Getting on with getting on

Sometimes, I feel like the earth beneath my feet is sucking out any remnants of energy I may still have (which is negligible at the best of times), not unlike the aggressive, callous job my Dyson inflicts on my poor unsuspecting rug. I feel insignificant, helpless and chronically fatigued.

When in this state, and faced with a day's worth of my daily responsibilities and rituals, I am utterly overwhelmed.

Morning craziness including breakfasts, getting everyone dressed and presentable (hair, teeth, socks etc etc), school lunches, mediating disputes and disagreements, packing school bags, remembering school necessities, getting into the car, driving the children to their various schools in peak hour traffic, then home again to tackle the mammoth job that is the aftermath of morning craziness, and that's just the beginning... all before the clock strikes 10am...

Its been that sort of 'sometimes' for some time.

I do hope it changes soon.

Flashbacks are good.

I was reading old email messages today, and stumbled upon my 2003 view of alcohol prohibition in Islam, as articulated to a non-Muslim friend. Here it is.

Alcohol.

The issue here is one that overarches all of the so-called 'rules' imposed by Islamic doctrine. The issue here is that of human fallibility, human responsibility, human accountability, and divine direction. We, as humans are fallible, we are prone to err and have a long history of abusing not only ourselves but others as well. In keeping with this fact, knowing that alcohol is permissible will increase temptation rather than limit it, thus setting us up (not all, granted) but indeed setting some of us up for failure. If we know that something is allowed, who is to stop us at one drink? What will stop us from drinking to the point of intoxication, which we all know has the potential to put us in very compromising situations? Why risk it?

My second point is about human responsibility. We as humans have been endowed with intellect, reason, logic and loads of potential. Therefore, God has commanded that we refrain from jeopardising that by exposing ourselves to ANYTHING harmful or that could limit our capacities at any given point in time. How are we to make the most of our gifts if we spend part of that time under the influence of alcohol or drugs?

Which leads me on to my next point. In Islam, every human is held accountable for his own actions and will be judged accordingly. There is no concept of a 'saviour'.
We will each bear the burdens of our own (and we can ourselves ask for forgiveness without need of a mediator). God hears and listens to us all. Therefore, by being out of control, however momentarily, through the influence of alcohol, how then can we be held accountable?

God has shown his mercy upon us by laying down some directions for us, some guiding principles for our own benefit. Tell me, if you were to honestly weigh up the pros and cons of having that one drink to the pros and cons of never having a drink at all, which is for our benefit, not just physically, but for our overall wellbeing?

Honestly, (and this not for you to respond to, but merely a question to think about), have you not ever been tempted to have more than a couple of drinks- to the point where you were no longer in control of your own behaviour?

Men and Empathy (or lack thereof)

In our weekly discussions over coffee and cake this Friday past, my girlfriends and I trangessed from our usual topics (our children and their education/wellbeing/future) and ventured into a realm not often frequented, possibly because its not equally relevant to us but more likely because in this particular friendship group, it has not yet been navigated and okayed as acceptable territory.

Nevertheless, I boldly vented about events that took place in my front lounge room two night previous. I had been privy to the casual and animated conversation between my husband and a couple of his mates- a conversation about women (surprise, surpise) and couldn't help but intervene.

During the course of my 'intervention', it struck me just how lacking in empathy some (most? all??) men are. They really do operate in a parallel paradigm, one where their needs and wants are determined with little or no thought, identification or understanding of another's situation or feelings. There would undoubtedly be cries of disdain or worse had my husband or his mates overheard my girlfriends and I speaking in a similar manner. But of course that would never happen. Because, in my experience, women, on the whole, have a far superior ability to empathise.

Some explain away this and other blatant disparities as being inherent differences in the nature of men and women;
'men are more logical, practical problem-solvers'
and
'Men think more than they feel'
...and this, to placate infuriated women:
'Women have a higher emotional intelligence!', like that will make their behaviour more palatable.

Personally, I think it more than likely stems from broad spectrum chauvinism masqueraded as freedom of choice/light-hearted fun/talking shit.

Please note: I deliberately chose not to disclose the specific content of 'the conversation', because I empathised with my husband and his friends, which consequently led to my understanding that they would not appreciate such disclosure.

That is all.