Faces of Happiness
My mentor accompanied me to visit Sharjah Museum of Arts. Face of Asia was exhibited here in UAE and I was very happy to see such great art work. He saw it three years back in UK and payed 80 pounds. It is a photography exhibition about Asia. here's a description:
"Face of Asia concentrates on Steven McCurry’s extensive work from Asia, including image from India, Afghanistan, as well as recent work from Cambodia and Tibet. The exhibition will show 100 of his photographs, including his extensive text covering the story of the " Afghan Girl " as a young refugee and the women found seventeen years later."
I loved the photo very much. Looking at the face of the young Afghani girl and looking at her after 17 years was very awkward. She seemed very silent and disturbed with being a model, I thought. Her face after 17 years was wrinkled as if she was very old. It looked cleaner though. She is trying to tell something. Starring at her for minutes and looking at her, eye to eye, and still I get nothing but pain.
After a while I got used to her stare and was able to move my eye to other parts of the photo. Her shawl was torn from many sides, her face wasn't clean, yet she seemed strong to me as lioness, prepared to attack to defend herself or her cubs.
I liked many other photos but it's hard to fine one online other than The Afghani Girl and the Fishermen (which you can find it in the first link.
These simple faces, simple people, and simple lives seem happy to me more than any face of billionaires I've ever seen. They've been through a lot and own so very little, yet they had it all.
.............................
I'm very happy these days, but watching the news made me feel a bit guilty of that. Because of the pain and sadness in Iraq and other places on earth, under the sky. People are being deprived from living their lives by being deprived of the simplest basic needs.
I came across this page and wanted to share these happiness quotes with you. Let's spread happiness people by at least making use of other's experience. As for some lazy people, here are some quotes I liked but you really need to check the rest if you're in pursuit of happiness.
Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. ~Fyodor Dostoevsky
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain
Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. ~John Barrymore
Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve. ~Robert S. Lynd
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Openheim
Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young
Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck
Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it. ~Jacques Prévert
Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~Author Unknown
The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash. ~Author Unknown
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ~Albert Camus
And with Sophocles's quote I'll leave you, wishing that Happiness may find its way to your hearts. oh and could someone remind people that Nizar Qabbani was wrong when he said:
"When a man has lost all sadness, he's a memory of a man"
or was it
"Man without sadness is a memory of a man"
When a man has lost all happiness, he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse. ~Sophocles
That's all for now : )
"Face of Asia concentrates on Steven McCurry’s extensive work from Asia, including image from India, Afghanistan, as well as recent work from Cambodia and Tibet. The exhibition will show 100 of his photographs, including his extensive text covering the story of the " Afghan Girl " as a young refugee and the women found seventeen years later."
I loved the photo very much. Looking at the face of the young Afghani girl and looking at her after 17 years was very awkward. She seemed very silent and disturbed with being a model, I thought. Her face after 17 years was wrinkled as if she was very old. It looked cleaner though. She is trying to tell something. Starring at her for minutes and looking at her, eye to eye, and still I get nothing but pain.
After a while I got used to her stare and was able to move my eye to other parts of the photo. Her shawl was torn from many sides, her face wasn't clean, yet she seemed strong to me as lioness, prepared to attack to defend herself or her cubs.
I liked many other photos but it's hard to fine one online other than The Afghani Girl and the Fishermen (which you can find it in the first link.
These simple faces, simple people, and simple lives seem happy to me more than any face of billionaires I've ever seen. They've been through a lot and own so very little, yet they had it all.
.............................
I'm very happy these days, but watching the news made me feel a bit guilty of that. Because of the pain and sadness in Iraq and other places on earth, under the sky. People are being deprived from living their lives by being deprived of the simplest basic needs.
I came across this page and wanted to share these happiness quotes with you. Let's spread happiness people by at least making use of other's experience. As for some lazy people, here are some quotes I liked but you really need to check the rest if you're in pursuit of happiness.
Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. ~Fyodor Dostoevsky
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain
Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open. ~John Barrymore
Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve. ~Robert S. Lynd
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Openheim
Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young
Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck
Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it. ~Jacques Prévert
Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick
For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~Author Unknown
The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash. ~Author Unknown
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ~Albert Camus
And with Sophocles's quote I'll leave you, wishing that Happiness may find its way to your hearts. oh and could someone remind people that Nizar Qabbani was wrong when he said:
"When a man has lost all sadness, he's a memory of a man"
or was it
"Man without sadness is a memory of a man"
When a man has lost all happiness, he's not alive. Call him a breathing corpse. ~Sophocles
That's all for now : )
posted by attawie at Monday, June 02, 2008
4 Comments:
I have seen the picture of the Afghan Girl before. I remember thinking that she looks haunted, as if by some terrible memories. I hope that after 17 years, she has found some peace with her memories, and some happiness in her life.
