Wounds

The wound is the place where the Light enters you. 

Mowlana Rumi

Expertise

Life is short, [the] craft long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult.

—  Hippocrates (c. 400BC)

Tere ishq ne mujhay Ghum dia,
Mere ghum ki Umr daraz ho!

Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path - a correct religion - the way of Abraham, inclining toward truth. And he was not among those who associated others with Allah." Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah , Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims." Say, "Is it other than Allah I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ."

—  (6:161-164)

That Look!

She looked at me in rather a rummy way. It was a nasty look. It made me feel as if I were something the dog had brought in and intended to bury time.

— P.G.Wodehouse. My Man Jeeves.1919.

Quote, Unquote

There is nothing more dangerous than to leap a chasm in two jumps.

— David Lloyd George

Aqli na ban, Qalbi ban

Reported by Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Do not ask me unnecessarily about the details of the things which I do not mention to you. Verily, the people before you were doomed because they were used to putting many questions to their Prophets and had differences about their Prophets. Refrain from what I forbid you and do what I command you to the best of your ability and capacity".

Some perspective.

The company you keep

When you're all by yourself. You are not alone, there is a universe inside you. That universe has all sorts of beings in it. Make sure you stay in touch with the right ones.

Story of the book

Each word I write drops a little more of me onto the page. In time, I will be the book, the book will be me, and the story will be told.

Temptation

It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.

— Leonardo

Bad Habits

I know bad habits wait on us forever. They don't ever go away. They will always be there, just around the corner, lurking and looking for an opening. If you're addicted to food or alcohol or cigarettes or even the wrong person in your life, if you've got a bad habit of any kind, I don't think it just "disappears." If you stop setting goals for your future, if you start living in the moment again, that's when those bad haits will push their way back into your life. 

Phillips, Bill. Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength. HarperCollins, 1999. (ISBN 0-06-019339-5)

Mehdi

Here's one quote I really loved when I was reading fitness literature by Mehdi, the stronglifts 5x5 guy. He says:

It is crucial that you understand that training until failure to get pumped and sore are NOT necessary to gain muscle, nor are they indicators of progress.

Abyss

I am a Very talkative person by nature. As proved by the needlessness of stating what I just did in the former statement. So, to fill that need of talking, I have this blog, I have friends, and I facebook, and sometimes participate in forums. And in this one forum, someone asked, 'What's your favorite Quotation?' and I posted this:

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

— Fredrick Nietzsche

As I has posted this one, I decided I would this another one on that blog as well. This one is by the same author, and it goes like this:

When you stare in the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back at you.

I have to confess, I can Never say I quite understand what it means, but the idea I get from it, fascinates me. Also, what fascinate me the ideas other people get from it when I ask them about it.

I see the 'abyss' as 'something incomprehensible, seemingly infinite, and obscured', and I see the 'staring long enough' as 'focusing' and I see the 'staring back' as 'revealing itself'. You know, how Iqbal also says, Aflaak se aata hai nalon ka jawad aakhir, Kartay hain khitab aakhir, uthtay hain hijab aakhir...

What is your favorite quotation? And what do you think about the ones I have shared here, especially Iqbal's?

Quote, Unquote

Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog; fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion.

— Robertson Davies

Soul

You don't have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.

— C.S. Lewis

Quote, Unquote

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Owning Property

The tenant pondered. "Funny thing how it is. If a man owns a little property, that property is him, it's part of him, and it's like him. If he owns property only so he can walk on it and handle it and be sad when it isn't doing well, and feel fine when the rain falls on it, that property is him, and some way he's bigger because he owns it. Even if he isn't successful he's big with his property. That is so."

And the tenant pondered more. "But let a man get property he doesn't see, or can't take time to get his fingers in, or can't be there to walk on it—why, then the property is the man. He can't do what he wants, he can't think what he wants. The property is the man, stronger than he is. And he is small, not big. Only his possessions are big—and he's the servant of his property. That is so, too."

— Steinbeck, John. Grapes of Wrath. 1939.

Quote, Unquote

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

— Christopher Morley

Quote, Unquote

When I'm not doing something that comes deeply from me, I get bored. When I get bored I get distracted and when I get distracted, I become depressed. It's a natural resistance, and it insures your integrity.

— Maria Irene Fornes

Quote, Unquote

When their eyes met she said, “I am nothing.”
He made no reply at first. But he looked straight into her soul with an expression so peaceful that she could not resist its calming effect. Then she had seen the faintest of smiles steal across his mouth as he said the words again. “You are plenty.”

— Blake, Michael. Dances With Wolves. 1988.