I don’t know whether it’s a new phenomenon or if it has always been there and I am just recently noticing it.
Have you ever been on a bus where all of a sudden one of the passengers decides to either answer or make a phone call ? They would talk as though they are at home, as if there is nobody else around, as if they have all the right to disturb others’ peace of mind. Still, that isn’t the main the problem The main issue is swearing, those F words slip off their tongues so easily, so nonchalantly.
You get off the bus, and inhale a deep, fresh, clean air, thanking the Lord that the ride was over. After walking a few steps, you find some children and teenagers, joking, laughing, and repeating that infamous swearing word.
Finally, you get into your house, and close your door, lean against it, and close your eyes. You try your best to forget about that phenomenon. You make a cup of tea, sit at your dinning table, and open your phone to check your email and scan your media accounts. And, there, the post you decide to read, is just another adaptation of a phenomenon that not only disturbs and annoys others, but also degrades the beauty and value of the work.
It’s just at that moment you realise that even if it’s non of your business to change others’ code of behaviour, at least you can try with just a piece of writing.
Please stop it!
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
Month: January 2025
The Idiot
“There are two kinds of idiots: those who don’t take actions because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking actions because they have issued a threat.”
Have you ever come across this quote? Do you think it should be taught as a life skill lesson in school and universities?
But isn’t Life the greatest teacher of all?
We all learn this lesson in our lives, though, of course, at different levels.
We call others idiots, but if we take just a quick look at ourselves (not in the mirror but in our minds), we’ll find that we’ve been one at some point.
Have you read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier? If you have, you might share my opinion that It’s a story full of idiots, though at some point you couldn’t help recollecting some memories that make you just as one.
By the way the above mentioned quote is not from Rebecca. I couldn’t remember the source right now. But, herewith my review and my favourite quote from the book:
/https://nh825.wordpress.com/2025/01/06/rebecca/
“… kindness, and sincerity, and – if I may say so – modesty are worth far more to a man, to a husband, than all the wit and beauty in the world.”
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
Archive or Kindle
I like to feel the books in my hands. I like how they look on the shelves. I like to use a bookmark, whether it’s one I made myself or a dried flower between the pages. I like the faded colours of the pages over the years. And, I like my scribbles and highlighted sections throughout the chapters. I used to visit the local library frequently and made sure I have got a library card in each and every new city I moved to. I also used to buy books, always on Amazon and sometimes from charity shops.
However, things changed when I discovered the Archive Digital Library with its online fourteen day lending system. Some books have fewer days to borrow, but I believed it was a great option. I don’t really remember when I first joined the Archive Library, but that helped me reading more. It was about two years ago when I heard that The Archive Library had legal issues regarding publishing copyrights and other complicated matters I couldn’t understand. The library don’t allow any changes to be made to any books, and no one can download any copies either. That was when I started to turn back to Amazon, especially Kindle.
With kindle books, things became much easier. I can read for longer hours at night (of course that depends on the book) without my husband nagging me to turn the lights off. I can also highlight sections, add notes, and copy my favourite parts as much as I want.
Whatever you prefer to use for reading, don’t stop.
Have you ever received a book as a gift? Wouldn’t one make a great gift?
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
What can be better?
What is the greatest gift someone could give you?
First I thought of Time because what could be a better gift than sparing a few moments to show kindness and care for others. Time to talk, to listen, to write, to read, to play, to joke, to buy a gift, send a gift, ….
But then, I thought that your time gift would be worthless, valueless if it is not genuine, if it has no feelings, no specialness. It becomes a show off, a dull routine.
In other words, the greatest gift doesn’t ‘t have to be on your wish list for your birthday, it might be just smile from a child, a prayer from your beloved ones, or a comment on your blog. Just an unexpected, simple, pure gesture. People say, “Whatever comes from the heart, goes to the heart. »
What gift can be better than that?
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
Have you missed it?
The New Year celebration bonfires?
I haven’t.
The city where I live now is so quiet that even the New Year celebrations were not fussed about. When I got up on the morning, I asked my husband whether he heard any bonfires? He said no, and I smiled, feeling so happy we moved to live here.
Isn’t it becoming too much of a waste of money, time, and peace? Ironically, these lavish celebrations smashed people’s calls and prayers for abundance, wisdom, and peace into a big, thick wall. They already dumped them all into the void, making all these virtues nothing.
Do you think one day people will stop taking part in this madness, these sophisticated competitive celebrations? Would they be satisfied with simple celebrations at home with family, and friends?
Some would say simplicity is not commercial, not entertaining, not profitable, and that’s the ethos of celebrations. But what all these things have to do with making a genuine, healthy, memorable moment?
You wouldn’t regret missing the bonfires celebrations, but you would definitely miss your peace of mind if you didn’t.
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
Fun time
Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?
Children are, or used to be, always the best at having and enjoying their playtime. But this doesn’t mean that grown-ups can’t have any.
But things change as we grow older. As a child we usualy play to have fun, to enjoy the company of our friends whether in the neighbourhood or at school, and time would stretch before us as if it would never end.
But then, we grow up, and time becomes more precious as it slips from our hands faster and faster. Still, we can grab some fun time, steal some special moments of playtime.
Years ago, we were living in Scotland, and I really loved it there so much. My boys were around ten years old. We were living in a two- bedroom flat with an open kitchen-lounge. Sometimes, no honestly most of the time, just before dinner as we waited for my husband to come home from work, my boys and I would start a funny game. You might wonder why and how I could join them?
My boys at that age were too distant from one another. They would rarely talk or play together unless other friends were around. But since friends aren’t always available, my husband and I became the magnet that would pull them both to each other. That’s the main reason I joined most of their playtime games. The second reason is that I really enjoyed it, the child inside me wanted to play as well. It didn’t matter to me that I was a full – time postgraduate student with loads of studying to do. I also wanted to have fun and make my boys happy.
One of our best and funniest games was racing around the small wall that separated the dinning area and the kitchen. Sometimes the race would cover the whole flat. The three of us were so light and little that we didn’t consider being any annoyance to others, especially we rarely saw any neighbours in the two – floor building we lived in. But, actually, there was one or two.
When my husband came home, and as we were setting the dinner table, the doorbell rang. My husband opened it, and there was our elderly neighbour. All I could hear from his brief talk with his thick scottish accent, at the door was; ‘It seems like it was raining cats and dogs.”
“What have you been doing?” My husband asked after finishing with the man
The boys told him about the game.
“Where was your mother?”
“Joining us, baba.”
We sorted things out with our neighbour. The following day the boys and I picked a nice card. They explained that they were sorry and promised to be more careful and considerate while playing indoors. Since our neighbour had two, big jumpy dogs, we delivered the card through his door mailbox. It didn’t take long until he paid us a neighbourly visit and brought my boys a nice lego game.
Playtime is when you let the child inside you play, laugh, and enjoy the moment.
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
The riddle
“What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in day time, and three legs in the evening?”
Can you solve this riddle? Please don’t search it up, perhaps your answer will make sense as well, and of course you don’t have to share it. I knew about it while reading The Solitaire Mystery.
But, maybe, I can give you a tiny hint about it. Tick off inanimate objects. Ignore the numbers. And, mainly, think of Time. What is Time?
By the way, did you know that the one made the riddle could never be the one who solved it.
/https://nh825.wordpress.com/2024/12/28/the-solitaire-mystery/
With all the best wishes,
Nahla
Pure and Simple 