About Chess
Chess is an example of a perfect logical world
There is limited space, limited resources, and limited moves
Both sides begin with the same number of pieces, the same knowledge of the rules, and the same constraints. Whatever happens on the board is determined by the choices made within those constraints
But the real world does not work that way
Nothing is truly fair
Someone might be given ten chess pieces. Someone else might have a thousand. And someone might begin the game with only two or three.
Some are given queens. Some are given pawns. Some are placed in the center of the board, while others begin trapped in a corner
And yet, we often judge everyone as if they were given the same board.
We look at someone's position and ask, “Why didn't you make a better move?”
We rarely ask what pieces they were given in the first place. Maybe that is what makes real life so different from chess
In chess, the challenge is to make the best move with what you have
In life, sometimes the challenge is simply to survive long enough to have a move to make
And perhaps the strangest part is this :
You can play perfectly and still lose, because you were never given the same game to begin with
(Yeah, i have some personal liking towards skepticism)
About Loneliness (2)
I've said before about my fear of loneliness
But, dunno why, i have a feeling that i need to start loving loneliness
Cuz it's one way that i can stay sane, for now atleast
Fyi, u can have a lot of audience and people that talk with u, but u still feel lonely
About Responsibility
Often, i talk about responsibility and the meaning behind it
I mean like, nowadays, i feel that responsibility and trustworthiness aren't a main concern for a lot of people
I know some people these days even trivialize the meaning of responsibility, without feeling that they will be held accountable for it
For me, responsibility is something that I will have to answer for, whether I'm ready or not
And for that, i can't afford to treat it lightly, no matter how easy it is to shrug off
Even though sometimes i struggle to comprehend that
About Death
I've read the summary of the book by Ernest Becker called “The Denial of Death”
Basically, everyone is going to die, no doubt about it
Most people try to deny it, and when we think about it, it's not really a personal failing
It's something structural and natural
It's how we, as human beings, cope with knowing that there is a finish line for this worldly living
But Allah SWT and His already told us about the afterlife
Death isn't the end of the story, it's a transition
A return to Allah SWT
The Qur'an reminds us: “Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection.” (Qur'an 3:185)
So while Becker sees death-denial as humanity building illusions to cope with an unbearable truth, from what i understand, the islamic view flips that
We're not meant to deny death or distract ourselves from it
We're meant to remember it, prepare for it, and let that remembrance shape how we live
The Prophet himself said, “Remember often the destroyer of pleasures”
This means death, not to create despair, but clarity
It cuts through distraction and puts life in proper perspective: this world is temporary, and what matters is what we send forward for the akhirat
Personal Take on Priority Scales
If someone tells me that they use a priority scale for time management, i have my doubts about whether that's truly an objective way to manage time. To me, a priority scale is inherently subjective and can be unique to each person
Something that feels important to one person might seem ordinary to someone else. We can't expect other people to share our exact priority scale, or hope that their priorities will match what we expect from them
One should not throw fragile driftwood to a drowning person
Nor give the illusion of warmth to those freezing to death
Justice lies in the process of pursuing human existence itself
Intention, Expectation, Action, Implication
For important things, the kind that affect my near future, i usually break them down into these four parts:
Intention –> What i want. What is my intention, hope, goal, and purpose in doing this?
Expectation –> Based on that intention, what outcome do I hope will be realized after i take this action?
Action –> The activity or things i do to pursue that intention, in hopes of reaching my expectation
Implication –> The result of my action. What is the effect? Who is affected by it? And does it align with my original intention and expectation?
The Curse of Expectation
I mean, this kind of thing has been haunting me since early in my life
The weight of other people's expectations, the weight of my own expectations
But expectation is only expectation
You can't deny that, you can only hope for the best and do your best effort
The rest, we can just pray to Allah to give us what we expect
But don't put everything on that expectation
Even William Shakespeare said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache”
To be human is to be part of the greatest opera ever known