saba mazaar mirum + reading kant

tomorrow i am going to balkh. again. which is just fine by me, because last time when i went there a few months ago i really liked the city of mazaar and i took time to explore the old balkh as well and i went to the ancient zoroastrian temple sites (actually huge mounds of clay) and rumi’s khanaqah and the oldest mosque in afghanistan and of course the beautiful blue mosque in the heart of the city.

well, the blue mosque. not the beautiful blue mosque. because with all the bulbs and bangles you cannot call it beautiful anymore -especially at night when it lights up like a birthday cake for a 12 year old with enough pink and green to make you cry for the simple, dignified solemnity of the mosque before it was afflicted with all this stuff.

but i digress. i will definitely visit the mosque/shrine once again and make the rounds and do the evening prayers there as my heart has been troubled of late and i feel that i need it. i am also looking forward to some good melon -the sort that even we in kabul don’t get to eat because it is so delicate and hard to transport -leave alone those of you deprived people in the rest of the world.

in other news, my latest bathroom reading is kant. i mean i am satisfied with my life and work, but without reading kant, a good chunk of one’s mind remains under-utilized. it is only when you are subjected to the terrible complexity of his ideas and spend the rest of the day contemplating that one concept and all its meanings and applications -regardless of what other work is presently occupying you- that you really begin to tap into part of your mind that normally would go unutilized for a lifetime. and ever since i heard the phrase ‘use it, or lose it’ i have been worried into reading philosophy in order to salvage my own sanity. because to tell you the truth, work, regardless of how good it gets -and i don’t care if it is your dream freaking job- always gets habitual and unless you make a conscious effort at diversifying and consistently making time for other stuff, you danger slowly losing a good bit of your mind.

now on to packing for tomorrow’s trip.

*
بیا که بریم به مزار
ملا امانویل جان

~ by safrang on July 28, 2008.