Condolences to Oman

“Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names”- Danish proverb

The leader of all Omanis have passed on to a better place, leaving behind broken hearts and a legacy that can only be called exceptional.  The time, effort, love, and care that Sultan Qaboos gave his country took it to great levels, maintaining the softness of the Omani heart and kindness of their souls.

A leader who worked wonders, built, educated, designed, and overlooked every single matter of a country will be missed dearly.  Standing proud in the face of enemies, holding the hands of his people, and listening to their every need, the Sultan ruled for half a decade through thick and thin and left with footsteps hard to fill in.

Throughout history, we hear stories of rulers and kings who let their selfishness take hold of the reign and who, years later, are always remembered with disgust.  It is not only what the poor can give, but  what the rich can.  This man gave everything and asked for nothing in return.  A great man on all levels.

My deepest condolences to all Omani people for the loss of their father, may he rest in peace knowing that he is loved and was able to establish a strong foundation for his country.

The Worldly Man

 

What defines a worldly man in a world where everything is a easily found at the tip of your fingers?  When a worldly man decides he needs some information about a certain country or what is the best route to get to the theater (within context), he can very easily lift his phone and find out.  However, does this make him any more precious or special than a man living his life experiences without using much of technology?  How much knowledge should a man have in his mind to be deemed “a renaissance man.”  Respectively, should we be respecting a “renaissance man,” or should we be looking for a man of one specialty?

Many people nowadays are boasting about knowing the world and venturing out to new activities but how much work does a man have to put in his days to know, really know, cultures?

I had these questions in my mind because I have concentrated on a great reading project in 2019 whereby we, as a group of readers, read books set in different countries around the world.  Most of the books we read represented heartache, pain, and suffering of people but at the end of the year, all I knew was that I knew too little about each country.  How can I expect to understand the ins and outs of lives when I am not with them?  How much understanding can I have to the Afghans or the Iranians without being submerged in the subjectivity of the author.  And then, aren’t all books flawed anyway?

Then I come back to my country, and how much do I know of it?  How much history is enough to be considered a subject matter expert, when does learning end?  Does it ever end?

Let’s take, for example, an average 18 year old high school student from anywhere around the world, how much does he know?  Is he going to find himself in his first job, first divorce, or first traumatic experience?

We humans are merely a set of experiences conditioning our minds to cope.

Are we not?

Would we rather be generalists, having some knowledge from many different areas, or would we rather be specialists in our subjects of interests?  Weren’t the geniuses of the past specialists, and therefore admired for their specialty?  How much of an individual are you and why are we all trying to fit in the mold represented to us by the social media.

When it comes to me, and I represent a large number of people, I know that  I am very comfortable in my place.  I am comfortable with my routine, with taking the same route to work, seeing the same people, buying grocery from the same places, and traveling every once in a while just to come back home enriched with a few pictures and a few new words that I will probably forget in a couple of weeks.  To me, I am worldly enough for my liking because in the end, I am content with my choices.

Let the nomads roam, I prefer to read my way into knowing people’s lives.

Happy New Year 2020

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!!!  It’s been ages since I have written anything and it kills me when I think of how outdated my site has been so I have decided that I would – at least- try to write something every once in a while here.

As an update to things that I’ve been up to: I will update my books section since I’ve published another children’s book (yaaay! go me!).  It’s called Upside Down Abbey which is about a little girl who loves gymnastics.  You can find all about it here (Amazon site).  I also finished writing up my Arabic book (also, yaaay) but have yet to choose a publisher since Arabic readers wouldn’t choose Amazon as their first stop to buy books.

In 2020, I hope to finish editing my draft of short stories (yes, most are here) and start writing the Fantasy novel I’ve been planning and outlining… Big dreams.

In regards to reading, I pledged to read 50 books on Goodreads then reduced the number to 45 which seems to be more realistic.

Other than that, the usual stuff are on my resolutions list (like everyone I know)- health and lifestyle, gym and losing weight, get my life back on track, go into an adventure, and what not.

Please do subscribe to my newsletter to be updated on the latest writings plus you can get to email me with any questions or comments.

In the end, I wish you all a year filled with good health, wealth, and prosperity.  Happy reading to you all.

Bedoor

Goodreads Account

Please add my Goodreads account

 

 

A Man Of All Men- Repost

Because people engraved in history never die, we never forget them.

 

As I lay my children

down to sleep

and pray the lord

their souls to keep,

outside all mourners

dressed in black

chant and grieve

and cry and weep.

: :

For on these days

so long ago

our faith bestowed

Itself so deep,

a battle and swords

and hearts of gold

fighting to keep religion

alive and complete.

: :

Outnumbered they were

one thousand to one

it wasn’t so easy

in all of the heat,

no water to drink

no mercy at all

from the army that’s filled

with lies and deceit.

: :

A man of all men

pure of heart and descent

approached the enemies with kindness

asking for their retreat,

‘Kill me not,’ he said

I fear for your souls

for you: eternal happiness

paradise so sweet.

: :

Their answer was clear

they all aimed their spears

to child, to nephew

to all the elite,

murdering them all

in one afternoon brawl

assassins of darkness

of bloody conceit.

: :

Thinking with death

they will put out the light

that theirs was a simple

and easy defeat,

what they didn’t know

people will always recall

the story of a man,

his thirst, and the heat.

