Less Ignorance, More Peace

Season's Greetings and best wishes for a Happy New Year
to all living creatures on earth, to all nations, races, colors,
religions, ideas,...best wishes for 2010 to be a year with
less ignorance and more peace.

Some people do it

The above image is not a joke! if we look deeply,

we can see some people do the same,

but in different forms!

Flowers

Is there anything more beautiful than a flower?
As a philosopher said flowers have an expression
of countenance as much as men or animals. Some
seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some
are pensive; some are honest and upright like the
broad-faced sunflowers. And perfumes are the
feelings of flowers.

Relationship

There is a Swedish proverb that says shared joy is
a double joy and shared sorrow is half a sorrow.
Of course it is about being with a good companion.
Unfortunately, there are lots of cases of emotional,
financial, sexual or physical abuse against a partner;
but despite all, they stay in the relationship.
May be because they are afraid of being alone!
Those who cannot tolerate abuse are pushed
to build walls instead of building bridges.

Doctors

There is an old proverb that says too many cooks

spoil the broth! What about many doctors, what

do they do to their patients?! Once Thomas Edison

said that the doctor of future will give no medicine,

but interest the patients in a proper diet and the

prevention of diseases.

Smile

Is there anyone who can resist a smile after

looking at the above picture?!

Smiling is contagious; when one person smiles,

it changes the moods of other people and makes

things happier. Studies have shown that smiling

releases endorphins which are natural pain killers.

But like all other things in life, a smile should be

natural. A forced smile is artificial and has no effect.

Natural smile comes from the heart and touches the

hearts of other people.

Hope

What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope

to the meaning of life.

A philosopher

Think about it

I do not write anything about the above image;
I leave it to the visitors think about it. One thing
is for sure: it will be different interpretations
that is the interesting aspect of it.

Writers

The evening language class that I attend is

multicultural and multiracial; most of my

classmates are international students that

study diverse subjects:medicine, law, history

and etc...in a class exercise the teacher asked

us to choose and describe a famous person.

Almost all the students chose pop singers, actor/

actresses or footballers and when I mentioned

the name of the famous writer that I had chosen,

no one knew him!! I am not against their choice,

because fun and entertainment is essential, but

I was thinking the extent that the pop singers

are overvalued and the reason why the writers,

artists, musicians, philosophers and poets are

undervalued in our society. We should never

understimate the contributions that writers

have made to our society, they have made

our lives much easier to live.

Love

Only the soul that loves is happy.
Goethe

Try

Believe and act as if it were
impossible to fail.
A scientist

Colour and Personality

Colours have profound effect on our moods,
emotions and behaviour. We all have
preferences for one colour or another.
Choice of colours tells a lot about us.
It is very important to have our favourite
colours around us. In Four Elements,
Fire is associated with red,
Earth with green,
Water with blue,
and Air with yellow.
During the ancient times and also today
in relaxation and meditation the colours
play an important role. If you know the
favourite colour of some one, you are
one step closer to know him or her.

children

The above picture reminds me of what

Pablo Picasso told about children; he

said that every child is an artist. The

problem is how to remain an artist

once we grow up.

Books and Internet

It is obvious that the more time we spend

in using the Internet, the less time we have

for reading the books. Internet has made a

huge impact on the daily lives of the people

around the world and there is an ongoing

debate on the use of Internet. I think, like

other things in life, if it is used in correct

way and moderately, it is a great thing;

it has made the communication among

people of different nationalities and races

possible in the fastest way. But also we

should always remember the value of the

books and cherish them, because nothing

can replace reading a worthy book.

Golden Autumn

How beautiful, colourful and gracious
is the autumn; I was walking in the park
and observing and hearing the pleasant
view and sound of colourful leaves
falling on the ground; and also the
pleasant smell in the park after the
rain fall, the scene was so
heartwarming and I had
fantastic feeling involving
all my senses, I was thinking about
the beauty and mystery of this season
and I remembered how true said
Albert Camus that autumn is
the second spring when
every leaf is a flower.

Honesty

No one can lie,

no one can hide anything,

when he or she looks directly

into someone's eyes.

