Another Wednesday night
Bismillah Arrahman AlRaheem
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Another picture from St. Thomas to give you a better idea of the beauty of the place.. :)
Today was quite eventful...
Class, several hours in the student center catching up with friends, and the elections. I sadly lost to the other person running, he was an old member with more experience, but they said it was close, so maybe next semester.. :) After that I had two more meetings and now getting ready to finish an article about Saudi Arabia for the school paper..
This is a piece I wrote approximately 3 years ago, I was going through an interesting stage in life and I wrote about the people, the emotions, and the general situation.
Please give me feedback (good or bad) and keep in mind this was 3 years ago :)..
-Y ;)
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WHEN DID WE START LIVING THIS UNREALITY?
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07.01.2003
Driving to my grandfather’s house for a family gathering, thinking over my day’s schedule,ideas flashing here and there, I started thinking deeply. When did we get so dedicated to life? When did we become so hooked to our jobs and studies? When did we get so distant from our religion and our national traditions? Why can we remember the name of an actor in a good movie so well, and not remember the names of the ten people the prophet assured to go to paradise? Some people spend all their spare time nagging over who is prettier, Jennifer Anniston or Cameron Diaz. Others, with nothing better to do, fight over whether Ronaldo or David Beckham is richer. Not to mention those who undermine you for not knowing enough details and gossip about movie stars, sitcom actors, and Italian footballers.
I passed my old school and smiled, recalling the days we spent there getting into all kinds of mischief. It was a great school and it directed us to our different paths in life. But now we are in the real world, that’s if it’s still called the real world? I prefer calling it the “unreal” world. I don’t believe we are living a reality at all. Muslims detested everywhere; certain Arabs strengthening the negative stereotypes that the World’s nations already have of us; distrust spreading between the deepest and closest friends; people not believing in true love anymore; the religious police force partly made up of ex-prisoners; teenagers running after lust and forgetting there was something called “romance;” people taking rappers, rock stars, soccer players, and actors as their role models; these composing only part of the unreality we now live in. You also see people gazing in awe at someone playing a musical instrument, wishing they had half his or her talent, forgetting that this person might never go to heaven.
These days it’s almost impossible to find anyone wanting to walk in the footsteps of Omar or Abu Bakr, the great Caliphs of the Muslim nation. You see people reading magazines and Stephen King novels, never thinking of reading a biography of one of the prophet’s companions. You see more and more people with funky haircuts, but no 21st century Malcolm Xs walking around. You see more and more people in malls, and less and less people in mosques.
Another important question arises: Why are some people so fake? If Ramadan comes, they hurry to Makkah and aim to finish the Quran before the month ends. A week after that, they make reservations to spend their Hajj vacation in Beirut. We are also becoming more and more materialistic. Judging a person on unreasonable criteria like whether or not he owns a new Mercedes (foolishly nicknamed “Viagra”), whether he is covered from head to toe with Diesel, Armani, and other designer’s clothes, and whether he spends his summers in LA, Paris, and Geneva.
Why is life becoming so important to us?? Parents are planning their children’s careers when they are in grade school, and not caring much about whether or not they are sending a positive and well-mannered individual into the world. You see more and more young ones disrespecting their parents, and many teenagers that hate their dads and moms. We also have a new generation of nanny-raised children. These are children that spend 90% of their time with maids because their mothers are too busy with social gatherings, talking on the phone, and shopping; these children are being raised with no morals, no goals, and nothing that makes them strive to make a difference.
Still other questions pop up like: Why can’t some families gather except when there is something like a death or a major car accident in the family? Why does it take the death of a loved one to make us remember that there is heaven, hell, and the hereafter? All these issues delineate the unreality we now live in. But in my case, I want OUT. I want to exit this crooked matrix and enter a world where truth prevails, a world where religion is spread by virtue and good treatment, not force, where you are respected whoever you are and whatever you do, a utopia where your friends are still your friends, even when you aren’t there, a world where you can always lay your head on your pillow and never think of tomorrow, a place with no negative consequences and no back-stabbing. So, does anyone wish to join me?
____________________________
Another picture from St. Thomas to give you a better idea of the beauty of the place.. :)
Today was quite eventful...
Class, several hours in the student center catching up with friends, and the elections. I sadly lost to the other person running, he was an old member with more experience, but they said it was close, so maybe next semester.. :) After that I had two more meetings and now getting ready to finish an article about Saudi Arabia for the school paper..
This is a piece I wrote approximately 3 years ago, I was going through an interesting stage in life and I wrote about the people, the emotions, and the general situation.
Please give me feedback (good or bad) and keep in mind this was 3 years ago :)..
-Y ;)
_______________________________________________________
WHEN DID WE START LIVING THIS UNREALITY?
____________________
07.01.2003
Driving to my grandfather’s house for a family gathering, thinking over my day’s schedule,ideas flashing here and there, I started thinking deeply. When did we get so dedicated to life? When did we become so hooked to our jobs and studies? When did we get so distant from our religion and our national traditions? Why can we remember the name of an actor in a good movie so well, and not remember the names of the ten people the prophet assured to go to paradise? Some people spend all their spare time nagging over who is prettier, Jennifer Anniston or Cameron Diaz. Others, with nothing better to do, fight over whether Ronaldo or David Beckham is richer. Not to mention those who undermine you for not knowing enough details and gossip about movie stars, sitcom actors, and Italian footballers.
