The Attitude of Gratitude

Hearing the phrase “Give and you shall receive” might not make much sense at the beginning. At the least, for me that was the case after reading it for the very first time when I was just a small child. 

     Due to my curious nature (which I am so grateful for) I have always loved to poke into the nature and conception of every phenomenon and event. My desire to understand why things are the way they are, by far outmatches that of accepting the current situation. Thanksgiving which is a part of every American and Canadian lifestyle is yet another occasion that comes and goes for many without changing any. Unsurprisingly, I was sitting around today contemplating regarding the true implementation of Thanksgiving and its subsequent streams of thoughts and feelings. 

     When the entire family gather together to celebrate their warm (or not so warm) union through expressing their gratitude and thankfulness for all that there is, and for all that is about to come ,somehow, out of the blue, there takes place something magical , something beyond that of which logic can address. The realm of possibilities.

     If you have had access to The Secret, you are already well aware of what I am about to say. The law of attraction, which is the primal rule upon which our universe is governed, simply says “like attracts like”; in other words, specific feelings, or thoughts, or actions bring about the same round of result within the same spectrum. That is, by sending out thoughts of “X” TO the universe, you would receive nothing but “X” FROM the universe. 

     This notion could not have been made more apprehensive anywhere better than the books The Secret, and The Power. Explanation of this theory would be far facilitated by reading the aforementioned books; however, the overall concept could easily be grasped by placing the formula inside the Newton’s third law which is unanimously adhered by all:
 

“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

     Hence, for instance, by hitting a wall with your fist, you will force the same pressure emitted on the wall on your own fist. Now let’s widen our scope and take things to a mental level. Through having a given mental attitude towards the world, you would receive the same attitude in return. 

     I just reviewed the book Rich Dad Poor Dad which by the way is dubbed “the book that rocked the financial world by the Wall Street Journal”; and among the multitude of tips for greatness, the most astonishing is a reiteration of what I previously mentioned:

“In my life, over all these years, whenever I have felt needy or short of money or short of help, I simply went out and or found in my heart what I wanted, and decided to give it first. And when I gave, it always came back.”, writes Robert T.Kiyosaki in page 184 and proceeds a few lines below : “Whenever I feel that people aren’t smiling at me, I simply begin smiling and saying hello, and like magic, there are suddenly more smiling people around me. It’s true that your world is only a mirror of you”.

     In this way, we can conclude ,so with ease, that our way of thinking could change everything that happens to us, and if our way of thinking is submerged in thanking then the outcome is quite manifest.

     The concept of showing your thankfulness for all the little things that you have ,as well as the attempt at giving what you want for yourself to the universe just to retrieve the same matter in higher quantities are indeed realized in one term; 

Thankfulness + Giving things out = Thanksgiving 

     Thus, let us hope that we will be celebrating our life in a thanksgiving mood every single day of our existence for what is better to give to the world and receive than our very thanks. 

     
 

Dreams that go further down the surface

"On the surface, I once bought a forest. The parasites claimed that the land belonged to God, and demanded that I establish a public park there.It wasn't impossible to build rapture at the bottom of the sea, it was impossible to build it anywhere else." 


Andrew Ryan

For as long as humanity existed, so did the desire to ascend in the air which eventually came true by invention of various airplanes, jets, and space shuttles. However this arising desire has not stopped the humankind from arousing the wish for descending upon the surface of the bodies of the water around the globe. 

      The notion of life underwater is not an unfamiliar concept, and you can scarcely find individuals who are unacquainted with some form of fiction or info related to this construct. 

      Considering the fact that the majority of the planet earth ,in terms of net area and surface, is covered with rivers, lakes, seas, and above all oceans we can easily imagine the magnitude of infrastructural potential that is given to us by a vast sub-aquatic margin, something that can now become yet another step towards our prosperity thanks to the advanced technology.

      In a world that is becoming more and more populated if not polluted every single day, the chance to extend our civilization beyond our lands would seem quite welcome despite all the limitations and difficulties associated with such a grand agenda.

      If you are into video games , you have probably heard about(or experienced) the video games series Bioshock; and in particular Rapture city and its own political, social ,justice, and educational system that is thoroughly unlike any other territories in the world because of  its isolated, and independent nature. Alas, Rapture city is depicted as a grand yet imperfect icon of human ambition that was spoiled by greed and other infamous human characteristics. Fiction aside, the concept while quite hard to achieve is by all means possible using the contemporary technology. 

