A fine selection of random Pick n' Mix thoughts and bumblings from deep within the cobwebbed labyrinthine and well trodden corridors of my squidgy brain. I know not where dost these thoughts come from Sire. Perhaps it is the devil? 'Hey! Mephisto! Where the devil are you man?!' Or maybe it is not the devil but the desire to wreck mayhem and mischief - I hereby give you the *Philosophers Stone:
Time, Money, Life
Work = selling (Your-Time) for Money
Since (Your-Time) = Life
Work = selling your Life for Money
But beware my friends that you do not sell your Life for Money, only then to have no Time left to live it. That is the ultimate tomfoolery.
On happiness
The greatest philosophical conundrum of all is that of happiness. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of humanity, happiness is what one has relative to what others have. This will always be a recipe for unhappiness.
A very clever man indeed. Usually of high IQ and superior cognition, who has somehow, despite the odds stacked against, managed to dodge the assault course of love and relationships, and has come out smiling on the other side; alive and kicking with brain fully intact. Bachelors are also the most creative and fun members of society. Oh yes. For don't you know that all the greatest works of art; from the finest paintings to the most learned books, are the progeny of the bachelor mind. Why so? Because only within the hallowed and sumptuous interior of the bachelor mind does the testosterone-fuelled flame of brilliance still glow fiercely. Marriage is the death knell of creativity - spurn it with a vengeance!
Books
The smell of paper newly minted in printing press. The leafy-rustle of pages. The sallow yellowyness of an old crinkly book. The smudge marks of sweat. Coffee stains of ancient coffee nights. The escapade into a world of imagination. The yellowish glow of page under anglepoise lighting. The heavy pause upon reading something so profound - it changes your life forever. The miracle of delicious prose. The weight of mind as it shuffles heavy under knowledge and wisdom. The majesty of existence. Oh, the superior pleasures of books.
Love
Really? Where? Can't see it. Doesn't exist. An irrational state of mind caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. A state of profound addiction similar to morphine addiction. Some types believe it is caused by a chemical reaction. If so: Wow! what a beautiful chemical reaction it is! The best chemical reaction in the whole universe. Apart from the big bang of course.
Muse
Something that inspires you to spend hours on end in front of a bleeding LCD screen in the vain conceited hope that you will somehow, miraculously by act of superior will, pull out as if rabbit from hat, words strung together in a curious fashion, like these, that people will enjoy reading. My muse is my vanity.
Travel
The escape from the bore of quotidian predictability, to embrace the fiery chaos of universal uncertainty. To live one must occasionally sup from the wine of chance and uncertainty. Take a risk...Go on! Jump!
French Baguette (a la 'French Steek')
Warm, fresh, and with that crinkly 'Ahhh' sigh when squeezed between your hands.
The Mullah Brigade
Gang of bearded one's attempting to press gang you into going to the mosque to save your soul. The real reason they do it is cos they get browny points for trying. Each human life 'saved' = 1 browny point which can be cashed once in heaven. No interest accrued though. 'Accrued' - Ha! An accountancy term! My first ever. The accountant within is attempting to break free from the 'arty-farty' poet he is forced to live with. (whisper) 'I don't think they like each other'
Cloudy days
Don't exist. The sun is always shining. The sun always shines inside an aeroplane - have you never noticed?
The anaesthetic of familiarity
'I' live inside a 'body' made of skin and bones and hair and other stuff and I have been given a name called 'Wasim' and I have something called a brain that controls me, and tells me how to stay alive and ensures my heart doesn't stop beating. My brain is also aware that it itself is alive - Wow! I can wriggle my thumb when I like and I can move my right leg and do a little jump when I want. I can eat things that give me pleasure but unfortunately I have no control over who I fall in love with - Damn! I hate my heart cos it is unpredictable and wily in temperament. I wish I could just switch it off sometimes. Not the beating part but the loving part.
Death
Death is the price I have to pay for having lived
(whisper) 'So live. Don't waste'
I am everything
Imagine a square empty black room
20 miles x 20 miles x 20 miles big
Now imagine a grain of sand...
Placed in the centre of this room.
Now, incinerate that grain of sand into 100 million smaller grains...
and let them diffuse equally throughout the room
...That is the universe.
What am I in this universe, a nothingth of a nothingth of a nothingth of a grain of sand?
Yet, I don't feel like nothing. I am Me. I am Wasim. I am Everything. I am the Universe. Without me the Universe doesn't exist. I am as essential to its existence as it is to mine. We are good friends you see. The Universe and Me:
'Hey Universe how you doing? Where have you been?'
'You been everywhere?'
'Wow, that's impressive! Tell me Universe, where's your favourite time and place?'
'Here and Now?'
