Modern living

[Alpha Dude]

This is something directed to people who are constantly agitated, sorrowful, sad, depressed or generally frustrated with life in the modern world.

Do you ever wish you were far away from modern civilisation? I have a theory. I think a lot of people ultimately get sad and down because of the shackles of modern living.

Not so much the innovations, rather as a result of our affluence, we have become very dependent on the technology around us and efforts of other people. We have as a result of this, people with a sense of great self entitlement and a deranged, dysfunctional society with an abundance of spiritual diseases that are highly contagious and largely left untreated and these are passed on from people to people leaving their marks and damaging the pure fitrah that we are born on.

I think a large number of souls are dead and in need of having life injected into them.

Personally, I feel like a total prisoner in the modern world. The whole 9-5 thing is just one aspect. I hate the way society is structured. I hate materialism. I hate that we are constantly made (influenced by media and all other forms of brainwashing) to yearn for all new forms of technology (by that, I mean things like ipods, ipads, PS3, or whatever) and wordly 'happiness'. I hate that we are programmed from birth to make a life for ourselves in this world as though it is the be all and end all of everything.

I hate that throughout our lives, wants are ingrained into our lives to so far an extent, that we end up considering them to be needs. I hate that we are groomed to have self-entitlement towards the good-life.

What do we really need as people? I think: Food, water, clothing, a roof over our heads, warmth, family, friends and that's it for the most part. Those are our absolute needs. I'm not saying things beside these are bad, but rather we should strive to always be content with whatever befalls us, as long as we have these main things, as the rest are not necessities in the truest sense of the word.

In light of all this, I honest to Allah, feel like I want to just go away from it all. To somewhere far and remote. A place that is calm, serene and peaceful. Like say the Alaskan wilderness. Where you live off the land. You have clean fresh air. You fish, you forage, you hunt, you make and live in your own humble cabin, you store your own food, you make your own fire, you wash your clothes with your own hands, you do things in a simple way. Ultimately, you're self-sufficient. You're free, not bound or dependent upon anybody and you eat and live from the fruits of your own work. You would always have something to do.

Do you ever feel like that yourself? Do you think such a thing could help you feel more 'alive'? I know it would help me tremendously. I would do it in a heartbeat if I could. Have you never felt like getting away from it all?

I think at the heart of it, it all depends on how content we are as individuals. If we yearn for too many things in this life, the simple life I describe wouldn't appeal. It would seem boring and counter intuitive. To a content person, however, it would be a place where freedom is beckoning.

Say there was a very small muslim village that lived in this simple fashion. There was a mosque at the centre of the community too. Would you ever wish you could just get away from modern civilisation to that place for the sake of rest and being at peace?

Once again, not to say modern civilisation hasn't brought good for humanity in terms of technology. There have been tremendous benefits, but purely from a spiritual perspective - do you think living in such a place or even a retreat to one for a year or so could possibly do you good?

 

[جوري]

I found these two video consoling yesterday evening and I liked the wisdom you shared today, that life's difficulty must be tempered by the fact that our stay here is transient and that our purpose isn't to be so consumed by our mundane woes..

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htJmiSzB-TE[/MEDIA]

Ashraqat nafsi be noorin min foo'aadi..

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auePtrB9qQU[/MEDIA]

Still waiting to find out who this munshid is..


and this one

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfJNLdOWcIQ&feature=related[/MEDIA]​

​

 

[PouringRain]

This is a nice post. I agree so much about how all we need is the most basic of things. Happiness is in simplicity. Thanks!

 

[tango92]

i always wanted jannah to be a forest with just me and nothing for miles but trees and mountains.

these days the test is different from the times of the prophet. back then i guess you could enjoy life in peaceful times. over here its just fighting materialism and fitna day in and out.

 

[aamirsaab]

This is one of the reasons I want to go back for umrah. It's the one place a muslim can call sanctuary; free from all this baggage.

Seriously, I didn't realise how lacking in spirituality modern living is until I went for umrah. How I long to return...

 

[Getoffmyback]

I don't know if everybody feels this way about modern life?

I feel down in modern life cos i lived the time where people had the fitra and innocence . You know playing marbles, rope jumping and metal slides . I will never forget the old times. The modern life thing invaded lebanon not So long ago So i felt the difference i saw it changing year after year .it was really fast this transformation of societies and the stupid openness to the level that i didn't know how to fit in .


But the question is how do young people feel about modern life cos they are already borned in it . So they don't have this struggle in their mind about the massive change.

