Transjordania

I read a National Geographic article recently on Transjordania. The article was written in 1923, soon after the 1920 Treaty of Versailles. It is based on the writers observations as he explores the region and also includes the views of Emir Abdullah Ibn Hussein, whom the writer interviewed. I'm including some parts here that I found interesting.

".......When the leaders of the powers which rule the world sit in council it seems quite easy to create new kingdoms. Take a river, a mountain range, a few pencil lines and different shades of ink on the map, and the task is accomplished -- so far as the statesmen are concerned. New maps are printed and school children are studying them before the people in the country itself realise what has happened......"

".......Through the cycles of time, the Arab has changed least of all. Those of the town play their chess in the evening as they have in quiet homes for hundreds of years. The Arabs claim they invented chess. The Bedouin rides in from the desert, smokes his nargileh, drinks the cups of bitter coffee, and gallops out again into the void. As the seasons change he folds his tents and moves with his herds of goats. And camels. So long as the statesmen of Europe want to pay him for their pleasure in calling this or that portion of the desert a kingdom, it matters little to him. He knows nothing of maps and cares less. Should they attempt to make him pay, it would be different. Kingdom-making would not be so easy......"

"........'We do not want this kingdom to be called Transjordania, for we consider it, with Palestine, Mesopotamia, and the Hedjaz, merely a part of the greater Syria,' he (the Emir) said one day, as we sat in his tent, a picturesque figure in desert regalia. 'We Arabs have lost our palaces and cities and are living in tents, as our fathers did. The Arabs have always been free and we will continue free, awaiting the time when we can take back the country which is ours. This portion of Syria has never failed in its duty to the Arab cause, and when opportunity comes we will be ready to do our part."

The Road not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no feet had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

I've always loved this poem by Frost. I can remember reading it as a child and hoping that one day I would take the path "less taken." Life can often give you crossroads; it's often easier to just do what others before us have done. Any new path has its own risks and adventures; its own uncertainty. It's often said that if you believe in your dreams hard enough and want it bad enough, somehow it will become possible. Maybe it's true. To see your dreams turn into reality can be gratifying. To lose it to powers beyond your control, that's a true lesson learnt in life. I've always believed that as human beings, each and every one of us has an inner strength to carry on no matter what the odds. The times in your life when you cant turn to anyone except yourself, not because there aren't people around you that care, but because it's a hurdle you have to pass on your own. Those are the times when you learn to believe in yourself and in the strength within you. When life is at crossroads, and you don't know what the future will hold, I guess all that matters is knowing that what ever comes your way is truly conquerable. There's a learning curve in every obstacle. The best lessons learned are always the hardest.

Me and My Conscience

So I created this blog quite a few days ago, but I wasnt really sure what to post up. First blog posts can be hard that way. Today Nicole sent me something that I knew I HAD to post up. Sometimes in life you're faced with situations where its hard to define the right and wrong. Sometimes your emotions take over that small part of your brain that is meant to reason. Sometimes theres more gray than there is black and white. I hope that during those times I can remember that it really is between "me and my conscience" and that the path and decision I take is one that I wont ever regret.

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
People may accuse you
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
You will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
is between you and your conscience;
It was never between you and them anyway.