Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Forever accepting that the only thing definite is death and the day in which there is no doubt...















As you might have figured out, I'm not as preoccupied as usual. I spend my hours in attempt to initiate my career through online applications - at this point, I am still optimistic, but the only stones I leave unturned are correctional officer (working in a prison) and a legal assistant. I'm beginning to consider policing as an domestic violence specialist - but I don't know...

Options are everywhere, nothing is definite. You can plan all you want, but the the micro-details are unpredictable (yes, I refer to your first career move as a micro-detail before you don't know where anything will lead you).

So the other day I was driving with a good friend (my mother); we go down to my favorite spot near the lake and she becomes as inspired as I. On our way there, I discussed a scenario that I fell into many times. Not once, not twice MANY times...where I was convinced that the final answer was already determined and it was time to carry on with the rest of my life. She looked at me and said; no. That one word shook me; no. Then did I realize, there is no final answer in this life except for death and the day in which there is no doubt (al youm la rayba fe - Judgment day). I was always convinced about determined answers; but nothing is definite. Nothing is the end of all roads; no answer is forever permanent. Maybe because I am not a mathematician in which all is black and white (right or wrong); I am a social scientist, where most or everything is grey.

I concluded that there are no conclusions in life; there is no guarantee that something is over; Your plans or your beliefs may be your aspirations, but definite are they really?

However, you might question, shouldn't we be determined enough to want things to be definite?
Lets say, for example - that a young woman wants to revolutionize her people to stand up against a system that is discreetly being designed to oppress them. She might desire it and pray for it, work for it and fight for it; but what is to say that will happen?

Than how confident can you be in your dreams and ambitions if things are not definite?

Now I confused myself - although I am convinced that humans have free will and can do as they wish; if they wanted to do something big and revolutionary but it doesn't go in that direction, is that necessarily a bad thing?

maybe this philosophy is just plain out stupid - wait, actually now I got it...

maybe there are somethings other than death and the day in which there is no doubt, and some things where you have control over? Maybe there are somethings that you are destined to do and you envision it years before it happens...is that a legitimate way to understand the term "definite"? Obviously, agnostics and atheists would think I'm retarded - but I'm still trying to figure out what I should close the book on and I should continue looking forward too....

maybe I should just stfu and just "koun (be)"

I guess everyone is allowed to think in wasteful dimensions once in a while...

Monday, September 10, 2007

The Lens...


This is something that I've grown to understand a while ago, but have only verbalized it recently...although I expressed it to several intelligent friends, I failed to clarify it - or maybe it's because they didn't get my point. I love what Albert Einstein once said, "you only truly understand what you can explain to your grandmother". So in otherwords, I better practice my Arabic more often...(hahahahaha, me so funnnnnnnie)

I tend to write for people who are educated and see things in a similar light as mine - one day I'll be able to simplify things better and eventually universalize the message I feel needs to be broadcasted.

Okay, so here it goes....

Due to intense politicization of the current period, culture, and era that we live in, we as humans are viewing and judging everything from a political lens (or perspective).

Allow me to explain. As an individual, I have the ability and right to judge a scenario or a person after thorough and unemotional examination...

(*sidenote: I am not saying you should be judgmental by judging too quickly, but I am arguing that with wisdom and experience, you need to make competent judgments and conclusions about people and situations. Go ahead, be like Tupac and say "Only God can judge me"; however, I really think that was a message sent out to judgmental individuals*).

...however, that judgment is governed by the perspective you see it from. When people express a firm opinion and try to soften the blow, they might say something "that's just my perspective", or something like that...

The truth is, we have several lenses (or perspectives) - so far I've discovered both a politicized and a spiritualized one; there could be others, but I haven't found them. Both are valid means of coming to a conclusion; HOWEVER, we make the unwise and unconscious mistake of using our political lens to judge something (or someone) that requires the spiritual lens.

Have I confused you yet? I'm trying to be clear - but I have trouble trying to make sense out of things, So I'm gonna further simplify it.

We tend to judge a situation or a person by looking through the wrong lens. We sometimes judge situations that require a spiritual perspective, with a political lens. Hardly do we ever judge a politicized issue from a spiritual lens, due to the fact that we (as I said above) have become so politicized that we've packed away our spiritual lens.

Have I made my self clear now?

Okay, now for the examples....

I am what some people refer to as a SUSHI (from a mixed, Sunni/Shia family). I have a feeling that my generation might be the last of this, due to the fact that sectarianism (a political thing) has dominated people's understanding of the true essence of the religion (which is a spiritual thing). Many people have unconsciously replaced spiritualism with politicism.

This is happening for the follow reason:

- We have a natural desire and inclination to discover the ultimate reality (The one God).

- However, this is not going to feed our need to find cultural solace,

- So we therefore turn to the culture of our parents, due to the fact that the Canadian social fabric is weak (due to the multiculturalism ideology our Federal Government encouraged - it left many young individuals in limbo; unable to understand what their Canadian identity is in comparison to the culture of their parents).

- Nevertheless, cultural values are consistently mistaken with religious principals; and in order for us to decipher the difference between the two, we need to go into a deeper study (which is nightmarishly difficult)

and within this study, we begin to make judgments... and we make these judgments without looking through the correct lens.

Have I made things clear? I know its really complicated - I'll probably post another essay later that's far simpler.
But to conclude, these are thing that I believe should be looked at through a spiritual lens:

1) your relationship with God and your soul
2) your judgment of others (i.e. don't judge someone according to their political or ideological affiliations)

there are others, but I have yet to verbalize them....but I hate it when someone looks down on me because I don't look at everything through a poli-fu*king-litical lense or because my take on religion, or my take on "Sunni's/Shia's" is not consistent with everyone else's.

I have my perspectives, my beliefs and understandings as to the purpose of the sectarianism... even if you are rather rigid to your ideology, I think that it should not interfere with your relationship with other Muslims, especially marital relations...

I will explain more later on, because I know I've begotten a million more questions

God forgive if I've said anything contrary to his natural law and system.

Philosophy to live by

Practical and simple philosophies you might have heard of, but have forgotten due to the fact that your a human and it is a part of you're nature to forget....So I've taken the liberty to remind you...

Imam Ali (a.s) has said, ‘That knowledge is very superficial when it remains only on your tongue; the intrinsic merit and value of knowledge is that you ACT upon it’.”

in other words, you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?