, a symbol of love, purity and goodness in her life. Your birth has brought great joy to her – it has brought in, in no small way, sunshine and laughter streaming in through the windows of your home. Please don’t deny her this joy – she corrects you only so that you might grow to be better than what you already are; so that, someday you might impart her words of wisdom to your own children and likewise bring joy to them too.” I have not seen Maya ever again – she must be a grown woman by now. Perhaps I should also tell you how much happier my simple words of advice made her – she never forgot this small act of kindness that comes from a simple change in the way we think. God Bless you, Maya, wherever you are!

 

Many, many years later after this incident, I was having a conversation with another lady – she was a good friend of the family. She too was complaining about her mother – except that her complaints were very different to those of Maya. This lady’s mother was seriously ill – she needed the immediate help and medication of a specialist but her mother was forever reluctant to do so.

 

As this friend told me, “Sherna, how can I make my mummy ACCEPT THE FACT that she is sick – that she needs medical, specialized medical help? How can any help be given to someone who refuses to realize that the fault lies within themselves – in their own obstinacy and stubbornness?”

 

Similarly, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON IF YOU WILL NEVER ACCEPT THE FACT THAT CHANGES FOR THE BETTER NEED TO COME FROM WITHIN – LONG BEFORE WE CAN EXPECT OTHERS IN THE WORLD TO DO SO? Do you not think that such an attitude is presumptuous?

 

As for myself, I am not stating that I am perfect, by any means –  I am NOT – I am as fallible as any mortal on this Earth. I make mistakes, laugh and cry – just as you all do. But if I do die tomorrow, the epitaph on my tombstone could very well read – “NO REGRETS” – mistakes, yes, I’ve had a few but too few to mention. Regrets, I’ve had a few but nothing major or worrisome.  Every word of it would be true – that is what would make this Life’s journey memorable.

 

THE LEGISLATORS, JUDGES AND LEADERS MIGHT PASS ANY NUMBER OF LAWS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HUMANITY BUT REMEMBER THAT IT IS EACH TINY DROP OF WATER THAT MAKES THE VAST OCEAN. EACH TINY PARTICLE FUSED TOGETHER MAKES A BIGGER PICTURE.

 

CHANGE NECESSARILY NEEDS TO COME FROM WITHIN YOURSELF FIRST – be humble enough to ACCEPT this simple fact. IF EACH ONE OF US MAKES A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON TODAY, WE CAN HOPE TO MAKE A BETTER TOMORROW Our REALITY!

 

This author does not wish to be remembered as someone who has The Gift of the Gab or The Invaluable Gift of Writing –  however, it would please my parents, teachers and ME (to be very honest) if you were to remember this author fondly, many years hence, as one who had a vision in the days of her youth – as one who was driven by the courage and the strength of her convictions to make a childish dream become a reality.THINK OF HER – IF YOU  MUST – as a MODERN-DAY GOOD SAMARITAN.

 

I WOULD SINCERELY LIKE TO THANK MY PARENTS, MY FAMILY, FRIENDS AND MY TEACHERS FOR THEIR CONSTANT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE  – FOR MAKING ME THE MATURE AND RESPONSIBLE PERSON THAT I HAVE GROWN TO BE TODAY.

 

So much of our lives are driven by our CHOICES AND PRIORITIES – so few people realize their lasting importance. I could very well have chosen to write about travel, photography, fashion, food, exotic places, etc – but it would leave no lasting impact on the world – don’t you think so too?

 

I chose, instead, to write about actively trying to make our world a better place to live in – I consider it as being God’s Work on Earth. THINK ABOUT IT – ALL THE BROKEN PIECES OF THE JIGSAW PUZZLE OUGHT TO FINALLY FALL IN PLACE.

 

These blogs are “My Songs to the World – they ARE – and always WILL BE – my Serenade to you.” Think of them as a Benevolent Reflection of someone who is kind and caring enough to teach you all how to be better people – just as she learned how to be so. This author is certainly not here to sing her own praises or to criticize others in any way – please know that. She only rightly feels that you are not living your lives fruitfully and to its fullest capacity – something that you ought to be doing. If you haven’t been doing so, it is never too late to start HERE AND NOW.

 

Hopefully, one day –  some day –  down the ages and centuries –  you will remember The Invaluable Legacy that this author CHOSE, AS PART OF HER PRIORITIES to leave to all of you – hopefully, you will make my efforts worthwhile by consciously trying to imbibe the essence of these blogs into your daily lives. God Bless you All!

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  The Tower of Babel.