Taha Rafiq

I would like to think I am crazy (crazy is another way of saying I am brave enough and intelligent enough to entertain heterodox ideas, but doesn't rub against other peoples egos) and so, usually, get along well with a very very small part of the society. My friends are very few in number, they all have a lot in common, and new ones rarely make it into the basket.
Anyway, so a few days ago, I was talking to this dude who was the first one in FAST Karachi to get a 4.0 since the 4 year BS program was introduced. And he has written something, and I quite liked it. I loved it. So I am sharing it here. I have been meaning to share it here for some time, but I procrastinate. Here it is:

Everything that we do from the time we gain a lucid consciousness of our actions is forever etched in our minds. We do not remember everything, in the sense that we cannot replay our memories like a recorded video, but it's still all there, tucked away is some corner of our minds. I am reminded of this from time to time when I dream of things I haven't thought of for a very long time, or when I am filled with joy or regret at an action that I did many years back. What this irreversible permanence of thoughts implies is incredibly profound. Any action that we take today will become a fundamental part of who we are tomorrow. Once we have taken any action, we can not remove it from ourself. There is no going back; there can be no selective erasure of thoughts or actions.

The prominent Muslim scholar Hasan Al-Basri is reported to have said, "Son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days, whenever each day passes then part of you has gone." If we transform our view of ourself from our physical body as defined in space, to a view of us defined in time, then what we do at any moment is not only a part of us, but rather it defines who we are. The old adage 'you are defined by your actions' gains another meaning if we look at life in this way. We are composed of what we see, hear and do at every moment in time.

If we are defined by our actions and our actions remain with us forever, then our minds are undoubtedly the sanctuary where our actions are kept, and our eyes and ears the doors to this sanctuary. Once we let something into this sanctuary, it can never leave it. Do we treat this sanctuary with the reverence that we should? Do we try to guard the doors to this sanctuary and avoid letting in content that will pollute our minds forever? We put a lot of emphasis on keeping away from physical harm, which for the most part, heals after passage of some time. However, the scars of our minds never heal completely. For the best of us, our minds are places of contentment and tranquillity; a place where we can retreat to attain peace. For the worst of us, it's a prison where we wish we could escape from, but we cannot.

— Taha Rafiq