Nooj

Between my shadow and my soul

Bending Lines

The following lines by Abu 'Ali ad-Daqqaq strike a chord currently:

"Each day that passes, a portion of me it takes away,
On the heart, a bitter taste it leaves, and then glides away."

Yes enchanted has bewitched my poetry reading:)
So much has changed in the past 4 centuries, 4 days, hours, months; for me, for you, for all of us.
I look at my student card of the cute girl with rosy cheeks and I want to laugh with her, tell her you don't know what's coming but you will enjoy it. I think I am at the age where I still have so much to look forward to. What about those parents who have lost children, what future do they anticipate? Or is life for them as it was for Macbeth, a reel of endless, haunting tomorrows?

Loss has fascinated humans for forever, because we hold on. It is the nature of this earth, we want to create, we forget that the energy balance is constant, newton's 3rd law as goldmimbar told me recently. Al-Kindi, one of the first psychologists said, "if we do not tolerate losing or dislike being deprived of what is dear to us, then we should seek after riches in the world of the intellect. In it we should treasure our precious and cherished gains where they can never be dispossessed…for that which is owned by our senses could easily be taken away from us". The psychodynamic movement in psychology was just an echo of Al-Kindi, where depression is seen as inner grieving for an object that has been lost: a breast, a teddybear, a loving caress.

I also fear loss. Baghdad is gone, erupted in fumes of self-aggrandisement and lack of pre-emptive action by Muslims to preserve our heritage. This is one of the reasons I yearn to study in Syria, it is one of the few places left where one retains the wisom of the ages. In its atmosphere, the bazaars, far away from the dreaded mass production gallows of Mr. Price, Edgars and Woolworths, leave you with a sense of delight as you search for treasures. I am a scavenger when shopping. I look through that which everyone else has discarded and create something. Um, I digress.

The only way, I believe, to counter loss is to seek it. Give of that which you want, says Deepak Chopra. It sounds crazy and illogical but there is some attraction to it. The hadith that says that no day should be the same as the following confirms this. The less mice the eagle keeps in its talons as it ascends, the faster it reaches a better destination.


7 shared ideas:

Khadija August 14, 2008 at 1:07 PM  

I've always been fascinated with Lady Macbeth, unapologetically ambitious,convincing and then, out damn spot... washing away imaginary blood, but there I sometimes am, wishing away the residue of things past that exist only to me. Indeed, perhaps we do not lose enough.

I'm with you on the Syria excursion, for the thrill of authenticity, away from the prostituted culture of commercialism, to the way things could be, to learn of the person within.

An enjoyable post, it made engaging reading.

'The sorrowful person experiences in the way of God in a month what, without his sorrow, he would not experience in years.'
Abu Ali Al-Daqqaq

Crimson Shimmer August 14, 2008 at 7:07 PM  

aaah` wot a lovely post -
absolutely njoyed reading this.
have you fed from the arms of the mother city... :P

Khadija August 16, 2008 at 8:20 AM  

I was going through my archives (a fancy word for a couple of over burdened books forced to contain newspaper clippings and poetry that takes my fancy) looking for something and I came across this poem which made me think of your post:

Loss by A R Ammons

When the sun
falls behind the sumac
thicket the wild
yellow daisies
in diffuse evening shade
lose their
rigorous attention
half-wild with loss
turn
any way the wind does
and lift their
petals up
to float
off their stems
and go.

:)

Nooj August 16, 2008 at 12:03 PM  

wow khadija you are fast becoming my favourite quote-a-pedia :) :) :)

i am beginning to evaluate my own spots, and u are right, the ones i have created in my mind sting worse.

mail me if you are serious about syria, my plans are however still in the dream stage...

yes, crimson, my experiences there were definitely rejuvenating. you are truly blessed; with the beauty in the surroundings and in the hearts of the inhabitants

Unknown August 16, 2008 at 4:31 PM  

attachment is a curious thing; we bundle it with love, but it really isn't. to surrender something to bigger than you is the ultimate act of love.

but i'm a punk, so maybe not

Khadija August 17, 2008 at 12:22 PM  

ah.. still a dream for me too... far off... have to rejoin the ranks of the employed next year and after that insha Allah :)

Safiyyah August 25, 2008 at 3:02 PM  

ya khadija and nooj
Dont put off you dreams as "far off"
you know the famous cliche, life happens when you are too busy planning it! Oppurtunities are created, they dont just pop up, contrary to popular belief!
One day, we had a thought of moving away, and *voila*, here we are... Just DO!
Good choice on Syria, but might I warn you, get in before the commercialists do!

I enjoyed reading this post... and you should see my post on time http://safiyyahsblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/time-my-friend-my-foe.html