Author: Ajmal

roots and branches

Posted on by Ajmal
The photograph of a meal during a journey to Buyukada island in Constantinople ;).

Around 5 months back or so, I had written on the theme of realizing roots. We talked about trees with their branches spreading through the air and producing fruits & the marvelous miracle of tiny seeds and grains bearing huge trees within them. If we pause and consciously think about it, the roots which are soft when we touch then pierce through hard rocks and dark earth. As the roots pierce the hardest depths, the branches on the top spread in the air bearing fruits and leaves retaining moisture despite the heat outside. Have we wondered about what a miraculous piece of machinery this is? We can see that they’re under a command. A seed in the process of its initial development would require a lot of things for it to flourish well. The right kind of soil, the balance of water, temperature, delicate humidity balances are some of them. The proportion and the correct balance of each of these factors are paramount for the seed to develop. The right mix and proportion reach them. Can an unconscious entity like a seed work consciously for this proportion to be right? That’s a definite no. We see intention, purpose, and design. Almighty has left these beautiful wonders around us as locks that could only be opened by the key of our thoughts and awareness. It’s consciousness and awareness that elevates & humbles us. The provisions in front of us would invoke yearnings and reflection for the seeker.

Part of Ponder Series

writing magic.

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Writing and the connection achieved by it sometimes have a transformative effect that’s often magical. It’s often how you discover your true tribe.

Illustrated by The Border Of a Mind Studios

“Writing, if nothing else, is a bridge between two people, a bridge made of language. And language belongs to all of us. If I enjoy a poem, that just means I am recognizing within it something of myself, something I must already possess. Therefore, to love a poem is to love a part of myself revealed to me by another person…I really believe that writing is the closest thing we have to true magic. Where else, but in words, can we discover each other out of thin air?”

― Ocean Vuong

intangible transience

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Every aspect, object elucidates a story woven with transience. The flowers in the garden, the plants in the office, the wrinkles on your face, dried tree trunks, broken glass pans, aged furniture, sunset. Life is fragile and short. There’s no permanence, only a yearning within our minds for everlasting life.

Fragility

“Every spirit passing through the world fingers the tangible and mars the mutable, and finally has come to look and not to buy. So shoes are worn and hassocks are sat upon and finally everything is left where it was and the spirit passes on, just as the wind in the orchard picks up the leaves from the ground as if there were no other pleasure in the world but brown leaves, as if it would deck, clothe, flesh itself in flourishes of dusty brown apple leaves, and then drops them all in a heap at the side of the house and goes on.”

― Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping

Fragility | Transience

peacefulness!

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When you renounce the world, the world comes to you. When you don’t expect something, it comes to you.

From an evening stroll with Netta, 2019

“Peace is not always easy to grasp or keep close. In the process of attaining and protecting it, you may find yourself tired, weary, and uncertain on how to keep your peace safe. While being uncertain is normal, continue to commit yourself to peacefulness. You are worthy of every drop of sweetness and ease that you encounter. Being tested is a part of the journey. Giving up, and letting go, is not.”

― Alex Elle

a gauging pause.

Posted on by Ajmal

I’m very ardent and passionate about learning things online. Whatever little skills that I count on, including building this very website you see here are self-taught. Over the past several days, I’ve been pondering on information consumption and the prevalent model of content delivery and its status quo. It’s easy to learn something from YouTube or any other online platform for example, and that could hop on to a stage of following the personality or tutor online, and in most cases, there’s a very good probability that you’ll be bombarded with a lot of sponsorship videos and ‘obscure’ ads purported as informative or engaging original content that you were originally behind them for. Yes, it’s totally understandable that these content creators would need advertisements to sustain themselves if that’s their full-time profession, but I think the advertising model prevalent on online platforms, especially the way of sneaking in ads without being explicit about it tend to jeopardize the value of time for the content consumer in the long run if thought is given to it. This sort of an evaluation mindset made me rescan all the regular channels that I engage with for learning or infotainment and I’m on the point of a reboot. God willing, I’m making a conscious plan of wielding time for skill enhancements by being selective with the choices. Life is too short to be buried in regular ads on online platforms. God willing, I’ve broad plans to learn a new language and to enhance some coding knowledge to automate a lot of things and chores.

to the mountains

Posted on by Ajmal

An old saying goes by the note that everyone would like to live on top of the mountain, but all the experience, joy, and growth would be acquired in the process of climbing the mountain.

“Which is more important?” asked Big Panda, “the journey or the destination?” “The company,” said Tiny Dragon.

Quoted from a cartoon that I saw online