Observations of life

By Saqib Hussain

This is a book of observations and insights on life and includes topics on attention, self-building, connections, the mind and modern living. It has the potential to change lives for the better. Please read and forward on as much as possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Saqib Hussain
• Release date: Dec 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370503001

Saqib Hussain

Dear readers, hello! I have been writing for many years including poetry on various topics, including those areas not often written about, all work trying to spread something inspirational and motivating. I hope you like the work and please share with others : )

Book preview

Author’s Note

This is a book of observations of life that I have learnt so far. They have the potential to radically change lives for the better, both individually and collectively as a society. The book covers areas including attention, self-building, connection, modern living, mind and other observations.

My special thanks first to God for his guidance, and also to my family especially my mother, Kalsoom Hussain, who worked so hard and so lovingly to raise me.

Please take the time to read this book and share with others.

With love and best wishes

Saqib Hussain London, England 21.12.2017

Contents

Chapter 1 – Attention

Chapter 2 – Self-Building

Chapter 3 - Connections

Chapter 4 - Modern Living

Chapter 5 - Mind

Chapter 6 - Further Observations

CHAPTER 1 – ATTENTION

"Business could not make dull, nor passion wild;

Who saw life steadily, and saw it whole" ¹

1.1 Attention to detail

1.2 See life steadily and see it whole

1.3 Emotional intelligence

1.4 Space

1.5 What do you want to grow?

1.1 Attention to detail

It is said that we live in an information age and indeed there is so much information we have access to on a daily basis. Billions of people every day spend time browsing through information on social media, the news, general internet searches etc.

Due to this we have become used to skimming and scanning information which is a useful skill to help save time in this age of phenomenal information.

However whilst getting an overall view is useful, in some parts of our lives the opposite, i.e. attention to detail, is essential. For example professions such as computer programming, surgeon, accountant, lawyer etc. Also for health and safety e.g. when crossing roads as a pedestrian or driving a vehicle etc.

Take-away point

Whilst skimming and scanning has its place, we need to be careful where it is applied i.e. be aware where we need to skim and scan information and where we need to pay more attention to detail.

1.2 See life steadily and see it whole

There is a poem with the lines:

"Business could not make dull, nor passion wild;

Who saw life steadily, and saw it whole" ¹

As well as the practical importance of attention, having a more steady pace can also lead to a more richer life experience, for example appreciating nature as well as having more appreciation for everyday objects, scenes and interactions.

I remember a simile in a short story written by Anton Chekhov of an inexperienced teacher who looks at everything but sees nothing. This is common when someone is nervous/in panic with eyes darting around but not actually focusing on anything. New drivers may do this too as well as anyone when they are nervous at starting anything new, or apprehensive about a situation etc.

In fact this distraction and lack of focus is quite dangerous and the cause of many accidents every day. I remember myself being hit by a car a few years ago as I was crossing the road as although I was crossing the road I was thinking about something else rather than focusing on the road and this misalignment left me vulnerable. Thankfully I was ok but could easily have been much worse if the vehicle had been bigger and travelling faster.

Top level athletes are able to stay steady in the most intense of situations.

9th November 1996 – a heavyweight boxing match between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson took place. At the end of a fiercely intimidating round by Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield’s trainer said to him All you gotta do is stay calm, and it’s you, you see everything² – beautiful - i.e. see things steadily and see them whole. This is what Holyfield did for the rest of the fight and ended up winning in round 11.

Take-away point

Having a more focused and at the same time relaxed gaze can help have a richer experience as well as help avoid bringing a needless tumultuousness to a scene in life.

1.3 Emotional intelligence

All of us have experienced accidentally or deliberately letting emotions take us over for example anger, fear etc. resulting in negative consequences.

Understanding the nature of emotions and paying attention when they arise can help immensely.

Anger

If you had to describe Anger and pick from the following opposites, which ones would you pick?

Hot/Cold, Fast/Slow, Up/Down, Hard/Soft, In/Out

Most probably you may say hot, fast, up, hard, out.

In fact the properties of anger are similar to fire, in fact you could even say "Anger is fire".

When someone is angry they literally get warmer, people may say phrases like cool down, calm down and if the angry person is attentive they may feel the surge of anger rise up in them towards their throat, just like a fire rises. It’s a hard, upwards, often fast movement and the tendency is to lash out with angry words, or fighting etc.

Just like fire looks for things to cling on to in order to burn further, for example paper, wood etc. , in the same way a person may bring up something as light as paper such as a facial expression or more tangible wood like something that happened but many years ago etc. to fuel their anger further.

People tend to move away from angry people just as they move away from fire, to the point where one may find their own family and friends wish to be away from them or spend less time with them for fear of getting burnt. There are people who