Welcome to this week’s 5BF: Ramadan, the anti-romantic relationship,
a movie of sheer intellectual joy, the paradox of self-control and more…
1 – what I read
Relationships by The School of Life – the idea that we can
love naturally, intuitively, is a flawed one. Almost everyone of us needs to
learn how to love, especially when it comes to our partners. Relationships are
the bedrock of a good marriage, parenting, and ultimately a good society. This
short book dives into the intricacies of love relationships and how badly
trapped our modern love stories are under the ideals of Romantic era, and how
we can rid ourselves from it to be able to forgive our reality and start enjoying
the small wins.
Muhammad: the prophet of our time by Karen Armstrong – a retelling,
but not a biography of prophet Muhammad, this is Armstrong’s post 9/11 case for
understanding and peace between the West and Islam. Although a very urgent and
noble act, this book just falls short of living up to its promises. Armstrong
fails to say something new, or emphatic.
2 – what I watched
Mindwalk (1990) – a presidential candidate, a poet, and a scientist
spend a day walking amongst the ancient castles in Paris, as they talk about
Descartes and how his ideas have corrupted our minds and our views, from there
on, about philosophy, politics, poetry, nature, and the interconnectedness of all
things in this universe. An excellent movie that is just a purely intellectual
joy to watch. My kind of movie!
3 – this week’s article
The best way to exercise self-control is not to exercise itat all @psyche.co – ‘preparation is the key to self-restraint, not willpower’ I
remember reading in a recent article; this article doubles down on that idea by
telling how forcing ourselves to dismiss our urges has an opposite effect.
Instead, by learning the four stages of following our urges into action, we can
do better at reducing our desires that would actually lead to better results.
4 – Ramadan
1442’s AH (Islamic calendar year) Ramadan started this past week,
and from now on for a full month, over a billion Muslims all over the world will fast from
sunrise to sunset – no food, no water, no evil acts. The message and beauty of this month, at
least for me, is that it tries to teach us empathy, the connecting force
between humans, and brings about humility, kindness, and a revival of both
religious and humanitarian faith that gets dusted all year around. We may not
enter this month with pure souls and consciousness, but by the grace of this
month, we can exit so.
5 – this week’s quote
To be a Moses, is the secret of the self;
It is to guard oneself while in poverty!
- Allam Iqbal