There are no democracy, freedom.
There are no Obamas, Blairs, Gaddafis, Mubaraks.
There are only oil wells, economics, guns, bullets and survival.
And there is also you, who still believes that the truth is better than this.

I wish nothing else but to speak simply
please grant me this privilege
because we have burdened our song with so much music
that it is slowly sinking
and our art has become so ornate
that the makeup has corroded her face
and it is time to say our few simple words
because tomorrow our soul sails away

- Giorgos Seferis (1900-1971)

Appreciation

A stray thought:

Lots of times we appreciate the wonders that others have created. How did he think of this structure! How could she paint such a miracle! How could he see this formula through all this mess! How in the world she could come up with such a crazy idea! And many more expressions appreciating the spark of brilliance.

Sometimes I feel there is another level of appreciation. Most of the times when we appreciate something brilliant, we appreciate it like a "miracle". Our own lack of creativity in the subject matter also plays a hand. For example, a common man praising Taj Mahal. His sense of appreciation is truly different from the way an architect would do it. When a knowledgeable, skillful architect appreciates the Taj, it is one creativity admiring another creativity. Or take Neils Bohr admiring Einstein's work as another example.

I wonder how it would be to feel this kind of appreciation for the "miracles". I hope to experience this feeling at some point in my life!