I passed my old school and smiled, recalling the days we spent there getting into all kinds of mischief. It was a great school and it directed us to our different paths in life. But now we are in the real world, that’s if it’s still called the real world? I prefer calling it the “unreal” world. I don’t believe we are living a reality at all. Muslims detested everywhere; certain Arabs strengthening the negative stereotypes that the World’s nations already have of us; distrust spreading between the deepest and closest friends; people not believing in true love anymore; the religious police force partly made up of ex-prisoners; teenagers running after lust and forgetting there was something called “romance;” people taking rappers, rock stars, soccer players, and actors as their role models; these composing only part of the unreality we now live in. You also see people gazing in awe at someone playing a musical instrument, wishing they had half his or her talent, forgetting that this person might never go to heaven.
These days it’s almost impossible to find anyone wanting to walk in the footsteps of Omar or Abu Bakr, the great Caliphs of the Muslim nation. You see people reading magazines and Stephen King novels, never thinking of reading a biography of one of the prophet’s companions. You see more and more people with funky haircuts, but no 21st century Malcolm Xs walking around. You see more and more people in malls, and less and less people in mosques.
Another important question arises: Why are some people so fake? If Ramadan comes, they hurry to Makkah and aim to finish the Quran before the month ends. A week after that, they make reservations to spend their Hajj vacation in Beirut. We are also becoming more and more materialistic. Judging a person on unreasonable criteria like whether or not he owns a new Mercedes (foolishly nicknamed “Viagra”), whether he is covered from head to toe with Diesel, Armani, and other designer’s clothes, and whether he spends his summers in LA, Paris, and Geneva.
Why is life becoming so important to us?? Parents are planning their children’s careers when they are in grade school, and not caring much about whether or not they are sending a positive and well-mannered individual into the world. You see more and more young ones disrespecting their parents, and many teenagers that hate their dads and moms. We also have a new generation of nanny-raised children. These are children that spend 90% of their time with maids because their mothers are too busy with social gatherings, talking on the phone, and shopping; these children are being raised with no morals, no goals, and nothing that makes them strive to make a difference.
Still other questions pop up like: Why can’t some families gather except when there is something like a death or a major car accident in the family? Why does it take the death of a loved one to make us remember that there is heaven, hell, and the hereafter? All these issues delineate the unreality we now live in. But in my case, I want OUT. I want to exit this crooked matrix and enter a world where truth prevails, a world where religion is spread by virtue and good treatment, not force, where you are respected whoever you are and whatever you do, a utopia where your friends are still your friends, even when you aren’t there, a world where you can always lay your head on your pillow and never think of tomorrow, a place with no negative consequences and no back-stabbing. So, does anyone wish to join me?
posted by Raven at 7:19 PM
4 Comments:
Zoony:
I agree, as I said this was a phase I was going through.. You are right, life's bads define life's goods (if that makes sense). But it isn't just the problems, there are several imporant societal flaws I discussed as well that we need to work on improving..
Thanks for the comment, :)
I have been alive long enough to remember a more innocent and idealistic time when it was not considered naive to believe that better days were ahead. Some days I wake up and wonder what happened. I am so sad for young people today--all fo you carry such a heavy weight upon your shoulders. You will have to be your own Malcolm X's (as an aside, all of your heroes were killed or silenced by the big money powers that be; I remember when he and Martin and Bobby were killed).
I also wonder about the role of money. When I was a child growing up in America in the 60's, middle class people lived so simply. We didn't have fancy anything, but we had enough. Rent was cheap and so was food, and no one even dreamed of dressing like a movie star. In the 70's I lived and traveled throughout the middle east, and I loved the simplicity of life.
Now--everyone is in debt, we live in mini-palace McMansions (l also lived in KSA in the 90's and found the same materialism magnified), drive new cars , have the latest and greatest gadgets, eat out in resturants all the time.
And no one knows how to knit, milk a cow (or a goat), plant a vegetable garden, change a flat tire, build a set of book shelves....I could go on and on and on.
The only answer I have is to cultivate an eye for beauty (that is the eye that lives in the heart, not the brain), to love this planet and all evidence of life. Mystical traditions (in all religions) say that the reason God created life was because he was so generous and so filled with love that he he had to share it with us, his creation.
Live as well as you can. Learn to cultivate forgiveness (it is easy when you can see the beauty in every person and thing) and don't be afraid to follow the call of your very own destiny.
Guzikistan,
Your words are highly regarded in times like these.. thank you for the inspiring comments and the visit.
Y :)
Hi,when i used to work I'd be too busy to even eat and tired and sometimes feeling depressed from seeing one ill person after another and then duhur prayer time comes and I feel like all of that dissapears. I remember that life isnt all about work and material things. I remeber that Allah is watching and that He is there. I start my work again with renewed energy and resolution and a sense of purpose and then asr prayer time comes and again I remember why I am here and then magreb and so on. Isnt it wonderful to have 5 reminders a day of that we are living an unreal reality and that we can escape it when we want and that we are going somehwere important if we intend for everything we do to be for the purpose of making the world a better place...
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