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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 Weight of Rising Photo of the Day
September 21, 2015

The Weight of Rising

Why do we feel the need to ascend when the earth beneath us is already so heavy with history? We spend our lives tethered to the ground, building monuments of stone and memory, yet our spirits seem perpetually drawn to the thin, silent air above. Perhaps it is because from a distance, the jagged edges […]
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The Architecture of Silence Photo of the Day
September 12, 2015

The Architecture of Silence

Why do we feel the need to fill the gaps between the sounds of our lives? We treat silence as a void, a space that must be occupied by noise or movement, as if stillness were a threat to our existence. Yet, it is in the quiet intervals—the moments when the day exhales and the […]
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The Weight of the Infinite Photo of the Day
September 12, 2015

The Weight of the Infinite

Why do we feel smaller when we stand before the vastness of the earth, yet somehow more whole? It is a strange paradox of the human condition: to be composed of fragile, fleeting matter, standing upon stone that has outlasted empires and will likely outlast our own memory. We spend our days measuring our lives […]
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The Weight of the Small Photo of the Day
September 11, 2015

The Weight of the Small

Why do we assume that significance is measured by scale? We spend our lives looking for the grand, the monumental, the things that cast long shadows across the earth. Yet, the world is held together by the quiet, the microscopic, and the fleeting. A single breath, a shift in the wind, or the steady pulse […]
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The Silence of Still Water Photo of the Day
September 9, 2015

The Silence of Still Water

If the water could speak, would it tell us of the things it has swallowed, or of the things it has merely allowed to pass? We spend our lives trying to hold onto the surface, convinced that if we can just keep our footing, we might remain unchanged by the currents beneath. Yet, there is […]
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The Architecture of Silence Photo of the Day
September 6, 2015

The Architecture of Silence

If we were to peel back the layers of a single moment, would we find a beginning, or merely the echo of something that has always been? We often move through the world as if we are walking on the surface of a frozen lake, oblivious to the vibrant, teeming life suspended just beneath our […]
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The Weight of Ancient Stone Photo of the Day
September 6, 2015

The Weight of Ancient Stone

How much of our own history are we willing to carry before the burden becomes a foundation? We often speak of the past as if it were a ghost, something ethereal that haunts the edges of our vision. Yet, there are places where the past is not a ghost at all; it is a physical […]
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Where the Silence Settles Photo of the Day
September 5, 2015

Where the Silence Settles

Why do we assume that the dark is an absence of light, rather than a presence of something else entirely? We spend our days chasing the sun, convinced that clarity is found only in the glare of high noon. Yet, there is a profound weight to the hours when the world retreats into shadow. In […]
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The Architecture of the Ephemeral Photo of the Day
August 26, 2015

The Architecture of the Ephemeral

If a thing is designed to vanish, does its beauty lie in its existence or in the inevitability of its departure? We spend our lives building monuments of stone and ambition, desperate to anchor ourselves against the relentless tide of time. Yet, there is a quiet, radical wisdom in the things that do not seek […]
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The Persistence of Color Photo of the Day
August 24, 2015

The Persistence of Color

Why do we assume that the most vibrant parts of our lives must be born from the brightest days? We often equate clarity with sunshine, believing that truth only reveals itself when the sky is clear and the path is illuminated. Yet, there is a quiet, stubborn resilience in things that bloom when the world […]
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Where Shadows Find Their Rest Photo of the Day
August 18, 2015

Where Shadows Find Their Rest

Why do we fear the coming of the dark, as if the sun were a promise that could be broken? We spend our days chasing the clarity of high noon, believing that to see everything is to understand everything. Yet, it is in the fading of the light that the world reveals its true shape. […]
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The Weight of a Single Breath Photo of the Day
August 8, 2015

The Weight of a Single Breath

Why do we assume that significance is measured by scale? We spend our lives looking for the grand gesture, the mountain peak, or the turning point of history, yet we often overlook the quiet persistence of the small. There is a profound, silent labor in the way a leaf holds the remnants of a storm, […]
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