What if somebody came up to you and said the words, “you can’t do it?” What if somebody came up to you and pushed you down, kicked you, forced you to stop moving forward, and forced you to stop trying? What if this same person knocked you down time and again, reminding you that you are a failure, and that you can never do anything with your life? What if this person told you that you’ll never make it over this next obstacle, or that you can never climb that mountain, or that you can never cross that canyon? Well, look up, because that person is you.

Here you are. The mountain is large, and looms over you with such height and width that you start to second guess yourself. You stand at the base of it and simply stare. The snow hits you in the face, and you can feel the trembling cold that seeps in through your coat and gloves. Maybe you should turn back? Maybe you weren’t ready for this. You look at the top, and realize with a start that you can’t even see it. Clouds surround it so thickly, to the point that you aren’t sure if the top even exists. The doubts start flying in, and you have no choice but to listen to them. And, the more you listen, the more you start to believe them. Giving up, at this moment, seems like the best option in the world. The mountain seems too big anyway. Who even knows whether you’d be able to make it all the way to the top or not?

The problem with facing a disaster is not the obstacle, but our mindset. It’s easy to say, “I’ll cross the valley,” but harder to back up words with actions. It’s easy to say to a mountain, “get up, and move” without having the belief that it will. Soon, as we move through life, we understand that the obstacles and disasters are nothing compared to the problems that you pose to ourselves. It is us; it always was us. We continue to be our biggest obstacle. We are the disaster in our own lives. If we can face ourselves, our doubts and fears, then we can surely face any other thing with ease.

“I can’t get through it.” If you keep telling yourself that, you’ll soon believe it. Our perspective is severely flawed. When we look up and see an obstacle or hardship, that’s all we can see. We are unable, incapable, of looking beyond the negativity. It surrounds us, haunts us, and pushes us down, to the point where we believe we cannot ever stand again. We don’t see the reality of our situation: we are the ones holding ourselves back. What we see before us, that disaster we are so afraid to face, is only a single dot in the ever expanding timeline of our lives. Sure, that disaster may look big now, but soon, we will forget we have ever faced it. The important thing to remember is this; that not everything lasts forever. Our eyes have been deceived; they make the obstacles of our lives look bigger than they really are. So, let’s put the blinders on and go out there, face our fears, face ourselves, face the obstacle, and win.

So okay: you’ve managed to convince yourself to attempt and climb this huge, snowy mountain. You’ve begun to trudge up its side, your feet following the ridges so that your boots have something to grip. It’s harder than you imagined it would be: your fingers are already numb, you can barely see the hand in front of your face, and the cold has managed to find a way underneath all of your protective layers. You’ve already lost one bag of supplies, after an accident when you took to a ridge too steep and put the bag down for a moment to catch your breath. Now, it’s just you, a smaller sack, and your ever-weary determination. You hadn’t thought it’d be this difficult, and you start to make promises to yourself that you aren’t sure you can keep. “Oh, I think I should turn around and try another time,” or “I’ll get more supplies and training and come back in a few years.” You pause your climb and start to wonder if turning back is perhaps that is the best course of action at the moment. Besides, it’s too cold, you’ve already lost one bag, and a huge tiredness is suddenly overcoming you. Maybe next time.

Don’t make excuses. Another problem we face is the fact that we often try and get out of facing a certain obstacle. “It’s too hard,” or “I’ll never win,” or “I’ll face it some other time.” Something we must understand is that, when we procrastinate like this, we have already lost. We have given control over to the disaster and are content to sit there and let it attack us on every side. We’ve given up, became soft and lazy. Since when did we become content with doing nothing? Since when are we comfortable with throwing up our white flag every time we meet something we don’t want to face? Get up! This is not a walk in the park! These are our lives, and this is our time. We’ve been given an opportunity to face a disaster other people have been fighting for years. We need to take it into our own hands and believe in ourselves. Enough with the “do it later”’s and “not for me”’s. It’s time to climb harder than we ever have before. Strive to make it. Believe we can make it. Will ourselves to make it.

Without warning, you’ve run into another problem. You settle down on a flat part of ground to make camp for the night. Then you hear a menacing and intimidating growl from behind you. You quickly turn and come face to face with narrowed feline eyes. A giant snow leopard has followed you and, judging by its demeanor, it doesn’t look friendly. You can feel yourself starting to tremble, and your mind goes blank. You hadn’t expected this kind of threat at all, and with your unpreparedness, you are sure to die if you don’t act quickly. How do you act when faced with such an unexpected disaster as this?

In school, we are taught a number of things. We are taught to work with equations, to memorize dates, to know the steps of a number of different processes. We are expected to test on the curriculum, and to learn, memorize, and be familiar with the assigned material. But, I can promise you this: nothing taught in school can ever prepare you for the obstacles ahead. In math class, we are taught to solve for x, yet never taught how to solve our own problems, just somebody else’s. The truth is that you can never be truly prepared for a disaster. There is no textbook to read, no line to memorize, no equation to plug in. There is no single way to solve the problem. And that scares us. We face our obstacles, trying to solve them in the ways that we have been taught all our lives, but we can’t. We have to learn that sometimes, there is no answer. We can’t always solve the problem. What we can do, however, is to get through it. Face it, and then move on. We won’t ever be prepared for the disasters that are coming our way, but we don’t need to be. Everything we ever needed will not be taught to us in a classroom, or from a book, or even from this essay. Everything we will need is inside us, so use it.

I’ve got good news: You’ve fended off the snow leopard. Out of desperation, you took your last remaining bag, containing the rest of your food supplies, and threw it far away from you. Without hesitation, you ran in the opposite direction, abandoning your temporary campsite and every other thing you brought on this adventure. You are now alone, cold, on a mountain, with no supplies or rations of any kind. While escaping, the snow leopard managed to cut you. The blood has soaked through your bandage, and it drips to the ground below you. It stings like crazy. You finally have processed the predicament that you find yourself in, and conclude that there is no way to turn this into a positive. You tried, you failed, and now you will pay the penalty for it. You can’t help it: you press your cold face into your even colder gloves, and cry. Defeat has overtaken you, and you can think of nothing else except to sit and wait, hoping for a rescue of some kind, or, if not that, some kind of relief. Regardless, you’ve lost. It’s all over now, and the snow has turned red.

 Failure. It is the one thing that every person in the world can say they’ve experienced. But we mislabel what our failure really is. We view our loses as a bad thing. We mess up, we make mistakes, we don’t always make it. Anything that goes awry is a failure. We fear it. We always talk about how much we fail, how we just couldn’t do it. We fail to recognize our true error. Our failure is not messing up. Our failure is giving up. When we fail to try, when we get the notion in our head that we can’t do something, or that we can never get out of the situation we are in, these are the true failures. The belief that something cannot be done is the only mistake we could ever make. The disasters in our lives make it seem as though the impossible cannot be done. But this is not the time to give up. Don’t you dare quit. This is where you are your strongest. It’s not over until you allow it to be over. Stand up. Remember why you set out to conquer this disaster or obstacle in the first place. Find your motivation. You want to get over this mountain? Great, now tell me why. What is your why? Why bother setting out in the first place? You have gotten so far, that the only failure you could possibly have is giving up now. But you are not a failure. You can succeed. The final piece of advice I can give you is this: find your why. Once you can answer this question, you have already faced half the battle. Your motivation is your sword, so use it. Fear isn’t your biggest obstacle; it’s your lack of why, which becomes a lack of motivation. So find it and continue forward.

The snow is white now. The bleeding has stopped, as has your crying. You’ve managed to continue forward. Step after step brings you deeper and deeper into the unknown. You’ve fallen into a rhythm now. Step, step, step, pause. Step, step, step, pause. Step, step … an irregularity. You find you cannot go any further. You quickly lift your head up and your eyes are met with the sight you only believed you could achieve. The most wonderful scene is before you, and as you look around, you realize you know exactly where you are. The clouds have cleared, the snow is white, and you have made it. The top does exist after all. Your faith has become sight. Enjoy the view, for you have earned it. It is yours. You have conquered, you have overcome, you have won.

