Halloween

credit: Joe Shlabotnik

Pretty funny, eh?

The top right pumpkin is the funniest.

Prayer for the ill--for all of us

credit: mindfulness

I would like to pray for the ill, those in the hospitals, those at home, the ones who are alone, the people surrounded by others yet lonely, the souls with pain in their hearts and fear in their minds, the kids with no parents and the parents with no kids, the ones who can't find love and the ones too afraid to seek it. If you are ill, in any shape or form, I wish you a quick recovery and wish all the best for you in this life and the next. Sincerely. Please accept my love and know that at least this person here loves you and wants what is best for you.

I would also like you to pray for others and lend a helping hand in a way that you find possible. We're all in this together, and like this beautiful chick in this picture we will get through this and come out victorious.

My best,

R.MEh

Hope

Hope, British Columbia, Canada (credit: jeff_w_brooktree)

What is hope?

In their 1991 article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Snyder and his colleagues defined hope as “a cognitive set that is based on a reciprocally–derived sense of successful agency (goal–directed determination) and pathways (planning to meet goals)”.

What?!

Pathways have to do with the plans that we believe we can make to reach our goal. Agency has to do with the person's belief regarding their ability to begin and continue moving towards their goal as planned.

So this is how I see it: I know and I can!

You do not have to agree that psychologists--or these particular psychologists--have "hope" all figured out. However, let us assume that their view is close to truth and apply it to a common situation:

I want to help the poor. Can I be hopeful about it?

plan: I can think of specific organizations that help the poor. I know the poor areas of the town and I know that giving money to the poor people there helps.

agency: I am able and willing to walk to the poor areas and make some donations, and I am capable of making enough money to continue making donations. I also feel confident that I can get involved with the organizations and be an effective member there.

Result: I am hopeful about being able to help the poor.

Iran

credit: Thomas Roche

Iran has an area at 1,648,195 km². According to Population Reference Bureau's mid-2007 estimate, Iran's population is 71,200,000, though some organizations give lower estimates.

Iran is a beautiful country of many different people and wonderfully ancient cultures, picturesque four seasons, scenic views, delicious cuisine, breathtaking architecture, and much much more. I will have more to say about Iran in future posts....

Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran (credit: saital)

Khaju Bridge, Isfahan, Iran (credit: Hamed Saber)

A snowy day in Tehran, Iran (credit: Hamed Masoumi)

Iranian girl, Iran-Angola game, Fifa 2006 (credit: geisagholian)

Signifying...

I sometimes think that a lot of things these days are like this sign.

I mean they are supposed to guide us and make our life easier but akin to bureaucracy they seem to exist for their own sake, even take a life of its own.

More recently it reminds me of the US elections and how it has become a phenomenon in itself with all the stories surrounding Obama, Palin, etc, and all the money wasted on campaigns and advertising.

That's what elections are: an expensive elaborate sign, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (a la Shakespeare's Macbeth)

picture credit: Me-Liss-A

bird of paradise flower

credit: Georgie Sharp
This is called the bird of paradise flower.

beautiful praying room in a mosque in Shiraz

credit: dynamosquito
Nasr ol Molk mosque at Shiraz, Iran, April 2008

Missing: Have you seen them?

credit: CarbonNYC

In times of fear, I am looking for courage.
I do not need intelligence nor knowledge but wisdom.
When I am tempted, seduced by worldly urges, I look for self-control.
In face of violence and war, I long for humanity.
When I see people treated so unfairly, I say where is the justice in this world.

I do not think I am the only one looking for them. If you, too, are looking, and if you find them, let me know.

Missing: courage, wisdom, self-control, humanity, and justice. If found, please return to human beings.

What is beautiful?

Maybe it's a combination of colors, or it's a particular shape. Some say it's subjective, yet many would agree that the picture of these flower is beautiful.
Perhaps it's what makes us happy, feels us with joy, makes our senses come alive.
credit: Pixel Addict

Reaching deep down in political debate

credit: bobster1985

Okay, so I'm guessing that we're getting pretty close to election time in US and time to dig deep, very deep, not into their hearts but further down into the colon and start smearing each other. Yes, Obama and McCain, continuing the beautiful tradition of other presidential hopefuls--and politicians in general--are here to win not to be truthful. Hence, what we're watching now are two egos going head-to-head, and American people--and really the international community--left behind.

Somebody once said "The first casualty of war is truth." Well, political debate is no different.

Do we all wear Masks?

picture by francescopozzi


Masks: some of them might remind you of the movie "Eyes Wide Shut".

We sometimes wear masks to hide our fears, angers, jealousy, and other emotions from others--and from ourselves as well. We can call these masks "defense mechanisms" when, for instance, we hide our sadistic impulses behind our mask of "dutiful police officer"*** as we bark orders to the frightened driver.

There is also "impression management", our attempt to come across as, say, an enthusiastic employee who just loves to lay bricks as opposed to our true conflicted feelings of hating construction work but needing the money desperately.

Maybe this is not a black-and-white issue, and that we sometimes need masks to maintain our mental health--depending on how you define it. We sometimes need masks to function in society.