____
Time, Money, Life
Work = selling (Your-Time) for Money
Since (Your-Time) = Life
Work = selling your Life for Money
But beware my friends that you do not sell your Life for Money, only then to have no Time left to live it. That is the ultimate tomfoolery.
____
On happiness
The greatest philosophical conundrum of all is that of happiness. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of humanity, happiness is what one has relative to what others have. This will always be a recipe for unhappiness.
___
Bachelor
A very clever man indeed. Usually of high IQ and superior cognition, who has somehow, despite the odds stacked against, managed to dodge the assault course of love and relationships, and has come out smiling on the other side; alive and kicking with brain fully intact. Bachelors are also the most creative and fun members of society. Oh yes. For don't you know that all the greatest works of art; from the finest paintings to the most learned books, are the progeny of the bachelor mind. Why so? Because only within the hallowed and sumptuous interior of the bachelor mind does the testosterone-fuelled flame of brilliance still glow fiercely. Marriage is the death knell of creativity - spurn it with a vengeance!
___
Books
The smell of paper newly minted in printing press. The leafy-rustle of pages. The sallow yellowyness of an old crinkly book. The smudge marks of sweat. Coffee stains of ancient coffee nights. The escapade into a world of imagination. The yellowish glow of page under anglepoise lighting. The heavy pause upon reading something so profound - it changes your life forever. The miracle of delicious prose. The weight of mind as it shuffles heavy under knowledge and wisdom. The majesty of existence. Oh, the superior pleasures of books.
___
Love
Really? Where? Can't see it. Doesn't exist. An irrational state of mind caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. A state of profound addiction similar to morphine addiction. Some types believe it is caused by a chemical reaction. If so: Wow! what a beautiful chemical reaction it is! The best chemical reaction in the whole universe. Apart from the big bang of course.
____
Muse
Something that inspires you to spend hours on end in front of a bleeding LCD screen in the vain conceited hope that you will somehow, miraculously by act of superior will, pull out as if rabbit from hat, words strung together in a curious fashion, like these, that people will enjoy reading. My muse is my vanity.
___
Travel
The escape from the bore of quotidian predictability, to embrace the fiery chaos of universal uncertainty. To live one must occasionally sup from the wine of chance and uncertainty. Take a risk...Go on! Jump!
___
French Baguette (a la 'French Steek')
Warm, fresh, and with that crinkly 'Ahhh' sigh when squeezed between your hands.
___
The Mullah Brigade
Gang of bearded one's attempting to press gang you into going to the mosque to save your soul. The real reason they do it is cos they get browny points for trying. Each human life 'saved' = 1 browny point which can be cashed once in heaven. No interest accrued though. 'Accrued' - Ha! An accountancy term! My first ever. The accountant within is attempting to break free from the 'arty-farty' poet he is forced to live with. (whisper) 'I don't think they like each other'
____
Cloudy days
Don't exist. The sun is always shining. The sun always shines inside an aeroplane - have you never noticed?
___
The anaesthetic of familiarity
'I' live inside a 'body' made of skin and bones and hair and other stuff and I have been given a name called 'Wasim' and I have something called a brain that controls me, and tells me how to stay alive and ensures my heart doesn't stop beating. My brain is also aware that it itself is alive - Wow! I can wriggle my thumb when I like and I can move my right leg and do a little jump when I want. I can eat things that give me pleasure but unfortunately I have no control over who I fall in love with - Damn! I hate my heart cos it is unpredictable and wily in temperament. I wish I could just switch it off sometimes. Not the beating part but the loving part.
___
Death
Death is the price I have to pay for having lived
(whisper) 'So live. Don't waste'
___
I am everything
Imagine a square empty black room
20 miles x 20 miles x 20 miles big
Now imagine a grain of sand...
Placed in the centre of this room.
Now, incinerate that grain of sand into 100 million smaller grains...
and let them diffuse equally throughout the room
...That is the universe.
What am I in this universe, a nothingth of a nothingth of a nothingth of a grain of sand?
Yet, I don't feel like nothing. I am Me. I am Wasim. I am Everything. I am the Universe. Without me the Universe doesn't exist. I am as essential to its existence as it is to mine. We are good friends you see. The Universe and Me:
'Hey Universe how you doing? Where have you been?'
'You been everywhere?'
'Wow, that's impressive! Tell me Universe, where's your favourite time and place?'
'Here and Now?'
(whisper) 'Here and Now is the bestest place'
____
*The philosopher's stone, reputed to be hard as stone and malleable as wax, Latin: lapis philosophorum; is a legendary alchemical tool, supposedly capable of turning base metals into gold. It was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for achieving immortality. For a long time, it was the most sought-after goal in Western Alchemy. In the view of alchemists like Sir Isaac Newton familiarity with the philosopher's stone would bring enlightenment upon the maker.
