Here's a concept: Love
"What is love?" Haddaway asked once. And then disappeared forever which makes me wary of asking it myself, but I feel I must therefore...
In my life I think I have been loved by several individuals. When I felt "loved" it was usually for a brief moment, but the conviction of the emotion was enough to last a lifetime.
Love, I think, is basically just completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy. That's it I think. Sometimes confused with lust, sometimes with dependency, sometimes with a fear of being alone I have come to the conclusion that "Love = completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy" because what else would you call "completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy" ?
N.B. Wanting someone to be happy does NOT mean wanting the best for someone. These are two different things. If needed I can explain, but then we'd get into objectivity and the whole existentialist reality arguments and that's a whole different kettle of fish.
Now, I have very rarely experienced or seen the demonstration of "love" in the Arab world(as I have defined and hope you agree with).
Men don't love their wives. Parents don't love their kids and siblings don't love their siblings. We, in the Arab world, are still concerned with 16th century concepts like Pride, Honor and Tribalism.
Why? I think the solution is in the definition “Love = completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy". That last word. “Happy”.
Arabs as I have seen have no idea what this word means. Contentment is even more difficult to observe. Men sacrifice their own happiness because of duty, women have their muted because of society and kids have their inherited from their unhappy moms and dads.
Is unhappiness the absence of happiness or is it a concept completely warranting it’s own
Definition?
Either way, the solution to it’s elimination is the pursuit of happiness. And although it might never be attained might lead to a feeling of contentment perhaps, for no suitor is depressed or unhappy during his chase but only after his rejection.
Maybe that’s it? Maybe Arabs don’t chase happiness cause they wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment of failing?
A fellow blogger believes it’s all about losing face and how easterners as a whole can’t handle it. Maybe.
I honestly think that there is a lack of conscious though on behalf of a lot of Arabs. There is also the lack of a culture of defiance and challenging the status quo. Perhaps I would be similar in my thoughts had I not spent the majority of my formative years in the west.
Anyway, to conclude and in brief: All you need is love. Love is a protocol for behavior that is extremely advanced in its implementation. It requires selflessness and altruism. It is the summation of thousands of years of human relationships, failed and successful, that led to the existence of a protocol that all humans should aspire to adapt and implement in their daily lives…
I could go on...
In my life I think I have been loved by several individuals. When I felt "loved" it was usually for a brief moment, but the conviction of the emotion was enough to last a lifetime.
Love, I think, is basically just completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy. That's it I think. Sometimes confused with lust, sometimes with dependency, sometimes with a fear of being alone I have come to the conclusion that "Love = completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy" because what else would you call "completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy" ?
N.B. Wanting someone to be happy does NOT mean wanting the best for someone. These are two different things. If needed I can explain, but then we'd get into objectivity and the whole existentialist reality arguments and that's a whole different kettle of fish.
Now, I have very rarely experienced or seen the demonstration of "love" in the Arab world(as I have defined and hope you agree with).
Men don't love their wives. Parents don't love their kids and siblings don't love their siblings. We, in the Arab world, are still concerned with 16th century concepts like Pride, Honor and Tribalism.
Why? I think the solution is in the definition “Love = completely selflessly wanting someone to be happy". That last word. “Happy”.
Arabs as I have seen have no idea what this word means. Contentment is even more difficult to observe. Men sacrifice their own happiness because of duty, women have their muted because of society and kids have their inherited from their unhappy moms and dads.
Is unhappiness the absence of happiness or is it a concept completely warranting it’s own
Definition?
Either way, the solution to it’s elimination is the pursuit of happiness. And although it might never be attained might lead to a feeling of contentment perhaps, for no suitor is depressed or unhappy during his chase but only after his rejection.
Maybe that’s it? Maybe Arabs don’t chase happiness cause they wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment of failing?
A fellow blogger believes it’s all about losing face and how easterners as a whole can’t handle it. Maybe.
I honestly think that there is a lack of conscious though on behalf of a lot of Arabs. There is also the lack of a culture of defiance and challenging the status quo. Perhaps I would be similar in my thoughts had I not spent the majority of my formative years in the west.
Anyway, to conclude and in brief: All you need is love. Love is a protocol for behavior that is extremely advanced in its implementation. It requires selflessness and altruism. It is the summation of thousands of years of human relationships, failed and successful, that led to the existence of a protocol that all humans should aspire to adapt and implement in their daily lives…
I could go on...
posted by The Devil's Advocate at 12:35 AM
3 Comments:
Wow! How can you write this stuff and not get flamed from here to Jupiter!
Flying under the radar, I thiunk
I always enjoy reading your posts when I get really bored and shake off enough of the stupor from my brain which gives me enough strength to click the link at the bottom of the scrollbar.
Regardless of that. Interesting definition of love, but love also involves wanting the best for somebody, and im afraid i disagree with your generalisation about the Arab world.
Post a Comment
<< Home