Tuesday, May 28, 2013

"Stop Dwelling on the Past"           From Marauder #10 - April 2013
This is the subject that came to me to be the topic of conversation in this month's article many days ago. The importance of understanding the meaning of this statement has yet to be determined but for some reason it's intriguing me to further explore. Living in the past. That could translate 
to leaving from the present that you and we are in and being in the past. When we do this, we find ourselves thinking about things that happened or feelings we had. Many times it's something that we wished we had again or something that we wished we had done to change the outcome of the present we find ourselves in. Other times, it's something amazing, something that makes us laugh uncontrollably even in the present and will in the future. It's a pleasant memory that, with fist under our chin, we sit and try to relive and it feels so real. As if we were going through it all over again, reliving that exact moment.
Then there's the other type of 'dwelling on the past' and it involves a feeling of being stuck. Stuck in this situation or event that made us so furious we can't let it go. Every time the smallest thing reminds us of it, we go back into a dark, angry, and negative void which takes away more of our present time. But then what? What do we gain from this? Why are we feeling this way and why do we allow ourselves to relive, of all things, THAT experience? There is nothing to gain from this practice. All we do here is just introduce that old negative energy to our present and waste our precious time over something that we cannot really change; it is in the past. It's really not so easy to be in the present at all times and there really is no way to tell our brain not to remember the good or the bad that happened in the past. It is how we learned everything we know that brought us to this present time that we are in. The nostalgia of bringing back and reliving the time that we feel like we have lost to time itself is what I believe we are trying to do. In a sense pause the present time and time travel to a time before. Little do we notice though that as we do this the present keeps moving into the future, our time does not really ever cease to continue.
Time is now, not the past or the future.
I do believe this is crunch time, it is time for everyone to wake up and use the present to make the future even better than the best memories you find yourself dwelling on or living in. This is definitely not a statement to discard the importance or relevance of our experiences and of our past because it is what made us what we are now. All of it is stored in us consciously and subconsciously. We know it , we went through it. But what are we doing right now? Why aren't we as happy as the happiest past we've had?

Of course each individual situation is completely unique and maybe things haven't truly felt as happy as that one moment in time where everything seemed perfect, but we have the power to change every aspect in our lives to strive for that feeling; or is that dwelling on the past again?? Not if we are in action, not if we are changing our now with the ultimate goal of a continuous present happiness.

- Written by Philip Al-Hajj
- Photography courtesy of Sals Photos

Monday, March 25, 2013

Knowing our way to Freedom               From Marauder #9 - March 2012

“There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts.”

Sometimes we face doubt. It’s a thing that is present in us from birth. Present in the uncertainty of the unknown, not knowing what is good or 
bad, fear of becoming physically independent; being separated from our mothers for the first time. In addition to this internal doubt, others start telling you what is and what is not possible according to their life’s knowledge and beliefs.
Then one bright and sunny day you suddenly get this urge, a naive sense of exploration making anything possible with no concept of danger or even knowledge of danger even existing. The canvas on which you paint your experiences and teachings is blank and you want it right now.  I’m not talking about getting the latest smart phone at age 10 (yes parents, stop doing that!) or crying for ice cream (a method that seems to be the most effective in the early stages of childhood). I’m talking about the want of being wherever and whoever you want. Wanting to climb every mountain you see or dive as far deep in the water as possible with one breath and find that starfish on the bottom, or wanting to be a garbage man or a taxi driver or a musician.
As time passes, each goal starts to involve more difficulties and obstacles. With every step that moves you closer to your goal(s), using what you have learned and what you know, you begin to revisit the same pure want of exploring in order to stand on top of new tallest mountain; to gain the ultimate knowledge, the ultimate happiness.
On this path doubt keeps paying a visit and the road keeps getting harder to follow. Where is doubt coming from? When you know for certain that your life is following the life you, with determination and hard work, chose? Many times you start doubting your path because of other’s expectations, maybe even what your own expectations used to be.

This whole process might at the same time seem to turn lonely or even selfish, doing what you want as an individual, and sometimes you stare at the stars and ask “Why me!?... and why of all days TODAY!!?”; Well, lets not forget that Fate and Luck enjoy doing their own mischief, maybe to keep things interesting and to test our determination and faith in what we are doing. 

Don’t doubt yourself, don’t doubt the people around you that have been placed there. Recognize the importance of their presence as they try to do the same, and even face
the same situations. Know yourself, be certain of what makes you happy; or keep searching for it. Allow for change; initiate change as the world changes in her own eternal ways.
Failure is not welcome but if you haven’t failed you haven’t tried something new. Remember to remember, and remember to forgive, not just yourself but others around you. If you’re doing what you want in life, everything you ever considered to be the way for you to be happy, then you are doing the right thing. Use the power and energy from within, shaped and guided by all that you have learned as well as from those you have met and experienced life with. Listen to and respect the fragility of our life and the short time we have here and reach the top to your own heaven.
 
“Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise.”                  
-Quotations from The Bhagavad-Gita


- Written by Philip Al-Hajj
- Pictures Courtesy of Philip Al-Hajj, Freddie Al-Hajj, Picto Photography