It may seem like a flimsy motivator, but part of the reason I have always been in love with calligraphy and manuscripts is that it actively encourages me to learn more about Arabic and religious works. 

Its hard to really enjoy the calligraphy without knowing the meaning or history behind the work (though sometimes its so stylized it takes me awhile). Its a long-time personal motivator that I often return to whenever I have doubts or want to keep an active outlook on religion.

I didn’t grow up with much of a religious background, and the way my family presented their respective faiths (multiple religion family) and early memories influenced my views most of all. However, it was the beautiful forms of the first religious phrases I was taught that caused me to look at religion through a broader lens; in a way that connected me to it beyond my little world. 

Of course, the real meaning behind the words eventually took precedent, but without my love affair with calligraphy and the language itself, I don’t know that I would’ve pursued such interests as early on or with such intensity. It wasn’t my first motivator, but it certainly had an irreversible impact on me.

This post has 9 notes.
  1. roxygen posted this