The Concept of Near Far
I have always been fascinated by the idea of describing something or someone that is physically distant but emotionally close.
The Urdu poet, Parveen Shakir, offers one way of addressing this paradox:
He is a fragrance, and will be dissipated in the air
The question for the flower is, where will it go?
I thought that it is only a wound, and will heal
How could I have known that it will become part of me?
Like the air he keeps wandering from house to house
He is a breath [of wind] that will come and go…
Comparing someone to scent to illustrate their intangible presence is definitely one way to capture the feeling. However from the ancient Arab poet Abu Tammam comes a more interesting idea:
Dreams bring her near
Distance takes her far
She is the near far one.
There it is. Better than scent. Near Far. When something is both close to us and not. I will begin using it in my daily expression. I suggest you do the same.
I suspect that this expression will be valuable to devoted believers and those in long distance relationships and parents who miss their children.
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“I suspect that this expression will be valuable to devoted believers and those in long distance relationships and parents who miss their children.”
indeed… as well as children (and adults) who dearly miss a parent.
[...] while back I suggested that we start utilizing the idea of “near-far.” It describes something that is [...]