The happiness of the drop is to die in the river. ~Al-Ghazali
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A Meditative Centerpiece
About Me
- get zapped
- I enjoy the outdoors, where I gather much of my creative inspiration. I find it necessary to spend time in nature, for balance and sanity. Get Zapped is where I post my photos accompanied by quotes I find intriguing. Get Zen is for sharing my Illustrations, design work, poetry, and other creative outlets. Thanks for stopping by.
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11 comments:
How interesting. I never thought of the drop ever dying, just become one with the river.
Great quote. Have a good weekend!
does a drop die? or become one with everything? a molecule is still a molecule, be it in a drop or a river... or in an ocean for that matter.
something to ponder on... thank you-
shrig- alive or dead, we are always connected... Have a good one yourself :)
polona- yes, I see this as the drop becomes the ocean and cycles...
This photo (and the accompanying caption) are beautiful. I have linked to your blog from mine and will be visiting often. I love your work :).
Does the river get the drop, or does the drop become the river?
Hmmmmm, deep thoughts.
(Reminds me of that oldie but goodie, "Particle Man" by They Might be Giants!!)
arent the drop and the ocean already one? maybe we need to realize this in the depths of our heart... :o)
beautiful image...
What a flood of thoughts for this phrase, Getzapped. :-)
leah- welcome, and thank you for linking me. Do come back ;)
lp- it's one continuous flow...
dintoons- yes, just as we are one with the river ;p
suzan- you said it! Mention dying and people have things to say!
The happiness of the drop is that she knows she's a drop and thus is non ambivalent about its life course towards "death".
We humans (esp late model ones) are much more equivocal about our beingness.
I think on one level the line is saying, figure out who (what?) you are.
The quote is referring to the river as the flowing and continuous afterlife, which in the Islamic worldview is essential, as the dichotomy of sacred and profane does not exist within Islamic epistemology, rather it is 'dunya' and 'akhira' roughly translated as, although etymologically more inclusive than, life and afterlife respectively. Also, polona's question is reasonable, but it should keep in mind that death in the Islamic tradition is not an end, rather as a result of this worldview, the afterlife is the significant reality, while the worldly life is a preparation for the afterlife, nothing more. The quote itself perhaps entails other meanings, as its author is al-Ghazali, the Persian Sufi(Islamic mystic) and generally considered to be the greatest as well as most prolific Islamic writer, jurist, metaphysicist, and thinker (although his well-researched polemic regarding the emerging Muslim philosophers is more memorable to history than his philosophical work, he was well versed in philosophy, which allowed him to refute it in its then-practiced form).
now idk how i came to this page , but i just felt i had to do clear up that quote in relation to its context, sorry if i came across as overly objective and artistically constrictive...lol islamic thought and philosophy is interesting stuff esp. due to its inherent utilization of paradox as legitimate explanation for phenomena and reality, and the distinction between false phenomena and reality and true phenomena, etc.
lol yea anyway...
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