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Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. Everything has been figured out, except how to live. One always dies too soon or too late. And yet, life is there, finished. The line is drawn, and it must all be added up. You are nothing other than your life. There is only one day left, always starting over. It is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk. We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are, that is the fact. When you live alone you no longer know what it is to tell a story: the plausible disappears at the same time as the friends. You let events flow by too.Suddenly you see people appear who speak and then go away; you plunge into stories of which you can't make head or tail. You'd make a terrible witness. It is true that people who live in society have learned how to see themselves in mirrors as they appear to their friends. Luckily, I only have a few...

Dr Shaw is a lecturer in Further Education at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk. She also offers philosophy courses at the School of Continuing Education, Lifelong learning, at the University of Liverpool. In 2015, she has completed her Doctorate in philosophy with a focus on existentialism, the equilibrium doctrine and narrative. She has worked as a teacher of English and Comparative literature and Philosophy at The American University in Cairo, Egypt where she also obtained her BA (Hons). Dr Shaw has an MA in Philosophy and Literature from the University of East Anglia where she also taught on a number of humanities subjects. Whilst working in North Wales in Further education, she gained a PGCE aimed at teaching in FE and HE sectors. Dr Shaw moved to Liverpool in 2010 where she now resides.

Interests: Existentialism, Narrative, Comparative Literature, Feminist Thought, Public Speaking, Arab Existentialism, Philosophy of Education, Art, Music, Film and Theatre, Greek Mythology, Existential counsellor and psychotherapist.

https://liverpool.academia.edu/ShereenHamedShaw


Saturday 15 June 2013

It just means you ARE human...



Muse's "Uprising" Lyrics

“You say you're 'depressed' - all i see is resilience. You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn't mean you're defective - it just means you're human.”- From Film Cloud Atlas

One of the quotes that keep popping in my head recently is this one (above). Taking a step back now, although some people would not believe this about me, but I have often felt down more than the times I have felt "happy". But then again what is the meaning of "happiness"? Now we went from one question to another which is not really what I intended to write about now... 

Back to the quote (above) it is normal to feel down, it is normal to feel "messed up" because this is what makes you, me and everyone else human. I say to myself often now, don't beat yourself too much about it, you can only do too much for someone. They have to want to succeed, they have to want to change, it must come from within. well, this makes me feel better for a bit but they I start feeling anxious all over again. It is like your hands have been tied down so tightly while you're attempting to run up a hill!!! Yes that's exactly how I feel. At 29 years old, I think to myself (more lately than before) my god, I feel like I'll have a heart attack at any moment now. I try to stop and distract myself quickly, sometimes it works, sometimes it's worse...

Anyway, so when the quote says "It doesn't mean you're defective, it just means you're human" it really is saying "stop worrying, stop beating yourself about it, you can't fix the world", you are only a piece in a massive puzzle.

The sad thing is that I feel at limbo at this  moment in life, not knowing where I am going or what I am waiting for. All I know is that something will happen or "need" to happen. This moment, this time, this second, the silence is increasing my anxiety and the bareness of life is unbearable. Let's hope a big bang comes in my way to shake things up soon enough!

With this thought, I leave you with a great song "Uprising" from my favorite band Muse... Enjoy!

Quick note about the song: Can't help but think in the chorus of the song that it should be "WE" rather than "They" in "They will not force us" etc... It  seems to me to be us forcing ourselves, degrading ourselves and controlling ourselves... So how can we be victorious muse ? Huh? It is ALL Our own Doing!!! sniff sniff...