In reference to an older post. Conclusion: Good ideas and worthwhile notions stand the test of time. Corrolary: Don't discount the classics. Classical music, classical literature, ancient religions. Don't take the Prophet (SAW) and stick him in history. It's too easy to fall prey to the notion that we today are capable of a certain sophisticated consciousness that people in the past were not capable of. As if our cognitive ability has somehow evolved over the last few centuries or millennia. Islam and modernity, church and state, free will and predestination. Hardly any of our ideas seem to be novel. That's not to say the prevailing public opinion is correct. It seems to vacillate according to the prevailing political power. Studying the classics and history seems much more worthwhile than it once did. I think Robert Fisk was right in saying that most of our political leaders don't know their history, and that if they did, their decisions would be different. But who wants to follow the mold of history? Everybody wants to shape their own legacy, forge their own new path. But you could probably get a lot farther if you take help from someone else's map, somebody's who's been there before. If nothing else, it'll save you some time, and allow you to see where the path is leading (perhaps to a dead end?) Oh, and by the way, writing with a fountain pen is so much more fun than typing!
PS. This blog probably will not stand the test of time.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Friday, January 5, 2007
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Muqabla
"One afternoon, I am complaining about the confusion of my age, what is expected of me versus what I want for myself.
'Have I told you about the tension of opposites?' he says.
The tension of opposites?
'Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.
'A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.'
Sound like a wrestling match, I say.
'A wrestling match.' He laughs. 'Yes you could describe life that way.'
So which side wins, I ask?
'Which side wins?'
He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.
'Love wins. Love always wins.'"
- Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
That passage illustrates some of my thoughts when I titled this blog.
'Have I told you about the tension of opposites?' he says.
The tension of opposites?
'Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.
'A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.'
Sound like a wrestling match, I say.
'A wrestling match.' He laughs. 'Yes you could describe life that way.'
So which side wins, I ask?
'Which side wins?'
He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.
'Love wins. Love always wins.'"
- Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
That passage illustrates some of my thoughts when I titled this blog.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
First Post
It's the same old issue - should one present themselves as the person they want to become, or the fallible person that they are? One would like to believe that by presenting oneself as the former, atleast it is possible that you are having some sort of a positive effect on a world full of too many bad role models. You hide your ugly traits, are ashamed by your bad deeds - you have sharam. But then this could easily turn into a heroic narrative - where one fails to see their own contradictions, much less address them - and continues narrating adventures with no self-reproach at all. You become arrogant.
I guess the solution is that one only begins publicly announcing one's viewpoints when one is worthy. When you have become a good human being, after you have molded yourself into a person with strong values after tireless discipline and effort - then you gain the right to mount the soapbox. And that right is only given to you by the people around you. But really is the mob a qualified judge of the worth of someone's thoughts? How many thinkers and artists were only appreciated after they were dead?
The problem is that, today, EVERYONE is declaring themselves on this monster known as the internet - facebook, myspace, blogs - all serve as a personal mouthpeice by which one may proclaim one's views on any given topic under the sun - no matter how unqualified. What results is a din of information - sifting through it takes hours, days. I personally would rather rely on a qualified source, a reference, to a particular book or source on the topic of interest before googling it.
Regardless, I have been as yet unable to find a blog of someone in a remotely similar situation as me. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I do fit a pretty narrow description. So if for no other reason, I could post simply because I am feeling unique at the moment - a conundrum of factors, genetic and environmental, have collided to result in the current moment that I am experiencing, with its concomitant thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Everybody's experience is unique. Is there something about mine that makes it worth writing about?
I guess the solution is that one only begins publicly announcing one's viewpoints when one is worthy. When you have become a good human being, after you have molded yourself into a person with strong values after tireless discipline and effort - then you gain the right to mount the soapbox. And that right is only given to you by the people around you. But really is the mob a qualified judge of the worth of someone's thoughts? How many thinkers and artists were only appreciated after they were dead?
The problem is that, today, EVERYONE is declaring themselves on this monster known as the internet - facebook, myspace, blogs - all serve as a personal mouthpeice by which one may proclaim one's views on any given topic under the sun - no matter how unqualified. What results is a din of information - sifting through it takes hours, days. I personally would rather rely on a qualified source, a reference, to a particular book or source on the topic of interest before googling it.
Regardless, I have been as yet unable to find a blog of someone in a remotely similar situation as me. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but I do fit a pretty narrow description. So if for no other reason, I could post simply because I am feeling unique at the moment - a conundrum of factors, genetic and environmental, have collided to result in the current moment that I am experiencing, with its concomitant thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Everybody's experience is unique. Is there something about mine that makes it worth writing about?
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