 

[InfiniteMercy]

Asalam alaykum
Yeah i definitely wish i could one day leave everything behind and teleport to some remote place like the Alaskan wilderness...i often think about how sustainable our lifestyles are: i mean how long can we keep on living the way we do, especially our health is being destroyed, ironically we have the best treatments for our health but more and more people die from lifestyle diseases (such as heart problems and cancer). But the thing is life has always been difficult no matter the time in history..ex. long ago if u got the flu u could die, if it didnt rain the crops failed and u could starve, education was for the upper class only, etc... but i totally agree with u on modern living, so many people lack spirituality, also if u live away from ur family in another country or city u feel more vulnerable cos u got no one to lean on and help u out expect good friends...if i had to describe the past one hundred years i would call it 'volatile', everything has changed so quickly and theres so little stability!

Peace
Wa'alaykum asalam

 

[Alpha Dude]

i often think about how sustainable our lifestyles are: i mean how long can we keep on living the way we do

I agree with you. Not just healthwise.

Modern industrialised civilisation has its basis in oil. It's used for and in pretty much everything you can see around you. Prior to the oil age, just before the 1800s, human population was steady at around 1 billion or so. This all changed due to oil based agriculture. We have a system in place now that is wholely dependent on infinite growth and infinite resources which is unteneble cos resources will run out.

With ever increasing population and decreasing resources, you do the math. :hmm:

With oil particularly though, there can still remain several billion barrels of oil in the ground yet society can nonetheless come to a crash due to the phenenomen known as peak oil. Many would say we are very very near or already passed peak.

I honestly think, within our lifetime or certainly within the lifetime of our children/the next generation, there will be huge turmoil in the world due to resource wars. Our extravagance will eventually come to an end. Millions if not billions will perish and whether we like it or not, we will be forced to live a much more simpler life.

In the long run, current civilisation is unsustainable, like you say.

 

[cat eyes]

A Person can go off and live on a remote island but no matter what we do, the believers are never save from trials.. we will be tested

 

[noorseeker]

The one good thing is we dont have to travel around half the world to get islamic knowledge, we have so many mediums now we can take advantage of.

 

[Alpha Dude]

^ Of course, but don't you guys think living a much simpler, purer, cleaner lifestyle without the unnecessary distractions found in modern living would do you good in finding peace on a purely spiritual level?

 

[cat eyes]

^ Of course, but don't you guys think living a much simpler, purer, cleaner lifestyle without the unnecessary distractions found in modern living would do you good in finding peace on a purely spiritual level?

i know there is alot of things in modern living that distracts us and there is alot more fitnah also but i need my internet for islamic knowledge and to keep in touch with friends otherwise i will scream

 

[marwen]

I think it's not a problem to live modern life. With the progress in technology and science we understand more the universe, and man can live more easily. I mean Allah encouraged us to learn and to develop ourselves, and to do scientific research. I mean it's due to new scientific results that many people converted to islam and believed that the quran is sent from Allah, when they read the scientific miracles in the qur'an, which are scientifically proved recently. The new telecommunication and transport technology are also very beneficient for muslims and for non-muslims.
But I think the way we used modernity is not right. You know, we used industry to make weapons, and we used Internet to hack people and to spread pornography, and we used Tv to influence people and to distort reality. that's the problem. I know modernity make us more able to do sins. but it makes us also more able do good things.

 

[cat eyes]

when i think about how the people lived in the time of the prophet saw really fascinates me, i would really love to go back in time but i would not like to stay in that time because of the oppression and stuff that people suffered i would like to bring somebody back from the past to the future. the people were so in fear of Allah just an attractive quality that you cannot find in this day and age.. imsad

 

[Alpha Dude]

i know there is alot of things in modern living that distracts us and there is alot more fitnah also but i need my internet for islamic knowledge and to keep in touch with friends otherwise i will scream

I do understand. Though, if a massive asteroid crashed into Earth tomorrow and pretty much rendered useless all major technological devices that have changed our lives such as cell phones and computers would you be able to do without them?

Those are just desirable objects, it's very feasible in fact that the hit would knock out all essential stuff like pumped purified water, electricity, gas and food being stocked at the supermarket shelves. Would you be able to adapt and survive in such a situation? By survive, I mean have the will power and strength of connection encompassing trust and reliance in Allah in the face of all odds? Nevermind comfort things like mobiles, you'd be struggling for water. Rhethorical question. Just something to think about.

Modern civilisation with all its innovations is double edged. Everything is very very interconnected and one major catastrophe like an asteroid hitting and the average person would not be able to cope. He would be totally out of his comfort zone. He would be dependent totally on the 'people in charge' to come and help him out. What if the people in charge are powerless and can do very little or nothing of use? The common man addicted to facebook, television, mobile phones with no sense of contentment in living a simple life would totally be out of his depth.

