Recycled Book Reading Challenge: The Prophet

“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror

But you are eternity and you are the mirror”

The Prophet is a poetic narrative of philosophical thoughts. Author Khalil Gibran is a Lebanese writer and this work is considered to be his masterpiece.He introduces us to an old man, the prophet, a wanderer and a mystic, who is leaving the island of Orphalese to go back to his homeland.

As the ship is seen arriving towards the island after twelve years of wait, people of the island surround the old man to bid him farewell.They are sad that he will leave them soon. In their sadness, they urge the old man to share with them his wisdom before he goes, and the old man is pleased to speak all he knows.

Yet this we ask ere you leave us, that you speak to us and give us your truth.And we will give it unto our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish.

Then one by one citizens ask him to tell about the different aspects of life. What the old man responds is all this book is about.

It is a short book with only 96 pages, of which 8 pages have abstract artworks. The thoughts shared in the book are profound and often offers a different perspective of looking at things. It is to be read slowly and the ideas should be let to form an enigmatic painting in the mind. I will share some excerpts, which I readily admired reading.

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.

.

Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart’s knowledge.

You would know in words that which you have always known in thought.

.

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts:

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.

And in much of your talking thinking is half murdered.

For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

 

I am grateful to Mliae for hosting this wonderful challenge. If you have a stock of old unread books waiting to be read, do become a part of the Recycled Book Reading Challenge.

Word-High July: Kilig

First time on stage

Prepared had he all night
Anxious and stressed while
Trying to remember
One poetry, ‘The Knight’

The poem has he to recite
In the morning assembly of school
Afraid but is he of those
Cluster of eyes

The assembly prayers are sung but
His lips move in silence
Recalling the lines learnt
Fighting his gut

The prayers now will end just
Turn is his next
Sweaty palms, the knees weak
Feels he the chilled gust

-r prab

 

 

In response to Word-High July: 30 Beautiful Filipino Words: Kilig

 

 

Single Tasking or Multi Tasking?

When I was in college, and preparing for my interviews, one question that needed to get prepared for was ‘Are you multi tasking ?’ I always thought of the answer in affirmative. The memory of working on my laptop, doing digital designs, with a text book open wide besides the machine, and a friend in the room to talk to, surely convinced me.

But now, here at the job I have begun to realise the fallacy of my proposition.In college, things were not as serious as here.I could take a chance of being casual with my report writing, hoping one of my group memebers in the subject will correct any error. However, here the accountability lies solely upon me for my reports. I have to be careful and vigilant. Any discrepancy will attract hostile reponses during the meetings. While at college, mistakes could only lead to loss of some marks( which we never bothered about) here, mistakes mean not just being looked upon as lousy, but also unreliable and untrustworthy. Stakes are high.

In this context it becomes utterly necessary to be focussed on the task at hand, and complete it with undivided attention.

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” – Alexander Graham Bell

A task completed with such mindset induces confidence and conviction during the presentation, and hence I arrived at the conclusion that I will be a ‘single tasking’ person.Though it doesn’t sound quite adventurous, yet, I am endorsing this thinking with a firm resolve. I realised that single tasking also helps maintain a peace of mind.Doing too many things at the same time may sound like they all will get finished soon, but it burns up the mental energy too fast and in the end, nothing is accomplished properly.(while the mind continues to be in agitation)

I have extended this thought to my day to day life too. Single tasking, in all my endeavors. While reading, no music. While music, no walking on streets. While talking on phone, no writing my reports, and while surfing internet, no more than 2 tabs at a time! I want the peace to reign my time! Single Tasking is the norm from hence.

(PS.- Today I got the notification of having completed 1 year on WordPress.The message made me smile.I used to write on blogspot initially.I tried to recall how I had decided to start on WordPress.I can’t recall.I think I had started just like that.It was a great decision, though. It changed my life. I found a great community here.I feel immensely contented and happy to be a part of this world. )

An Ode To The Innocent Ones.

One adjective unmistakenly associated with flowers is ‘Beauty’.These adorable creations convey the message of happiness, joy and love-we often mention that.But one more important essence associated with these flowers is ‘innocence’, which is seldom pointed out. Miss Sissinghurst sublimely relates her experience to this profound thought in this Ode.I am pleased to reblog it here. It is a beautiful read!

BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI

Strange were those summers; summers filled with war.
I think the flowers were the lovelier
For danger.  Then we lived the pundonor,
Moment of truth and honour, when the bull Charges and danger is extreme…

…Strange little tragedies would strike the land…

…when wrath and strength were spent
Wasted upon the innocent…

-Vita Sackville-West
The Garden; 1948

Clover is indeed an innocent plant.  Innocent as the children who gather it, innocent as the ones only looking for that lucky mutation; the four leaf, which will grant security in all its forms, and equally as innocent as the ones only seeking love and friendship.

One afternoon, on my walk, I came across a field of clover in the park.  Its cream colored patches smiled and blotted the green with different shapes and patterns reminiscent of the gardens at Versailles.  This beauty struck me, perhaps more so, because I found my neighbor sitting in the middle of one, while her daughter pranced about making a bouquet of the little…

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Virtual Vacations

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

– George R.R. Martin (American novelist, Author of ‘Game of Thrones’)

***

Yesterday I read a nice post by Kim Richardson, about her visit (in 1996) to Abu Simbel, an architectural Marvel in Egypt. (Kim has written about many of her trips in Africa and Europe, with stunningly attractive pictures, she took there.Do visit her blog for more.)

Reading her describe how being at that ancient site filled her with excitement, I began to get reminiscences of my virtual memory attached with Egypt. I have not been there in real, but I had spent a considerable amount of my virtual life there , by reading a novel based on Egypt. It was a book called “Nefertiti” by Michelle Moran.

It was a summer vacation and I was looking forward to experience some new place through reading. Having a very active imagination, I often plan for such virtual vacations for myself.(When I can’t travel for real) I pick up a novel set in a particular country or locale, which I want to gain an impression of.Then I spend weeks living in that locale, as I continue to read the story.It not only exposes me to that place- their weather, their climate,their geography,their hills and the rivers, but also transports me to a different period of time, if the tale is a historical one.

I get to feel the behaviour of the people in those places-  the way they talk, the kind of humor they cherish, the things they admire, the things they despise and their attitude towards life. Additionally, I observe their manners, etiquette, their customs and their rituals. A further learning is about the social order and community life in those places and those times.

Just as I read Nefertiti to experience ancient Egypt, I have read several other books for the same reason of experiencing a particular place and time. One was “Genghis Khan” by Sam Djang, which helped me go back to 12th Century and experience life in Central Asia. I love the rain forests and the adventures that exist in their wilderness.  I experienced them when I started reading “Congo” by Michael Crichton.I confronted the dark alleys, the hidden cafes, the desolate meeting places, the strange men with powers attributed to their dark businesses in the city of Bombay,  through Gregory David Robert’s “Shantaram”.That was one quirky vacation if I can call so!

In this present phase, I am having a great time exploring space! This month, I had an exciting trip exploring the enigma of Cosmos, with Arthur C Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” Then I had a hair-raising experience of inter galactic travel through wormholes, via Carl Sagan’s “Contact”. My third venture of space exploration is going on now, and the book through which I am touring, is aptly titled “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams.

(Image Source: Link )

 

3 Day Quote Challenge II, Day 3

Ah, and here comes the lovely weekend!

I hope everyone gets a chance to take a break from their routine errands and to do every sort of thing they can to help them shed the baggage of exhaustion and get closer to peace and rejuvenation!
***
I am just completing reading the book Contact by Carl Sagan! Let me give you a sneak peak of it!(that is , if you haven’t read it, or haven’t watched the movie which had followed the book release, more than 2 decades ago! I know I am too late !) Anyways here it goes-

Earth’s radio telescope intercepts unnatural signals from the Star system of Vega, 26 Light years away.It is thought to be some remote and advanced civilization communicating!As the scientists start deciphering their coded signals, and reveal the ‘Message‘ suddenly the whole human community is appalled. The signals are instructing humans to undertake a project!

But who are sending those signals- And will undertaking that project benefit us – or annihilate us- We can’t send them back the signals, as it will take 26 years to reach them! We can only start working on the project – and can’t know their intent unless we complete the task- and see for ourselves what does it lead to!But will it get completed amidst the commotion of arguments from scientists, statesmen and religious leaders of the world?

A delightful read, which gives insights about human behavior from different countries with different beliefs, responding to such cases which concerns the fate of Humanity as a whole.

What  I liked the best in the story is, how the subject of space science, when we start contemplating the vastness of cosmos,  lifts our consciousness to such higher levels that we start feeling more contentedness with every human being. The subject makes us more compassionate and meditative.

I will like to quote this part from the book, which beautifully captures the essence of this feeling!

