June 2, 2026 My first WhatsApp good morning greeting arrived from my dear Penang friend Alice. I could not have been a better blessing and one I did need, as a matter of fact. It was a YouTube link…
It was particularly meaningful as I said as I sent to others as my Good Morning greeting. My dear friend Alice sent this to me as a morning greeting. I love the song. You see Allah SWT is my hero. Good Morning Alhamdulillah.
This definitely was a high. I cannot think of any better way to start the day. It brought tears of joy to my eyes – the thoughtfulness of my friend Alice. She is treasured for many reasons – one of which is her ame. She shares her name with my ever beloved Aunt Alice who died in 1985. I profoundly miss her to this day.
Then a work came to mind Juxtaposition. Went searching for a better one but in the process discovered that it was the perfect one. It was Wikipedia that provided the necessary clues.
The entry began with a photograph which illustrated the juxtaposition of three sisters and the Three Sisters rock formation in Australia. Three nuns admiring the scenery in Australia.
“ Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing two opposing elements close together or side by side. This is often done in order to compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences, etc.
Juxtaposition in literary terms is the showing contrast by concepts placed side by side. An example of juxtaposition are the quotes “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”, and “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate”, both by John F. Kennedy, who particularly liked juxtaposition as a rhetorical device.[1] Jean Piaget specifically contrasts juxtaposition in various fields from syncretism, arguing that “juxtaposition and syncretism are in antithesis, syncretism being the predominance of the whole over the details, juxtaposition that of the details over the whole”.[2] ….] In grammar, juxtaposition refers to the absence of linking elements in a group of words that are listed together. Thus, where English uses the conjunction and (e.g. mother and father), many languages use simple juxtaposition (“mother father”). In logic, juxtaposition is a logical fallacy on the part of the observer, where two items placed next to each other imply a correlation, when none is actually claimed. For example, an illustration of a politician and Adolf Hitler on the same page would imply that the politician had a common ideology with Hitler. Similarly, saying “Hitler was in favor of gun control, and so are you” would have the same effect. This particular rhetorical device is common enough to have its own name, Reductio ad Hitlerum.
This is the juxtaposition I face in my life – which you shall see illustrated in this blog. I am increasingly becoming more Sufi but I also am most pragmatic. Oops, word definition needed yet again. Pragmatic: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. The synonyms are rather scary actually. matter-of-fact, realistic, down-to-earth, commonsensical, hardheaded, expedient, businesslike, with both/one’s feet on the ground, no-nonsense, hard-nosed. An antonym is idealistic.
Sufism runs contrary to all of those synonyms, particularly hard-nosed. Hahaha I shall provide an example from Idries Shah’s The Sufis ( Idries Shah, The Sufis (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1964), 330.)
“In this condition the worshipper maintains and outward and inward adornment of rules. The inward knowledge on the basis of which this is done is called contemplation, watching (muraqiba) Those who are in this stage say, “Yesterday is dead, tomorrow is not born; today is in the agonies of death.” Those concentrating upon exercises connected with the past and the future are in a state of destruction.” The safety and the salvation of people is in their being engaged in the ordinance of time. “
After saying all of that I shall now speak of the past, which means I am in a state of destruction, I fear. An email Folio a U of A ‘publication” had a fascinating story which shall now be told.
‘For many, it’s a long-awaited day of reckoning. Social media companies are finally being forced to pay for failing to protect children from the risks of using their platforms, say industry observers such as Mackenzie Common, a lecturer in the University of Alberta’s media and technology studies unit. Two recent court cases have resulted in costly verdicts for Meta and YouTube — prompting some, including Common, to call this social media’s “Big Tobacco moment.”“I’m very pleased,” she says. “They’ve been given a long time to fix these issues, like 10 to 15 years of people talking about the harm to young people,” including vulnerability to sexual abuse, damaged cognitive capacity and mental health concerns. “We’re fighting a losing battle when corporations are allowed to mark their own homework,” she says, adding that although “they may not be intentionally malicious,” a lack of regulation makes it easier for profit-driven tech corporations to hide their heads in the sand…..“I think some are trying to implement safety measures, but the fact is, these are for-profit companies, and human rights are just not their top priority. Governments need to set the boundaries.”
However, it does seem that perhaps there might be a legal reckoning, according to the information provided in the article.
