Daily Archive for August 18th, 2008

Future of books

Future of books 

For the past 10 years, people have been questioning the future of the book- actually, even for longer than that.
Now though we can see tat books are trendier than ever - people are reading again, writing again and why? Internet.
So, how do you foresee the future of the book 50 years from now?

Weekly Free Association : The Rock

From the height of the Mountains, we now concentrate on their building blocks : the rocks.

Rocks, given their solidity, are often symbols of eternity. And given that they alter less perceptibly than other physical manifestations, they are often taken as divine symbols. The mightiest examples of this are Menhirs and dolmens.

In India, rocks that would emerge from the top of the mountains are considered as the lingams of Shiva , whilst in ancient China, to draw rocks would represent long life according to the yang principle (whilst to draw waterfalls would be associated with the yin principle).

In Judaism the block of stone placed as the altar of the temple is considered to be the middle of the equator and thus as the origin of the world.

But the rock “on the rough”can also be pictured in certain sects as the novice that still has to pass through many phases before becoming a “sculpted” rock, in which the tradition will carve it’s teachings.
In this sense then the rocks is the symbol of potentialities - of the qualities inherent to a person but not yet manifest.
The rock waits then to be transformed and is considered as a path looking for it’s destination.

Now you take the floor, what do you associate with the rocks?

Image of the Day : Ancient of days by William Blake

Ancient of days by William Blake

The three cedar trees

By Paulo Coelho

My grandmother told the following story: three cedar trees sprouted in the once beautiful forests of Lebanon. As is known, cedar trees take a long time to grow, and these trees spent whole centuries contemplating life, death, nature and mankind.

They witnessed the arrival of an expedition from Israel, sent by Solomon, and later saw the earth covered with blood, during the wars with Syria. They saw Jezebel and the prophet Elijah, who were mortal enemies. They watched the invention of the alphabet, and enjoyed seeing the caravans passing, laden with colorful textiles.

One fine day, they decided to talk about the future.

- After all I have seen - said the first tree - I wish to be made into the throne of the most powerful king on earth.

- I’d like to be part of something that turns Evil to Good forever - commented the second.

- Myself, I’d like it if every time someone looked at me, they thought of God - replied the third.

More time passed, and some woodcutters came. The cedars were felled, and a ship carried them far away.

Each of those trees had a wish, but reality never asks what to do with dreams; the first was used to build a shelter for animals, and what was left over was used as a prop for bales of hay. The second tree was turned into a very simple tree, which was soon sold to a furniture tradesman. Since the timber from the third tree had no buyers as yet, it was cut up and stored in the warehouse of a large town.

They lamented woefully: "Our wood was so good, and no one found anything fine to use it for."

Some time passed and, one starry night, a couple with nowhere to stay, decided to spend the night in the stable which had been built from the first tree. The woman groaned, in the throes of labor, and gave birth, placing her son between the hay and the wood propping it up.

Just then, the first tree understood that his dream had come true: that this was the greatest king on Earth.

Years later, in a modest house, several men sat around the table which had been made from the second tree. Before they ate, one of them said a few words about the bread and wine before them.

And the second tree understood that, at that moment, it hadn’t just been supporting a goblet and a piece of bread, but the union between man and Divinity.

The next day, two pieces of the third tree were taken and assembled to form a cross. It was left to one side, until, hours later, a cruelly beaten man was brought in and nailed to the wood. Horrified, the cedar lamented the barbaric destiny life had left it.

Before three days had passed, however, the third tree understood its destiny: the man nailed there was now the Light which illuminated all around. The cross made from its wood was now no longer a symbol of torture, but became a sign of victory.

As always with dreams, the three cedar trees from Lebanon had fulfilled the destiny they desired - but not in the way they imagined.

Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet

Quote of the Day

By Paulo Coelho

We go out into the world in search of our dreams and ideals.
Often we store away in some inaccessible place what is already there within reach of our hands.
(Maktub)

Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet

Today’s Question by Aart Hilal

How do you perceive the multiple identities in this increasingly shrinking world?

When you talk of a “shrinking world” you are highlighting the fact that communication is omnipresent, that people can interact virtually anywhere in the world and this gives us the feeling that borders are being erased, differences blurred.

It’s true that these ever increasing flows of communication have an impact in different cultures but one cannot forget that this also fosters new type of culture.

I believe that this new culture – based in communication tools - actually enables people to assume a wider variety of identities. Take a typical internet user: one has the freedom to create an avatar, build up a character, or reveal a hidden side… Internet enables people to play a part, extract and exhibit their desires, their demons, their hopes.

I have the feeling that in today’s world, multiple identities are encouraged by this new culture of hyper-communication.




AWSOM Powered