I have never seen fishermen sitting high on poles as these are doing. It seems like a painful way to catch fish!
I saw a program about a tribe of natives living deep in the Amazon jungle. The anthropologist who was studying them described these people as the happiest that he had ever seen. Their lives were simple, but they had plenty to eat, comfortable huts to live in, and best of all, they had each other. I think that people living in modern countries are probably a lot more lonely than the people living in this small tribe. Modern people tend to be quite selfish, or at least that has been my experience in the U.S. Tribal people share everything with each other and are very generous to visitors. It is a very different and possibly better way of life that much of the world's people have long forgotten.
When I hear about the pain and suffering of other people, it makes me feel sad too. I try to do something positive to make a small contribution toward reducing that pain and suffering. Sometimes I send a little money to help disaster victims. Other times I write a letter to my political representative. If we all did just a little to help, the world would be a much better place.
Ok, I finally read all the happiness quotes. I listed some of my favorites and wrote my thoughts about them.
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain
I often follow this advice.
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet. ~James Openheim
I like these words. I have always been something of a gardener. I have nurtured plants, animals, and relationships with other people.
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne
Sometimes having a thing is not as pleasant as the desire and anticipation that we experience before we obtain it.
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. ~H. Jackson Browne
As I have said before, different paths can lead to the same destination. Someone else said, "Different strokes for different folks". :)
Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young
Being true to yourself and true to others is an important key to happiness.
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. ~Logan Pearsall Smith, Afterthoughts, 1931
Being happy with what you have is something that many people can't seem to do. They equate happiness with the acquisition of more and more things. I think the biggest problem they have, aside from worrying about where to put all their stuff, is that they are simply now happy with who they are.
We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. ~Frederick Keonig
This is very well said. I try to live by this basic idea. There are so many small things in life that can be appreciated.
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour. ~Author Unknown
Many people see obstacles as an annoyance and react to them angrily. But, an obstacle can be a teacher of important lessons. It might also open doors that were never imagined.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
I have tremendous respect for the Dalai Lama. He teaches peace and love, but more importantly, he lives by his own words.
Happiness is... usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults. ~Thomas Szasz
Children see the power and wealth of adults and desire both without understanding that hard work and responsibility are required to obtain such things. Adults see the innocence and freedom of children and wish they could go back. Some of the happiest people may be those who can remember the joys of their childhood.
Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is. ~Maxim Gorky
It is easy to take something, or someone, that is a source of happiness for granted while we have it, or them. But, when that thing, or person, is lost, we feel the pain of absence, and wonder what we could have done differently to avoid the loss.
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. ~Joseph Addison
Very well said!
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~Mahatma Gandhi
Worthy goals to persue, but difficult to achieve. What we do is so often dictated by others that it is hard to find such harmony.
Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck
Someone said, "Life is what happens while we are making plans". If we are always planning ways to find happiness, we will probably miss a lot of enjoyable things that might have been found had we taken the time to live instead of dreaming about how life could be.
Most of us believe in trying to make other people happy only if they can be happy in ways which we approve. ~Robert S. Lynd
There is a good lesson here. Love is not, or should not be, selfish. It is, or should be, kind, understanding, and accepting.
After 17 years, the Afghani Girl still haunted. the same look she gives and the same feeling you get.
I don't know what's about this photo that makes me keeps looking at it. The ads of the exhibition is almost in every street and my eyes keeps jumping from poster to another.
I believe the simpler the life is the happier people are. I love technology and how it makes life easier but some of them are just noisy and would make life way much more complicated.
You DID check the quotes?!!! actually i thought no one but David would read them. I liked many more and most of the ones you listed but I thought it would be too much to list the.
take care
Another nice comment, this ome from a US Marine killed in Iraq in the summer of 2005, Lance Corporal Cifuentes.
"Remember me when you are sad and know that I would want you to smile."
Nice, huh!
He was in the Miami (Ohio) University Marching Band for four years, and his music professor wrote a piece of music for him entitled, "Purple Heart." A "Purple Heart" is an award given to an American soldier or, in this case Marine, who is wounded or killed.
If you'd like to hear it, I can send the music that honors Lance Corporal Cifuentes.
Let me know. He must have been a very nice fellow.
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