Paulo Coelho

The way it is

The above image of a work of art
clearly explains itself and I do not
think any further explanation is
necessary...in fact, sometimes
lack of explanation makes the
visitor think about it and often
discover new aspects of it.
In that case, it will be more
rewarding and beautiful.

What is enough?

You never know what is enough
unless you know
what is more than enough.
William Blake

Peace

Oh, peace...how beautiful Albert Einstein
said that peace cannot be kept by force;
it can only be achieved by
understanding.
If you read Einstein quotes, you just
wonder this genius who was a great
mathematician and scientist, how
deep such as a great philosopher
and how sensitive such as a great poet
he looked at and expressed everything;
Another quote from him that I really
like is: any fool can make things
bigger,more complex
and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius and
a lot of courage, to move in the
opposite direction.

Natural body clock

It is the best for each of us to know our

natural body clock and try to adjust

ourselves to it.

Some people are Morning, Afternoon or

Night type; it means that at that particular

time of the day they have the fullest energy.

Some people are like larks, rising early and

full of energy in the morning;

the Afternoon people, by lunch time onward

get and feel better and finally Night people

who are called ,Night Owls, can work at

night and are happy to sleep very late at

night.

So the best thing is to know our type

and use it to our advantage.

We always should follow the natural things,

it is the best for our body, mind & soul.

Value of the books

The message of the above interesting carton
is sharp and clear. Congratulations to
the cartoonist and he really deserved
to win an international prize for it.

Passion

Passion is the fuel of life.

It fires the intensity of

the human spirit and

human emotions.

A philosopher

Smile

We have different type of smiles and also different

interpretations of smile! In an unhealthy society,

sometimes even the purest and most innocent

smile maybe interpreted as a dirty signal!

Healthy body, mind and soul generate

natural smile and it is not difficult to distinguish

between natural and false smile!

Even small things such as a fresh breeze,

a happy memory, a funny moment and

etc can generate smile and unfortunately

sometimes it may be misinterpreted and

as a result it causes a pressure on the person

who has to some degree adapt to not logically

made rules to be more careful and inhibit a

very pure and natural thing!

Environment

I found the above beautiful picture at the current Environment Photo Exhibition at the Covent Garden in London tonight. I could not stop staring at it for many minutes; it is such a beautiful, spiritual, mysterious image that make even the insensitive and indifferent persons to ponder for a while.

world without weapons

The above image is my favourite painting
by talented artist, Pablo Picasso,
it is called: The World Without Weapons.
Is it possible for us to be able to enjoy a world full of love,
peace, harmony and understanding;
is it possible a world that people respect each other
and no one wants or can to violate
another person's right, freedom and life?!
Is it possible to have the world without weapons?!
As long as there is greed, and
there are people who sacrifice truth for their interest
(sometimes you wonder how some people act
cowardly just to keep their small interest and
unfortunately our world has lots of them
in the various degrees)
as long as the world is full of the people
who has no principle in their life...
the world without weapons just remains
A SWEET DREAM!!!

without question, without hesitation

...he knew that no one could hurt him.

This was for him an axiom,

assumed once for all

without question,

and he went his way

without hesitation,

relying on it...

Dostoevsky

Writers' corner

The above picture is from writers'corner
in Hampstead Heath, London.
A very relaxing and aspiring

place both for the talented writers

and would-be writers;

they can obtain big ideas

by simply observing the giant

writer's desk ! and enjoying the beautiful

and picturesque surroundings.

Also during rare summer sunshine,

visitors can enjoy the refreshing

shade as seen in the above picture.

This is one of my favourite places!

An interesting cartoon

Such a feeling!

Such a feeling!

This morning I was jogging

when I reached the Rose Garden

in the park in London,

something there:

the fresh breeze,

the amazing scent of flowers,

the beauty of smiling roses,

the fascinating atmosphere,

each and all deeply affect me

that I felt the best feeling,

my soul was drunk for seconds!

I shall not live in vain

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain:

If I can ease one life the aching,

or cool one pain,

or help one fainting robin

unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

Emily Dickinson

sometimes it is like that!

A cartoon is like a photo, an international means of

communication; it is understood by people from

different nations and different languages; there

is no need for translation...above image is one

of them and I think I should just write that

sometimes it is like that!

A story of love

The above pictures show the famous philosopher,

Andre Gorz and his wife after wedding and

after 58 years that they lived together.

