Mirror, mirror

That isn’t true!”, the broken man screamed defiantly, knowing full well that it was.

Miserable and inconsolable was the wretch in the looking glass; regarding him with despair, his forlorn eyes pleading for release.

Using the last of his strength, Samson broke the pillars and brought Philistine down upon himself.

Samson-in-Temple

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23 thoughts on “Mirror, mirror”

    • He’s a biblical character with an interesting story.

      His source of strength was his hair, and when it was shaved off, he was blinded in his eyes and then imprisoned, forced to do hard labor.

      However, his hair grew back and he famously said “Let me die with the Philistines!” and pushed the central two pillars of the temple he was imprisoned in, killing all his captors and everyone inside, including him.

      Reply
    • I just thought that was a beautiful picture.

      It’s copyright is expired and thus is free to use for all purposes without any restrictions since the original painter has been dead for over 100 years.

      I’ve always thought the story of Samson was really interesting. I have learned a lot about Judaism recently and it came as a surprise to me that they don’t have a concept of an afterlife e.g. no heaven, no hell.

      Thus, when Samson did his final act and killed everyone (including himself) there’s no prohibition against it, despite it being a clear act of wilful suicide. I’ve always wondered about that.

      Thanks mate, I’m good.

      Reply
  1. Samson & Delilah story? I know about the story, but don’t really know all in detail.. My bible knowledge I would say is around 1.5 out of 10? I don’t know all the testaments, especially the new ones, but I do know some old testaments, those initial few chapters in the beginning..

    Reply
    • Yeah, actually his weakness was his hair (can’t be cut due to a covenant with God).

      I’ve always found him interesting coz not in our lives, there’s always something that takes away strength without you realizing it. In mine, I had a very long and hard struggle with Suboxone, which actually caused me to be “imprisoned” without realizing it.

      The Samson story is from Judges in the Old Testament:

      Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.

      – Judges 16:28–30

      That is quite impressive coz before he was imprisoned, he had killed at least 1,030 men and if he killed more people at his death there was more than that amount in the temple which be brought down by pushing on the central supporting pillars.

      Also, it made me wonder what the Bible’s stance was about suicide, since Samson’s last act will clearly kill himself and there’s no mention about prohibiting that. If you read the verse, it would seem that his last burst of strength to kill everyone (including himself) was sanctioned by God.

      In fact, there is nothing in the Bible that actually prohibits suicide.

      Reply
    • Thanks Ciana!

      I’m alright, was just thinking about the Samson story coz he was weakened and blinded and imprisoned when his hair was cut.

      I know a thing or two about (chemical) imprisonment too, coz I was actually part of the NDST (National Drug Substitution Therapy) for Suboxone for a long time. Despite being legal and government approved for treatment of opiate dependence, it causes a lot of personality and motivational changes and I was less coz of it.

      It took a long time for me to overcome Suboxone.

      Reply
  2. I like the Samson and Delilah story in Judge. I guess Samson just want to atone for his sin by letting Delilah seduced him and cut his hair, which removed his super strength. After all, he’s already suffering by being blinded by the Philistines.
    Well, no matter what, do not give up.

    Read Ecclesiastes 3:-

    3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

    2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

    3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

    4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

    5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

    6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

    7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

    8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

    Reply
    • Yeah, I think it’s an interesting story too.

      Hmm…I think he was only blinded after he was imprisoned which happened after his hair was cut.

      I’m more interested in how the story ends, Delilah was just another Philistine agent, it’s Samson’s story, particularly how he brought down the Temple of Dagon and killed all the Philistines inside it (and also himself in the process) in his final act.

      I just recently learned that Jews do not have a concept of heaven or hell. It’s an early Christianity concept, based on loose interpretations of the Bible. I was raised as a Methodist and believe that everyone should interprete the Scripture personally.

      Cheers mate! I know Suboxone helps a lot of people but I personally am against it as it imprisons you in so many ways, you don’t even realize it until it’s too late and worst of all doctors are getting people addicted to the stuff when they should have explored ibogaine as a treatment for opiate dependency.

