What is this?
It’s sort-of a book - I’ve long wanted to write a book as a repository of my ideas. But I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the limitations of traditional books, so this is a little experiment:
- This is designed to be a work-in-progress, so it can always evolve with my thoughts and you will always have access to the latest version. (But I still might take snapshots at certain times and publish it as a traditional book)
- It’s a non-linear book comprising a collection of posts - you can skim, skip, jump around, return to posts, etc. (But, I might offer some curated pathways)
- It’s an interactive book - you can engage with me and with other readers by commenting on the posts - including critical comments. I’m still undecided about who can engage by commenting on the site; for now you need to be someone I trust, if only because I can’t be bothered dealing with spam.
- This format allows me to “publish” half-baked ideas to test them out and refine them (or discard them) after reader engagement.
- It’s free, because I believe ideas should be freely accessible, and that we shouldn’t be using price (or ranking or longevity on so-called “best-seller” lists) as proxy measures of the value of ideas. But no shade on people who need to sell their ideas to make a living because of the way society is organised. However, among other things, this book will challenge the way society is organised, so offering it for free is part of the story. (But if it does get published, there will need to be some cost recovery mechanism; and of course you are welcome to contribute financially if you wish to).
- It allows me to control who can see what - especially in terms of being vulnerable only with people I feel safe to be vulnerable with… and maybe later I can slowly “declassify” them.
By now you might be wondering, “isn’t this a blog?”. Fair enough - But I think it isn’t, because
- I’m not inviting you to “follow my blog”, I’m inviting you to “read today’s edition of my book” - so hopefully the posts will mesh well enough to make sense that way - if the experiment works!
- You can also engage with the book by contributing your own posts (as with the comments, critical engagement is welcome, but you would need to stay within my theme because it is still my book). You will need to be someone I trust a lot (commenting is a good way to build trust) to earn the right to contribute posts to my book.
What is the theme?
Tentatively, “In Search of Dignity”.
Why “In Search of Dignity”?
One of the books that influenced me in my youth was Peters and Waterman’s In Search of Excellence - perhaps because I was interested in organisational performance? Later, I was captivated by Frankl’s “Man’s Search of Meaning” - perhaps because I was searching for meaning in my life? More recently, my life path has led me to be interested in Dignity.
Why is it called “2 Swords”?
The Two of Swords Tarot card is a reminder that many of life’s decisions are difficult ones and rarely come with clear-cut answers. It is an invitation to be aware of the consequences of our choices, while bearing in mind that building awareness has consequences (opportunity cost in terms of time, decision-capacity and discomfort-avoidance etc.), and that indecision and deferring choices also has consequences.
It is also about barriers - that we put up between ourselves and others, and even within ourselves. We may block off emotions and refuse to feel them. We may blindfold ourselves to avoid seeking the truth so that we can pretend that everything is fine, or to avoid facing the uncomfortable truths that can emerge when we seek deeply.
Confession: that’s a complete backsplanation; I chose “Two Swords” as the name because that’s what my name, Sifaan, means (in Arabic). I googled “Two Swords” and the tarot card came up, and I realised I could easily adapt it to match my story.
What can you do here?
For now, browse around - there’s a few posts on
If you find a post interesting feel free to share it with others who might also find it interesting.
If you would like to have an account to react / comment / write, reach out to me.