“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning”
William A. Ward

When I visited my family last time, I realized that my two-year old nephew, who could not speak fluently and knew only a few words, wanted to learn about everything he saw. For instance, while I was using an iPhone, he wanted me to show him how to unlock its screen. I taught him how; he tried to use it and started asking questions about the applications: What is that? What is it doing? In fact, he sometimes couldn’t speak, but he implied what he wanted to ask. Moreover, he could easily learn and repeat what I said and did.

He is a curious bundle of joy, and so are most toddlers. I believe that if toddlers – who are usually defined as being between the ages of one and three – don’t lose their curiosity, each of them will grow into accomplished members of our future’s intellectual society.

Curiosity: What is it?

Curiosity basically means a desire to know or learn. Dr. Reiss states that curiosity is one of the 16 basic desires which guide human behaviors, and comes from the need to learn^[1]. Curiosity triggers various questions about events around us, and in a broader perspective, about the universe. The interaction between the desire to learn and the universe usually brings about scientific development. So, curiosity is the key to learning and science. And talking about children, curiosity is imperative to their learning.

“What is that?” is a phrase that is usually heard from a toddler who can speak at least a few words. Toddlers have a great curiosity to understand what happens around them. They are new in this world and everything grabs their attention. Because of this curiosity, they want to learn. According to Bruce Perry, there is a big learning cycle [2], which starts with curiosity and exploration, and goes on to discovery, pleasure, repetition, mastery, new skills, confidence, self esteem, security and more exploration. While one of the main characteristics of mankind is learning by curiosity early in his life, as time passes, his curiosity fades. What causes this change? Why does it fade away? Can it be delayed? What can be done to invigorate his passion for learning, exploring and discovering if it fades? How can schools, as a secondary environment for learning after the family, be designed so that the initial curiosity is not lost?

Why does curiosity fade?

The eagerness of children to scientifically understand the world is restrained by various factors. These factors vary due to the complex nature of human beings and the environment they live in. The three significant and common factors are fear, disapproval, and absence^[2].

One of the common factors is fear that can arise implicitly or explicitly. The definition of fear is “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid”^[3]. It causes uncomfortable conditions for people. When experiencing fear, a human cannot act normally until either the fear subsides or he deals with the cause of the fear. For example, parenting styles, events that cause internal family distress, violence, a teacher’s disciplinary style, restrictions, rules, and an unhealthy classroom environment can be some of the reasons behind fear. Human curiosity is fostered by healthy, comfortable environments^[4].

The second factor behind fading curiosity is disapproval. If a child is raised by phrases that start with “don’t,” he will learn not to do things. He will not be eager to attempt to learn new, different ways. For instance: If a child is raised by saying don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t get dirty, don’t take that apart, don’t touch, don’t, don’t, and don’t… To learn, they need to try these things. These attempts can be wrong or not essential, but children achieve a great sense of learning by doing.

The last, but certainly not least factor, of losing curiosity is absence. The meaning of absence is that the child has no sense of safety and opportunity to share new discoveries. The existence of caring people around them provides the optimal environment for exploration, discovering new things and increasing the capacity of sharing one’s discoveries. This is because of the sense of safety.

Invigorating faded curiosity

In terms of renewing curiosity for a child who has lost his passion for examination and critical observation of the world, we can start by eliminating the reasons for faded curiosity: fear, disapproval and absence. Eliminating these factors will give children a chance to reconstruct their passion, safety, and courage to repair their lost and curiosity to learn.

One who is responsible for a child needs to recognize individual differences in them, and to encourage their unique kinds of curiosity. Each individual is recognized as a different world; therefore, each individual has his or her own unique framework about the world. In some points, there can be similar and overlapping ideas but it does not mean their conceptual framework is the same. Curiosity triggers them to enhance their conceptual framework by learning with understanding. So we need to let them run after their different styles of learning, which will help them to advance in a discipline without enforcement. By doing so, children feel free to choose their area of interest and with a strong sense of their curiosity, they will move forward in that discipline.

At this point, we come up with a question: what can be done for timid children? Being timid does not mean that they are not curious. They just require more encouragement and reinforcement to feel safe and familiar with situations.

Generally, parents or teachers assume that some creative attempts of children are failures; thus, we need to redefine “failure.” If a child wants to learn to jump rope, which is not an easy task for younger children, he or she can do it hundreds of times, and trip every one of them. On one hand, this can be defined as failure; on the other hand, parents can think that it is a determination to reach success and that these trials and trips are necessary to develop that skill.

Another mistake, which can hinder a child’s curiosity, is that parents mostly make a judgment about a child’s larger personality rather than their specific behaviors. If we continue on the same example: jump rope, to encourage and reinforce them to learn, we can judge their behavior and lead them how to overcome it rather than critiquing their personality.

New approaches in the scientific environment in Curiosity is a common topic, not only for children but also within scientific communities. Through curiosity, human beings start to understand the universe and realize its wonderful and unique design. When you scientifically dig deeper into the environment and the world, your astonishment will increase about how perfectly designed things are. For instance: while I was watching a documentary, a man was interested in cobra snakes, and he dedicated 40 years of his life to exploring snake’s hidden and mysterious world. He was still so excited about talking about snakes and the details of their life; moreover, he mentioned that he needed to do more exploration to master his knowledge about snakes. You can easily catch the point: 40 years to explore only snakes, but it is not enough.

To raise a scientifically literate generation, to make them well skilled in understanding the world and willing to explore the world and universe, just like the man who is interested in snakes, the classroom environment needs to change. There should be a focus on the students and their learning with understanding, rather than being teacher-centered and based on rote learning. The United States and other countries have passed various reform acts in education to have more student-centered classrooms and better environments for learning with understanding. The most popular term in reform acts is inquiry. Although a century has passed since first appearance of the term “inquiry” in the science-education literature, there is no compromise on inquiry; you can find a lot of definition and different types of inquiry.

Inquiry-Based Learning

In a general perspective, inquiry is not only a method to teaching science, but also a result of teaching science. Learners have hands-on and minds-on activities both during the process, and after teaching and learning; learners should be able to imply new situations of scientific inquiry in their daily life. The inquiry should start with curiosity and a question about phenomena. Curiosity and the questioning phase start with some awareness of phenomena, and continue with experiments, research, observations, designs, and so on. Moreover, according to previous activities, students have some evidence, results, or assumptions to answer the initial questions, then give an explanation in keeping with his or her findings. Students need to make a comparison between his or her answers, peers, and the larger scientific literature, and also be able to justify their findings and answers.

After this process, the student learns both the scientific concepts and scientific process, and, as a member of a scientifically-literate society, uses it in new conditions in daily life. This process is a kind of imitation of what scientists do in their research. Moreover, these activities provide high retention later in the learning process. Increasing average retention rates would make students more proficient with science, keep them familiar with scientific content, and the scientific method; thus, they may keep their curiosity vigorous to sustain their scientific readings and investigations. By doing so, little students are going to be little scientists based on the strength of their curiosity.

To sum it up, curiosity is a significant factor for learning and science; it’s an essential part of human behavior. Most of the explorations, inventions and discoveries originate with curiosity. But curiosity is not a static power; most of us can lose our curiosity about the universe and the world because of various reasons, including fear, disapproval, and absence. To invigorate faded curiosity we need to eliminate the factors that are the reason for such lapses. Moreover, parents and teachers should be careful about individual differences, and we need to redefine the term “failure.” Finally, curiosity is the feature of scientific communities that are eager to understand the world and the universe. If their scientific method, which is known as “learning with inquiry,” can be applied in the classroom, children can follow the mysteries of the world and universe. Throughout little students’ journey, and during their studies, curiosity, as a wick in a candle, will enlighten our world. Let them to keep their candle sparkling!

