Insane Root, Sign of the Times. So light the world with your example - Prose of Ramadhan Part 63

Sigh. Humans...

257. Insane Root
The many will oppress the few,
And money will have no value,

Children will want to be adults,
And adults will yearn for childhood,

Men will lose their station,
And women will rule in their stead,

Life will be one long misery,
And many will long to be dead,

Priests will desire kingship,
But no man will want to be led.

Workers will work in tall buildings
Turning as pale as ghouls,

Patience will be seen as unbecoming
And the patient will be regarded as fools.

Music ceases to be soothing,
Men is wont to be cruel,
Prayers will cease
To have meaning,
And egos will come to rule.

You don't need an angel with a mighty horn to announce the state of the times that we live in. What I do not share with you here, what I talk about with my friends and family is the unaccountable sadness that is afflicting our world. And you yourself will discern the pattern in the news, medias and blogs that continue to harp on and on about the bigotry, hate, violence, greed, corruption and terrorism that continues to plague our planet earth.

Imam Shafi'e (who is the founder of one of the four schools of Islam, the other being Hanbali, Maliki and Hanafi) once said that knowledge without action is equivalent to arrogance. In those old days, you barely know what is going on in your town or village, much less the rest of the country. Nowadays,  global bad news are speeding down the internet to spoil your days with stories of rape, pillage, murder and mayhem. Add in a smidgen of environmental catastrophe somewhere and there is your cup of anguish for the day. People say that caffeine is bad for you... I say bad news is too. Especially when we can do nuts about it. It just sits in your system like arsenic, slowly consuming your happiness and hope for a better future.

I do not know who's the good guys or the bad guys. Everyone is claiming they are right. So all we can do is to live and interpret events according to our conscience. And we make changes where we can first, starting with the man / woman in the mirror. It is the hardest thing ever, as my litany of failed New Year's resolutions will clearly illustrate - Stop smoking (nope), more exercise (what exercise?), less eating junk food (but it's so delicious). You know...

But as Heche likes to observe, to drag me out of my miserable pit of contemplation - only when the night is darkest do the stars shine the brightest. So very true.

My light is dim, but you sunshine... you can light the world with your example.

wa min Allah at-taufiq.