I think it's not a problem to live modern life. With the progress in technology and science we understand more the universe, and man can live more easily. I mean Allah encouraged us to learn and to develop ourselves, and to do scientific research. I mean it's due to new scientific results that many people converted to islam and believed that the quran is sent from Allah, when they read the scientific miracles in the qur'an, which are scientifically proved recently. The new telecommunication and transport technology are also very beneficient for muslims and for non-muslims.
But I think the way we used modernity is not right. You know, we used industry to make weapons, and we used Internet to hack people and to spread pornography, and we used Tv to influence people and to distort reality. that's the problem. I know modernity make us more able to do sins. but it makes us also more able do good things.

I don't disagree with innovation. I find the clutter and distraction and stuff that goes against Islam to be unnecessary and detrimental to the spiritual health of people and think people that are sad, depressed or just frustrated by their lives in the modern world would find themselves feeling more at ease if they were to live simpler lives in more natural surroundings.

 

[Dagless]

Isn't this more a case of self control? Why don't you just take what you require and leave the rest?

There is no need to feel sad or imprisoned. Ultimately its in your hands... if you don't want your mobile on 24 hrs a day then switch it off, if you don't want to work 9-5 then do something else, you don't need to go to extremes like living in the jungle to attain this.

How long do you think you'd survive on your own in the outdoors? How long would it be until you would miss the creature comforts?

Maybe you just need a change of scenery or a holiday? Living somewhere remote and living off the land wouldn't stop progress. You'd soon want to replace your mud hut with bricks, think about ways to bring water closer to your hut, then easier ways to heat it, pretty soon you'd be back where you started.

 

[SMA89]

I think it's not a problem to live modern life. With the progress in technology and science we understand more the universe, and man can live more easily. I mean Allah encouraged us to learn and to develop ourselves, and to do scientific research. I mean it's due to new scientific results that many people converted to islam and believed that the quran is sent from Allah, when they read the scientific miracles in the qur'an, which are scientifically proved recently. The new telecommunication and transport technology are also very beneficient for muslims and for non-muslims.
But I think the way we used modernity is not right. You know, we used industry to make weapons, and we used Internet to hack people and to spread pornography, and we used Tv to influence people and to distort reality. that's the problem. I know modernity make us more able to do sins. but it makes us also more able do good things.

I agree....... We also have vacations to spend life peacefully as others described "away from modern life".. Life is abundant, you can go out and live exactly the way you want to.. No one is stopping you.

 

[SMA89]

Isn't this more a case of self control? Why don't you just take what you require and leave the rest?

There is no need to feel sad or imprisoned. Ultimately its in your hands... if you don't want your mobile on 24 hrs a day then switch it off, if you don't want to work 9-5 then do something else, you don't need to go to extremes like living in the jungle to attain this.

How long do you think you'd survive on your own in the outdoors? How long would it be until you would miss the creature comforts?

Maybe you just need a change of scenery or a holiday? Living somewhere remote and living off the land wouldn't stop progress. You'd soon want to replace your mud hut with bricks, think about ways to bring water closer to your hut, then easier ways to heat it, pretty soon you'd be back where you started.

Good answer...

 

[Alpha Dude]

I understand dagless, but like I said, I'm not against innovation and I'm not actually calling upon just any old people to move away. You are right, we would invent and come up with clever ways to do things that would make our lives easier over time.

However, my post is very much directed at people who are 'constantly agitated, sorrowful, sad, depressed or generally frustrated with life', as I said in my first post. I think these people really need to get away from all the junk we are confronted with on a day to day basis.

What you say about powering down is all well and good but sometimes people need something that forces them into a position where they have no other choice but to accept, otherwise without the willpower (which I don't think such people would have much of to begin with), they'd just power up again.

Nah, they need something that changes their lives completely and I think staying away from civilisation for a length of time, they might not even want to come back lol.

What I mean is: say there was a year long retreat where there was a simple life as I described - would such people find it helpful to bring their souls back to life?

 

[cat eyes]

I do understand. Though, if a massive asteroid crashed into Earth tomorrow and pretty much rendered useless all major technological devices that have changed our lives such as cell phones and computers would you be able to do without them?

Those are just desirable objects, it's very feasible in fact that the hit would knock out all essential stuff like pumped purified water, electricity, gas and food being stocked at the supermarket shelves. Would you be able to adapt and survive in such a situation? By survive, I mean have the will power and strength of connection encompassing trust and reliance in Allah in the face of all odds? Nevermind comfort things like mobiles, you'd be struggling for water. Rhethorical question. Just something to think about.

Modern civilisation with all its innovations is double edged. Everything is very very interconnected and one major catastrophe like an asteroid hitting and the average person would not be able to cope. He would be totally out of his comfort zone. He would be dependent totally on the 'people in charge' to come and help him out. What if the people in charge are powerless and can do very little or nothing of use? The common man addicted to facebook, television, mobile phones with no sense of contentment in living a simple life would totally be out of his depth.

id be able to handle it inshaAllah but i just dont want to be left alone. :nervous:

ID need companionship and just the basic essentials for a human to survive.