References

1- Reiss, Steven (March 5, 2002). Who am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities. Berkley Trade. ISBN 978-0425183403.

2- Perry, Bruce Duncan. http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/curiosity.htm

3- http://dictionary.reference.com/

4- Berlyne, D. E. 1960. Conflict, Arousal, and Curiosity. New York: McGrawhill.

The Innocence Project, founded in 1992, at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University assists prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing. To date, 280 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 17 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 13 years in prison for different reasons like false eyewitness identification, coercing false confessions, withholding evidence from defense, or bad lawyering, before exoneration and release. (From www.dna.gov; www.ornl.gov; www.innocenceproject.org)

I find myself handing my cell phone to the officer at the entrance of the courtroom shortly after getting a speeding ticket after a call from my principal to get to school urgently. My kids are at school, my husband at work; I am all by myself at the court house. I sit at one of the back rows and start waiting. The announcement fills my ears : “People for traffic charges will be called by last name after a few trials.” Wait a minute… My heart normally does not beat this fast. Is it the woman they brought from the back of the room in the orange outfit with handcuffs? Is it her story that makes me so nervous? Or do I finally realize that I would soon get up in front of everybody and answer the frightening question: “Are you pleading guilty?” What am I going to say? I feel as though if I blinked twice, I would find myself in a movie. Is there a way out of this? I remember the radar in the police officer’s hand. He showed me the number on it. My heart starts to beat faster. I remember my friend’s husband going to jail for 3 days after a situation similar to this. A chill passes through my spine. Then there it is, my name. I get up. All eyes are on me. Here is the question. What am I going to say? The radar was wrong?

Suddenly, it feels like a thousand veils in front of me are being lifted one by one. I am dead. All the guardians, officers, and the judge are angels. The people sitting alongside me are other people died with me. The “big angel” is asking me if I did it. It is as if I am watching myself from up above. I hear myself saying, “Yes.” He wants me to come over to the podium and explain myself. I start walking. Everybody is looking at me .You can almost hear a pin drop. What a long distance to cover. It seems like I have been walking forever.

I stand at the podium. I start telling honestly and exactly what happened. On the other side is the police officer, the other “angel” who caught me and brought me here in the first place. The big angel turns his attention to him and asks about my records. The officer tells him I am a “plus one”.

What on earth does that mean?

Never mind. I guess that’s a good thing. After the big angel hears this, I am forgiven. Free to go… No handcuffs… My poor little kids, I can see them again!

I step outside. The cold weather hits my cheeks. I take a deep breath and tell myself to relax and come back to reality. Then I think to myself, what could be more real than death? Well, first of all, it happens every single day. Every minute actually, millions of times. The reality is that I will also die. I don’t know when and where, with whom and doing what. I just know for sure that some day I will die to be born into a new world, and that first, I have to answer questions. Is there a possibility of there being no questioning? If this beautiful country has rules and regulations, how can this universe being so big, crowded, sophisticated, and wonderful, not have any laws and regulations? Furthermore, how can you not be questioned when you do not obey them?

Maybe more than death itself, I am dreading the questioning part, millions of times more than that moment ten minutes ago when I was worried about that one simple question. My blood pressure peaked for a single traffic ticket. How am I going to handle answering and accounting for my entire life? Will there be an angel telling that I am a plus one? What a relief that would be!

I recall the story of a man who comes to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and says “Who shall give life to decaying bones?” The Qur’an relates the story and answers: “He shall give them life who first gave them life, and He is All-Knowing concerning all creation,” (Ya Sin, 36: 78-79) drawing attention to the fact that making something the first time, creating something original, is much more difficult than making it after the plans are once complete and the outcome is seen. So, I start thinking, that when I die and I am about to answer for what I did with my life, God Almighty has the power to create the scene, the places that I shed my DNA at, and myself from a stain as small as a salt crystal and even smaller, and ask, “Did you commit that sin” right there and then?

What am I going to say? There is no possibility of God’s radar or cameras being wrong. I will most probably find myself saying “yes” just as I did at court today, confessing everything with utmost honesty. That is if I can speak under all that stress.

It is not only the “what I did” part that makes me nervous about answering questions, but what I “did not do” as well. I think about the past. Have I been using it wisely, or did I just waste it, for it seemed like it was something given to me for free.

I am a shy person by nature. It is not easy for me to get used to a new neighborhood, community, or school. How am I going to manage to go into a new world, see and live with totally new creatures that I have never seen before, like angels, spirits, and jinn. Contrastingly, I am wondering about what the other world is really going to be like. What is it like to not have any responsibilities, not having to pray or fast, wash the dishes, prepare dinner, do the laundry… ever?

At least I believe, the new world where we will all die to be born into, there will be no wrong guilty sentences. Everything promised from the beautiful paradise to the scary hell will be there. No wrongful convictions, no unfair treatment. But still, am I ready? Or is there going to be a time that I would totally feel ready? On the other hand, I feel like an ignorant person living in a humble home in a small village—a person who is invited to the palace by the King, to this festive occasion, with the most important people; a person who has a chance to receive precious gifts and drink the potion for eternity, but is still hesitating to go; a person wants to give a present to the King but is unsure whether she has anything to offer that would please him. Besides, wasn’t whatever this person took with her to the King given by the very King himself? When I prayed five times a day, didn’t I do it with the healthy body He gave me? If I made donations, wasn’t it with the belongings He handed over to me in the first place. It is as if for every good I did, I was paid beforehand. Then, even if I do whatever He asks me to do, I can’t be hopeful because of what I do. Rather, I would build my hopes on how generous, compassionate and loving He is, setting my intentions right with utmost sincerity.

There is one other reason that would make me eager to leave this world and go to the other side. It’s because of all those emotions, talents, intellect, and love—faculties of our body and soul which we are not and won’t be using in this world because of reasons like not knowing, not being trained, being too young, too old, sick, or just missing out on the windows of opportunities. Do they not need to get out? Aren’t they like the baby in the womb, squashed in there and wanting a greater place to grow? Seriously, what percent of my brain and heart am I really using? If God gave me more potential in them, it seems impossible to me that he won’t create a place that they will grow and flourish. And I can’t think of a better place to be when that happens.

…

Finally, I found where I had parked my car and the keys that always fall into the black hole of my bottomless purse. I head back to work. I missed first period, but I need to make at least the third to fulfill my plans. It is the time of the day when everybody is already at work. I’m lucky; there is no traffic at all. The roads are so empty. In fact, there are no cars in front of me on the spacious road. Suddenly, it becomes so appealing to me to go a little faster. Just a little bit… My right foot starts itching… Who would know at this time of the day, in the middle of nowhere anyways? Maybe just one more time…

Nihal Zeren Dila is M.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Biology, GMU, Science Teacher at Pinnacle Academy, VA.

He was few minutes late for the meeting, but not so late as to be unacceptable. After the meeting was over, Adam went to his office. He had a lot of things to do: a report was due in two weeks, there was to be a presentation for a project he had just finished, a proposal for a new project, and a bunch of minor office tasks. However, he did not feel like doing any of them at the moment; moreover, they all could wait a few minutes. He was curious about the up-coming election, so he decided to read the news online. Then he felt the need to look up on the latest technology news. Without noticing, he spent nearly an hour reading the news.

Adam then felt compelled to start preparing his presentation. He was intelligent and the project was innovative; now was the time to prepare the best possible presentation. He outlined the presentation in his mind and started working on the first slide. He spent quite a bit of time on the first slide, but he could not get it right; every time he tried something, he saw that it was not perfect and started again from scratch. Finally, he exhausted his energy and motivation and decided that preparing the presentation for this project was too difficult and postponed working on it later that day.