With this I conclude my this edition of 3 Day Quote Challenge!

***

I am grateful to Spiritual Journey for kindly nominating me for this challenge! At her blog she has an archive of prolific quotes, motivational stories and compelling spiritual thoughts that will surely impart you with profound perspectives about life! Do visit her blog!

Furthermore, I am grateful to Ebby for also nominating me for this challenge! Ebby is a wonderful conversationalist and she writes about social issues she feels deeply about! A charming and lively personality who writes lucidly, you would surely like reading through her blog.

Thank you very much!

 

 

3 Day Quote Challenge II, Day 2

On this 2nd day of the 3 day quote challenge, I feel fortunate to note that on this date 15th April , far back in the year of 1452  one of the greatest artists we have known, was born.

Leornado Da Vinci, when I had first heard this name, I only remember him being referred to as one of the greatest genius of all time. I was curious to know more, and what I discovered next was the remark- he painted the most famous painting in history- The Mona Lisa.

This guy seemed to have done everything that included the words ‘greatest’ and ‘in all of history.’ I recall examining his sketches about some flying machine, published in a magazine.It had thrilled me, because I had never known an artist with such inclination towards scientific inventions too.

I remember watching a documentary about him which depicted how strange a person he was.He would often disappear for days, then come back with new ideas- nobody could decipher where he would suddenly get ideas from.Some claimed he had contact with extraterrestrial beings. That just made his personality even more outlandish.

The peak of my fascination with him was reached upon reading Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. I believe most of us would have got enraptured with his mysticism after reading that absorbing fiction.Mysteries hidden in paintings! Secret paths, Secret societies! Whew!

I always regarded Da Vinci with awe because of his versatility.(He is even said to be able to write and paint simultaneously with both his hands)  I invariably held that we should learn from  him, that the pursuit of knowledge doesn’t need to be restricted  to one domain.At the end every knowledge will culminate to help us understand a greater truth.

Like, Da Vinci learnt about so many things- his interests included such myriad of fields as  invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography.Ultimately all these understandings would have influenced his mind to become a better artist.Who knows he might have used a principle from music theory for the selection of colors for his painting! When you know so much, you can just play with theories and create magnificent things!

***

 I wanted to pay tribute to this great artist today,so I made these posters using the pictures of some of his famous paintings along with his timeless quotes.

(You may notice a ‘G’ logo in each poster. That is the logo of the Creative Club of our university.The club is called ‘GrayScale’.I had to post these pics there too so I have kept the logo in each of them.)

***

I am grateful to Spiritual Journey for kindly nominating me for this challenge! At her blog she has an archive of prolific quotes, motivational stories and compelling spiritual thoughts that will surely impart you with profound perspectives about life! Do visit her blog!

Furthermore, I am grateful to Ebby for also nominating me for this challenge! Ebby is a wonderful conversationalist and she writes about social issues she feels deeply about! A charming and lively personality who writes lucidly, you would surely like reading through her blog.

Thank you very much!

3 Day Quote Challenge II,Day 1

3 day quote challenge is one of the most adorable challenges that has been endorsed by the blogging community!

Quotes are a powerful medium to share feelings,thoughts and ideas in packets of portable words that often help us find peace,strength and wisdom.

***

I remember when I was young I had that incessant urge to understand the world around me.Why is the sky blue?What is the sun made of?What happens in the moon?Where does the river gets so much water from?How do the pictures appear in the television?.. the list was endless.

When I began to go to school, I often found it difficult to ask too many questions, because most of my queries would not concern the textbooks and I was afraid of being thought of as an outcast who was too naive to ponder about such things nobody seemed much to be bothered about.

But in the course of growing up, I encountered some teachers who started giving answers to many of my questions, without being asked, and despite none of them being in textbooks. They would just say- “You must have wondered why the sky looks blue?”

Imagine how awakened, excited and thrilled I would feel when some teachers did that.

In particular I recall my 8th grade Mathematics teacher who went on to tell every  bit of story  behind Mathematical ideas. “Did you ever wonder why Natural Numbers are called so?” “Did you ever wonder how Algebra developed?” “Did you ever think why they say parallel lines meet at infinity?” I found him answering many of the things I indeed used to wonder about, but never had the courage to ask! Encouraged, I would often accost him after the class and probe him questions that bothered me, apart from those he had already talked about during his lecture.He was always sincere in answering those! In fact he was such an inspiration to so many of my batch-mates, quite a lot of them started loving Mathematics and few of them today, have become Mathematics teacher like him.