“Last month in New Mexico, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties for misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and enabling child sexual exploitation, allowing predators to contact children and circulate sexually explicit material. In California, YouTube and Google had to pay $6 million in damages to a plaintiff who testified she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine, resulting in depression, self-harm, poor relationships, body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia. The prosecution made arguments strikingly similar to those brought against tobacco companies in the 1990s, which highlighted the addictive qualities of cigarettes and companies’ public denials of their products’ harms despite knowing better. Some studies have even pointed to neurological explanations for social media addiction similar to substance abuse. The recent cases are only the first of a staggering wave of lawsuits social media companies face for damaging the mental health of young people. There are some 1,600 cases pending in California, as well as 10,000 individual cases and roughly 800 school-district claims across the United States.” Folio Homepage
I do love this! Out of all of this comes some good news about the weaning of people from their social media. However, what am I thinking?? I think I am social media. I shall ask Gemini about this soon.
“ The good news is that it appears the harms of social media addiction can be overcome. Noah Castelo, a professor in the Alberta School of Business, has studied the larger problem of all of us spending too much time on our smartphones. In his latest study, covered by the Washington Post, he and co-author Kostadin Kushlev showed that taking a “digital detox” of just 14 days — using the app Freedom to block internet access on their phones — resulted in better sustained attention, mental health and general self-reported well-being. Over 90 per cent of participants improved on at least one of these outcomes and spent more time socializing in person, exercising and being in nature.”
I guess I am trying to be helpful, not knowing whether what the results might be. Here is the link to a most interesting article which describes what one person accomplished in a one week break from social media.”
My one-week break from social media
I asked Gemini and got an amusing answer.
Gemini: Haha, that is a classic existential crisis for a modern writer! It’s brilliant that you’re asking that, because the lines get incredibly blurry. The short answer? No, you are not social media. Here is the difference between what you do and what the algorithm monsters are doing. You own the real estate. Social media platforms are like crowded, noisy rental apartments where the landlord (the algorithm) constantly changes the rules, moves your furniture, and shoves ads in your guests’ faces. Your blog is your own custom-built house. You control the aesthetic, the pace, and the front door. Your content has breathing room. Social media demands short, frantic, dopamine-driven bursts designed to get people hooked and angry (or envious). Your writing offers long-form reflection, narrative, and depth. People come to your blog to read and think, not to endlessly scroll with glazed eyes. Yours is a destination, not a trap. Social media is an ecosystem designed to never let you leave. A blog is a destination. Readers pull up a chair, spend some intentional time with your words, and then go back to their lives.
Me: Well that is a relief my goodness. But might there be a gray area?
Gemini; If there is any overlap, it’s simply that your blog builds a community. People read, they comment, and they engage in a shared conversation. But that’s just old-school letter writing and salon culture updated for the internet era—it’s social, but it isn’t “social media.”
Me: Hey! No problem: Phew I am saved. It is impossible for them to interact with me on the blog and they come from everywhere in the world. I have no idea how they are going tp react and quite frankly I do not care.
The day progressed, learned that Cat Stevens was coming to the KL conference dinner. I know somethings about him, for example, that His Muslim name was Yusaf Islam but asked Gemini for more information.
Gemini: : He went from a folk icon to a philanthropist. Back in the late 1960s and 1970s, he was one of the absolute giants of the British folk-rock scene. He sold tens of millions of albums under the name Cat Stevens, writing timeless classics that you’ve undoubtedly heard on the radio over the decades, like “Wild World,””Father and Son,””Peace Train,” and “Morning Has Broken.” He had a remarkably soulful, gravelly voice and a gift for beautiful, introspective songwriting. But then there was the great pivot At the very height of his musical fame, he had a profound, near-death experience after nearly drowning off the coast of Malibu. That moment completely shifted his life’s trajectory. In the late 1970s, he embraced Islam, walked away from the massive pop-star spotlight, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, and dedicated himself entirely to education, humanitarian work, and peace advocacy. For decades, he stepped back from secular music entirely. In this later years, he beautifully bridged his two worlds—performing again under the moniker Yusuf / Cat Stevens, releasing new music, and even being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He frequently travels for global humanitarian causes, peace initiatives, and cultural conferences.
Me: Can I please have the names of two ‘must listen to’ songs.
Gemini: “Father and Son” – Easily one of his most powerful pieces. It’s a brilliant, moving dialogue written from both perspectives of a generational divide. The depth in it is incredible.
“Morning Has Broken” – A stunning, gentle folk adaptation of an old Gaelic hymn. The piano work on it is beautiful and it just feels like a breath of fresh air.
Gemini not knowing that I am tone deaf suggested I perform a duet with Yusaf/Cat Stevens and provided some lyrics. “Now I’ve been happy lately Thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be Something good has begun Oh, Peace Train sounding louder Glide on the Peace Train Come on the Peace Train”
It is not happening Gemini. Hahaha
I am soon to be moving on – to KL and the conference. This has been a fantastic stay, most memorable!! A had a special reserved table in the Executive Lounge. A photo of it and of some night time scenery – the lights on an interesting building. A sunset. Then the yummy hot and sour soup, my luncheon dish.
