Group of Monkeys saw the reflection of the moon on a pool of water from their place on a tree branch, they decided to link their arms and legs to form a link to reach what they thought the real moon in the pool, when they touched the image of the moon, the water disrupted and the image faded...the moral of the story is what we strive to achieve may in fact be an illusion...The Sackler museum in Washington D.C. has this beautiful chain hanging down 90 ft. from the skylight at the top of the museum to a reflecting pool on the lowest floor of the gallery. The chain is made of repetitions of the word "monkey" with different international languages as Hindi, Japanese, French, Spanish, Hebrew, English and of course Arabia (The last word at the bottom of the chain)...the words are linked to resemble the monkeys grasp for the moon, this creative idea is originated based on this Old story by the award winning artist Xu Bing, I loved it...I wish I'm not on the wrong track and that not everything I strive to do is in vain, quite scary when you think of it!!!
6 comments:
Beautiful story & thoughts!
Of course just like everyone who reads it, the first thought that came to my mind, could I be striving to achieve an illusion?! But then it is hard to tell, even if it was an illusion, if I feel strong about it and I am trying hard to achieve it, I will most likely glorify it, thus failing to recognize that it could be an illusion!
So, I started thinking, we spend most of our lives seeking our goals, meaning the majority of our lifespan is in a journey to achieve! Given this observation, it is clear that this journey (striving) should be of a higher importance when compared to the goals themselves. Therefore, I should make sure that my striving brings me (and those dear to me) happiness, pleasure, joy, satisfaction and piece of mind. And if, God forbids, I end up striving for an illusion! At least my journey was beautiful!
Beside this, I found something amusing and ironically funny in your post. I am not a conspiracy theorist, and I know it is merely a coincidence. But the fact that the Arabic writing was the last word at the bottom of the chain is amusing! It’s like we are the leaders in reaching out to the false moon… :)
Dear Abdullah,
Do u think its strange for our word to be the last? we have been retarded for so many years by oppression, lack of reason thinking, low-level education and lack of effective global communication... it's a good thing that we appeared there at all!!
Not at all, I do not find it strange!
I find it sadly ironic that an artistically designed sculpture ends up putting us right where we belong, merely by coincidence!
One more thing,
Is it possible to strive for a goal with happiness and pleasure along the way? I doubt that, most worthy goals in life like serious Education, High-skills career, self management, commitment to help family members even if you can't stand them requires certain degree of sacrifice and self-denial... so you really want to make sure your goal worth the tough journey...but I liked your statement "this journey should be of a higher importance when compared to the goals themselves" it's enlightening, I'm honored to have you here, you are a true thinker...
Thank you for your kind words, the same could be said about you, and the honor is all mine!
As far as striving with happiness and pleasure, I most certainly believe that it is possible.
Keep in mind that the most worthy goals in life should never, and I mean never, be a burden. Goals are our desires, the simple thought of them brings us pleasure, let alone working to achieve them. Sacrifice and Self-denial in themselves are a source of happiness and joy when done for the right cause and to the right people!
However, this is not to say that striving for goals should be easy or simple, I am just highlighting that we ought to enjoy it.
Please excuse my babbling, but as you can see I enjoy engaging in such discussions! In one hand it’s a way to exchange ideas and thoughts, and in the other hand others might find it informative!
I definitely find your comments informative, so keep babbling...now the next thing is I have to find a goal worthy of striving to endure it with happiness and pleasure!!!
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