The Great Puzzle

Man, feels like I haven’t updated this thing in eons. It’s funny how things turn out in life. When I first started this blog, I told myself that I’d only stick to commentaries on our society and movies instead of anything personal. But as always, Agent Smith was right, it truly is inevitable. If 10 years ago, no forget that, if even 10 months ago, some guy popped up outta nowhere and said:

“Hey you, no not you! Yeah you with the face, heed my warning! In 10 months time you will already have been diagnosed with a chronic illness, missed a major summer service project, returned home, started a blog, reconnected with your paternal cousins, and changed your major”

I would have no choice but to reply with a solemn:

“Where the crap did you come from?!”

Alas, that magical man was indeed correct. And it was exactly how things panned out. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. Years later they’ll tell me that man was in fact completely imaginary. Who cares though? It got my point across.

Anyway, I haven’t really felt inspired as of late to write about anything specifically. Especially since the change major took place, a lot of thoughts have been running through my head. Imagine if you will: a puzzle. A gargantuan puzzle, to be exact. Now imagine this puzzle missing that one crucial piece. That piece which, once in its rightful place, would make the puzzle in its entirety have a meaning. Now imagine finding that piece after 20 years. At first the excitement for this discovery is so grand that you’d probably be almost hesitant to attach it. You’ve been so used to seeing that puzzle without that piece that you’re a little scared of what might become of it with the Holy Grail which you hold in your hand. So you put it aside for a bit. Denying the fact that the piece you have found could possibly be the right one. Perhaps believing you are not ready for the social and cultural implications of a completed puzzle. The thought of it consumes every fiber of your being day in and day out as you try to decide what to do with the breakthrough find.

Sleepless nights go by until finally you get sick. So sick in fact that you’re sent away. Obviously, you know there has to be some Divine wisdom behind this move, so you meditate on it, hoping it will come to you. All the while, the chasm in the puzzle gets bigger and bigger as the little hope left for its completion seems to dwindle away. You try to ignore everything for a while hoping you’ll forget it in time. But then you come across it again…And then you see it. The epiphany strikes you like lightning aimed straight to the heart. You’re ready to finish the puzzle. It’s been so long since you worked at it that you have to pick up some of the pieces that fell off in your absence since all the little edges on it got a bit worn out. So you pick up the final piece, so triumphantly and proud, lifting it up high and hovering it over its destined spot. And so it comes down to this. The moment of truth. Do or die. All or nothing. Fight or flight. Paper of plastic. And so finally, you put it in place. Shoving it in with all your might since the attaching pieces around it have been worn off. And with this one quick motion, it is done. The masterpiece is complete. The picture makes sense.

So much of your time has been spent on this one thing in your life that you’re not really sure how to proceed. You cannot believe you did it by yourself – with a little guidance from friends of course – after all these years. But you have done so. And everything in it makes sense now, as do all the other pictures surrounding it. So you can’t help but just take a step back and appreciate how everything just came together for the first time.

If you can imagine that, you can imagine what I’ve sorta been feeling lately. And on a much happier note, I’d just like to congratulate some great friends of mine on their recent marriage. Congratulations Shirin and Vahid Smith. You guys are amazing…as was your wedding. Good times.

...i draws what i like, and i likes what i drew

On the Subject of Normalcy

What is it about being “normal” that everyone seems to crave? I for one have always been proud of being called “weird” and “strange” and usually reply with a solemn “thank you”. The way I’ve always understood it, the word “normal” just means the average. Am I wrong on this? In fact, I am going to double check with the good people at dictionary.com right now. Ah yes, here we go:

nor·mal (nôrml)
adj.

1. Conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level, or type; typical.

How lame is that? Is that really what people want to be? Conformists? Followers of the crowd? Complacent zombies of the perceived norm? Isn’t that what the Nazis were? And I certainly don’t want to become a Nazi. But that’s just me. We should be embracing the little quirks that make each one of us unique in that special way Barney might talk about. Instead, they are seen as emblems of embarrassment and shame, forever molded into the foreheads of the oppressed. Rather than shaking hands at these differences, we are shaking fists. Using them as pedestals to rise above our brethren. My heart fills with sadness when I see kids being shut out and ignored by their peers because they are considered weird and/or strange. Cruelty, thy name is child!

This brings to mind a writing by Baha’u’llah that holds some sentimental value for me. And I quote:

“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.”

Man, that’s some incomprehensibly powerful stuff.

But yeah. Not everything that’s “normal” is necessarily good. And ultimately, the implications of being normal are pretty fleeting. What is normal today was not the norm 50 years ago. And in the same manner, will not be normal 50 years from now. Likewise, what may be the norm, might not necessarily be the most morally sound thing in the world. Some examples that immediately come to mind: drugs, pre-marital sex…I think that’s all I gots. But you get the point.

...you know, for kids