A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

This picture is worth more.

They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Well, I beg to differ- a picture is worth more than just 1000 words, more than just an excerpt of explanation. A picture- any picture- sparks conversation, and this picture is worth that and more. Pictures tell a story— many stories— as it lets the eyes of the reader examine every nook and cranny, every expression, simile, and metaphor hidden right beneath the arrangement of color. They are the inspirations for new beginnings and thoughts as well as the painful reminders of the world we so often leave behind as we hustle for our personal lives. This picture- one that had been going around for some time now- can be interpreted in so many ways; that’s the beauty of it.

Me- I look to seek the unobvious. I’ve heard the conversations and now I’d like to talk about what’s hidden: the feelings- the content and peace that I so cravingly observe in this picture. The feelings we humans look for in so many of the wrong places. When I look at this picture (and I’ve looked at it several times), now I think: contentment, happiness, and peace are all things I can choose to feel. Things that are not dictated by my surroundings rather by the relationship I choose to have with Allah (God) and His creation.

When I see this picture, I read the untold stories in the man’s face, I interpret the emotion-filled narrative he has written in his actions and the dedication he has allowed himself to pursue. When I read this story I understand one moral: peace, in one’s mind, is wherever he/she chooses for it to be. What do you read?

N.N.

Newal Nasir