And Tom Cruise needed to wear the mask--literally--to play a role in "Eyes Wide Shut", and a mask called "public relations" to present himself to the public, just like other actors in Hollywood.

In the episode "Frasier's Edge" of the sitcom Frasier, Frasier senses an emptiness upon hearing that he would be presented with a lifetime achievement award. He is unmasked by his mentor Dr. Tewkesbury. Of course the issue is quite more complex but this episode presents a simplified version of how it feels to remove the mask, to come face to face with the truth (assuming his mentor is correct--and that's a big assumption).

Dr. Tewkesbury: My point is that at the age of eight - at eight - you began to use psychiatry as a way to deal with a world that scared you to death. And this lifetime achievement award has made you realize that your career is finite and once it's gone, all you'll have left is that frightened eight-year-old boy.

***this is merely an example and is not meant to imply that police officers are generally sadistic.

God Bless America!

Okay, so let's be honest. Do you really wanna spend the next 4 to 8 years staring at McCain's ugly old face, awkward attempts at forcing some emotion into his plastic face? Do you want to watch Obama's halting speech and tense upright posture?

Or do you want to watch a hot sexy president? Let's face it, US has some pretty tough times ahead and if we are to hear some terrible news on a daily basis, is it not better to come out of a beautiful mouth?

So vote for McCain 'cause he's old and he's gonna die and then we'll get Sarah Palin. Oh yeah! God bless America!!!

picture by: Tricia Ward

random poetry

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,

And of thy meager store

Two loaves alone to thee are left,

Sell one, and with the dole

Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.

Sheikh Muslih-uddin Saadi Shirazi, The Gulistan of Saadi, 1270

population of Iranian Canadians

Banff, Alberta, Canada


According to Statistics Canada, amongst people who provided only one ethnic origin, Iranians number just about 100,000. However, if you add the multiple ethnic origin responses (those who are Iranian AND X) to the previous number, you get about 121,000. That's 121,000 Iranians out of 31,000,000 million total population in Canada.

Also known as Iranian Canadians or Persian Canadians, they represent 0.4% of the whole population. In other words, out of a random sample of just over 200 people in the street, one is likely to be Iranian.

This figure is according to 2006 Census, and the information can be found here:

Stats Canada

Introduction

"One hour's meditation on the work of the Creator is better than seventy years of prayer”

Prophet Muhammad



...Concise, well-chosen facts are de rigueur.
Landscapes are replaced by addresses,
shaky memories give way to unshakable dates.

Of all your loves, mention only the marriage;
of all your children, only those who were born.

...Pass over in silence your dogs, cats, birds,
dusty keepsakes, friends, and dreams.

Price, not worth,
and title, not what's inside.
His shoe size, not where he's off to,
that one you pass off as yourself.
In addition, a photograph with one ear showing.
What matters is its shape, not what it hears.
What is there to hear, anyway?
The clatter of paper shredders.

Wisława Szymborska, Writing a Resume, View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems



....You, my dear child.
The child of nine or ten years of age,
That you were nothing, you were dust, you turned into food,
Next eighty or ninety years, you will change into an old child,
You will turn into nothing, you will turn into dust,
You will circulate,
Like a circle,
Without aim, without meaning, hollow:
Once again, from the bottom, you will arrive to the initial point,
Like zero,
When you live for yourself,
When you wish to be only for your "own self",
To be alone,
When you wish to be only with zeros,
Your life, like a curve line, will cycle on yourself,
Like zero,
Again, from the bottom you will arrive, to the initial point,
You will remain, you will stink,
Like a pool,
You will be confined, like a circle,
Like "zero".
But if you sit before "1",..............?
If you wish to be only for "1",
and release yourself from futility and loneliness,
and be a companion of "1",..........?
You must live for others...

...There is "1".
There is no "1", Except God,
There is nothing,
There is nobody,
One, In front of It, Till Eternity, Zeros.

"One", in front of it, "Zeros" til Eternity!
Dr. Ali Shariati translated by Dr.Ghassemy




If there were water
And no rock
If there were rock
And also water
And water
A spring
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only
Not the cicada
And dry grass singing
But sound of water over a rock
Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees
Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop
But there is no water

T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land


"...and both wives were lifted, kicking, into the night."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby


Hello, hello;

and Welcome to my little blog}

--you would think that with all the blogs on the *WWW* there would be no need for another, but you'd be wrong;;; im not sure if I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart (I am perhaps selfish and like to say things and be heard).

***so here i am a persian canadian with a degree from a canadian college and conflicted feelings, thoughts, and visions, as sampled by bit of poetry and quotes posted above.

+ + = More than anything I like to create an opp for Iranians to connect far from home to not feel lonely to feel they belong and to share their joy and sorrow and anger and fears and I would like for them to feel right at home and say what's on their mind and really open up and together we can make the best of our time on this planet because time is short and god's love has no limit and if I can in some small way make god happy and his people happy and give them calm and comfort and joy and share with them and be worthy of receiving god's compassion and people's love and friendship I would appreciate that opp with all my heart.

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