      I have quit a lot of stuff and never looked back – I’ve never liked the feeling of methamphetamine after I quit (accidentally took an Ecstasy pill containing meth after I quit) even though I had a really huge addiction back in the days, I now also dislike the feeling of alcohol intoxication despite having a 1 litre vodka straight-from-the-bottle daily habit for a long time (don’t even like the feeling of being tipsy now).

      I guess I’m blessed that way – operant conditioning comes naturally to me…but I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

      Reply
  3. I was wondering what this post was about although I know about Samson from the bible I was wondering why you posted this. After reading your reply to the comments here I know.

    Thank you for sharing this art, info on suboxone, ibogaine, and the fact that Jews don’t believe in heaven or hell.

    Reply
    • Thanks Mun! 🙂

      Yeah, it came as a surprise to me too! I thought Jews do believe in an afterlife, I was mistaken.

      That’s the reason the Old Testament (especially the first 5 books attributed to Abraham, which is also part of the Jewish Torah) has so many instances of incongruous behavor – they were living under the Old Covenant.

      Suboxone is really something I feel very strongly about. I have been on methadone while trying to quit heroin in the past and I got addicted to methadone instead. I was on the government Suboxone program to quit OxyContin and other prescription opiates and got addicted to Suboxone (even though it’s not as addictive as methadone).

      It costs RM 38 per tab/strip and I used to take 2 per day so that’s RM 80 per day. Costs aside, it was a prison since you need to schedule time to take the meds, and it affects you in a lot of ways which you don’t realize since you’re feeling satiated all the time.

      However, doctors ALWAYS put you on MORE Suboxone than you need – this is blatant profit move supported by Big Pharma and it’s meant to get you addicted to Suboxone FOR LIFE. Suboxone, although it’s not very enjoyable (e.g. the high cannot be compared to methadone, heroin or OxyContin) gets you really addicted to it and it’s REALLY hard to quit.

      Physical withdrawals from usual opiates (except for methadone) is relatively short, but kicking Suboxone is a hellish nightmare that will last a year at least. I wish I never got on the government program but quit cold turkey instead. Or had ibogaine treatment.

      Suboxone users are not eligible for ibogaine due to the way burpenorphine works (it’s a mixed opiate agonist/antagonist).

      I just thought the picture of Samson represents the experience of quitting Suboxone well. The entire world (except Singapore) is getting opiate users on Suboxone and it’s a bad thing coz it’s one addiction for another. A lot of Suboxone users realized that and wants to quit, but it’s very hard to do so.

      Oh well…

      Reply
      • Thank you for the details about Suboxone. I did not know that the government here even have programmes like this to help opiate users. Are there any resources online to help quit Suboxone? I pray you can be free of this with time and maybe some help from the online resources and of course help from Him.

        Reply
        • Hmm…there are but it’s not a very well studied area.

          Suboxone is supposed to help people quit opiates, there’s not much about helping people quit Suboxone since Suboxone is supposed to be the “cure”. However, users have banded together to share experiences and how to manage it though.

          Thanks for your prayers Mun! It’s much appreciated! 🙂

          Reply
    • Thanks Rose! 🙂

      Yeah, I think I’ll write more about Suboxone when I have the time, there’s not much information in Malaysia about it, and not many people know the government even has such a program.

      Reply
  4. LOL!!! You posted this and got everyone worried about your well being. I know you are a mighty fighter and optimistic survivor. That’s my honest statement after seeing how you have been there and done everything.

    Hair is most important in the ancient Chinese culture and medicine too! I love my hair.

    Reply
    • Thanks mate! 🙂

      Yeah, the government offers two types of substitution therapy under NDST – methadone and Suboxone but there’s not much information about it. They offer it but they don’t publicize it.

      Oh ya, I’ve heard about that too – last time people kept their hair long (for men) and it’s considered bad luck to cut it off.

      Reply

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