He decided to move to the report task, but first he needed a break. It was around 1 p.m. and it was time for the noon prayer, but this was not urgent, he thought; he could do it later. He decided to take a break and check his emails. He quickly checked his three email accounts to see if he had any unread messages-there was a message in one of the accounts. It was from his high school friend asking how he was doing. He was busy right now, and decided that he did not have the time to answer; he signed out. Finally, he started writing something for the report. Even though he had planned to work on the report last week, he had not been able to do it, not because he did not have enough time, but because it had not been due and he decided that it could wait. He started working on the report, but he noticed that the software he was using to write the report was notifying him of a feature update. Because he did not feel like working on the report, he went ahead and downloaded the update. Installing it took some time. Even though it was completely unnecessary at that moment, he convinced himself that it was worthwhile, at least for the future.

He jotted down some notes for the report. While he was working on it, his friend from the next office came and asked him if he could join them to play basketball at the weekend. He told him that even though he would very much like to join them, he was very busy and had no time nowadays. The time for the noon prayer was nearly over. He hurried up and performed the obligatory part of the prayer quickly. As for the voluntary prayers, he had no time for them right now.

After the prayer he remembered that he still needed to write the proposal for next week. He was planning to work on it this week, but, because he had not worked on the report last week, he had to work on that now instead of the proposal.

Without having realized it, it was nearly 6 p.m. already. He was married, so he did not want to stay in the office. After all, he could work on the report at home, he thought. He went back home, had dinner with his wife; his wife mentioned that it had been a long time since they had seen a movie together and wondered if they could go and see one. He told his wife that even though he would very much like to, he was too busy this week; perhaps they could go next week. He remembered that he said the same thing last week; he had worked well last week so he would have time this week. He knew that he was not working very efficiently, and he was not able to do so, even though he wanted to. He condemned himself of being lazy and not a very good husband.

Weeks passed. Adam continued the same style of lethargic life; he was carrying out all his duties (his job, volunteering tasks, duties as a husband, etc.) at the bare minimum; he was neither satisfied nor completely unhappy. However, his wife was not happy with the whole process; every time she asked something from Adam, he would promise to do it later; however this would almost always be delayed indefinitely. Once at the weekend she asked Adam whether they could go out. Adam said that he was very busy; perhaps they could go out later that day or next week. This time, his wife told Adam that she no longer had confidence in him. He was shocked; he had not expected such a response. He tried to explain himself to his wife by saying that every promise he had made was with sincere intentions, but his wife did not believe even this explanation. He said he was sorry, but his wife did not accept his apology as this was the hundredth time he had apologized. Adam felt that the most important thing between a husband and a wife was trust; losing this meant losing everything. He felt terrible; he tried to explain everything, but nothing pleased his wife. He felt exhausted; he blamed his wife not being more understanding and left.

Adam spent hours thinking about what had gone wrong. Indeed, his wife was right; every time she asked for something, he would promise to do it and even though he was sincere in his promise, he would put it off indefinitely. He felt awful about the whole situation, but he was not able to rectify it. Then he thought about all the promises that he had made to God, almost all of which he had broken. Then, he shivered with the thought of “what if God also says that He does not trust me anymore?” And what if God told him that He had given Adam enough chances and that he had used them all up, that he had none left and therefore, there is no need for him to be alive any longer? That would be a horrible end indeed.

It was time for the afternoon prayer. After the prayer, he made the following supplication over and over again: “Should He not know what He created? And He is the Subtle, the Aware” (Mulk 67:14). Thus, he asked for help from the One Who is aware of everything, Who is the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful, and the All-Powerful.

This time, he was determined to solve the lethargy problem. First, he contemplated about what were the causes of being lethargic.

Indeed, Adam was very lethargic and there were many reasons for it. It was not that he wanted to be a lazy person; on the contrary, he wanted to succeed; he could be smart and successful when he put his energy into a task. However, he was very disorganized; because he did not assign tasks to different time slots, he could easily spend those times on tasks that seemed necessary but actually were unnecessary, such as spending long minutes or even hours reading the news, installing feature updates, etc. He was a perfectionist; he wanted to make the final product (report, presentation, etc.) perfect; this is a good habit to have. However, being a perfectionist made him overcritical of himself, and this dampened his desire to work. He procrastinated; procrastination made his tasks pile higher and deeper; delaying one task caused delays to others. The constant thought of piled-up tasks constantly preoccupied him and as a result he had no time to reply to his emails, no time for the optional prayers, no time for sports, no time for entertainment, and no time to read books, etc. However, had he set aside some time to do sports; however to support hard work he would have to have a healthier body and mind, he needed to set aside an hour for relaxation, and not spend long hours on the web surfing while thinking “I should not be doing this right now” at the back of his mind, yet at the same time he had to be able to relax and start the next day with a fresh mind.

To solve these problems, he would have to eliminate the causes; however, most importantly, he needed energy and determination. He had neither. Then, he remembered: “My Lord would not care for you were it not for your prayer” (Furqan 25:77). Indeed, he was too weak to depend on himself alone, but he had learned that if he depended on God he could be the most powerful person in the world. He remembered all the things he had read and learned… The importance of “In the Name of God,” the need to put his trust in God, the fact that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, had a prayer for almost every occasion, that it is very important not to sleep at dawn, that one should perform their daily prayers as early as one can, that one should eat, sleep and talk less, and that eating much meant sleeping much, that our Prophet used to go to bed after the night prayer, the importance of lawful earning and legitimate food, that the work between two prayers is counted as worship, that he should not leave today’s task for tomorrow, that he should know the value of free time before he became too busy, and so on. He felt that he could not do all of these; but once again, he remembered the verse above. However, he did not know where to start. Then, he recited: “Should He not know what He created? And He is the Subtle, the Aware” (Mulk 67:14) and while making the prayer, he knew that God knew everything about him and that Adam had to extricate himself from this problem but he was not successful. He asked for help; he asked for solutions to all his problems, dilemmas, troubles and obstacles.

He thought of starting a new life-style tomorrow morning, but then he remembered that it was Satan who was whispering him to start “tomorrow”; he needed to put an end to this miserable life right now. He went back home; dinner was waiting. He thought “what a patient wife I have; we had a quarrel, yet she still prepared dinner for me.” The food was very good, but he did not eat much. First of all, he was not feeling well, but he also wanted to practice the “eat less” principle. When it was time for the night prayer, he immediately rushed to his prayer rug; he knew that if he does not pray now, he will delay it at least two hours. After the prayer, he went to bed.

He woke up early in the morning; he was able to wake up early because he had not slept with a full stomach, and he had gone to bed early. He made the supplication “All praise belongs to God; He gave me life after my death; we shall return to Him. There is no god but God. O God; increase my knowledge. Do not let me go astray after you have guided me to the straight path. Grant me mercy. Indeed You are the Bestower.” He thanked God for giving him another chance.

He performed the morning prayer and he thought about some of the wisdoms inherent in the morning prayer: By nature man is extremely weak, yet everything touches him, saddens and grieves him. Also, he is utterly lacking in power, yet the calamities and enemies that afflict him are extremely numerous. Also, he is extremely wanting, yet his needs are indeed many. Also, he is lazy and incapable, yet the responsibilities of life are most burdensome. Also, his humanity has connected him to the rest of the universe, yet the decline and disappearance of the things he loves and with which he is familiar continually pains him. Also, his reason shows him exalted aims and lasting fruits, yet his reach is short, his life brief, his power slight, and his patience little. Thus, it can be clearly understood how essential it is for a spirit in this state to have recourse to and present a petition to the Court of an All-Powerful One of Glory, an All-Compassionate All-Beauteous One at the time of prayer in the early morning through prayer and supplication, to seek success and help from Him; this is an essential support so that one can face the things that will happen to them in the coming day and bear the duties that will be loaded on them. He then sought refuge in God from laziness. He was feeling energetic, but still very deep in thoughts of all the things that had happened yesterday.

He felt very sleepy, but he resisted going to bed; in order to wake himself up, he took a shower. After the shower, he recited a few pages from the Qur’an. He was feeling very ashamed every moment he felt he was in the presence of God, but interestingly, he was also feeling very close to God.

After having a light breakfast, Adam left for the office. It was pretty early in the morning. When he arrived at work, he made a list of the things he needed to do. Then, he divided his day into five, according to the five daily prayers; he put the prayers down on his list first. He was determined to perform them as early as he could. Then, he arranged the other tasks between the prayers.

Now, it was the time to start the first task. It was a new project and it was always difficult to take the first step. He pushed himself to start the task, but he could not start. He was about to give up; then, he remembered the power and the treasures hidden inside “bismillah” (in the name of God).” He recited it and he also recited “O God, make it easy for me, not difficult. O God, finish it with a good and beneficial end.” Adam felt a little better; he recited the words a few more times. He was able to take the first step and the rest just followed.

When he tired of one task, he said “All Praise belongs to God, Alhamdulillah” for each task, and he moved onto the next with bismillah. But, after about two hours, he felt very tired. He was inclined to read the news, to relax; but he resisted. He asked himself “What purpose does reading the news serve right now? Relaxation? I don’t remember ever being relaxed after reading news. Being up to date about current events? Well, I’ll do that towards the end of the day when my mind is more tired.” He then went outside to get some fresh air. After a 10-minute break, he returned and realized that he could complete one more task before the prayer. He started the task with bismillah and before he knew it, it was time for the prayer and the task had been complete.

Now it was time for the noon prayer. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Adam thought about some of the wisdom of the noon prayer: the time of noon prayer, just past midday is the time of the day’s zenith and the start of its decline; the time when daily labors approach their achievement, the time of a short rest from the pressure of work, when the spirit needs a pause from the heedlessness and insensibility caused by toil, and a time when Divine bounties are manifest. Everyone can then understand how fine and agreeable, how necessary and appropriate it is to perform the midday prayer for the human spirit, as it is a means to be released from the pressure, to shake off the heedlessness, and leave behind those meaningless, transient things, clasping one’s hands at the Court of the True Bestower of Bounties, the Eternally Self-Subsistent One, offering praise and thanks for all His gifts, and seeking help from Him; through bowing one display one’s impotence before His Glory and Tremendousness, and prostrates and proclaims one’s wonder, love, and humility. He performed his prayer with great humility and submission. He was able to refresh himself with the prayer; he reminded himself of the source of the power and he reminded himself that the work between two prayers counted as a type of worship. While praying, Adam forgot all about work and his mind was rested. He made a supplication at the end of the prayer, thanking God for all the things He had given him and thanking Him for the work he had been able to complete in the morning; he also asked for help for the rest of the day and the rest of his life.

After the noon prayer, Adam continued his tasks that had not been finished in the morning. When he became tired, he took a book out of his bag and spent some time reading it as a break and then he returned back to work. When it was time for the final task on his list for that day, he remembered that the task was not due for another week, so he thought about delaying it. However, he remembered that he should not leave today’s tasks for tomorrow.

The day passed. It was a very productive day; he felt that time had expanded. Maybe, it had expanded because he had recited prayers in the morning, maybe it had expanded because he had not remained asleep at dawn, or perhaps there was some other reason. Whatever the reason was, it was a bounty from God and he thanked Him for it. Adam once again felt a great humility in front of God.

A few days passed like this. Adam would perform the night prayer on time and he would go to bed after the prayer, making supplications when he woke up; he would not sleep after the morning prayer, but rather recited supplications before he left for work. He was very happy throughout this time, but it was not easy. He felt that he did not have the same motivation or energy that he had had at the beginning. He was about to lapse again. He knew that to remain on this track would not be easy. From all his experience he knew that every time he made a resolution to adopt a new style of life, it would only last a few days. But, this time, Adam was more determined than ever. First of all, he was sick of being lethargic and all the results of this lethargy. It was destroying his life; his time was passing unused and he was not fulfilling his promises to his wife or those to God. He really wanted to put an end to all of this and he was successful for a few days. Adam was now afraid that he would revert to his former life-style. Then, he prayed: “Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate now after You have guided us, but grant us mercy from You; for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.”

He finally decided to talk to his wife about the situation. He explained things to her, he discussed the lethargy and that he had constantly been fighting it for so long, but that he had not been successful. It was the cause behind all the broken promises. But, this time, he was very determined; he was constantly praying and he was also looking for different sources of information to solve the problem. He also told his wife that solving this problem would not be easy and it was possible that he would revert to his old habits on occasion, more frequently in the beginning than towards the end. He asked for her help in the entire process; he asked for her encouragement and he asked her to support him lest he stumbled. His wife felt the great pain that her husband was experiencing and she also felt the great determination he had. Additionally, she had witnessed very positive changes within the last few days. She said she would always be with him. Adam also talked about the process that he was going through with his best friend and he asked for help from him as well.

Things got better with every passing day; he was stumbling every now and then, but the frequency of such events was decreasing. He was very happy about all the goodness that had emerged from the “good work and determination” and he was very grateful to God for this blessing.

Finally, this manner of life became the norm, and his earlier life-style now seemed quite unnatural. In fact, Adam started wondering why he had led such a life. He repented all those lost days and hours. He decided to help his friends who were struggling with the same problem.

He knew that merely relating his journey to his friends would not help them much. They needed to find the causes, they need to be determined, etc., but most importantly of all, they needed to take action. However, he also knew from experience that taking action and continuing it for a long time was the most difficult part and that his friends might be too weak to do so. Well, they were human beings and this is the way things are; they were meant to feel weak without the help of God, for what value is anything if we do not have prayer?

And, as a first step in helping his friends, Adam changed the tone of his prayers; the “me” was replaced with “us” and he felt his friends’ pain in his supplications. He then remembered “O you who believe! If you will help (the cause of) God, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly.” (Muhammad 47:7).

I have been placed under the cavity of the chest. So that we do not harm each other, the Creator has placed a membrane between me and my neighbors, the heart and lung; I can hear them, but cannot see them. They are further protected by the rib cage, because they are more sensitive than I. Of course that does not mean that I am without protection. Our Lord has placed all of us in the most appropriate way. If I had bones covering me you would have a lot of difficulty eating and drinking and since you could not store what you eat you would need to eat little portions throughout the day. But since I have been placed in the stomach cavity and all the walls are flexible I can easily store all that you eat and drink until you digest them. This means that you are busy with eating only at certain times, allowing you to spend your time with other things.

I look like a kettle and this rather simple-looking shape might make you undermine my skills. It is for this reason that some people speak of me in a rude way, describing me as “a sack-like organ.” To understand how important I am, ask those with stomach ulcers or stomach cancer. God forbid, should I stop functioning; life would become a living hell. Each drop that you drink and each morsel you eat would be like poison and all of the world’s pleasures would vanish.

My walls, which seem like a simple sack, are made of four layers of special tissue. On the outer layer there is a strong tissue, below this are layers of muscle that have been placed vertically and horizontally in a diagonal manner, and under this there is tissue engulfed in a flexible layer and a final lining called the epithelium. Of course, we should not forget the web of blood vessels and nerves that nourish these thick walls. My system of nerves is such a complex system that you would be amazed; it resembles a second brain and it is aware of your whole body without you being aware. When you hurt your foot or you are upset with the slightest thing or laugh because of joy I am affected by this. This nervous system is so sensitive that it affects all my actions and my digestive excretions.

It is through this nervous system that I control my actions and my excretions when the scent of the food comes and you are getting ready to eat, saving you trouble after you have eaten. I can also be easily trained. If you can stick with it you can get me used to a new life after three days. Some stomachs are used to three meals, while others are content with two or one meal a day. My recommendation is that you get me used to two meals a day.

