Assalamu alaikum/Hello! Yeah, long, long time, absolutely no see 😊. Here's a (hopefully) thought-provoking piece. Enjoy!
Catharsis... The word has a ring to it, doesn't it?
What is catharsis? If you're a literature or a philosophy student, you probably at least have a rough idea of the concept. If you don't know, doesn't matter - here it is. It literally means:
1-The process of releasing
and thereby providing relief from strong emotions
2-Purgation which is
purification or cleansing.
I will give you two examples
to explain the concept.
#1. A worker is
scolded by his/her boss for some reason (maybe not completing the assigned task
on time, etc.).
He/she is extremely
frustrated and on the way back home, he/she is stomped by some random person
and gets into an argument or physical fight.
Some would call this
cathasis: the argument being that individual’s way of releasing his/her
emotions.
This is a very basic instance
of catharsis. If one is to read and observe there are many complex situations
in which catharsis takes place.
The second instance is a true
story.
#2.There is a young 9
year old girl who has seen her dad shoot her mom and this has affected her
greatly both emotionally and mentally. She is psychologically affected, highly
disturbed, and grows up with a strong baggage of emotions. At least once in a
month she climbs high walls and yells and abuses, owing to fits.
Catharsis!
Do you think in these cases
the emotions were released?
No, they were not; in
fact these were a result of the accumulation of further negative emotions.
The individual in the first
case argued or fought and collected more negative emotions and the girl climbs
on the wall every month to release her emotions.
It is important to
remember that two negatives repel; however, a negative and a positive attract.
A negative release of emotions will only accumulate more negative emotions
which might just result in a vicious cycle and spread more hate.
What happens if the same
emotion is released in the positive form?
Through such a form of
release people will benefit themselves as well as others.
Today most people
practice catharsis negatively and the end result is destruction of generations
and nations.
Allah says in the
Glorious Quran (Ch: 41 V: 34)
“And not alike are the
evil and the good. Repel evil with that which is BEST, when lo! He between whom
and you is enmity would be as if he were a warm friend.”
When one keeps doing
well to another in spite of being harmed, then not only the one harming is
forced to stop and think about his actions, but the victim of this harm
realises a higher moral level, and broadens his/her view of most things.
Let us be so good that
people feel ashamed and guilty to harm us!
It might seem a
difficult thing to begin with, but it is the solution given by Almighty and so
one can easily trust on the results.
Imagine the kind of change it
would bring in the world.
*Disclaimer*
This is just one of the ways
of solving problems and catharsis. I do not claim it is the only way.
