There are moments in a person’s life when they stop to catch their breath and reflect on their past-on all they have left behind in life’s journey, whether success or failure. Much like a merchant taking stock to assess their profit or loss, a person’s true currency lies in their relationship with themselves and with others; this is the merchandise they trade in, through giving and receiving and it is what elevates them to the peak of human richness or lowers them to the depths of moral bankruptcy.
On a journey, whether long or short, as a traveler nears the end, they gather their belongings, eager for the moment of arrival. Similarly, as a person approaches the end of their life, they are overcome by a state of deep contemplation, reflecting on what was and what could have been… a moment that encapsulates an entire lifetime. It is the moment they replay the film of their life-a state where self-deception is futile. For while one may deceive everyone else, it is impossible to deceive oneself.
Throughout my long journey with time, I have learned but one lesson: “Give love, and you shall receive love.” And when I took stock of my own bag, I found it empty of all but love… love for people and for all living beings. Perhaps this love alone can atone for the sin of my fragmented and scattered life, spent pulled in every direction.
Hussein Bicar
(1913-2002)
In its broadest sense, life is not merely about the physical body, for both the mind and the soul have their own distinct lives. Given this, what sustains the soul and mind must differ from what sustains the body. If material food and drink are sustenance that renews the body’s cells and tissues, then music, poetry, all arts, and spiritual and meditative practices are a different kind of nourishment-a wholesome one that uplifts the soul and elevates it into lofty realms of noble feelings and emotions.
I am never pleased to see any of my students imitating me or taking on my traits. When I was a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, I imagined myself as a farmer with a large orchard where many different kinds of fruit grew. A farmer cannot change one fruit into another; his role is to water the seeds, weed out the harmful plants, and straighten what is bent. Then, the trees bear fruit: the grapevines yield grapes, and the pomegranate trees produce pomegranates. Likewise, an onion field yields onions, and life cannot do without any of these. However, if the farmer tries to alter the nature of these trees and force a specific type of fruit onto each of them, they will end up producing neither what he desires nor what they are meant to give
Every person is a universe unto themselves, a hidden secret, and I find it beautiful to delve into their depths and discover them. My professor, Ahmed Sabri, was the master of portraiture and the one who sparked my love for this art. When I paint a portrait, I seek to understand the subject’s character and to highlight their most beautiful qualities. Every person has a beautiful angle or gesture-even one who might be considered unattractive. In our initial sessions, I select the pose and suitable attire, and I work to make them comfortable until they shed their mask of pretense and become their natural, unguarded self. Once that happens, the most challenging part is over, and the actual painting can begin.
There is a map for every person-a carefully drawn map whose paths cannot be altered, no matter how hard one tries. Here, human will means surrendering to one’s destiny and walking in step with it. I believe destiny always chooses what is best for us.
I do not like to engage in battles; I do not like wars. I always respond to war with surrender. Perhaps this is my weakness, yet this weakness has served me well. For this is who I am: Bicar, the one who surrenders, who does not drain his energy in wars with others. That is why I have conserved my energy for my art, storing it always for myself
