Turmoil of delusions

The optimist and the pessimist have a lot to say against each other, and a lot to speak of in their own defence. The realist comes in to meet some middle ground trying to mediate between the two sides, yet 'Reality' is not as easy to encompass as it might seem.

There is truth and and goodness from God in just about everything yet the ultimate route to success is in discerning it correctly. How often are we faced with truth that comes in distorted forms, appealing to our natural sensibilities to good and evil, beauty and ugliness, and can thus corrupt our understanding of what the reality of things really is?

Having quickly read 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', I was quite frightened by the 'human experiment' in which Lord Henry shares some truth mixed with his own interpretation and desire-filled advice on how to attain fulfilment. It highlights the great responsibility of those in a position to share knowledge and the influence of their interpretation and engagement with it. We thus put ourselves in a delicate position when people come to us seeking advice, potentially becoming catalysts of corruption as well as enlightenment.

To consider something that is bad as good is probably an easy delusion to fall into, especially where one's own desires and "benefit" lie. But another delusion of equal or greater detriment is to consider what is good as bad. Well, how are we to know the difference or the 'reality' of the situation except through God and what He has defined as good and bad according to various circumstances? We, as humans, tend towards doing both good and bad things over the course of our lives, yet God reminds us to repent for those bad things in order to erase them, purify our hearts, take us closer to Him again and become 'good' again. Now, if God has accepted one's sincere repentance, it becomes an oppression to judge one in a negative fashion, since it is contrary to the judgement of God, and only He knows what is in the hearts. Sometimes what may be an 'ugly' act is a  manifestation of corruption, but it may also be a manifestation of the mercy of God that is present or to come. We must learn to discern wisely and in accordance to God's Will, aligning ourselves with it, and what is just.

Getting Back With It

One of the worst situations to be in blog-wise is not haven written for a long time, and coming back with a multitude of, perhaps, unrelated things while hoping to make them relatively concise and meaningful. I guess the only worse thing is to have nothing to say, or say something that means nothing.

I found that I had an unfinished piece from many moons ago, the Summer to be precise, and I guess I'll share an edited version of it below and then re-start my blogging from there. I forgot that this isn't the first time I tried to 'come back' to blogging...

"I skimmed over the last few posts and realised that I haven't posted any pictures for some time. Perhaps because everything at home now seems so ordinary or not newsworthy. 

In getting back into the swing of things at home. I've little time to take a step back to think without feeling guilty for not doing something and being productive. My to-do lists have got longer, with more pressured deadlines and important tasks. Along with keeping on top of the lists- mine and those of others', I am getting back into all the little activities I used to do before I left. I 'escape' a little by reading my books for uni's first semester- it counts as work and therefore I'm not wasting time, I'm picking up the henna cone again and practising on whomever I can get my hands on, and I'm cleaning the kitchen after my siblings have their bouts of creativity and after the iftaars.

These moments of 'alone time', and my random daydreams remind of why it's so important to get the balance right between serving and reflection."

And I've returned to the Internet in, what seems to be, a completely different spiritual state, as it apparently fluctuates constantly. The trick is trying to keep it constant- and making that constant state a good one. In good time...