Juxtaposition!

A signboard in Pind Sultani, Attock that reads like this:

ڈیکوریشن سنٹر

 قبرستان کی چادریں و شادی کا سامان دستیاب ہے

"Decorating center
Graveyard sheets and wedding paraphernalia are available."

All in one place!

Spring and hope

     Spring rains are here. Cool rain water continues to seep through soil to nurture the roots of plants. Deciduous trees and bushes have woken up from their deep winter slumber. New sprouts and flowers are adorning the countryside. There is a look of clean washed atmosphere and surroundings that suggests as if world is being created anew. Every spring gives us a message that nature has not abounded us. Hope still resides behind the clouds.

Image credit: Subhani, Dania

The Purple Thread

Epictetus was a second century Greek philosopher. He considered philosophy as a way of life rather than an academic matter. According to him, human sufferings arise when we try to control what is beyond our power and ignore what is within our reach. In one of his famous sayings, he compared people who fit in to the white threads of a dress. Such people are virtually indistinguishable from one another. He wanted to be a purple thread – “that small and shining part which makes the rest seem fair and beautiful”. “Why then”, he asks, “do you want me to be like the many? And if I do, how would I still remain purple?”

So which is better? Being peculiar purple or a predictable pale? I think that everyone should try to achieve a level of excellence in his or her favorite pursuit. Being different from the norm is good as life’s splendor comes from its diversity. Besides purple is one of my favorite colors.