Observer & Busness 24 Jun 2012 - Oman Observer

PHILOSOPHERS say
virtue is the desirable
middle between two
extremes — excess
and deficiency. Generosity, for
instance is a virtue in the middle
between stinginess on one
side and wasteful prodigality
on the other side. The same is
true for several traits like courage,
which is a virtue in the
middle between cowardice and
recklessness, and so forth.
4 OUTLOOK
OMAN DAILY Observer
SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2012
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the opinion of the Observer.
Stick between the two extremes
Iman Ali Ibi Abi Talib says:
“Refresh your mind from time
to time, for a tired mind becomes
blind”. It is impossible
for anyone to work for twentyfour
hours without rest intervals
during which he relaxes
and renews his energy for a
new bout of activity.
There should be some sort
of balance between the two
extremes, between hyperactivity
and inactivity, and gener-
Moderation is required in
all aspects of life because
everything has negative side as
well as positive one and between
these two extremes we have to
opt for the middle ground. As
a matter of fact pleasures lose
value when taken excessively
ally between excess and deficiency.
Non-existence of such
a balance can result in a lot of
physical or psychological dis-
Trying to shake off writer’s block!
• I needed to write to feel,
but without feeling, I couldn’t
write. — Phyllis Koestenbaum
• The art of writing is the
art of discovering what you
believe in. — Gustave Flaubert
• When you shoot an arrow
of truth, dip its point in honey.
— Arabic Saying
• Love in your heart wasn’t
put there to stay. Love isn’t
love, till you give it away. —
Oscar Hammerstein
• Writing is the only profession
where no one considers
you ridiculous if you earn no
money. — Jules Renard
• Students “learn to write
by writing”, and often they are
paralysed by rules and or in
feelings of being insecure. —
Lawrence Oliver
HONESTLY speaking
and Between Us
Only! I have found
lately that I am experiencing
once again, after
many years, what they call as
the ‘writer’s block’. According
to Wikipedia a ‘writer’s
block’ is a condition primarily
associated with writing as a
profession, in which an author
loses the ability to produce
new work. The condition varies
widely in intensity.
It can be trivial, like a temporary
difficulty in dealing
with the task at hand in writing.
At the other extreme, some
such writers have been unable
to work for years on end, and
some have even abandoned totally
their writing careers.
There is usually something
that triggers off this condition.
Like having a fear of taking
Ahmed Al Falahi
dreemlife11@yahoo.com
Majid Al Suleimany
www.majidall.com
a risk in writing (continued
writing) — uncertainties in the
pre-writing stage — judging
versus generating ideas, unable
to incubate ideas and or
lack of motivation.
It could also be due to
something recent that is drastic
or painful that had happened in
the personal life of the writer,
or even, as in many cases —
external factors beyond the
scope of the writer, like a sudden
fear of writing and it’s possible
consequences if one still
wanted to continue writing!
The ‘writer’s block’ is a
common affliction that most
writers will experience at one
time or another in their lives. It
is defined as an inability to begin
or continue writing for reasons
other than lack of basic
skill or commitment. Because
writers have various ways of
writing — a variety of things
can cause a writer to experience
anxiety, and sometimes
this anxiety leads to writer’s
block.
I do not know if you do go
through these similar feelings
and emotions? Because sometimes
in life you just need to
apply the brakes on that car
you are driving and park away
from the road in a safe distance.
Metaphorically speaking
— you look at how much
petrol you still have in the car
— engine oil and all the works
and ask yourself the Big Question:
Where am I driving this
car to? And whether you actually
know where you are going
and for what reason and
purpose? Looking at the Big
Picture or as they say ‘Thinking
out of the box!’
A ‘writer’s block’ is
a condition primarily
associated with writing
as a profession, in
which an author loses
the ability to produce
new work. The condition
varies widely in intensity
Ask yourself the fundamental
question: Where is
this road taking me now? And
where am I coming from? Is
this trip I am taking now really
necessary, or if it was better
and safer for me if I just had
stayed at home and to lose my
freedom to move and be mobile
once again? And with all
the pretensions, facades and
acting going on — double
deceptions, betrayals and let
downs — to even good people
that had sacrificed all they had
for a bigger cause?
Am I being punished because
I am nice and feel for
others? And those that do not
care are being rewarded and
complimented because they
are not rocking the boat but
towing the line. And doing
what they are told without
even raising an eyelid because
it is simply not their concern
nor are they bothered.
And when they have to account
later for everyone they
just respond defensively and
abruptly — I did what I was
told to do. It is not my problem
now!
With the short memories
we have we can conveniently
forget the rubbish we have
been pushing under the carpet
for so long, hoping no one will
see or notice? Till it piles up
very high and start giving a
horrible stench — and cannot
be covered up anymore!
No wonder I am now facing
this writer’s block now! It
also comes from watching too
much television news — and
also from reading too many
newspapers — and that from
the Internet too! It only leads
to the confusion of what to
write — seeing many of the
subjects and topics that I have
already covered in the last nine
years of writing!
If you have any ideas or
suggestions please feel free
to send them to me at majid@
majidalsuleimany.com —
www.majidalsuleimany.com.
May Allah protect and preserve
us all — Amin.
Take Care!
orders.
Moderation is required in all
aspects of life because everything
has negative side as well
as positive one and between
these two extremes we have to
opt for the middle ground. As
a matter of fact pleasures lose
value when taken excessively.
