The Music of Eudaimonia

Today is another public holiday: as a matter of fact, it is Malaysia Day--a day that should be celebrated with a lot more enthusiasm than how it is currently done. These days, I think Sabah and Sarawak whose citizens take great pride in their diversity of culture and religion should be the model for the rest of the country. Maybe we should follow Indonesia's lead in moving the capital of the country to the island of Borneo!

I've been working from home the whole day. Come to think of it, I did not even step out of the house today! But what a productive day it has been. I woke up early at 5.30am. After a brief meditation session, I managed to work on my app project until 8am before I went down for breakfast. After that it was more work until dinner time, with a short break for tea. It has been a productive day and that makes me happy.

Sometimes people ask me why do I never seem to stop working. Today while enjoying my afternoon cup of Earl Grey, the thought occurred to me: Why was this question never posed to professional pianists or athletes?

The answer is clear: performance artists and sportsmen need to be constantly training and practicing to keep their performance in tip-top condition. And that is exactly how I view my work: I need to be constantly practicing to be mentally fit.

I see my work as training. An athlete's or a musician's job is never 'done'. To keep himself mentally and physically in peak condition is his job. To me, if any piece of work gets delivered, it is like the completion of a performance for the musician or a race for the athlete. There will always be some hits and misses. He or she has to go back to the studio or training ground and try to work on those weaknesses. One is never ever satisfied with one's performance.

I take great effort to ensure that I do not wear myself down from overwork. A balanced lifestyle is important. I do socialize, even though not as often as I used to. I give priority to my backlog of hobbies, of which reading is at the very top of my list. I enjoy my weekly exercise sessions at the park, where I also get to listen to my audiobooks. I subscribe to Spotify, from where I also get to sample a wide selection of music--especially those from obscure Baroque or medieval composers.

We live in a great age when there are a lot more content and information than we could ever consume in a lifetime. Hence we need to be selective and to know how to use our time wisely. You don't need a lot of money to enjoy life because all the good things in life (at least the ones that matter to me) are cheap.

Aristotle defines the purpose of life as achieving 'Eudaimonia'--which is often loosely translated as 'happiness'. But it means more than that. To me Eudaimonia is a state of well-being, in alignment with one's inner spirit. Work, if motivated by the right spirit, is an opportunity to achieve Eudaimonia. And no one expresses it more beautifully than Kahlil Gibran:

"When you work, you are a flute whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music".

And to me, that music is Eudaimonia.