Further Reflections on My Previous Post

On the Labels

To be quite honest, I never accepted really accepted the labels. I have refused to allow myself to be called a poet, and a writer, and a designer, preferring instead to be referred to as "someone who does poetry/writing/art". Maybe I still wanted to be thought of as one anyway. Maybe it was a mixture of false modesty and riya' *. And if that's the case…well then maybe it's a good thing that I've come to the realisation I did.

Positives

I sound negative in my last post... and that's because I kinda was. But it doesn't have to be. There may be positives, and I think these should be celebrated too. If I am what I repeatedly do, then alongside looking at what I no longer do, I probably should look at my most regular actions. Alhamdulillah, there are many positive things that I repeatedly do. And few negatives. Which I'm cutting down on (especially one major one, which I think I've finally beaten)

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So, not too bad.

* riya' - the act of simulation, of making yourself look better than you are, for the purposes of seeking approval of the people of this world. Imam Khomeini gives a detailed exposition in his book 40 Hadith, and perhaps it's worth reflecting on why he places it at the very front of the book.