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Contributing Writer Philosophy & the Human Condition

Rashid Noor

Rashid Noor is a writer and essayist whose work spans photography, philosophy, and the study of human restlessness. He has contributed to Light & Composition since 2013. A photograph for Rashid is always a question in disguise — and his Reflections resist easy answers, sitting instead with the productive discomfort that a good question leaves behind.

517 Published Reflections

Reflections by Rashid Noor

Showing 12 of 517 essays
The Architecture of Silence Photo of the Day
July 30, 2016

The Architecture of Silence

Can we ever truly be alone in a crowd, or does the weight of a thousand passing lives press against our own, even when we are asleep? We spend our days building walls of productivity and purpose, convinced that our value is measured by the noise we contribute to the world. Yet, there is a […]
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The Debt of the Soil Photo of the Day
July 23, 2016

The Debt of the Soil

Can we ever truly own the earth, or are we merely guests who have forgotten to leave? We spend our lives carving lines into the dirt, planting seeds with the desperate hope that the future will be kinder than the past. There is a quiet, rhythmic violence in the way we coax life from the […]
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The Weight of Unseen Presence Photo of the Day
July 21, 2016

The Weight of Unseen Presence

Why do we assume that the most profound truths are spoken aloud? We spend our lives constructing narratives, filling the silence with justifications for our existence, yet there is a quietude that persists beneath the noise. It is the silence of the periphery, the space where those who are not part of the main procession […]
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The Currency of Joy Photo of the Day
July 10, 2016

The Currency of Joy

Can a face ever truly belong to the person who wears it, or is it merely a mirror reflecting the light of those who look upon us? We spend our lives constructing masks, carefully curated expressions designed to navigate the expectations of the world. Yet, there are rare, fleeting moments when the architecture of the […]
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Where the Earth Ends Photo of the Day
July 5, 2016

Where the Earth Ends

If we were to walk until the ground beneath our feet simply refused to continue, would we find an ending, or merely a beginning we were not prepared to witness? We spend our lives tethered to the familiar, measuring our existence by the walls of our rooms and the predictable rhythm of the clock. Yet, […]
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The Weight of What Is Coming Photo of the Day
July 3, 2016

The Weight of What Is Coming

How do we measure the space between who we are and who we are about to become? We spend our lives filling rooms with objects, building identities out of the things we touch and the histories we accumulate. Yet, there exists a peculiar threshold where the most profound presence is found in an absence—a space […]
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The Weight of Softness Photo of the Day
July 2, 2016

The Weight of Softness

Why do we equate strength with the unyielding, when the most enduring things in nature are those that know how to bend? We spend our lives building walls, hardening our edges, and bracing against the inevitable winds of change, fearing that to be soft is to be fragile. Yet, look at the cycle of the […]
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The Architecture of Falling Photo of the Day
June 25, 2016

The Architecture of Falling

Why do we find such profound comfort in the things that are preparing to leave us? There is a quiet violence in the way the seasons turn, a shedding of skin that we call beauty. We watch the world catch fire in gold and crimson, knowing full well that this brilliance is merely a prelude […]
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The Ink of Eternity Photo of the Day
June 16, 2016

The Ink of Eternity

How do we measure the weight of a word that was never meant to be spoken, but only felt? We spend our lives gathering fragments of truth, hoping that if we collect enough, we might finally understand the architecture of our own existence. Yet, the most profound maps are not drawn in ink, but in […]
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The Anchor in the Tide Photo of the Day
June 9, 2016

The Anchor in the Tide

How much of our individual will is merely a response to the current of the collective? We like to imagine ourselves as captains of our own vessels, steering through the days with purpose and autonomy. Yet, we are often swept up in tides far larger than our own intentions—currents of grief, celebration, or history that […]
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The Weight of Ascent Photo of the Day
June 8, 2016

The Weight of Ascent

Is it the height that defines the struggle, or the collective breath held by those beneath us? We spend our lives building structures of support, stacking our hopes and our bodies upon one another, all to reach for something that remains just beyond our fingertips. There is a peculiar madness in this—a willingness to risk […]
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The Weight of Silence Photo of the Day
May 26, 2016

The Weight of Silence

Can we ever truly stand alone, or are we merely echoes of the spaces we inhabit? We spend our lives building walls—both physical and internal—to define where we end and the world begins. Yet, there are moments when the boundary thins, when the vastness of the sea or the stillness of the air reminds us […]
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