Hissa al Dhaheri
Walking the thin line of life and attempting not to tip to one side is an intricate game. It’s similar to wearing a pair of stiletto high heels. You strut like you rule the world from your new-found, elevated perspective, but you are disregarding the risk of falling down and losing your sense of perspective.
Naturally, the lines that you are walking might be skewed. You try to keep your balance but you can’t help but ask yourself: “To be or not to be?” You might try to find your equilibrium with concepts like yin and yang. Or you might simply be tempted to draw your own vivid line to make your path clear.
" The same hormones that infuse us with gratification also prepare our bodies to flee from fear " You ask yourself: why walk the thin line? Why, for example, leave your packing for the last minute? Maybe because it bestows upon us the gratification of an adrenalin rush that heightens our sense of being alive. What else would explain leaving everything to just before the deadline?
The same hormones that infuse us with gratification also prepare our bodies to flee from fear. Our emotions might become confused because we are usually immersed with fear and happiness at the same moment.
There is a thin line between everything, blurry as it may be.
There is a thin line…
Between love and hate.
Just like there is a thin line…
Between igniting a spark and burning down the house.
While there is a very thin line…
Between emancipation and enslavement.
There is a thin line...
Between expanding your own ego and revealing your own vulnerability.
Just like there is a very thin line… |
" Honesty is a condition of any healthy relationship. So does that lead to a conditional relationship?) " Between honesty that creates trust and honesty that provides just too much information. (Honesty is a condition of any healthy relationship. So does that lead to a conditional relationship?)
There is a thin line...
Between thinking you know and not knowing anything.
While there is a very thin line…
Between being blissfully unaware and being obnoxiously ignorant and rude. (How do you explain a marketing seminar on “knowing your target market” with Muslims as the audience, using beer sales as their only example?)
There is a thin line…
Between letting go and standing up for one’s principles.
And I realise there is a very thin line…
Between being stubborn and having pride...
Between audacity and recklessness. (How would you judge driving at high speed?)
While there is a very thin line…
Between the appalling and the appealing.
Too much cleavage shown in the mall? Perhaps you just had a child? Congratulations, but I would suggest you keep your “bottles” warm. There is not a thin line between what is underwear and what is outerwear.
But there is a thin line…
Between advocating for an acceptance of modernity and preserving one’s identity.
Just like there is a thin line…
Between being judgmental and questioning your own beliefs.
While there is a very thin line…
Between losing the beliefs that structure your life and reassessing your values. |
" Shakespeare didn’t know the difference between his lovers and his muses. Perhaps he didn’t want to " A man presents his long-legged wife in a short dress to his colleagues, while another doesn’t mention his wife’s name. Both men are Middle Eastern at a ‘modern’ work environment. The first receives pats on the back and drooling, while the latter gets disapproving looks. The first man might fit the postcolonial description of being “more English than the English”. Is the latter “more Bedouin than the Bedouins”?
There is a thin line…
Between plagiarism and quotations.
Just like there is a very thin line…
Between letting your imagination run wild and risking your sanity.
Shakespeare didn’t know the difference between his lovers and his muses. Perhaps he didn’t want to.
There is a thin line…
Between making a trap and falling into one.
Just like there is a thin line…
Between perpetuating stereotypes because you have given up breaking them and creating a new set.
Designer seat belts might perpetuate a superficial stereotype of wealthy Arabs, or would it create another? Who is in for a safety hug by Gucci?
There is a thin line...
Between human evolution and human destruction.
Just like there is a very thin line…
Between knowing your rights and trespassing on someone else’s. |
" The thinnest line may be the one separating cultural understanding from cultural infantilizing " Imagine someone who comes from a G8 nation intruding into your home. But when you, from the “third world” country, explain to him that this is a private residence and show him the door, he screams: “I have been assaulted. I know my rights as a member of the developed world and I will call the police!” The person usually runs off afterwards. This is a true Abu Dhabi story. Isn’t it interesting that this also happened in Iraq? Except it’s taking a long time for them to run off.
The thinnest line may be the one separating cultural understanding from cultural infantilizing.
Trying to understand our culture and our “special” rules might be positive, but presupposing that x, y or z aspect of our culture is the antithesis of universal ideals is a form of cultural infantilizing, turning our culture into a baby that could burst out crying at any moment. Victimizing us, assuming our “powerlessness” or otherwise believing that you are entitled to protect those cultural differences for our sake is another form of cultural condescension. Didn’t that also happen in Iraq?
I guess I’ve lost hope in all forms of cultural understanding; maybe I need to redraw the lines. Or maybe the best way to draw those lines in to use an eraser.
*Published in the UAE's THE NATIONAL on September 18, 2009. Hissa al Dhaheri is a sociologist and cultural researcher. |
