I would like to devote an article today to a man who had been an inspiration to many. A nobel prize winner, a seasoned politician whose motto was 'never give up', a writer, orator and last but not least a painter whose art now hangs in numerous galleries and museums. He was the man who led Britain to victory during the WW2. His name is none other than the great Sir Winston Churchill, whom many believed to be the man of the 20th century.
He had been in and out of parliament so many times during his more than 50 years of political ups and downs but in the end, it was always his resourcefulness, optimism and courage that pulled him through. He was a controversial man and not everything he did was successful. He was made a scapegoat for every bad things that had happened to England including the Great Depression in 1930. His judgements were increasingly being criticised by his colleagues before WW2.
He was a successful and extraordinary writer. His style of writing protrayed his personality. He wrote about history, the 1st WW, and thought provoking essays about the contemporary political situation around the world. During his years out of parliament in the 1930s, this great soul wrote about the increasing aggression of the Nazis and evil deeds of Adolf Hitler. However, his warnings were simply ignored. It was a case of passive injustice. The people were guilty by association. By keeping silent. Here, there is a saying 'jaga tepi kain sendiri'. We cannot always be sitting on the fence. We have to look at the big picture and speak out against cases of corruption and misuse of power, for example. We are doing a great disservice to ourselves and the future generation if we remain silent. The British people had failed to foresee the events that led to the outbreak of WW2 and allowed an evil empire to rise.
Fortunately, honor was in his blood. He was called back to office in 1940 and delivered a great speech, declaring that Britain would never surrender. Similarly, his approach to life was one of courage, openness and a willingness to try new things. He took up painting, by accident, at the age of 41 when he was in near despair due to political strife. He was looking at a blank canvas and did not know what to paint until a painter friend told him to just get started. Painting brought joy to his life. He was so enthusiastic that he wrote a booklet called 'Painting as a pastime'. Here he urged others to take up painting. He said ' Painting is a companion with whom one may hope to walk a great part of one's own journey - happy are the painters for they shall not be lonely. Light and color, peace and hope - will keep them company to the end, or almost to the end of the day'. He was quite modest though about his art unlike his political achievements and speeches where he was more confident. He learned how to paint by copying the works of artists, by immersing himself in the galleries studying the techniques of the great masters and sometimes by taking art lessons from his painter friends. He did win first prize in an amateur art competition, painting a red brick house in a winter scene.
Therefore, my friends, I would also like to encourage you to take up 'the joy of painting'. You could also try to do something that you do not normally do in your daily routine. It would be a great stress reliever.
We will be facing a wet season till the end of the year. We are bound to have flash floods, fallen trees, inaccessible roads and maybe a few leaking roofs. Hopefully, we won't have another landslide in another hillside project. However, it is good that the air has cleared. The haze has enveloped much of the city for about a month. Studies have shown that it does not matter how high the air pollution index is, whether it is above or below 100. The danger lies in the particle size. If the particle is small enough, they could seep through our respiratory system and cause irreversible tissue damage or lung scarring, especially in children and the elderly. This is the reality.
Going back to Churchill, his paintings provide a look into his soul. His optimism. His struggles. He believed everything was planned by God. Everything has a destiny. When he reached heaven, he already expected to spend the first million years painting. His affinity to art continues with these words ' we must not be too ambitious, we cannot aspire to masterpieces but we may content ourselves with a joyride in a paintbox'.
I dream one day we would not do anything for the sake of money, fame or power but merely for the sheer joy of doing it.
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