You ever had one of those days when you get home from work, your tired, but you carry on working because there always seems far more to do than time to do it in? you feel like you want to find a way of picking yourself up out of whatever temporary rut you feel yourself in? Well yesterday was like that I think I must have stopped around 11ish. Rather than hit the sack I made myself some tea ( courtesy of Zach ), and started to flick through channels. I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to do that, a lot! there’s nothing you actually want to watch, so you just flick through until something vaguely interesting catches your eye. And something did, I stopped on BBC Four and caught the last few minutes of Alan Yentob’s Interview with Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), from 2006.

I’d never seen the full interview before, and yet the image I was confronted with on the screen, of this bearded man playing this acoustic guitar and singing in this beautifully melodic voice just made me want to listen (at the 45 minute mark). It was curious I suppose that I’d tuned in just in time to listen to Alan Yentob ask him the question”:

“After all those years of resistance you’ve now picked up the guitar again. Do you think you have allowed yourself to sort of take a position you didnt feel this literalism about Islam which a lot of people find difficult to accept. Some people might say to that extent you’ve been brainwashed perhaps?”

Yusuf Islam:
“The positions that I took previously, I held fast to them because I believed them to be true. However, one only has to look at history, it wasn’t long ago when we discover, guess what, the guitar was probably introduced to Europe, through Spain by the Muslims. Now I’m saying, hang on, What? you know… and thats a reality. When I learned something better I moved, and that’s what you’ve got to do. I think we must not, ever, take the position that we know it all. God may show you something you never knew yesterday,we’ve got to be ready for that” …

Alan Yentob:
“Is there a message in these songs as you pick up this guitar again?”

Yusuf Islam:
“There is certainly a change in the wind and the way in which there is now a chance for a new understanding of the moderate middle path of Islam because the extremes have been exposed. A lot of people have missed the whole point, including some Muslims, who have gone off on some kind of..their own..strategy of trying to improve the world through some kind of devious means that has nothing to do with Islam, and yet is supposed to be in the name of Islam. The word Islam itself comes from the word ‘peace’ now that is the heart and soul of this religion. I discovered that, I’ve done that journey and perhaps I can help others to feel a bit more assured that in fact a lot of Muslims in this world, the vast majority just want to live a happy life and be at peace with the rest of the world”

I think there’s something wonderfully uplifting in his words, and in his music. His sentiments are nothing new to many muslims yet sadly social the perception of Islam and Muslims seems to be growing more and more negative as the actions of an extremist minority are used to label all Muslims are radicals. In fact I remember storming off in a rage as I watched the European election results and listened to Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, explain that stopping the spread of radical Islam was one of the reasons people had voted for him.

After the interview ended the BBC aired a hour long ‘BBC Four Session’ featuring Yusuf singing a number of his songs, both old and new, from a concert in Porchester Hall several years ago. I stayed up and watched the show and found myself being moved more and more by his songs and their message. I even ended up downloading several of his recent albums on iTunes as I watched the performance on tv – although I’m not sure if my colleagues appreciated that since I was humming, and singing along to them as I worked in the office today 🙂

Rather than pick up the laptop and work this evening, I decided to see if I could find that interview and watch it all, sadly BBC iPlayer doesn’t have it, however it does still have the ‘BBC Four Session – Yusuf Islam‘ which is available to watch – it’s a wonderful concert, an inspired performance which I certainly recommend.

After searching on Google I did eventually find the Interview, there’s a copy hosted on Google Video ( disclaimer: it’s hosted by an organisation called ‘Turn To Islam’. I have no idea what this organisation is, I simply wanted to link to the video). I’m glad I watched it all Yusuf describes his early life, his celebrity status, his, his conversion to islam, and his return to performing. Perhaps the most moving part of the interview is when he describes his battle with tuberculosis – which will resonate with anyone who has ever found themselves lying in a hospital bed reflecting on their life, and where they are headed, particularly when he says “.. in that hospital I developed some insights which then later fed into my music … into my journey” … a poignant sentiment that touched me deeply given my own experience.

Yusuf Islam is an amazing man, who truly inspires.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited 
in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as 
something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his 
consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to 
our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. 
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our 
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of 
nature in its beauty.
                -- Albert Einstein

I’ve been having a wonderful weekend. It’s always nice to get away, although in fairness the Warwickshire countryside isn’t necessarily that far away, still not every journey should be measured in terms of physical distance. I woke up pretty early this morning, like many people I totally forgot the clocks went back an hour last night. I tend to be restless when I wake so I got up and decided to take in the view. It’s stunning here. I don’t know what it is about the countryside, about being away from the city that I find so calming. I experienced something similar a couple of months ago when Richard and I went to Devon for an eight day Archery shoot, a trip that helped me to confront certain things I guess I’ve been hiding from.

Sitting on this balcony this morning gazing across the country side, as is often the case, I was absorbed by my own thoughts. Isn’t it strange and yet wonderful how the mind can meander from one thought to another and then suddenly present you with an answer or an insight from the deepest recesses of your memory. That’s how I was reminded of something that Anne Frank wrote, and I think it echoes my own feelings right now:

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go 
outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, 
nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should 
be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty 
of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know 
that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the 
circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace 
to all troubles.

G'Quan wrote: 'There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. 
It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. The war we fight 
is not against powers and principalities, it is against chaos and despair. 
Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of 
dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender. The future is all 
around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments 
of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will 
take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.'
   -- G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Z'ha'dum"

"Then I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the 
greatest of all time. The molecules of your body are the 
same molecules that make up this station and the nebula 
outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are 
starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to 
figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the 
universe requires a change of perspective." 
   -- Delenn to Sheridan in Babylon 5:"A Distant Star"

"We create the meaning in our lives. It does not exist 
independently. Being Anla-shok does not mean worrying 
about what others will think about us. It does not mean 
deciding what to do based upon whether or not it serves our 
sense of ego or destiny. It means living each moment as if 
it were your last one. It means doing each right thing 
because it is the right thing. The scale doesn't matter. The 
where, the when, the how, or in what cause .. none of those 
things matter. In my life, I've discovered very few truths. 
Here is the greatest truth I know: Your death, Rastenn, will 
have a meaning if it comes while you're in fullest pursuit of 
your heart."

	-- Sech Turval to Rastenn in Babylon 5:"Learning Curve"

… and finally for now …

"What does the candle represent?"
"Life."
"Whose life?"
"All life, every life. We're all born as molecules in the hearts of a 
billion stars, molecules that do not understand politics, policies and 
differences. In a billion years we, foolish molecules forget who we 
are and where we came from. Desperate acts of ego. We give 
ourselves names, fight over lines on maps. And pretend our light is 
better than everyone else's. The flame reminds us of the piece of 
those stars that live inside us. A spark that tells us: you should know 
better. The flame also reminds us that life is precious, as each flame 
is unique. When it goes out, it's gone forever. And there will never be 
another quite like it. So many candles will go out tonight. I wonder 
some days if we can see anything at all."

    -- Sheridan and Delenn in Babylon 5:"And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder"