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Perspective    
In Search of Self
by Naira Yaqoob

‘It is good to value the things money can buy,
but it is good, too,
to check up once in a while and make sure you haven’t lost
the precious things in life that money can’t buy.’

There are many things that are extremely vital for us but we may not give it any thought. There are many things that are hard to grasp and even harder to explain, especially to those minds that live in a closed and oppressive society as ours. There are many things that need to be thought about and adopted in our lives. There are many new things to learn and old things to unlearn in life. And among these things there is a great duty to perform. A sacred inviolable duty, and we spend our whole life trying to violate it. I call this supreme duty next to worshipping our Creator. Our duty to ourselves.

‘Life must be lived forwards,
but it can only be understood backwards.’  – Soren Kierkegaard

How true it is that life is what actually goes on with us while we make other plans. What happens on a daily basis constitutes life as a whole. And we spend our whole life in learning, educating, earning and rearing. Everyone undergoes these phases in life. Hence all claim to live life but what have we lived if we have not made any difference, if we have not contributed, if we have not thought, if we have not revolted, if we have not questioned…

Our experience of living is composed of many compromises. Why? Submissions. Why? Fallacies. Why? Sacrifices. Why? Dependencies. Why? Regret. Why? Sorrow. Why? There are so many of us who are living because they are born. There are so many of us who consider life a burden, a bore. There are so many of us for whom life is for living but not worth living. There are so many of us who are not able to justify their life and existence. We are not able to understand that we ought to live a life of purpose, achievement and happiness. This maybe unnecessary for the survival of life itself, but is essential for its growth and, if this means something to us, for its happiness. This makes us to know our Self, discover its needs and meet its demands. This leads us to a search of our ‘Self’…

It is extremely important for an individual to be happy. Being alive is one thing; being spirited and happy is another. This zest makes all the difference between living your life and loving your life. The joy is not in things, but in us. If you want to be happy, BE. This enables a person to spread happiness to others. Happiness is experienced when your life gives you what you are willing to accept. Unless a person is happy on his own terms, he can never do justice to his self or to another. And hence the creation of circumstances that lead to his happiness is a prerequisite to the achievement of this high goal of man. It is our duty to keep our own selves happy and only then try to make others happy. It is only then that a person can genuinely make others happy, without any regret or sacrifice.

It is also important to be strong. Life will be worth only when we make it worth. And this is possible if we are strong enough to do so. God never promised us to take away our pain – he promised us the strength to bear it. As is said: ‘Pain and suffering is inevitable. Being miserable is optional.’ Hence, we should not pray for an easy life but rather pray to be a strong person. Strong in terms of mind. Strong enough to live and accept every thing that life offers – pain, grief, happiness, wealth, opportunity, and deprivation. Strong enough to set our own standards of behavior regardless of how others behave towards us. We should look upon adversity as an experience that will leave us stronger for the life ahead. Such strength is power. That arms us to face anything, even the unexpected.

It is important to develop or adopt a philosophy of right living in order to nurture great thoughts, values and beliefs. What is the worth of a being that has not thought, believed and advocated a philosophy of his own? Or if not this, then read, observed and followed a philosophy of another. It is said: ‘Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.’

Therefore, the right ideas, the right values and right philosophy should be advocated and spread. We must adopt a philosophy of reason and self-interest. This self-interest should be fully loaded with rationality and consideration. It is here that I advocate the philosophy of Objectivism propounded by Ayn Rand. To quote her: “My philosophy, in absence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.’

It is important for an individual to have rationality. Reason is a tool in the hands of a wise man. This equips him to fight the battle of his life and justify his existence upon earth. We are conditioned to listen to others instead of trust our own instincts and common sense. However, we must utilize our mind and logic to think and then act accordingly. This does not mean not listening to others. It means listening to others but not passively accepting everything that comes our way. Reason is man’s only means of acquiring knowledge and emerging as a winner. We need to develop an independent, logical, and reasonable mind.

– Continued

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