Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lost Beautiful Minds (series,ep.2, The Philistinism Misconception)

Last time out I highlighted the catharses, its effects and its general concerns and impacts on our lives. This is not asking anyone of us to throw away our TV's or stop watching it.

It's a call, to view things, with a more broader view, richer perspective. If we continue to watch and not have a general consensus,realize and see through the lies, then we are boldly staring at a global catastrophe that would envelop our minds such as when we receive things that are surreal,we wouldn't deny it.

This is called Disinformation, whereby a lot of truth is enveloped together with lies, covering it up to perfection.

To sum it up, in Tun Mahathir's own words, in a recent interviewed he mentioned

"Of course, we can also acquire knowledge through television but we cannot gain an education just by watching television alone. They say a picture paints a thousand words. Sometimes when you look at a picture, you see not just one but many thousands of words. However, understanding still may not come and so you do not produce."

What he was trying to convey is that, in my own interpretation, a picture paints a thousand words, with TV you get a thousand words, but you're not able to put those words into context and get the essence of the message, so you remains in trance state of illusory, all confused and purged with emotion. And that is where our TV watching minds are easily influenced.


The Philistinism Misconception

What do we all make of the populous today and it's mentality?
Have you failed to notice how easily entrenched the global populous minds when virtually anything is thrown to them?
Like a bunch of hungry hounds they feast on whatever it is that's being served at them!
Any new trends, fads, fashion or whatsoever it is their ignorant eyes could be deceived to coerce their pockets in order to not be left out.
It's not a new disease, it is a global pandemic that has been ongoing ever since men had step foot on this very earth.

Over the years, a lot have yearned to the fact that it is not wrong to be frivolous with their spendings and that its justified because they work hard to earn that money.
These thoughts, these pedagogy had been instilled into mankind for generations.
It is these thinking that had brought mankind into a deep state of paranoia, a paranoid recluse that's afraid to lose his or her money or belongings even though it is to aid for a better cause.
It is this kind of unjust feeling that had breed a wholesome sense of insecurity in all of us, an absence of empathy that had horde a powerful hate towards helping one another.

Have we forgot what we've been taught in schools, home or even by our respective religions?
To be just, helpful and spread equal wealth throughout the world?
Isn't this lessons taught so that we could have lived side by side with equality of wealth surpassing the greed of many?

It is not wrong to be wealthy, but with it comes a great responsibility, that the notion of giving, should be able to rise from one's heart and not from any form of unnecessary push or pressure.

In The Art of War, the infamous essay translation of Sun Tzu by Denma it was mentioned;

"When wealth is exhausted, people are hard-pressed by local taxes"

No one could argue to the fact that taxes largely around the world had been misused. That large sum of money would render anyone pointless and they would have a hard time handling it, and there and then, the deviation starts to happen.

And this is why, for the sole purpose, spreading wealth is not only for the tax payers, it is also for the non tax payers.

Not only for the rich but to almost anybody who has sufficient enough change and an ounce of kindness in them.




I firmly believe that all religions mainly teaches its believers to be just, righteous and always giving out to the needy. As I don't have the necessary knowledge of other religions, I might want to highlight the ones being taught in Islam. (mind you, that if a Muslim claims to practice Islam, they should be able to apprehend and fulfill these requirements)

In Islam, when one acquires such amounting wealth, then one should be able to spread it either by means of Zakat or self-righteousness.
And when delving into the subject of self-righteousness, Allah SWT has promised so much bounty and rewards, such as in this excerpt taken from the Holy Quran ;

Righteousness does not consist in whether you turn your faces towards the east or the west; what is righteous is to believe in God and the last day, and the angels, and the Book, and the messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practise regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and in times of war. Such as do so are people of truth. Such are the God-fearing. (Al-Baqara, 177)

Furthermore, what makes it a righteous act is not the resulting consequence but rather the intention that is behind it. That is why our acts of righteousness should be solely done to seek the approval from God and not the contemporary limelight that this world offers. This is what separates a righteous deed from the often termed "charity".

Our ignorant populous had shaped itself to be ignorant in terms of charity. No longer is it based on social solidarity but rather it had become a personal desire to win affection of the people.