      However, the recent occurrence of the oil spill disaster in the gulf of Mexico may be the first skeptic sign that passes through your mind the moment you think of establishing an entire city with its various elements that has the potential to create disasters of larger scope. After all, in such a city anything could go awry at any single moment, and due to the submerged nature of the infrastructure, the risk of all sorts of damages and loss are but high. 

      Everything said and done, placing all the disadvantages of a city under the ocean on the one side of the scale would still be no match for the vantage points of all the benefits received in such an environment. Only future has the answer for the billions of people who will be forced to choose between abandoning the planet earth or living under the oceans should the current trend of natural exploitation on the surface of the earth continues.Let's hope for a bright answer hereafter.     

Epilogue # 6, Living Abroad

Change is always difficult. We need to reiterate this phrase in our minds for as long as it takes to digest, if we are to take the most out of living abroad.

      The concept of “living in a foreign country” was the main theme in the last Talk Show classes which fortunately provided a groovy ground for an engaging discussion among the participants.

      First and foremost let us contemplate about some of the quotes in this regard:

"There's villainous news abroad."- William Shakespeare

"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad."- George Bernard Shaw
 

"It is the bold man who every time does best, at home or abroad."- Homer
 

"Man is a venerating animal. He venerates as easily as he purges himself. When they take away from him the gods of his fathers, he looks for others abroad."- Max Jacob
 

"Saint abroad, and a devil at home."- John Bunyan
 

"The crow, when travelling abroad, came back just as black."- English proverb
 

"When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home."- Winston Churchill
 

"When the man is at home, his standing in society is well known and quietly taken; but when he is abroad, it is problematical, and is dependent on the success of his manners."- Ralph Waldo Emerson   

 



      At the beginning of the classes, I initiated the discourse by asking the students to provide a graspable distinction between visiting a foreign country and living in one.  

      The answers were quite expectable ,and the majority agreed upon the fact that a mere visit to a country is simply for leisure and the tourists are in contact with the thin surface of what that destination has to offer,and almost never concerned about the issues such as economic situation, job market, real estate and so forth; the same cannot be said about the immigrants who wish to make a living in an alien community however.

      After the brief introduction, the students talked about the various aspects of living in a foreign country from a critical perspective; hence, individual elements were chosen and various elaborations concurred.

      Homesickness, culture shock, employment and settlement issues, potential racial discrimination, witnessing different climate, values,and language are but a few consequences of living abroad.

      It’s nearly inevitable for an immigrant not to feel a longing to return home at one point during the stay in a foreign country to the point where the little things, even things that seemed problematic as Dr.Ali Reza mentioned, seem so delighting yet out of reach.

      Nevertheless, the most prominent challenge faced by the bulk of immigrants is the infamous phenomenon known as culture shock that includes subcategories of identity crisis, different language, different climate and environment, and most importantly different values. All of the aforementioned matters, especially the theme of different value which emphasizes on the sole fact that a behavior which is deemed socially acceptable[if not essential] in one community could be concieved as a moral sin or even a capital crime in another.

      While the contemporary world has seen less and less racial profiling and discrimination over the years, this by no means omit the fear of being segregated in a foreign guild due to a distinct accent , a darker tone of skin, or dissimilar way of dressing .

      Towards the end of the class, I asked the students to classify the consequences of living in a foreign country into pros and cons, the result were as follows:

Pros: Widening the perception of the world, more freedom of choice, higher standards of living, better education, globalization and international employment, a secure future, sense of progression,A fresh beginning , and new opportunities.

Cons: Homesickness, culture shock, higher cost of living, dealing with possible racial problems,loneliness and depression, adaptation to the new environment.   

  
      In the end; we all should consider that living abroad, for what is worth, can get us closer and closer to other people of assorted tribes and backgrounds; for Saadi has beautifully said:
 

Humans are of limbs to each other
                                                              Having been created of one essence 

 Useful Link :

Living Abroad Magazine

Epilogue # 5, Science in the Modern World

Imagine a world without science! What?! You can not even conceive of it, can you? Science is so much intertwined with the modern world that it has already become a component of it and a modern world without science is an impossibility, plain and simple.




