The wise man



It is situated no further than a few hundred meters from the city center. I walk up the road, which is always a burden, but the thought of reaching that peaceful land always made it much easier. The music plays in my ears as I walk towards it, a journey that takes no more than 10 minutes. It's always a good time to visit Leazes Park just before sunset. Most people are at restaurants having dinner, or on their way to the bar to start their weekend, or most probably getting ready for a night out to dance at a club. Summer time in the UK is a funny season, extremely long days, and very short evenings.

As I approached, my eyes witnessed that beautiful pond with some scattered wooden boats, numerous ducks, and a few birds. The view was breathtakingly peaceful, quiet and seductive. I spotted an old man in the distance; he must have been in his seventies. He was staring at nature with what seemed like a slight smile. As I walked past him, I noticed his deep wrinkles and wondered what his story was. I recall thinking; each line must be a witness to an experience, to a story, to a piece of his wisdom.  I failed to establish a conversation. I stopped and turned around convincing myself to start off by at least saying a simple hello. I believe at that point he realized what I was trying to do; my staring eyes must have given me away. He established a simple, kind greeting and I responded with a smile "Good evening sir, do you mind if I join you on the bench interrupting your peace?" He smiled. This time the smile was deeper than the one he had previously. We spoke for a long while, he shared his philosophy, and I concluded what I needed to grasp from that individual.

He spoke of soul mates and my smile came with a slight heavy breathing indicating my disagreement, possibly sarcasm at first. Love is like faith, it cannot be explained by logic and is concerned mostly with the heart and soul; a feeling that only those who embrace it could understand it. Love is not necessarily the best route to take throughout your life's journey; it's a prison to the heart, for you lock yourself to something that is immortal. Death is part of this cycle. However, just like faith, once you believe in something, your entire life changes with it. See like prayers, they give you strength, hope, invincibility and courage. Love has the exact effects. How can you feel something when you have already chosen to block its existence? How can you feel the joy of faith if you have already made a choice to be an atheist? How can you find a soul mate if you believe that we are no more than a biological reaction towards this complex nature?

I wondered about the concept that he has injected into my thoughts. How could she stand out? The thought of her every morning and with every time I go to bed. The thought of her with every song and every book I read. The thought of her with every poem, and every glorious sight I see. Prioritizing your life to what matters most is the key to your success. You may be lucky enough, or you may not be, but if you do find her, you will feel her without any spoken words. That sudden sadness you feel, or that unexpected smile, knowing that she has been through the same emotion at that very same moment. The dream you have in your sleep singing you a hello or the tear confessing to you a sorrow that is held deep within her soul. Could such Love be a source of power or weakness? Only those who have felt it would understand that it is indeed the source of what may seem like an infinite power, but then again only those who have lost it can feel that it is a weakness which has no substitute.
                                                                                                                              
He continued speaking of his life's perspective. As he walked away, I asked, "So are you going to tell me about her?" I know now I was being nosy, but my curiosity tickled my throat, almost forcing me to speak. He looked back at me and said "Next time we meet I might just do".

I haven't seen him since, and I may never see him again, I didn't even ask for his name, nor did he ask for mine. But I know that much has changed in the way I viewed things. Sometimes you may need to believe in a theory, or a myth. A key or a push to finding the evidence you need to prove that theory. It's like a slight smile of hope that gives you the endless spirit to go for what you want, or possibly what you fantasize about. It does not matter what I think of your ideologies, nor what you think of mine. All that matters is that I'm happy with who I am when I lay my head down on that pillow, moments before I start my rendezvous with another one of my dreams. 
 

Like he said moments before he left:
"..... Don't be the man you're expected to be. Be the man you wish to be. Death catches all; you only get one chance at this".

Jeddah - 19/10/2011

12 comments:

  1. Indeed a very wise man! And a very talented writer you are my dear sir ,, Not everyone could have delivered this wisdom the way you have.

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  2. Once you reach undoubted and sincere faith in something, it's STAGE that you develop which is irreversible. However, the stage can be enhanced, weakened, empowered,maximized, minimized etc. Love on the other hand, is more of a STATE that is prone to transformations, distortions, additions, deductions, reconstructions, destruction, etc. How can we pursue happiness if love encompasses a volatile state? what makes it hard to develop love from a state into a stage that is resistant to major alterations caused by the lovers themselves or induced by external circumstances? If we can answer this question, would we be able to experience true love? is it guaranteed? can we predict it? are there scientific theories that have been proven right? May be if one would plan that his love would be going through different states to reach to a stage that he drew for himself, then we might have the solution! may be not...who knows

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  3. like soooooooo much

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  4. YAY! new post :D nice one mashallah...Wisdom, to me, is one of the heaviest words in the dictionary. Love on the other hand, is the lightest of them all because love is volatile. Yes, it's there but not everyone seems to be there long enough to catch the steam. To add to this, not everyone handles the transformation from steam to liquid if you get what I mean. Personally, I don't believe that love and wisdom go together. By default, A wise man has not experienced love and those who fall in love lose there wisdom in a blink of an eye. Trying to balance both may be successful to some but it's quite difficult when dealing with something so complex, unpredictable, and ever so perplexed as love. The wise man you ran into may be pretty wise in life not love. Not because I don't agree with him, but only because he seems to handle matters in a logical or explicable way when in fact, this is far from the truth regarding love. I'm hoping that one day I can manage to juggle the both together but I guess that would require peace of mind that runs along with impulsivity so I'm trying to figure out the ingredients here ;)

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  5. Yara : Thanks my dear, your views are always highly appreciated. All my respect.

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  6. Farah: Interesting the way you put it , However your question at the end concludes all that I would have to say..."who knows?" , I guess only the lord himself, and the answer will change from one soul to the next, but most answers are given to us by God, In my opinion, The lord wants us to look for those answers, it may take a day or two for some, or a life time for others, patience and hope are always the keys in my opinion. Thanks my dear for your comment.

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  7. Comment 3 "Anonymous" : Glad you do :)

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  8. Rawan: I agree with you my dear, love and logic cannot be acquainted,they are enemies in my view, one will always destroy the other. However wisdom is an experience, thus you can pass on your experiences, yet it does not mean your wisdom is logical at all (it may be), for instance, his wisdom believed in soul mates, that is spiritual and not logical. Your statement "Yes, it's there but not everyone seems to be there long enough to catch the steam" reminded me of a statement i read this week stating "Love is like ghosts, everyone talks about it, but only few have actually seen it".

    Maybe one day you will be able to juggle the both together, you have my prayers with you ;)

    As always dear, thanks for your discussion and contribution, always a joy.

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  9. enjoyed this story bro mahshallah. feel very peaceful after reading it :) x well done.

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  10. interesting..and I am actually sighing inside of me sarcastically too every time I hear the word "Soul Mates". Is there such a person? and is it fair to place all that weight on top of whoever we think are our Soul Mates?! Are we to have just one, or more? Do they come with a lightning bolt that rocks you from the inside out?If your Soul is growing and evolving as you grow older, does your mate also grow to match with yours?
    I think it takes time for your other half to earn that title. That is what the guy in your story has come to realize that he has found his Soul Mate.. We'll wait and see if we ever do.

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  11. Kyon: My brother, your a standing figure in my life, a wise man, and a close friend to my soul, may the Lord himself bless you, and bless my life with you.

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  12. Huda: Your right dear, its a title to be earned, but again nothing in life that is worth having comes easy. The first step to find anything in life is to believe in its existence. I believe that's what he was trying to do, pass his faith onto others. May God guide us all to what is best for us :)

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