https://creativemornings.com/talks/rashid-al-awadhi

It is time for CreativeMornings in Dubai #71 with Rashid Al Awadhi.

Our framing essay this month is from one of our community members and the start of yet another way we here @CM_Dubai are trying to give this community a voice.

The Monumental of the Little Things

By Aldrin Silva

Growing up in a place where physical objects are meant to be monumental, some tend to overlook the non-physical possibilities of something being monumental in nature. Me – I look for the monumental in the smallest or more personal things in life.

A good example would be my personality. I’d like to say I’ve been shaped by face-to-face role models, but, most of what I am comes from a TV series called M*A*S*H*. If you’re not old enough to remember the premise, it was based on a frontline medical unit in the Korean War in the mould of a comedy-drama, complete with a laugh track. Emotional stuff with a lot of laughs. I watched it for the first time when I was 14. Back then, everybody wanted to be the main character, Dr. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, including the wit, sarcasm and largeness of character he was. Most of my “humour” comes from his stylings, which means almost no one today gets it.

I’ve watched the entire series once a year, every year since getting them on DVD in 2003. And upon every watch, I find myself noticing more personality traits from the other characters that I had taken on imperceptibly. In fact, those other traits are something that I find myself growing into more each year – BJ’s charm and easygoing nature balanced with a righteous temper; Colonel Potter’s almost Solomon-like wisdom and grit; Margaret’s non-nonsense attitude and hidden funnies; Charles’ appreciation for finery bordering on superciliousness but hiding a well of emotional fortitude; Father Mulcahy’s faith in humanity and compassion; Klinger’s focus and drive in everything he does.

Each of these traits has guided me in ways to treat my fellow sapiens. The show was about the horrors that humanity can inflict on itself balanced by what could be termed as insanity but dressed up in a way that makes you reconsider your notions on people and their experiences. I’ve found that maintaining that balance is one of the most difficult aspects of my personality, something that takes enormous measures of focus, even on your worst of days. But, in the end, it’s actually something I’m most proud of, and I consider that balance in myself, my most noteworthy monumental achievement thus far.