With the end of the year approaching, with its holidays of all kinds, I find myself reflecting on gratitude.
I know from my own experience and from the work of great poets and writers something of the transformative power of gratitude. A grateful heart can lead to great changes in perception, affecting everyone around it.
But recently it occurred to me that gratitude also has to do with playfulness. Take, for instance, this verse from the Kural:
108
Forgetting good done is not good—forgetting at once
What is not good—good
நன்றி மறப்பது நன்றன்று நன்றல்லது
அன்றே மறப்பது நன்று
At first glance it may seem a very serious poem. It concerns not only the art of remembering but also the art of forgetting, as I often explore when I speak about this verse.
But there’s more to the picture. If you listen to the sounds of the words themselves, in both the Tamil and the English, they are surprisingly playful. The verse itself is playful.
Here’s a video where I share the kural out loud:
An Unspoken Meaning
The way the poet Tiruvallvar brings delight and wordplay into his poem reminds me that even the weighty question of gratitude shouldn’t be too weighty.
To put it another way, along with the meanings of the words, the poem as a whole has an unspoken meaning expressed by its playful and even cheeky music, which we may or may not be able to describe but we can hear and feel when we listen.
It’s as if the music of the poem wants to help us have a lighter heart, and to treat even important matters with lightness.
Which makes me all the more grateful to be able to learn from poets who sing of life with a smile in their eyes and words!
May the season be filled with delight for you, and may your heart always be playful.
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