BEAUTY OF DEATH AND SURVIVAL. STRONG MESSAGE TO THE TERRORISTS

Many years ago, I was randomly going through my newsfeed and I read about this man, who played cello at Baghdad bomb site, minutes after the deadly explosion. I think his name was Karim Wasfi. I vividly remember reading his interview. Upon asking why he did that, he answered that he wanted to minimise the damage through his art. He wanted to reach equilibrium – between tragedy, madness, pain on one side, and an artistic expression that defies it on the other.

I was going through my newsfeed again and I saw a man in Houston playing piano in his flooded house. His house was full of water. It was absolutely ravaged by the natural disaster. And he was sitting calmly there, playing piano. That's what art is: it helps you create an equilibrium, of sorts. It defies madness, grotesque and natural calamity.

Some years ago, I saw a photo. I don't know the exact place. But there was a policeman with his gun pointing at a woman, and she was pointing her pen at him in response. I think she – despite being unarmed – was less vulnerable as compared to the policeman with a gun. Or at least that's what I think of it.

I remember a few months ago, there was a deadly blast at Sehwan Shareef. Many innocent people died. But on the very next day, there was a greater number of people. And then there was this typical dance. That was a strong message spelled out through art: you can't  defeat us. You're a murderer. You'll kill us because you are so afraid. You'd kill us because that's your last resort. You'd kill us because you can't understand humane ways. And you can't fucking understand the power of art, the symbolic defiance. That exactly was the message. Or that is at least what I deciphered from all of that.

That is what I deciphered from all of that.

So, yes, art of any kind is very very powerful. I think the best way to fight back is through the power of art. Paint stuff, sing a stupid song, play that fucking guitar violently (the only violence you should ever think of). Play the cello. Sit in your flooded house and play that piano, with a calm that an idiot like me can't maintain on best of the days. Dance at shrines. Do everything you can with your artistic prowess. Do everything you can to fight them off. Because you are going to win. Because you might have already won. So what exactly are you afraid of? People who don't know shit except pressing a button and blowing themselves off to silence you? I think you have already won.

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AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL THE STUDENTS WHO THINK ABOUT LIFE AFTER GRADUATION

Studying in one of the most competitive institutions and among individuals aspiring for more than the usual goals that an average human being has, my definition of success and my goals in life have altered immensely over the two years that I have spent here in LUMS. From the very beginning, when I first got my toy stethoscope set in grade three, I wished to become a doctor. The wish slightly altered to become a dentist by the time my school came to an end, and now when I am about to step into the third year of my university, I happen to seek a future in business analytics.

The point I am trying to make here is that my dreams also point towards the ultimate goal of becoming a self-sustaining money machine and at times when I take a step back from this thought process, I realize that I have immensely narrowed my way of thinking. It is completely fine, in fact brilliant, to be focused on what one wants to achieve but there needs to be an addition of a few important things whilst this achievement takes place.

This incident might make what I am trying to say, a little more clear. A couple of people in my family went abroad in the past few years to complete their education saying that they would return after a certain period of time but we saw that there was no coming back. They settled there leaving their parents, who are living on medication back at home. There is no harm, in fact, it is important to equip oneself with good education and exposure but that education is (in my opinion) utterly useless when it doesn’t teach a person how to become a human being.

If in the twenty eight years of a person’s life where he/she learns the most and enlightens him/herself with a vast amount of knowledge; he/she is unable to discern how to balance his/her routine, how to respect relationships, how to divide time between each and every individual of one`s family and work, and make time for one`s own self-development, then life has been wasted and lost its purpose.

Realizing all these things makes me want to become an influencer. I want to leave an impact on the lives of people through the example of my life. I want to make people understand that they need to shut their laptop and phone screens, and sit with their families and children in a room and talk to them, ask them about not just their day but their life, how it has been in the past when they weren’t there for them to discuss their life goals, their new friends, their new crushes, their favourite songs, their recently watched television series and most importantly about their time with God.

I want to tell people to educate their families about the correct ways to connect to their Lord, to know that in the midst of their school, their friends, their phones, their Facebooks, their Instagrams and their summer goals, there is a Higher Power that needs to be connected with, before they return to Him without knowing Him and not knowing that they have responsibilities to fulfil towards Him and the people around them because otherwise the journey back to Him would not be a pleasant one and they’d certainly be left with their work laptop eulogizing them beside their coffins.

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HOW A LIFE WAS SAVED BY A TOOTHPASTE ! LIFE LESSON

My daughter starts middle school tomorrow. We've decorated her locker, bought new uniforms, even surprised her with a new backpack. But tonight just before bed, we did another pre-middle school task that is far more important than the others. I gave her a tube of toothpaste and asked her to squirt it out onto a plate. When she finished, I calmly asked her to put all the toothpaste back in the tube. She began exclaiming things like "But I can't!" and "It won't be like it was before!" I quietly waited for her to finish and then said the following:

"You will remember this plate of toothpaste for the rest of your life. Your words have the power of life or death. As you go into middle school, you are about to see just how much weight your words carry. You are going to have the opportunity to use your words to hurt, demean, slander and wound others. You are also going to have the opportunity to use your words to heal, encourage, inspire and love others. You will occasionally make the wrong choice; I can think of three times this week I have used my own words carelessly and caused harm. Just like this toothpaste, once the words leave your mouth, you can't take them back. Use your words carefully, Breonna. When others are misusing their words, guard your words. Make the choice every morning that life-giving words will come out of your mouth. Decide tonight that you are going to be a life-giver in middle school. Be known for your gentleness and compassion. Use your life to give life to a world that so desperately needs it. You will never, ever regret choosing kindness."

SOURCE Amy Beth,

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