 


How index-learning turns no student pale,
Yet holds the eel of science by the tail!

      Science in the modern world was the topic discussed in our last Talk Show class. First we have to crystallize our perspective by contemplating about some related quotes:

• "Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. "(Edwin Powell Hubble)

• “Modern science is still trying to produce a tranquilizer more effective than a few kind words”(Douglas Meador )

• “However far modern science and techniques have fallen short of their inherent possibilities, they have taught mankind at least one lesson: Nothing is impossible.”(Lewis Mumford )

• “A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.”(Dr. Carl Sagan )

• “What happened at Hiroshima was not only that a scientific breakthrough had occurred and that a great part of the population of a city had been burned to death, but that the problem of the relation of the triumphs of modern science to the human purposes of man had been explicitly defined.”(Archibald MacLeish)

• "Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition."(Adam Smith)

      I initially focused the students' attention upon the notion that science is in fact a linear  function of time, in other words, as we proceed through the ages, so does the science towards betterment.

      In this way Talk Show participants started to compare the substantial differences among the scientific knowledge of the present as opposed to the past, and the many an advancement that has been the result of such difference.

      As the students were concurring on the issue, I then deemed it appropriate to unleash the simple question of Modern Science VS. Faith that has been around for as long as science per se has been formed. The classes were filled with engaging debates in this regard and the answers were quite varied. Not to my surprise the younger students generally believed that faith does not provide sufficient answers for their countless questions while sciences manage to fulfill just that even though many questions will be left to answer.

                                                                   Click To Enlarge

      On the other hand, the older audience tended towards a balance between faith and science simply because they believed there is no notable contradiction between the two realms to be found.

     As a matter of fact, it's been said that science can answer moral questions:

      In the next part of our classes we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of science in the modern world.All the classes unanimously acknowledged that science is now officially inseparable from the lives of modern masses and living without it is a thing of the past.

     However; while many scientific accomplishments in various fields from medical and chemical to electronics and entertainment have certainly contributed to a world full of convenience, these phenomena have also separated humans from each other to the point where facebook and text messages have replaced face-to-face communication, obesity statistics have risen due to lack of physical activities, wars have been waged and lives lost in an instant using advanced technologies and so forth.

Finally the classes discussed the most optimal manner in which the modern science ought to be used which was assumed as a balanced life that covers all of our needs; be it physical, emotional , recreational, social , educational using the right science in the right places ,and in the right time .          

  

Epilogue #4: Diet and Health

You are what you eat. If we all were aware of the truthfulness of the aforementioned statement, then cardiovascular diseases would not remain one of the prominent causes of death throughout the world.

Nature does require
Her time of preservation, which perforce
I her frail son amongst my brethren mortal
Must give my attendance to.

                                         William Shakespeare

       Thrust into the abundance of convenience provided by the new technologies, the occupants of the modern world are now facing with the scarcity of healthy life style.
Insufficient physical activities, rising pollution, stress and anxiety, processed foods, deficient nutrition intake, obesity, and high blood pressure are but few of the predicaments which are unfortunately quite common these days.

      However, this does not indicate the end for humanity or doom's day for that matter! Despite the fact that more people die of too much food than of too little at the current epoch, we all can bring upon changes to our life styles in order to counter all those negative factors starting by a proper diet.

      The topic diet and health was discussed in our latest Talk Show and specifically with some quotations regarding the theme:
  
 

"Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork." 
 

"I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days." By Totie Fields.
 

"I'm on a seafood diet.  I see food and I eat it!"
 

"You can't lose weight by talking about it.  You have to keep your mouth shut!"
 

"You should not be afraid of heights but instead afraid of widths."
 

"When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow."  Tomorrow is disease." By Terri Guillemets.

      We started the classes by asking questions about the general definition of diet which was mostly responded by saying that diet refers to the accustomed habit of food selection and consumption used for a specific purpose. 

      I then demanded the participants to describe their own diets. The answers ranged from diets filled with junk foods and snacks to strict athletic regimens.

Strategies for Weight Loss -- powered by eHow.com

      Unfortunately we all acknowledged the fact that the majority of the class were in dire need of changing their diets for one reason or another.We then discussed the means by which we could improve our diet including :

-Physical activities and exercises on a regular basis.
- Four to six light meals a day instead of two to three heavy ones.
-More water and less salt intake.
-Abundance of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
-Consumption of foods that are rich in fiber.
-Less stress and anxiety.
-Avoidance of processed and fatty foods.
-Reduction of sugar and caffeine from the diet.   

       While improving the diet is one thing, maintaining it, is something entirely different. In this way the students commented that keeping the diet requires substantial determination as well as motivation, especially for the long and hefty diets.

       So in the end we all agree upon the fact that having a healthy diet is only attainable through change of life style, hence if you would rather stay fit, handsome and exuberant you'd better drop those snacks and start jogging.  

Epilogue #3, Marriage

 For one reason or another, we discussed the concept of marriage in our last Talk Show classes. To tell the truth, I personally expected a generally positive attitude towards marriage; however, in action, the results were mixed to say the least.
 

As usual the classes were started by quotations:
 

"Love: a temporary insanity, curable by marriage."
 Ambrose Bierce
  

“To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.”
  Helen Rowland
 

“Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed.”
  Albert Einstein
 

“More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse.”
  Doug Larson
 

"I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one's life, the foundation of happiness or misery."
George Washington
 

    "Fundamentals of marriage" was the initial point that started the debate among the learners. The principles include: love, communication, respect, shared interest, ability to resolve conflict, accepting changes, trust, shared responsibility, and honesty.

    The participants went on and described the importance of each and every one of the elements. Apart from love that was almost unanimously acknowledged as the chief cornerstone of any kinship that fuels the process of engagement, the second most important aspect for the majority of the student were trust and honesty which can turn the outcome of any relationship based on its availability or lack thereof.

    Although we can not ignore the fact that most believed marriage to be a finite social [and a perpetual spiritual] contract that would not insure anything but a mere official recognition. Thus I asked about the real guarantee for such unions, and the immediate response was love itself. In this way, the younger participants simply dismissed the current traditions regarding marriage and claimed that intimate relationship ought to proceed for years and years before finally evolving into marriage.


How to Create a Successful Marriage -- powered by eHow.com

    We then warned the students with unsound marriage statistics and high divorce rates especially within developing societies. The reason behind such stats is, more often than not, intense emotional attachment that hinders the process of logical thinking.When a relationship enters the stage of marriage before the affectionate passion is subdued, the results are seldom satisfactory.

Fortunately the bulk of married learners were gratified by their marriage and considered a substantial relationship prior to marriage, which is aimed at earning experience and evaluating the partner in the most unbiased manner, the key to a successful future for the couple. 

    Then 12 stages of marriage were narrowly discussed : courtship, living together, marriage , having a family , first child entering the school, last child entering school , first child entering puberty , last child entering puberty, first child leaving the house ,last child leaving the house , becoming grandparents and finally retirement. 

    In the end we realized that while marriage is of vast importance, it not only needs to be chosen wisely, but also demands maintenance and care throughout.


Further Readings :

Two Keys to a Happy Marriage

12 Ways to Have a Happy, Healthy Marriage

How to Maintain a Good Marriage Relationship?

Epilogue # 2, Literature

Literature as many of you might agree, is a subject that is part of our subconscious lives without us noticing it. The concept of literature was indeed one of the most abstract and difficult topics that we discussed in our last Talk Show.

Many participants announced their lack of knowledge regarding literature right-off-the-bat, and those who actually established signs of interest in the topic were honest enough to admit the ambiguity of the subject matter. 

   So why is literature so laborious for the bulk of the people to define and discuss? Does it imply that literature is no longer considered crucial, and the modern world does not pay enough attention to it? Is it simply due to various alternatives that are brought upon by the new technologies…things such as round-the-clock TV channels and the internet that provide us with the magnitude of information to the point where literature proves unnecessary?

   In this regard I quoted a few statements about literature in our Talk Shows which might enlighten this seemingly rigorous construct :

• “The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish.”

                                                            Robert Louis Stevenson

• “Books are humanity in print.”

                                                              Barbara W. Tuchman

• “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.”

                                                                       C.S. Lewis

• “What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.”

                                                                         E. M. Forster

• "Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation."