Not a lot of chemical decomposition can occur in the mouth, so all the nourishment you have eaten needs to pass through me before it is digested by the intestines and it becomes part of your body. What happens is that the things you have eaten are broken up mechanically into little pieces by the teeth so that I can accept them. If you hurry and swallow without chewing and do not soften the morsels you tire me out. In addition to this, if the morsels are sharp or too large they can rip the walls of the esophagus and make them bleed. It is best to chew the morsel 30 times, but unfortunately most people do not do this. They send me mouthfuls after having only chewed on it once or twice. They do not realize that they are full and therefore eat too much, disturbing the balance. If you eat slowly I will let the relevant section of the brain know and the feeling of hunger will stop after you have received enough nutrients. In this manner you do not tire me out too much and the nutrients do not go to waste. If you eat too fast I will be full before I get a chance to bring to the surface the molecules that give the sensation of being full and there will be no room for water or air, which allow me to move comfortably.

There are three different types of cells on the mucous layer that lines the inner layer of my walls and which is in contact with the food. One of these excretions is hydrochloric acid (HCl). This acid, which can dissolve even a piece of rock, is used not only to digest all the meat and proteins, but it also kills any bacteria that may come with the food and beverage. Without this acid the pepsinogen enzyme, which breaks down the protein, cannot be activated. The pepsinogen enzyme also synthesizes some other cells. This enzyme cannot function on its own and cannot be excreted if I do not have food in me. It starts to be excreted together with the hydrochloric acid as soon as I start to be filled with food. So how is it that such a strong acid and protein digesting enzyme do not harm my walls? My Creator has provided my lining with a temporary protective layer. The goblet cells that excrete this protective mucous are so sensitive that they excrete a protective liquid that coats it. Every day I sacrifice one and a half million cells to these enzyme and acids. In other words, every three days my inner layer is destroyed by these corrosive enzymes and acids. But thank God, I have been given me such a revitalizing strength that each day this lining is renewed with new cells.

Sometimes, if there is a problem with the excretion of this protective liquid, the acid and enzyme can start to eat at the stomach walls, leading to blood leaking from the arteries that are in the outer layer; this is known as an ulcer, a wound on my walls. Nervousness and tension affect the excretions in me, and therefore people who have a nervous character can develop ulcers more easily than relaxed people. The best thing to do is to live a life where one faces things with patience, neither being too panicky nor too happy, but living in a balanced and mature way. If you try to live in a balanced way then you will maintain order in the stomach and I will be happy.

You cannot move the muscles of my walls like you can your arm or leg muscles. The muscles are commanded and start working according to orders from an autonomous nervous system that you are not even aware of. An important feature of these muscles is that they work slowly, but take a long time to get tired. At the same time, they are very susceptible to growing if you do not take care of yourself properly; if you are not careful I can swell up quickly like a balloon. The evil side of human character has a very close connection with me; so you have to be very careful not to eat and drink too much and consume unlawful food. Otherwise, you might become weak and be easily misled and consequently this makes me nothing more than a waste container and then I become a pest.

Let me tell you some of the things that I do not like. At the top of the list is very hot or very cold food or beverages. Both ruin the enzymes and make them dysfunctional. The best condition for enzymes to work is at your body temperature-that is 36-37 degrees. There are more scientists today than before who think that overly hot or burnt food can cause my cells to turn cancerous. If you heat very cold items in your mouth and then swallow you protect me from getting cold – because if I get cold I contract and my working balance becomes dysfunctional so that I am no longer able to do my job.

When I finish my job of extracting the nutrients and treating them with the enzymes the food takes on a liquid form. When the food has achieved the desired texture I send it through to the intestines that are right below me. In this regard, I am like this transitory worldly life, which is nothing more than a two-door guesthouse-one door for entrance and the other door for exit. I never retain anything in me-I receive from one end and send it out the other. There is no door between myself and the esophagus, so I can take out what is in me if I have to by vomiting. At first, this vomiting reflex might seem a bad thing and you might wonder why there is nothing to prevent this? But let me remind you of something, what if you mistakenly eat something poisonous or something that has gone off, what would you do if you could not vomit? You would have to be taken to hospital so that you do not die of food poisoning and an incision would have to be made in the stomach; I would have to be cleansed out, but by this time you might have died. However, if I feel that something you have eaten is bad I can remove it. But with the gateway that is placed between myself and the intestines I am able to stop the food in the intestines from coming back to ruin the acidic atmosphere in me, as the enzymes in the intestines work under more neutral conditions. My acidic structure would disrupt the intestine’s enzymes. In particular, if the bile salts excreted from the liver and the pancreas enzymes should spill into me the situation would be very chaotic.

Another important piece of advice I can offer to you Peter is not to play any sports when I am full and not to strain yourself. The thick muscle lining on the walls requires a lot of blood to move. After eating a significant amount of blood is withdrawn from other parts of the body and sent to me. If you try to be active in this state you will suffer, as the rest of your organs will not be nourished properly and stress will be put on your heart.

Here’s another secret I’m going to let you in on: the more you fill me up without thinking about whether it is necessary and lawful or not, the more likely it is that you will make spiritual mistakes. Your spiritual well-being and health are inversely proportional to a full stomach. If you make me grow too much all your veins, starting with your heart, will start to gather fat and therefore their functions will slow down. Also your spiritual side will be dulled. Actually it is enough for a person to eat only what they need to survive. Serving your senses of taste and eating within the allowed parameters by remembering the Giver will not only give me peace but will also take you to spiritual horizons. After the food passes through your mouth it does not make much of a difference to me whether it is sweet or salty. Therefore, if you can take charge of your mouth, which acts as a gatekeeper, you can protect yourself from waste and from putting on extra kilos.

Some time ago some people would laugh at my above advice, and they would say, “Good food is the backbone of life and one should feed well.” But now modern medicine and dieticians have started to give the same advice I have been giving for years and they state that eating enough for sustenance is adequate. Most illnesses arise from over-eating; good food may be the backbone of life, but too much of it is a prescription for an early death.

In particular, with the dietary change that you make during the month of Ramadan, I and my team are able to renew ourselves; it is like a fitness camp that prepares us for a new term. This is an important need for us to start the new season. The time for this is approaching. I expect you will use your will power and allow me to rest as commanded. To continue with your life you need me to provide you the nutrients and energy, because without me even your heart could not function. At the root of all biological sustenance there is a need for food intake. Accordingly, I am like a double bladed sword. You should neither neglect me nor indulge me too much. I hope that you will display this balanced outlook and behavior.

Eternia is the land of eternity, the land where there is no end to anything. I learned it from an animated cartoon named He-man. At that young age, I did not really feel what it meant to be eternal, because I was not in search of it. For me, what mattered was the excitement I felt in catching the cartoon on time every week. Once the episode was over, the unknown and unexpected adventures of the next episode used to keep my excitement active until then. Today, as I age into maturity, the unknown outcomes of the events in my life and the uncertainties about the possible realizations of my dreams keep me in a state similar to that which I experienced in my childhood. But this time, I am the hero, and the world around me replaces Eternia. I am the one who is going through troubles to gain inexhaustible satisfaction and joy. If you follow me, I will tell you the “sesame” f o r m u l a that opens the doors of Eternia. “It was the fall of 1977. The corridors of the hospital reverberated with the cries of a newborn. His delayed birth was taking place at a later time of the day, due to his mother’s reluctance and fear to deliver him.” Given this very same start, a thousand people could come up with a thousand different stories. You can go further and specify an end to this story, such as “As the sun fell below the horizon, he permanently closed his eyes with tears and a deep smile on his lips.” Still, there will be an infinite number of possible ways of moving from the given start to the given end.

The existence of infinite possible ways of life results in our inability to accurately predict the future. Here are some actual examples to further our thoughts. Lincoln, who finally had great political success, lost so many times in his past enterprises. Without seeing the final point, it is impossible to tell if he was an idealist destined to success, or a loser with an obsession. Similarly, in the case of Einstein, it was impossible to tell at first whether he would be a famous and successful scientist despite his awful start in education, or a dropout student due to his non-conformity and academic inadequacy.

