rat race: even if you win the race, you’re still a rat.

accordingly to wikipedia, rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. it is just like a rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel.

in an analogy to the modern city, many rats in a single maze run around making a lot of noise bumping into each other, but ultimately achieve nothing (meaningful) either collectively or individually.

it is a term often used to describe work or excessive work in particular. if one works, one is in the rat race. this terminology contains implications that many people see work as a seemingly endless pursuit with little reward or purpose.

the increased image of work as a rat race in modern world has led many to question their own attitudes towards work and seek a more harmonious work-life balance. many believe that long work hours, unpaid overtime, stressful jobs, time spent commuting, less time for traditional family life, has led to a generally unhappier workforce to enjoy the benefits of increased economic prosperity and a higher standard of living.

are you stuck in the rat race? if you work minimum 8 hours a day and trade your time for paycheck in order to pay bills, there is a high possibility that you are caught in the treadmill.

escape from the rat wheel? why? don’t get me wrong that rat race is something very bad that you must escape from it. it is your choice whether you are happy to stay on the treadmill or not. the only challenge that I see in rat race is that even if you win the race, you are still a rat.

source: http://www.inspiringjourneytofinancialfreedom.com/RatRace.html

p/s: gong xi fa cai

The eye did not swerve, nor did it go wrong

Tajalliyat whether they occur in the guise of forms and figures or under the veils of lights and colors, happens in walayat, particularly in its early stages. Nubuwat, on the other hand, meets the real directly w/out encountering illuminations and appearances which are the shadows of the real.

Similarly, in traversing the stages of the prophetic path, we do not get tajalliyat, but when we come to the prophetic way thru the saintly way, we receive them. This happens, however, due to walayat rather than due to traversing the path of nubuwat.

In short, illuminations and appearances signify shadow, and one who has renounced the love of shadows is liberated from tajalliyat. We can look for the truth of ‘the eye did not swerve, nor did it go wrong’ here, and here, and here...