                                                                 Robert Fitzgerald

• “While thought exists, words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living”

                                                                    Cyril Connolly

   Most participants agreed upon the fact that literature is a channel through which ideas and emotions are emitted, i.e. one can use literature as a means to use their higher faculties [traits that are exclusive to humanity] in order to express one's notion. A few students actually went on and declared that literature could be even a mean by and of itself.

   Literature takes various forms including but not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, journal, autobiography, biography and many more.

Lecture 8: "Fictions of the Real" from ASU English on Vimeo.

   All classes unanimously agreed that literature affect the lives of every single one of us, and has direct impact on the way we interpret the world, hence the direct link between culture and literature was instituted.

   After discussing the general definition of literature, we then moved on to scrutinize different types of literature. Initially we classified literature in two forms of ancient and modern. Despite the mixed opinions about either forms, Talk Show attendees generally believed that ancient literature is akin to a locked treasure which emanates beams of wisdom from afar ,however can not be fully embraced unless unlocked first. This issue was particularly magnified by the fact that well-known literary works such as William Shakespeare's and Hafiz's need to be deciphered before they reveal their true spirit.

   On the other hand, modern literature, while far more convenient to digest, sometimes can not yield the level of depth that is otherwise achievable through study of old-style composition. This predicament is further amplified by the fact that contemporary authors across the globe [excluding few territories] face with the nonsensical challenges of censorship, financial insecurity, and the hectic phase of modern lifestyle.

   Towards the finis of the classes I asked the learners to cite their favorite genre of literature which, not to my surprise, led to conclusion that romance and fiction are certainly the most sought-after literary genres especially among females!

   In the end, the majority of the participants admitted that their knowledge concerning literature is indeed insufficient, and they realized their imminent need for more literature studies.

Epilogue # 1, Tradition

Tradition was the topic discussed in the first Talk Show class after the New Year in Iranian calendar. Now the first question that rises in our mind is about the definition of tradition, what does tradition mean?

Let's take a look at some amazing quotes full of insights about tradition, shall we?

Tradition may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead.
By G. K. Chesterton

Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past.
By Lewis Mumford.

Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can't even describe and aren't even aware of.
By Ellen Goodman.

As soon as tradition has come to be recognized as tradition, it is dead.
By Allan Bloom .

Tradition does not mean that the living are dead, but that the dead are living.
By Gilbert K. Chesterton .


Contemplating tradition in a literal manner would grant us with the run-of-the-mill description of the word: a set of belief, customs and pattern of thoughts inherited by an individual from the society of origin. This definition is generally accepted by the majority of people simply because they consider tradition a permanent component of our conscience that regulates our perception and attitude towards the other members of the community and the universe as a whole.
 

However it raises a few vital questions: can tradition be chosen, altered or even totally disregarded?These questions were brought upon in our latest Talk Show.

The majority of participants believed that tradition while derived from culture can be chosen or dismissed. Generally speaking, the younger learners had a far more negative and pessimistic posture towards tradition and considered it an obstacle to globalization and modernization.

On the other hand, the relatively older students unanimously believed that tradition is the exclusive factor that ultimately distinguishes between cultures and make a community unique, and while not every tradition is to be upheld, some traditions (in case of Iran) such as Nowruz are worthwhile and ought to be preserved.

Almost the entire two classes believed that secular traditions are far more acceptable than non-secular ones and they represented specifically Iranian culture in a more direct manner.

Dr.Ali Reza ,one of my learners, mentioned that tradition can indeed be changed through each new generation, although this process is quite time-consuming.

Overall the reaction towards tradition was relatively negative amongst younger participants and neutral between the older ones. It's quite evident that most Iranians these days seek to choose the traditions that are constructive and rightfully theirs and leave out all the rest.

I personally learned a lot thinking about these deep statements , so what have you gotten out of them ? I'll leave you to contemplate on the issue and realize the actual purpose regarding the severe criticism, remember those societies that have not let go of the tradition are the least developed and most superstitious communities in the world ,finally it's all up to you to decide your orientation.

Briefing

Epilogue pertains to the reports that will be posted upon conclusion of each Talk Show class, describing briefly the discussed content along with an analysis by the author.

This section proves immediately beneficial for both the current as well as newly joined learners of Talk Show by yielding a record of the brought upon themes.