These examples show that we are not only unable to penetrate into the future but also ignorant of the true nature of events. The reason for our both shortcomings is the uncertainty inherent between two points in the time line. Exactly the same thing can be seen in geometry. There are infinite number of curves that pass through a given pair of points, which means there are infinite number of equations that can describe the distribution of a pair of points. The concept of infinite number of curves is enabled by the uncertainty about the path connecting the two points. Are there other instances linking uncertainty to infinity?

What is the size of the universe anyway? Many people have been dazzled by this question throughout history. Studies were done to see if the universe had limits, and if so, to determine its size. Still, we do not have an established answer to this question. Simply, we say the universe is infinite. The reason behind this unproven conclusion is the uncertainty about the limits of the universe. In effect, our ignorance of them translates into the conclusion of an infinite universe. Once more, we see the strong relationship between uncertainty and infinity.

Why is a prison a prison? Is it because you cannot get out of an area whose borders are visible? Or, is it because you are only allowed to certain number of actions there? Both can be part of the answer. Now, help the inmates and make the area of the prison larger so that they cannot see the borders anymore. Let us make their building larger as well. Does it not sound like our situation within the borders of a country? What is happening is that you are introducing a significant amount of uncertainty into the limits of the prison area, which induces a feeling of infinite land for the inmates.

Although we like uncertainty when it gives a flavor of infinity to pleasures, we usually do not like it when it is present in fears and losses. The fear of losing1 and not knowing the limits of the loss are two killers of all pleasures. Uncertainty induces a fear of infinite loss. Try to remember a rendezvous with a friend for which he/she was late. Until the time your friend showed up, the uncertainty of the time of arrival triggered a feeling of infinite waiting time, which made you impatient. When you are sick, not knowing the time you will recover also puts a lot of burden on your soul.2

Another example is found in male-female relations, especially in the western world. By not marrying each other and continuing with dating, individuals introduce uncertainty into their relationship, which gives them a sense of infinite freedom of action in their couple life. The comfort of infinite freedom of action due to uncertainty transforms into selfish moves in the long run. Then, insincere attitudes fostered by infinite freedom trigger an ever-growing mistrust within the couple due to the uncertainty about the individuals’ fidelity to each other, and the pair disintegrates.

Similarly, the uncertainty of the moment of death triggers a feeling of infinite life.3 Our lack of vision of God and the angels induces an infinite level of freedom of action. Human beings, especially youth, are challenged by this hypothetical infinity of life and their supposed freedom of action. However, the actual coming of death permanently removes the uncertainty about the angels and God. Thus, uncertainty serves as a means of eliminating the permanent residents of paradise from the permanent residents of hell.4

To conclude, this world is a land of uncertainties except for two things: birth and death. Although their qualities and actions are uncertain, whoever comes to this land definitely leaves it one day. By exercising our free will here, we weave our deeds, as everyone else does, between the same start and end, i.e. birth and death. However, the uncertain nature of this world tempts us with a hypothetical infinity embedded in its pleasures and burdens. Maybe this supposed infinity is a manifestation of two eternal lands, i.e. paradise and hell, whose existence is uncertain for us. Then, we, as humans, need a Helper to survive under the uncertainties of this world, a merciful Omnipotent Being who can convert these uncertainties into the infinite bliss of the actual Eternia-paradise in the company of our Creator.

Notes

1. Hadith: “Remember death very frequently, the spoiler of pleasures.”
2. Nursi, S., The Flashes, 25th Flash, 11th Remedy.
3. Nursi, S., The Flashes, 21st Flash, 1st Means of Attaining Sincerity.
4. He Who has created death and life, so that He may try you (and demonstrate to yourselves) which of you is better in deeds… (Mulk 67:2)

However, as one’s age increases, most bodily functions peak and then start to diminish. A better aging strategy would be to age in the healthiest possible manner; i.e., keeping the physical and mental functions as sharp as possible, in particular the memory, so as not to lose human dignity in old age.

Aging and Memory

As one ages, reactions start to slow, the speed of understanding and the level of concentration diminish. The precipitous decline of dopamine-containing neurons in the human brain after age 45 is a universal characteristic of the aging process. The nigrostriatal region of the brain is richest in dopamine and undergoes the most rapid aging of any brain area. Age-associated depletion of dopamine also accounts for less noticeable symptoms, like a decline in physical drives and brain functions. These reactions are mostly on a mental or psychological level. In addition to these, wrinkles appear in the skin, hairs gray, and joints become gnarly. Perhaps, most important of all, is that according to recent research carried out on the brain, by the time most people hit 40, their brainpower starts to weaken. This does not mean that people become incompetent, just a bit slower in the cognitive process. This phenomenon is called “generalized slowing” by psychologists. According to James Birren, the Associate Director of the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles, the first signs of aging appear on tests used to measure mental speed and acuity, in which people count the number of lights flashed on a screen, for instance, or trace a complicated pattern while looking at a mirror.

“But eventually the down-turn affects almost everything we do,” says Birren, “From how fast we hit the breaks when a car pulls in front of us to how quickly we learn new skills on the job or remember old what’s-her-name’s name.”

Then the question is whether the slowing process is unavoidable. According to psychologist Robert Dustman, the answer to this is yes. One of the country’s top experts on aging and the brain, Dustman directs the Neuropsychology Research Laboratory at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City. He’s just turned 70 and shows no signs of slowing down himself. “It is true that when we compare 20-year-olds with 60-year olds on almost any test that measures the speed of information processing, younger people on average score significantly better than the older ones,” he says, “But that does not have to be. There is a simple way I can ward off the scourge of slowness,” Dustman says. And the way to do this is to stay in shape.

At first it seems to go against common sense that in some way a mindless act like jogging or striding around a park is relevant to the speed of thinking. But Dustman explains the connection in a very logical way.

Every cell in the body requires a continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients to function at its peak. But surprisingly, no cells need a greater oxygen supply than the gray matter that rests between our ears. The brain, although it makes up only 2% of our body weight, uses up 25% of the glucose and oxygen supply.

Now suppose a person slips out of shape, their heart gets lazy, the arteries get clogged, the blood flow to capillaries slows down, and the oxygen and nutrient supply to the brain falls us. As a result, neurons get less than they need to function properly, the electrical signals slow down, and hence the mind slows down. A recent study shows that blood pressure (or lack of it) is highly correlated to memory; so much so that, a reduction of it causes the memory to weaken.

But getting older does not mean that one must face a full-scale slowdown, Dustman says. The problem is that by 45, when the brain is quickly falling into decline, most of us neglect to perform the activities that keep the arteries open, the heart strong, and blood flowing; namely exercise. Dustman’s own studies suggest that working out might be an antidote. In one of his studies, he ran 60 male volunteers, half in their twenties, half in their sixties, through the standard mental tests. As expected, the younger group had higher mental speeds. But when Dustman looked closely at the older group, he noticed that the ones who were exercising or had remained active had a brain speed that was comparable to that of the younger set.

The tests included actions as simple as pushing a button each time an X appeared in a long string of O’s to memorizing numbers and symbols. “On many measures,” says Dustman “the older men in good condition scored just as well as men 30 and 40 years their junior.” In real life, that is, they could find a number in a phone book or remember that sensible is a synonym for rational.

When one exercise, in other words, the sections of the brain which control movement and balance are fired up, the electrical signals zap back and forth along the nerves from the brain to the muscles and tendons. The eyes, the inner ear, and other sensory nerves all roll into action. The benefits of these can be detected clearly in the brainwaves and electrical impulses recorded by researchers.