I also recall our History teacher, and our Biology teacher who would always go an extra mile to tell us fascinating things related to their subjects, making us keep craving for more- Passing on their passion onto us, the passion to learn, explore and discover!

I want to dedicate my today’s quote to all those such teachers, with due respect and heartfelt admiration.

I am grateful to Spiritual Journey for kindly nominating me for this challenge! At her blog she has an archive of prolific quotes, motivational stories and compelling spiritual thoughts that will surely impart you with profound perspectives about life! Do visit her blog!

Furthermore, I am grateful to Ebby for also nominating me for this challenge! Ebby is a wonderful conversationalist and she writes about social issues she feels deeply about! A charming and lively personality who writes lucidly, you would surely like reading through her blog.

Thank you very much!

Murphy’s Law

I recently bumped upon a book called “The Complete Murphy’s Law” by Arthur Bloch.It just took me thirty seconds of skimming to make me rush to the counter to buy it,lest someone else saw it.

What made the book so interesting? Well..it was after a longtime I laughed so much reading a book.A collection of ‘laws’ like the Murphy’s,it takes the reader into a world of insights,through utterly bone tickling laws! Here’s a peek I couldn’t resist to share-

 

Ade’s Law- Anybody can win-unless there happens to be a second entry.

Airplane Law- When the plane you are on is late,the plane you want to transfer to is on time.

Babcock’s Law- If it can be borrowed and it can be broken,you will borrow it and you will break it.

Cannon’s Cogent Comment- The leak in the roof is never in the same location as the drip.

Carpenters Law- If you have only one nail,it will bend.

First Law of Debate- Don’t argue with a fool,people might not know the difference.

The First Discovery of Christmas Morning- Batteries not included

Extended Murphy’s Law- If a series of events can go wrong,it will do in the worst possible sequence.

Rule of Failure- If at first you don’t succeed,destroy all evidence that you have tried.

Glyme’s Formula for Success- The secret of success is sincerity.Once you can fake that,you’ve got it made.

Herblock’s Law- If it’s good,they will stop making it.

Issawi’s Law of Consumption Patterns- Other people’s patterns of expenditure and consumption are highly irrational and slightly immoral.

Jacob’s Law- To err is human-to blame it on someone else is even more human.

Kaplan’s Law of the Instrument- Give a small boy a hammer and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.

Laws of Gardening- Other people’s tools work only in other people’s yards.

Miksch’s Law- If a string has one end,then it has another end.

The N-1 Law- If you need four screws for the job,the first three are easy to find.

Skydivers’ Law of Hesitation- He who hesitates shall inherit the earth.

 

Haha.Hope you had a good time reading these few pick ups I compiled from the book.It’s weekend again,but I have lots of works lined up.We are organizing TEDx event in our University tomorrow.I am a part of creative/communications team and we have been working on lots of digital designs.Our team, that was handling the crafts works for stage design,worked whole night and they made lots of lovely decorative items.

I really wanted to make a post this morning,as I got some free time and flipped through this book,I had purchased some days back.I just wanted to share a smile with everyone! (:

Lately I have become more of a ‘reader’ at WordPress than a ‘writer’.I have been frequenting the WordPress Reader amidst my cluttered work hours,just to take a break and delve into the world of lovely bloggers!I find peace and solace in that. I surf across the posts from all the admirable bloggers I am following.It feels so amazing to read the different thoughts and expressions, all conveyed through a fine amalgamation of eloquent words.It just drives away all the worries and anxiety that comes with work.

Life feels so better with all the bloggers around! Thank you so much to you!

Have a very happy weekend!

 

3 Day Quote Challenge,Day 3

Thank you, Chape for this challenge.

Chape is a lively person and he loves traveling.I strongly recommend to visit his blog 🙂

Challenge rules:

1. Post three consecutive days.

2. You can pick one or three quotes per day.

3. Challenge three different bloggers per day.

 

For the love of poetry,today I will quote the lines from three of my favorite poets.

1.”Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.”

–The Brook , Alfred Lord Tennyson

2.”Wealth I seek not,hope nor love
Nor a friend to know me
All I seek the heaven above
And the road below me”

–Vagabond, RL Stevenson

3. “Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.”

–Ode to Solitude, Alexander Pope

Thankyou.I loved sharing the quotes ^^

I would like to nominate-

1.Elan Mudrow

2.David

3.Bookscrazyanagha

 

Hope you will like this challenge and share your favorite quotes too. 🙂