All inventions and technologies
are blessings; one such
example is the car, use it in a
rational way and it gives you
comfort and makes your life
easier and more comfortable,
misuse it by speeding and suffer
the dire consequences that
ensue, which could be a terrible
accident that causes death
or disability.
Al Shabiba daily in its July
11 issue quoted the Director
of Cyber Crimes at the Public
Prosecution Department, as
saying the Department dealt
with 200 cyber crimes, including
defamation, abuse and
hacking, which were committed
in different governorates.
The Internet technology is
a means of serving people and
facilitate their lives not being
used as a crime tool. The Internet,
like many things, can be a
great virtue but some people
are turning it into vice. This
has prompted the legislators
to enact regulatory laws for
the use of Internet and other
technological devices which
are aimed at combating Internet
crimes and protecting the
people’s privacy.
Article (16) of the Omani
Law for Combating Cyber
Crimes states: “A penalty of
imprisonment of not less than
one year but not exceeding
three years and a fine of not
less than one thousand rials,
but not exceeding five thousand
rials. Any one of these
penalties shall be imposed
on anyone who uses computer
networks or information
technology devices such as
mobile applications, to violate
the sanctity of private life or
family life by taking pictures,
spreading news or records,
whether audible or visual, or
in defamation or slander of
others”.
Life is a mixture of
joy and sorrow
Sausan Al Busaidiyah
No one can be perfectly happy.
When we go through bad times,
we don’t see reason but see the
bitter, sad and the black side
of everything. We feel almost
despaired and have those
delusions and evil doubts. We
even sometimes forget that Allah is
always there for us; helping
and aiding us in every
moment of our life
LIFE is a mixture of joy and sorrow, triumphs and failures.
But the proportion of joy and sorrow is in our
hands. Accept sorrow happily and live life with joy.
That is to say, one would like to lead a virtuous life
that would give happiness too. No one can be perfectly happy.
When we go through bad times, we don’t see reason but see
the bitter, sad and the black side of everything. We feel almost
despaired and have those delusions and evil doubts. We even
sometimes forget that Allah is always there for us; helping and
aiding us in every moment of our life. In times of sorrow some
people tend to isolate themselves from the world and some
others take the extreme step of even ending their life.
In life, we must consider that there is always some hope
that can revive our lives and we must have faith that Allah will
not forget us. In fact, Allah knows better what is good for us
and He allowed this challenge to test our ability to face things
and to test our sincerity and faith.
Hope makes life sweet. As long as there is hope, there must
be life. People have to generate good morals that will reflect in
their attitude and interactions with other people. It is a known
fact that smile and good words are the magical keys to open
the closed doors.
People also need to deal with other people and their attitudes
with some wisdom so as to convert his or her life and
other people’s lives into a happy and joyful one. The first lesson
that we need to learn is how to be patient when we face
troubles. We need to believe that this is only a step that will
move us to a brighter future and thus we will be able to overcome
any problem.
The people around us can support us and give us warmth
and security. These people are the ones who make the life more
beautiful and easier.
Coping with a changing generation
THESE days there
is a wide discussion
about the
conduct of the
young people with some
voices calling for straightening
their behaviour and
help them adopt a set of
good morals. It seems to
some that a whole generation
of youths have diverted
from the true and
noble Omani values that
have passed through generations
and embraced an
alien culture. Does this
mean that we have failed
to bring up our children to
be good citizens and we
have to admit our failure?
It seems to me as though
someone else took over
the task of raising our
offspring so they grew up
with different values and
alien conduct.
This is a matter of
great seriousness as we
see our own sons going
astray and abandoning
the right path. The glowing
headlines that appear
in the press calling for the
importance of restoring
our genuine values are insufficient
and unlikely to
yield the desired effects.
The press, at least so far,
is not suggesting viable
means by which we can
alter this trend and set
thing right. There should
be more efforts to fight
this emerging phenomenon,
and this can only be
Yahya Al Naabi
done by searching for the
root causes of this phenomenon
so that we can
adopt the suitable solutions
to stave it off.
What we read and hear
today is mere obscuring
of the real issues while
the problem needs to be
addressed by the entire
society, including the official
institutions.
Recently, we developed
the habit of calling
every outstanding issue
that threaten to tear the
fabric of the society as
‘alien’. This is because
we fail in confronting the
problems that face us and
deal with them properly.
As for the values of the
youths we are all aware
that the behaviour and
conduct of any generation
are shaped by their age.
The values of the current
generations are consistent
with the spirit of the
age. Values change with
the change of time and
each generation has a set
of values different from
those of the previous one.
We have to know that the
values have never been
a holy scripture, they are
rather a set of moral rules
adopted by a society at
a specific point of time.
As such, these values are
subject to change with the
change in circumstances.
The older generations
have to strike a balance
It seems to some that a
whole generation of youths
have diverted from the true
and noble Omani values
that have passed through
generations and embraced
an alien culture. Does this
mean that we have failed to
bring up our children to be
good citizens and we have to
admit our failure? It seems to
me as though someone else
took over the task of raising
our offspring so they grew
up with different values and
alien conduct
between their own believes
and the emerging
culture in all its aspects
instead of rejecting the
change and making a big
fuss about it in different
forums.
The values of the new
generations have a good
side which is worthy of
our attention and it is unfair
to focus only on the
negative side. We must
have an overall view of
the concerned matters and
not to confine our judgement
to a single side,
overlooking other things.
This is the only way to arrive
at conclusive results.
It is in the interest of no
one to resort to provocative
discussions, what is
needed is a balanced view
and rational opinions.
Balance and moderation
should be there when we
take and receive, otherwise
the result would be
dire.