From the ascension to his papacy, I had thought that Pope Benedict XVI skirted some anti-Islamic tendencies. His opinions are wholly irrelevant to me. What do I care of the opinions of any mortal man, when the Creator of the Universe created me and gives me the opportunity to be alive and to experience this beautiful world? What do I care when the world belongs to me – as it does to you, equally? But to hurt 1 billion people is no good.
However, I find an advantage in the Pope’s recent unfortunate comments. It gives the opportunity for Muslim scholars to present dialogue and discourse that clarifies understanding of the religion by stating the beauty of Islam, e.g. the Koran states to the effect - there is to be no compulsion in religion, true direction is in fact distinct from error …, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alteration of the night and day are the signs for those at heart.., when even one person is killed, God judges that it is all of humanity that has been killed..., etc.
I was at a planetarium recently, looking at moving images of stars, the galaxies and the possible worlds beyond. My soul soared and I felt invincible because I too am a part of that magnificent creation.
However, I find an advantage in the Pope’s recent unfortunate comments. It gives the opportunity for Muslim scholars to present dialogue and discourse that clarifies understanding of the religion by stating the beauty of Islam, e.g. the Koran states to the effect - there is to be no compulsion in religion, true direction is in fact distinct from error …, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alteration of the night and day are the signs for those at heart.., when even one person is killed, God judges that it is all of humanity that has been killed..., etc.
I was at a planetarium recently, looking at moving images of stars, the galaxies and the possible worlds beyond. My soul soared and I felt invincible because I too am a part of that magnificent creation.
At the beginning of this year, I had written that Venezuela and Iran were countries to watch carefully and that underestimating Dr. Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez as “just crazy, idiotic guys”, was dangerous. Better to overestimate and over-reach, than to underestimate and lose.
This weekend was absolutely fantastic! We met Kelly at the bluegrass event, after which we went to a happening spot in town. The man in the Union Jack skirt and plastic spikes on his head with a sticker on his head proclaiming, “I will destroy you” was equally spectacular as the impromptu dance from the girl at the next table. So much laughter and fun; Kelly and Cris bonded till the early morning, which delighted me. Saturday was an all-girls day – dinner, movies and girly-girl stuff and of-course the gorgeous greenhouse.
This summer Cris taught me the magic of panoramic photography; pictures are taken and then pixilated together to create one photo.
A panoramic view of Kelly and me and some unknown man who was determined to stay in the middle of our shot
A panoramic view with my beautiful friend, Kelly
10 comments:
Nazli, I wanted so much to enlarge your panoramic pictures ... but it didn't work, they aren't linked.
Now I have to go to bead weeping!
Ok, now that you feel sorry for me - wanted to let you know that your post has backbone and is fabulous, a good mixture of fun and musing on more serious topics.
Glad you had a good weekend.
You are smiling aint you?!
Zee - I am not sure how to enable the enlarge. Will you let me know?
No weeping required - unless you are weeping for the fact that I have an awful cold and can barely discern between cardboard and my salmon :-):-)
Thank you Zee for the comment about the post. On writing about the Pope, i do not want to offend the millions of Roman Catholics at all. But it is unfortuante that people forget humanity and being alive, at the expense of perception and illusion.
Thank you - i did have a great weekend. Kelly is the warmest, most generous and sincere friend I have and it was wonderful to host her.
Yes I am smiling!!!
Nazli
Welcome back Dr Nazli! I have been guessing university has been keeping you busy, I'm glad you were able to find a little time to spend with us again. Those panoramic photos look great, have you ever tried uploading full sized ones to Flickr?
Salamaat,
aww..i am sorry you aren't feeling well...here's a cuppa soup for you; and some Chai (cinammon and ginger does wonders!)
Awesome post; and more awesome pics..
Peace to you my dearest; and a scoop of feel better cheers:)
Mr Angry! Thank you. I suspect for me, blogging is essential, to clear the mind - and then the comments from the Fearless Bloggers only make the day better.
Right, flickr is the way to go - I shall try to set it up. Good idea!
Nice to see you and cheers for now as I head into the next class!
Nazli
Maliha, Maliha! Salamaat to you! Chai and soup and your warm words - the perfect medecine for a sick girl. The students were trying to convince me to go home and rest. Mmmh, very sincere :-)
Thank you Maliha regarding the post. BTW, I am signing more and more of my e-mails with "peace and cheers" - inspired by you! But actually they mean a lot - just the words peace.
I have been thinking a lot of about prejudice and racism lately - usually I ignore it as too debase for me - but I see it is something that I must acknowledge and fight against proactively. Anyway, reading your blog last night meant much to me and touched my core.
My dear Maliha peace and more peace with chocolate sprinkles for you.
Nazli
Nazli!! Good to see you back :-) Seems you had a wonderful time with your friend! Things are great over here... We must set a date for me to go to PA...
I just wanted to tell you that I watched Green Butcher yesterday and the thing that struck me the most was how Slevn (I think that was his name) believed his former boss that his marinade would never be good and because of that, never thought that what was selling were not the "chicky wickies" (haha) but the marinade itself!! So human and so sad... Great movie, thanks for the recommendation!!
E-mail me!!
Hugs and kisses,
Cris.
P.S.: Who is the other Cris in PA? The one you talk about in your post?? ;-)
I'm glad you had a good weekend. My dad has a program on his computer that merges photos to make them panoramic like that - its very clever and somehow those pictures are always a bit more special than a single snapshot!
Cris! How are you? Can't wait to see you in PA - I will e-mail you.
Yes this weekend was too much fun - in fact Kelly is such a fun girl, I could have fun even standing in a line with her :-)
Oh my goodness - "the green butchers" - isn;t that too funny? Honestly as gruesome as it could have been, I found myself laughing!
The Cris to whom I am referring is Cristobal (see the fearless blog) - he is fearless but he does not actually ever blog ;-)
How are classes going? Hope to catch you online. Huge hugs and kisses!
Nazli
Hi Beth!
How are you? Yes panoramics are phenomenal. What is the program your dad uses? Single shots are so mundane to me now :-) and I click away all the time - too much fun. I have to get flickr so that the panoramics can be enjoyed in their full glory.
Beth - all good things to you always
Nazli
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