Andre Gorz starts the most fascinating

and moving 75-page love letter to his

dying wife who suffered a fatal disease

with the following words:

"You are 82 years old.

You've shrunk six centimetres,

you only weigh 45 kilos yet

you're still

beautiful,graceful and desirable.

It is now 58 years that we have

lived together and I love you

more than ever."

How fascinating is such a warm

bond between a man and a woman;

it is true love and how beautiful and

sincere Andre wrote to his wife that

turned his love letter to the bestseller.

Andre Gorz was an honest writer and

philosopher both in words and actions.

Experience

Our experience never gets into our
blood and bones.
It always remains outside of us.
That's why we look with wonder
at the past.
Joseph Conrad

TV and one-way communication

I do not think there is any need to write anything
about the above image; it is very clear,
especially for those who have read
or have heard about "Le petit prince"
by Saint-Exupery. The interesting point
is anyone can have his or her own
interpretation of it and I believe that
it shows the beauty of it.

children of different races

How beautiful is to oberve the symbols of innocence,
children from different nations, different skin colours,
different races, different social backgrounds,...
gathering together in peace and harmony;
the act that the grown up people are
incapable of doing. There is an interesting
description of peaceful nature of children
in a story written by a writer from Quebec;
one character in the story
describs his dream:
"un grand train errait dans le ciel avec tous
les enfants du monde penches aux fenetres,
qui jetaient des fleurs sur la terre."

We would have much better society
if grown ups could learn from kids!

eyes half shut

It is extraordinary how we go through life with

eyes half shut, with dull ears,

with dormant thoughts.

Perhaps it's just as well;

and may be that it is this very dullness that makes

life to the incalculable majority

so supportable and so welcome.

Joseph Conrad

perfect society

In a perfect society everybody is sure of tomorrow!

life

Who knows? Who knows? Life is so peculiar, so uncertain.
How little a thing it takes to destroy you
or to save you!
Maupassant

success and failure

Success

is never final

and

failure

is never fatal.

love and age

Those who love deeply never grow old;

they may die of old age,

but they die young.

A beautiful saying by a philosopher.

Fascinating creatures: Dolphins

Dolphins are really fascinating; they are so intelligent, cute, peaceful and beautiful creatures that makes any person who has some traces of humanity and warmth, smile. Watching dolphins laughing, dancing and jumping in the blue sea is amazing. Recently a film "The Cove" has made by Louie Psihoyos that shows the annual slaughter of more than 2500 dolphins in Japan!!!!! I cannot imagine how could those persons eat dolphins'meat! it is equal to cannibalism, because they are very close to human beings; dolphins are among the most intelligent animals; dolphins also display culture, something long believed to be unique to humans; in May 2005 a discovery in Australia found bottlenose dolphins teaching their young how to use tools...nothing can justify the slaughter of this fascinating creature by those who are apparently called humans!

The sea and the river

In the darkness when there is no moon, the river knows no limits...the way Maupassant has compared the sea and the river is interesting:

...la mer est souvent dure et mechante, c'est vrai, mais elle crie, elle hurle, elle est royale, la grande mer; tandis que la riviere est silencieuse et perfide...

It is ok to be who I am!

If we can believe that it is OK to be who we are, we will have much better society. When we know ourselves and understand that we are the products of our genes and environment.Also we have the ability to change for better. The first step is to know ourselves and be honest to ourselves and avoid pretension at any cost.

Honesty makes us happy: one has to be honest with himself first and then be honest with other people. Honesty makes us harmonious too; sometimes we observe some people that say something, but the words are not in harmony with the look in the eyes or the body language and you can immediately recognize that that person is not telling the truth.

Dishonesty ruins the self first and then it is spread to the society and damage the society. So the best thing to tell ourselves is "It is OK to be who I am and I do try to be better."

power

The person who is behind the scene

but with the real power

and

the person who is in the front

and has no power!

self knowledge

Maybe I do not know what I want, but surely I do know what I do not want.

Masterpiece

Sometimes a picture, a painting, a cartoon, a design and ...tell us much more than a 311-page book; the above fantastic and unique painting by Dali is one of them; you can write and rewrite numerous pages about this masterpiece and each time discover a new and exciting secret about it...