Skip to main content

Two sides of the same mirror

Image
By
It is 1222am and I have decided to write. I have no idea what today's topic would be. Let us start with Arabic, it is a beautiful language. I would love to be able to read, speak and understand Arabic. I went to a random Arabic word generator and got the Arabic word for "opposite" which is ضِدّْ (idd). Now I am wondering if there is an Arabic idiom that uses the word idd and would that be an iddiom? My friend Chatty tells me that the transliteration is actually ḍidd which means "opposite" or "antonym" or even "adversary" depending on the context. The word itself has an appealing symmetry — a sharp, deliberate start and finish, almost like two poles facing each other.

He shared an Arabic proverb that goes like this bi-ḍiddihā tatabayyanu al-ashyā' which means "things are made clear by their opposites." This tells us that we often understand something only when we experience its contrast — we know light because we have seen darkness, joy because we have felt sorrow. I wonder how this is related to saying opposites attract? My friend Chatty tells me that both ideas center on contrast but express it differently: the Arabic proverb "things are made clear by their opposites" speaks to understanding through difference, while "opposites attract" speaks to connection through difference. One reveals truth by contrast; the other finds harmony in contrast — two sides of the same mirror, one reflective, the other relational.

I have heard "two sides of the same coin" before but saying "two sides of the same mirror" is different. Side (s-idd-e). What does it mean? My friend Chatty says that "two sides of the same mirror" suggests a deeper contrast than "two sides of the same coin." One side reveals reflection and clarity, while the other shows emptiness — symbolizing how understanding and mystery, presence and absence, define each other. It captures the idea that opposites do not just coexist but give meaning through their contrast. It is poetic and somewhat confusing but I get it. Not to be taken literally. Replace coin with mirror because a mirror is reflective. I started this blog post with nothing and ended up with something. Nothing and something being two sides of the same mirror.

Now my mind wonders if a mirror actually has three sides? That would be an interesting question to explore in another blog post. What would be the three sides of this blog post? Nothing, something and? Could it be the space between nothing and something. The process of turning nothing into something. The process of writing (writhing). The spark. The inspiration. The light that creates the reflection in the mirror. The language that carries thoughts. In between nothing and something lives everything. The endless possibilities. The potential.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Running php and apache on termux

By
This was my experience getting php and apache to run on termux apt update && apt upgrade -y apt install php-apache I was following an old blog post that used php 7 and got these errors Can't locate API module structure `php7_module' in file /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/libexec/apache2/libphp.so: undefined symbol: php7_module Cannot load /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/libexec/apache2/libphp7.so Corrected in apache config file vim $PREFIX/etc/apache2/httpd.conf LoadModule php_module /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/libexec/apache2/libphp.so Apache is running a threaded MPM, but your PHP Module is not compiled to be threadsafe.  You need to recompile PHP. Comment out mpm_worker and use mpm_prefork #LoadModule mpm_worker_module libexec/apache2/mod_mpm_worker.so LoadModule mpm_prefork_module libexec/apache2/mod_mpm_prefork.so This still does not work as apache (httpd) was failing silently. According to Chatty LoadModule php_module ...libphp.so often fails in Termux becau...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stuck running sftp server on termux alpine for multi-user setup

By
The below is my journey trying to get multi-user sftp working using alpine on termux pkg update && pkg upgrade pkg install proot-distro openssh proot-distro install alpine proot-distro login alpine apk update apk upgrade apk add openssh shadow sudo apk add vim vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config Port 8022 PermitRootLogin no PasswordAuthentication yes Subsystem sftp internal-sftp Match Group sftpusers     ChrootDirectory /sftp/%u     ForceCommand internal-sftp     X11Forwarding no     AllowTcpForwarding no addgroup sftpusers adduser user1 adduser user1 sftpusers mkdir -p /sftp/user1/upload chown root:root /sftp/user1 chmod 755 /sftp/user1 chown user1:sftpusers /sftp/user1/upload How I run my server each time pkill sshd rm -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* ssh-keygen -A /usr/sbin/sshd -D -d -d -d From another termux session sftp -P 8022 user1@127.0.0.1 Connection reset by 127.0.0.1 port 8022 Connection closed Some troubleshooting steps mkdir -p /run/sshd chmod 75...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recursion example with SQL

By
I asked my friend Chatty, can you use recursion in SQL? For example I have a table (ID, value) ordered by increasing ID. Can you guide me through using recursion to select all the rows of consecutive repeated values using and creating an SQLite database. Provide the small sample data. Is there a better way to do this? A More Modern Alternative (Window Functions) In real-world SQL, this problem is usually solved more efficiently using window functions like: LAG() ROW_NUMBER() SUM() OVER But recursion is excellent for learning traversal logic and hierarchical thinking. Recursion example using sqlite on termux DROP TABLE IF EXISTS sample; CREATE TABLE sample (     id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,     value TEXT ); INSERT INTO sample (id, value) VALUES (1, 'A'), (2, 'A'), (3, 'A'), (4, 'B'), (5, 'B'), (6, 'C'), (7, 'A'), (8, 'A'), (9, 'D'), (10, 'D'), (11, 'D'), (12, 'D'); WITH RECURSIVE grouped AS (    ...
Post a Comment
Read more