Awaiting Mid-Autumn: A Singapore politician’s lesson in moon watching
Photo Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camyluna
13th day of the 9th moon of the year of the water dragon.It’s raining again.
Unless the weather changes, catching sight of the mid-autumn moon this year looks like an “iffy” affair.
Of course, whether the moon’s fat or thin, covered in cloud or hidden by rain, still it’s there circling above us. It’s just a question of what gets in the way of us receiving her light.It took me a long time to understand the moon’s constancy. And who taught me? A politician!
Singapore politicians are expected to karaoke. It’s a high touch populist activity, guaranteed to please. Young MP’s, rumour had it, used to be sent for singing classes, just so they could Sing Singapore at all the grass root events.
I can’t vouch for the rumours about the singing classes. But I am acquainted with several politicians, and public servants who sing. Well, who sing at least one song – Teresa Teng’s “The Moon Represents My Heart.”
The words of the chorus go something like this:
You ask me how deep my love for you is, How much I really love you.
Go think about it. Go and have a look. The moon represents my heart.
ni wen wo ai ni you duo shen wo ai ni you ji fen
ni qu xiang yi xiang ni qu kan yi kan yue liang dai biao wo de xin
I used to be cynical about this politician’s number one song.
The lyrics smacked of political double speak I used to think, implying one thing while saying something else. Who would want to be loved by a heart like the moon, some days here, other days gone.
It was such a convenient song for the pols to use to snooker people into believing they cared when in fact the words said that, like the moon, they would sometimes be there and sometimes not.
It was a retired politician I know, a lovely sincere man I genuinely like, who finally put me right.
The moon’s always there he said, even when you can’t see it. That’s the kind of love the song’s about.
Ah so! Indeed.
How many times do we grumble that our parents don’t love us? That our partners are not there for us? That our friends are not paying attention to us? That no one gives a damn if we’re dead or alive?
Perhaps, it’s just a matter of appearances. Perhaps, like the moon, their love and care are presences we just can’t see momentarily, because something’s blocked us from receiving that light.
Unblock. Take a deep breath. Let yourself feel what’s there for you, what’s always been there for you.
Feel the love in your life, even when you can’t see it.
Reader and Writer - Praying Woman - Gardener - Foodie 
1) SG politicians n civil servants were embarrassed many moons ago when our embassy folks or those attending international conferences (such as Asean) couldn’t sing at the drop of a hat, unlike the Filipinos, Indonesians n Malaysians etc.
2) hence determination to make sure SG reps weren’t short of such skills and we started with more common songs like Rasa Sayang n Burung Kaka.
3) somewhere along the way, SGreans got more ambitious. Also, our much loved late President Ong Teng Cheong sang the Teresa Teng song; to his wife as well as for fund raisers like President’s Challenge. Politicians adopted that as their “song” as well as songs like “Tien mi mi”.
Thanks for the background on this auntielucia