Thursday, June 29, 2006

Jars of Clay

Too long of an absence is not a good thing -- but that's the way it is nowadays when I reach home from work, pretty much uninspired physically. If this blog were my lover, she'd leave me without hesitation.

But she's powerless as I come in and go on my own terms.

Now I shan't fill this entry with how my work commitment lately has played a big part in my not blogging. I want to give that a rest. I am reading this book [funny I still find the time to read though] called Peak of Eloquence -- Sermons, Letters and Sayings of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib. And I came upon this part which I would like to share with you.

Sermon 232

Causes for difference in the features and traits of people.

"They differ among themselves because of the sources of their clay [from which they have been created]. This is because they are either from saltish soil or sweet soil or from rugged earth or soft earth. They resemble each other on the basis of the affinity of their soil and they differ according to its difference. Therefore, sometimes a person of handsome features is weak in intelligence, a tall statured person is of low courage, a virtuous person is ugly in appearance, a short statured person is far-sighted, a good-natured person has an evil trait, a person of perplexed heart has bewildering mind and a sharp-tongued person has a wakeful heart".

I just couldn't help it but feel hmm... wonderful after reading that.

All my life I have been reading character analysis from bits of Jung, Myers Briggs personality approaches and some Darwin essays, but this simple sermon did it for me big time.

Subhan Allah!