If we all pitch in to help, bit by bit, the skewed thread that had misled this avaricious populous will be sewn up, and we will be able to witness then, the more giving more fond and affectionate populous that would help each other out in any kind of situation.

But it would all begin, with us, with our very hands and hearts making a difference, no matter how small we contribute and no matter what we contribute, we could stand up and make a difference, NOW!

So, stop satisfying your tyrannous greed, stop chasing popularity, and start by giving away solidarity.


"Greed leads to condemnation, but modesty and contentment with little lead to mercy,”




Lost Beautiful Mind is a series that's written in urge and sincere efforts of the author to highlight different happenings in our society in search for the intellectual and beautiful thinking minds that is dissipating and disappearing every pasing minute.









Tuesday, January 26, 2010

....


I am tired, internally.

I talk to myself, a lot.

I'm not crazy.

I'm just freakishly expressive.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Lost Beautiful Minds (series, ep1 The Cathartic Experience)

The Cathartic Experience




Why is it in today's modern society, with all it's overzealous globalization, and fast forwarding technology, the very minds of our society is still caught up in a trance state of ignorance?

Martin Wolf said "The problem today is not that there is too much globalization, but that there is far too little." Fast forward 6 years, and we've since learned that there's little truth in what was claimed by Mr.Wolf. The populous is too entrenched with materialism that it makes for a worrying statistical reading.

Look around yourselves, look at your friends, or God forbid, look at yourselves!

Stop. Breathe. Take another second to conjure up an ounce of thought.

There's an air of need in all of us, to keep up with upcoming fads and trends, to strive in order to not be left out, no? If you're shaking your head in disbelief, then I sincerely salute you, for your arduous struggle and your persistence against this vast growing populous that feeds on unnecessary neediness.

When dealing with trends and fads, sure enough, the distinguished power of advertising springs to mind. What better way to draw attention than advertisements, be it on the idiot box, a billboard or the internet.

When talking about adverts through TV for an instance, it is believed that our minds are entrapped in a trance state illusion as we peel our eyes, giving the idiot box all our attention span, our conscience undergoes a deep catharses.

Allowing us then to either fall for or reject outwardly whatever it is that's on display. That's is why you get emotionally skewed whilst watching a film or anything, it is the trance state illusion complexity that had shunned and mixed our distinct reality with the fantasy.

That's one of the true powers of the idiot boxes that lies in our very living room. It creates the cathartic experiences, we would cry,laugh and smile all at its will.

But this catharses could sometimes emerge as positive infatuation, but there are forces/ people who are keen to take advantage of this emotional conundrum, allowing viewers to be stuck with negative catharses.

Let me try to put prime key examples over the years of how it is done.

Take a good look at say, the news, and for an instance the recent quakes in Haiti was on, and the news gets us to be in such catharses that it affects us deeply to see people lose their lives.
This is indeed a positive infatuation from a positive catharses.

But it could all turn dark in an instant, from that key noted point that people had already purged their emotions, now banks, association would seem to lend their thoughtful hand, and help become a medium to transfer of money and such, but truth be told half or most of the money will be diverted someplace else.

I am talking based on the past experiences of the Aceh Tsunami incidents, Palestine Fundraisers and such.

The other example that could be given is the negative catharses that could be experienced, giving viewers a negative infatuation just about almost everything.

Take the 9/11 incidents for instant, to those unaware viewers, I assume had come to one simple conclusion that all Muslims are terrorists and that Islam is a religion that practices violence and such.

And the spotlight had never stop tending on anything at all. Every single mistake, every inch of opportunity they could do to bring the catharses to yet another level is one they would take to entice the hate to another level.

But of course for the educated, aware viewers would know very well to rationalize and have the truth sought out first rather than making conclusions based solely on their emotions.


be continued, inshaAllah.







Lost Beautiful Mind is a series that's written in urge and sincere efforts of the author to highlight different happenings in our society in search for the intellectual and beautiful thinking minds that is dissipating and disappearing every pasing minute.














Thursday, January 7, 2010

Elegy: Blisters of a Coffee Cup


A portrait turning grey,
It's painting fading fast,
The colors ripples away,
Washes off all our history.

These blisters,
On my coffee cup,
The pain anomaly,
This is my story.

Treading my space,
I won't move,
This pain of knowing,
You can't come home.