On Religion

'On Religion was definitely one of my favorite chapters of the book. I found that I could relate to some of the things it says such as, "Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?" (103). At my summer job a girl asked me, "Well are there any strict beliefs that your parents have because of your religion?," and I really had to think about this question. I know that some of our dress restrictions are based on being Muslim but others are just because of the way my parents were raised. So this line really resonated with me because how can you separate the two when they are constantly intertwined. But as always there are exceptions to every rule because I know that some of my actions are separate from my faith.

I also liked the second part of the quote because in history class we always have heated debates, and I find myself believing the side I'm on, even if I do not necessarily agree with the situation. Since I have spent so much time working on the debate, during them, I start to believe what I am saying, even if I know it's not right. And so I think we get so wrapped up in what we are doing, we start to believe it, and then it becomes real.


image from: flickr

On Pleasure

I liked 'On Pleasure' because when people think of pleasure, it's usually thought of as something sexual, when in fact it's not, and this chapter explained that. The line that explained this was, "Some of your youth seek pleasure as if it were all, and they are judged and rebuked" (94). I liked this line because I felt that teens only act sometimes for pleasure, without thinking, and end up with consequences like unplanned pregnancies. A lot of youth act on impulse instead of thinking, which is why we're often times labeled "hard-headed," [well I know I am :)]. 


Another line that I liked was "But regret is the beclouding of the mind and not its chastisement" (95). I liked this line because we all regret things we've done in our life, but it's better to learn from your mistakes than to let your thoughts take over and cloud your mind with the thought of regret.

On Time

I liked 'On Time' because I feel that we live our lives through time and that's what the chapter explained. "Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness" (83). I feel like this line shows that no matter what, you are affected by time. Time surrounds us everyday and without it, the world would be chaos. Time is in place to set structure for society but to also explain why it is dark at 4:30 pm in the winter and light at 6:00 am in the summer. My favorite line was. "And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream" (83). This line reminded me of the saying, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that's why it's called the present."This line really spoke to me because we are always taught to take advantage of the moment and I'm not sure how that ties into time but I know that I try to live each day in the moment, but I find myself still trapped by time, looking at my watch, then continuing to look at my watch every minute as if some significant amount of time has passed. 

On Friendship

When I read 'On Friendship,' I couldn't help but think of all of those old tales that talk about a friend, or those cheesy images that explain what a real friend is. I liked this chapter because it did all of those, but in a concise manner. There was no cheesiness, or outdatedness. My favorite line was, "For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace" (78). I liked this line because it shows that you can go to a friend for all of your problems and they have the answers. I think it's kind of weird that people do that because it's almost as if they always know the answers to all of your problems and then you ask yourself, "Well if there was always an answer to all of my problems, then why do they exist?" Then you realize, that without them, there would be no calling your best friend late at night asking him/her a problem solving question because they are always there, and always will be. 

On Teaching

'On Teaching' best described the perfect classroom setting, it actually reminded me of students at Beaver. The message that I got from this chapter was that the teacher can teach all he/she wants but it is up to the student to seek out the knowledge and go into depth based on what the teacher teaches. My favorite line was, "The musician may sing to you the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm, nor the voice that echoes it. Teachers are only the people that study that subject, but the job of the student is to understand and take action. This reminded me of Beaver because I think teachers teach here and the students that are intellectually curious will go out and seek the knowledge, while others just take in what the teachers teach, and never really know that subject.

On Reason and Passion

‘On Reason and Passion’ explained the reasoning behind why humans make certain choices. ‘Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite” (67). This quote reminded me of the two people that sit on your shoulders that represent your consciousness and help you make decisions; one is the good side and the other is the bad side. I liked this chapter because it defined, for me, the reason behind our own decision-making and how our passions fuel that fire. The rest of the chapter went on to explain the usage of your judgment and your appetite; they too should be treated with equal care. The moral of the chapter was that your passion is put to use when you reason, and without passion, you’re reasoning would be at a stand-still. 

image from: http://img.domaintools.com/blog/homer-devil-angel-shoulders.gif

On Crime and Punishment

I liked ‘On Crime and Punishment’ because I found that I could relate to what they were saying. My favorite line was, “If any of you would bring to judgment the unfaithful wife, let him also weigh the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements” (57). I liked this line because I feel that there is a reason for everything, and in this case the unfaithful wife may have cheated because her husband was not doing something right, so she sought elsewhere for what was missing. That does not necessarily make it right, but there was a reason for it. This was the theme throughout the chapter; you cannot blame the guilty without first looking at the actions of the victim. In a normal world, this does not happen, because if you’re guilty, you’re guilty, but you are innocent until proven guilty.


image from: flickr

Meditation 11/4/10

After Thursday’s yoga, I felt very accomplished. At first, some of the positions were hard for me because I felt that my balance was off because I was too excited. I liked the positions we did, but I wish that we did more exciting poses like ‘the tree.’ I know that not all yoga is like the yoga that we did in class, so I wish to one day try a different type of yoga. I found that the‘Warrior I and II’ positions were too repetitive because they had similar structure but different arm positions. One thing that I did like about the meditation was that I got the chance to work on my breath during the poses, which helped to calm me. Although yoga can be fun, I definitely like meditation better. I feel that I don’t have to prove how flexible I can be, or how well I master the poses; it’s all about your inner self. 

On Work

My favorite line is, "For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite." I liked this line because I feel that being unproductive is being worthless. Without work, the world wouldn't function and people would be bored. Personally, I like to work and I think if I were to be idle, I would be bored with life. 
I think it's interesting that Gibran said, "Then a ploughman said," as if he were alluding to a poor-man asking about the truth about working. It seemed a little weird. 
Another line that I really like is, "Work is love made visible," which affirms my point of loving what you do. If everyone in the world loved the work they did, everyone would be much happier, and maybe the world would be a better place.

My Bucket List

1. Travel to Spain
2. Dye my hair
3. Eat exotic foods
4. Meet Nicki Minaj
5. Go to Africa
6. Have kids
7. Travel across America