Indeed, in Dustman’s study, the older men who were still fit had surprisingly youthful-looking brain waves. They produced more alpha waves, a pattern associated with calmness under pressure, and had steeper peaks and valleys in waves, which signifies an ability to block out distractions. Furthermore, when subjected to a sudden flash of light or a sound blast, they were faster to produce a wave called P-300, which is associated with fast reactions. “People in good shape can really focus,” says Dustman. “They can pen a letter to a friend without the sound of children playing downstairs disturbing them. They can fill out tax forms correctly after reading the directions once.” For someone who’s out of shape, the news is grim. In addition to problems that range from overweight to heart disease and diabetes, the results of a sedentary life style, it turns out that the brain will very likely start to weaken as well. Still, Dustman is optimistic. He once encouraged 42 sedentary people over 55 to exercise (walking or jogging) three times a week. After four months, the aerobic capacity of the volunteers increased 25 % and they scored better on mental speed tests. In light of this study, Dustman thinks that even easy exercise, such as brisk walking can speed up the minds of people after years of inactivity. The time required varies, however. In similar studies, it took about a year to observe an increase in the speed of the brain.

But it is not time that is important here; the goal is rather not to lose brain capacity until a very old age. It would be better if one were always to keep in shape, as it is easier to keep something that works running than to start it up again once it has slowed down. “The real benefit seems to come from making a lifelong habit of staying active,” says Dustman.

It is better to maintain a regular routine of exercises than to start up new ones. Researchers at the University of Illinois compared middle-aged lab rats who padded daily on a running mill to rats who negotiated a complicated obstacle course of rope bridges and seesaws a few times a day. Predictably, both groups got more blood flowing to the brain. But the obstacle-mastering rats had 25% more hard-wired connections between neurons. Assuming the same is true for humans, then exercises which require more brain activity are potentially more rewarding.

Aging and Sleep

The obvious dangers of not getting enough sleep include mental fuzziness, an increased chance of accidents, illness, psychological problems, and decreased productivity at work or school. But Dr. Eve Van Cauter wrote in the prestigious medical journal Lancet that less sleep can actually speed the process of aging. In her informative study, young men who were allowed to sleep only 4 hours each night showed signs of aging in less than a week. Their glucose tolerance dropped considerably, and they started to release cortisol, the stress hormone, at a greater rate than normal.

Sleep offers the body an opportunity to heal and rebuild itself. Pro-sleep nutrients might help in this cause. For example, it has been shown that nutritional supplements containing zinc, magnesium, and pyridoxine (vitamin B6) , among other benefits, help sleep efficiency. A herbal amino acid 5-hydroxytryptophan is another promising sleep aid to use in times of extreme stress. Among sleep promoting herbs from traditional Chinese medicine are ziziphus spinosa (jujube), schisandra chinensis, and bupleurum chinense (Chinese thoroughwax). These herbs seem to relax the muscles and soothe the central nervous system. Sleep is and remains to be the most precious source of energy replenishment.

Melatonin: A God-given Sleeping Pill

Melatonin is a natural molecule made by the pineal gland, which is located in the brain. Melatonin is made from an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, that is, the body cannot make it; we need to get it from the foods we eat. Tryptophan is found in wide variety of foods. As we consume tryptophan during the day, the body converts it into serotonin, an important chemical for the brain that is involved with moods. Serotonin, in turn, is converted into melatonin. This conversion occurs most efficiently at nights.

Melatonin helps to set and control the internal clock that governs the natural rhythms of the body. Each night the pineal gland produces melatonin, which helps us to fall asleep. Research about this molecule has been going on since it was discovered at Yale University by Dr. Lerner in 1958, but recently there has been a great deal more attention being paid to melatonin. About a thousand articles on melatonin are published annually. One major reason is that scientists are discovering that melatonin is not only associated with deep sleep, but also with our hormonal, immune, and nervous systems. Research is accumulating about melatonin’s role as a powerful antioxidant, its possible anti-aging benefits, and its immune-enhancing properties.

Aging and Free Radicals

A free radical is a molecule that contains an unpaired electron through reactions with the essential element oxygen. These molecules “steal” electrons from nearby molecules to complete that final electron pair for stability. Then they are no longer free radicals, but they convert the new combined molecule into a new free radical. In a living organism, this process can cause a chain reaction of severe cellular damage, unless prevented.

The theory that free radicals are agents of bodily destruction is gaining widespread acceptance, as is the value of antioxidants in preventing such an occurrence.

According to the journal Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science, the excess of free radicals in our body, i.e. “the domino effect”, is a critical factor in many health problems. An interesting and concerning fact about free radicals is that they cause the same reactions within the cells that occur during exposure to radiation. Free radicals released in the body destroy even proteins, the essential constituents of the body that regulate hormones and enzymes and that make up nerves, muscles, skin, and hair. It is usually suggested that antioxidants are used to fight these harmful free radicals. Fruits and vegetables are plentiful in vitamins A, C, and E, the key antioxidants. Polyphenols, which are found in grapes and green tea extracts are potent antioxidants. In fact, scientists have found out that procyanidins are the most promising polyphenols. In Japan, scientists have discovered that they may be 50 times more powerful than vitamins C and E in fighting free radicals. Alpha-lipoic acid, which is soluble in both water and lipids, can neutralize free radicals throughout the body. In fact, alpha-lipoic acid is involved in so many different antioxidant functions that it has been called the “universal antioxidant.” Citrus bioflavonoids and certain fruit and vegetable pigments are also strong free radical fighters.

Deprenyl: An Anti-aging Treatment?

Deprenyl (selegiline) provides selective protection against age-related degeneration of the dopamine nervous system. It is the only inhibitor used in clinical practice. The rate at which dopamine neurons age is quite variable. Before age 45, dopamine levels stay quite stable. Starting at 45, the decrease in average dopamine content in healthy people is linear, at 13% per decade. When it reaches 30%, the symptoms of Parkinson appear.

The sensitivity of the dopaminergic nervous system to oxidizing free radicals has been well established. The protective effect of deprenyl in lessening the neurotoxic effect of the oxidants (6-hydrpxydopa and 6-hydroxydopamine) appears to correlate with increased antioxidant enzyme levels. The increase in the antioxidant level is proportional to the deprenyl intake.

There as yet has been no definitive study of the long-term use of deprenyl in healthy people as a life-extension and cognitive-enhancing drug. But there has been extensive animal research. The lifespan of deprenyl-taking rats is significantly greater than normal rats, in fact, all the control rats died before the first deprenyl-taking rat died. Early research with deprenyl in humans (early-diagnosed Parkinson patients) shows delayed development of symptoms. Deprenyl has also been established as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Eventually, deprenyl has the potential of becoming a general treatment for aging in people above the age of 45.

Conclusion

Although we know for sure that there cannot be an absolute cure for aging, the results of it can be slowed down considerably. Soundness and health of mind are desirable traits for all ages, not just for the elderly. After many years, many elderly people lose much of their memory and mental capacities; this occurs just at the time when they can pass on all their wisdom and experience to the younger generations. Hopefully, with the advent of science and technology, the deficiencies in the brain due to aging can be avoided to a certain extent. The solution lies in a balanced collaboration of modern medicine and traditional natural cures that have been practiced for centuries.

References

• Life expectancy around the world http://www.mrdowling. .com/800life.html
• Peter Jaret, (1997) THINK FAST- from Health Magazine, http://www.brain.com/TFarticle.html
• Ray Sahelian, M.D., (1997) “Melatonin: Nature’s Sleeping Pill,” http://www.brain.com/melatonin.html
• Ward Dean, M.D., and Steve Wm. Fowkes. “Deprenyl: A Universal Anti-aging Strategy?,” http://www.ceri.com/ deprenyl.htm
• Spiegel, K. et al. (1999), “Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function,” Lancet; 354 (9188):1453-9.
• Amtoft-Nielsen, J., M.D. (2002), “Researchers Find Sleepless Nights Speed up Aging,” Journal of Longevity, Vol. 8/No.5: 38-39.
• Abraham, I., M.D. (2002). “The Domino Effect – The Cause of Rapid Aging?,” Journal of Longevity, Vol 8/ No. 4: 36-38.