: :

A man of all men

pure of heart and descent

lived a life of virtue

against those who mistreat,

a man of all men

pure of heart and descent

lives on in our hearts

with a sacrifice so complete.

.

For more info on the battle, click the link:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karbala

Coexistence

Branch

Lake Wanaka Tree, New Zealand, istock

 

Stand still

in the face of life,

in the face of time,

recall all your experiences

and wonder no more;

you are where you should be

your roots hold you high

and your branches wonder off

to the distance

of existence.

 

Stand still

and ignore the petty fish

pecking away at your feet

trying to change you into someone else;

Don’t.

Do not bend unwillingly

do not break or give up

the substance

of your resistance.

 

Stand still

and allow the flight of birds

to entwine the aura

of your soul;

watch as each leaf floats away

into thoughts

and turns your fights

of persistence

to coexistence.

موت مكتبة

أدير الصفحات مسرعاً

علّني بقرائتي اُخلّد الكتب

اُدخل كلماتها السوداء في قلبي

لتبحث عن زاوية ترتاح فيها بعد الحطام

 

أبحث يميناً وشمالاً عن كتاب أخضر

رأيتهُ جالساً على الرف ذات يوم

كنتُ أنظرُ إليه وأعُدّ الدراهم في جيبي

وأعود أدراجي ليمرّ الأسبوعَ بعد الأسبوع

 

تمرّ أصابعي على ورقٍ محروق

أكادُ أعيشُ في طيّاتهِ الألم

يتخلل من يدي ويهبُ في الهواء مسرعاً

ليشيح بوجههِ عن الكارثة

Happy Valentine’s Day

René Descartes said, “je pense, donc ju suis” translated to “I think, therefore I am”. In my mind I believe it should be, “I love, therefore I am.”

The importance of love in our world is immense.  Love is not restricted between lovers, it considers all other types of love such as a mother’s love for her son/daughter, a son’s love to his father, a sister’s love to her brother, a father’s love to his daughter, a friend’s love to her friend, and so forth.

When people choose to display their love one day in the year it means that the display of their emotions is lacking in the other 364 days.  Being able to genuinely tell the people in your life that you love them, and telling them using those words, is important.

I saw a comic strip drawn by a Korean lady (I think she was Korean, I will make sure and get back to you) showing that it is very hard to say “I love you” to her mom.  I know my mother loves me but she just doesn’t say it.  Is that what we want said about us?

Reassuring your loved ones that you love them is just icing on the cake.  It doesn’t cost you anything to say those words and mean them.  Give your loved ones a hug, a kiss, a thank you for being in my life card, and they will appreciate it.

You never know if you will get another chance.  Always say you love them before you leave.

To my family and friends, I love you.

 

Mnemonic- The Remembrall

Mnemonic

When Neville Longbottom’s remembrall turned red, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was he was forgetting.  After extensive research in this matter (thank you, google and Harry Potter fans), apparently he wasn’t wearing his robes.  We all suffer with our memories and try to find ways to remember important matters in our lives.  People write notes in their planners, save voice notes in their smart phones, or ask someone to remind them.

Back in the old days, when we weren’t glued to our phones and weren’t able to access the internet all the time, school teachers needed to make things interesting for us to remember things so they introduced us to mnemonics.  One of the most memorable one for me is related to the order of planets: My very easy method just set up nine planets.  How applicable.

Along with some ridiculous song lyrics I can’t forget, the planet mnemonic was placed comfortably in the middle of my memory.  Whenever I hear about a planet, I remember my very easy method and feel so smart, thinking that I got my money’s worth of education.

Then someone decided Pluto isn’t a planet.  WHAT???  What do you mean Pluto isn’t a planet?  All of a sudden Pluto’s just not good enough to be part of the planets?  What is it, then, a tree?  I thought it was a joke, something I overheard and wasn’t certain of its source.  Then I thought it must be someone scientists were still debating about, that they will come around and consider it a planet again.  Lo and behold, they didn’t.  Poor Pluto.

A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.

Well, I guess my very easy method just set up nine... nothings.

Simplify Life

Simplify

Humans tend to over-complicate matters.  We don’t usually give the issue we are dealing with its correct size and thus, in our minds, we are dealing with catastrophes all the time.  Are you really dealing with catastrophes all the time?

A friend of mine once told me that our day to day issues are just that: day to day issues.  We shouldn’t make a big deal out them, the real issues are those of sickness, loss of  loved ones, war, betrayal, abduction, and all the bad words we think will never happen to us.

So firstly, be grateful that you have a place to sleep, food on your table, don’t have to deal with war, and have a healthy family.

Secondly, breathe.  Spilled milk is just spilled milk.  Losing a job is not the end of the world, you have your life ahead of you.  Children fighting, shouting, having to get vaccinated is just a normal day in a normal life.  When they send a picture of two kids in a car, both holding Ipads and still crying with a sentence on top saying, “still can’t get them quiet, first world problems!” is for you to take a step back and put everything into perspective.  You have running water, some people can’t find water to drink and die of thirst.

Third, simplify your problem.  After minimizing them in your mind, your son’s bad grades are simple.  Smile and hug him, there’s not much you can do but fix the upcoming semester.  Simplify his life to simplify yours.

We are all humans in this world and the extra baggage we place on our backs will not be with us in the end.  It will not matter what your income was, only the smiles and laughter matter.