Author: nhpureandsimple

My name is Nahla. I am a wife and mother of three children. I have been living in the UK for so many years. My first degree is in English Language. I also earned two Master’s degrees; one in Religious Studies and one in Creative Writing. I started blogging because I love reading and writing; both are more than hobbies for me. I read to learn, to understand, and to improve myself. I write to tell stories, to express my views, and to share my thoughts. I hope you enjoy my blog, and thank you for visiting.
Just writing

I have enough of it

nhpureandsimple

How do you feel about cold weather?

Really, I’ve had enough of cold weather this year.

It has worn every kind of hospitality.

Today, for example, is not only windy but also cold. 

Yesterday was cold.

The day before was freezing.

And the sun, it graced us with some light the day before the day before, but with no heat.

Imagine it’s the 20th of May, and you still grabbing your coat every time you step outside.

I would welcome Cold Weather, and I would even open all doors and windows with a big smile but only if it comes on time and leaves on time. 

But this year it has not only been stealing April but also May, and right in front of our eyes. 

Twice or more, it hit us hard with heavy hail, the kind that makes you rub your eyes, wondering whether the scene is real or just your imagination. 

Well.. I hope Summer arrives soon, but kindly, without any showing off of its heat power.

And please, Summer don’t be cruel and steal Autumn the way Winter did with Spring.

With enough cold thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

The River and Its Source

nhpureandsimple

I didn’t think I was going to write anything today until I randomly opened one of my old notebooks. Actually.. I was searching for a blank page to write down something before it slipped from my memory.

And then the miracle happened.

My eyes caught a quote from a book, and my brain insisted on giving it some workout.

By the way, do you also have this habit of saving the quote but neither the author’s name nor the book it came from?

Just curious to know whether I’m the only person who does this. 

Anyway, this is the quote: “To know a river, you have to know its source.”

So, according to my humble interpretation: to befriend a river, to communicate with it, and certainly to understand it, you have to know its source; how it flows, what kind of life it carries, and when it floods or dries.

Simply put, you have to know where it began, how it lived, and what shaped it.

Don’t you agree that some people are just like rivers.

You can’t truly know them until you know their sources; their history, their nature, their way of life, and certainly the reasons behind their tides.

With people-like-rivers, thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

The Journey With No Brands

nhpureandsimple

Years ago, my husband and I went to perform Hajj.

I think I once wrote a post about that journey, but I can’t remember which one.

Anyway, as hard as this trip was, it somehow turned out to be just as funny.

I think it was in 2005 when we took a flight to Egypt to leave my two little boys with family. I smile now as I write this post, but back then I wept buckets as we headed to Cairo Airport to take our flight to Saudi Arabia.

In this holy place, there is no place for brands or for showing off. 

I wore a white cotton dress, a white hijab, and simple slippers, just like most of the women.

By the way, women are allowed to wear any colour but I preferred white.

Simple and modest, women put on their clean dresses and hijabs out of obedience and respect for the holy rituals. No one would criticise or even think about the quality or the brand of anyone else’s clothes.

Isn’t this a beautiful picture to be part of and a beautiful memory to treasure.

I reckon no one would believe that my husband and I didn’t take any photos during this trip. 

Honestly, we didn’t.

Simply because, back then, phones were not allowed inside the holy mosque.

So no one would have taken photos to show what they were wearing, how they were praying, or how they were feeling.

Even outside, around the other sights, we didn’t bother taking pictures.

We lived precious moments that carved themselves deeply into our memories for years, and that’s more authentic than any captured photo.

Things have changed a lot these days.

Still, the holy rituals are not for any brands. 

With Hajj’s precious memories and thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Community — A Wonderful Word and World

nhpureandsimple

What do you do to be involved in the community?

Community makes a wonderful word and even a more wonderful world.

It makes you feel assured, supported, and welcome.

As people say, beginnings are always good, happy, and so promising. 

Once you step into it, you spread your wings and soar high, full happiness, as if you’ve just stepped into eternal heaven.

Does community, as a word and as a world, offer any guarantees of any form of utopia?

No.. but you were just hoping it would.

Sooner rather than later, you wake up from your utopian dreams.

It was nice to enjoy a bit of chilling time, though.

But then you understand how it’s just a miniature of the big world, with its earthly humans, yourself included. 

You come face to face with reality, 

You realise that there are the patient and the practical— the ones who can deal with different types of people.

And the there are the sensitive, who don’t have that kind of social stamina. Still they get involved and supportive as much as they can, but only at their own rhythm and within their own limits.

And… just as a piece of advice: when you get involved in a community, don’t expect any kind of utopia.

And for your own piece of mind, 

try as much as you can to mind your own business.

With more realistic community thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Bowling: Fun and Science 

nhpureandsimple

What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?

They say bowling is a science, more precisely physics and this subject has never been my favourite.

I don’t think everyone who plays bowling is thinking science… or do they?

Actually, I like bowling but not the science behind it. And that’s probably why my score is so bad. Always.

Once, a zero score kept me company until halfway through the game. It was so embarrassing that I have to use the barriers; otherwise, I would have gone home breaking the zero-score record and collecting the first embarrassment medal in the history of bowling.

Was it lack of concentration?

No way, because I think of nothing but hitting those shiny, twinkling pins.

Was it the heaviness of the ball?

But I check all of them, and pick the lightest one.

Or was it the power?

Well… I don’t blow the ball; I actually throw it down the lane.

So why do you think I didn’t score much? 

What’s wrong?

I throw the ball, but instead of rolling straight towards the target, which is the pins, it strays off, as if a magnet were  pulling it away.

The only reason I can think of is… Newton. 

Ever since that precious apple hit his head, his ideas have interfered with everything even in a simple bowling game.

Friction, gravity, and other physics concepts become part of the bowling game.

So probably, the more these concepts keep buzzing into your head, the more points you can score.

Perhaps I should really think science next time.

And that’s one of the simple things that needs urgent improvement in my life. 

With physics-bowling thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

F  R  U  I  T

nhpureandsimple

List your top 5 favorite fruits.

There are many delicious fruits other than the real, ripened ones we eat everyday.

They too need good seeds, healthy soil, and the quiet devotion of  care.

I don’t know, but it just struck me to get some beautiful concepts out of the word fruit itself. 

But first,  have you noticed that Fruit has five letters?

Do you think daily prompts do this on purpose?

Anyway here are the first concepts that came to my mind:

F for kindness 

R for respect

U for unique

I for imagination

T for tender

Imagine all these positive traits served on one plate.

Wouldn’t you feel blessed to have such sweet, nutritious fruits?

With positive fruit thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Finally… FICTION

nhpureandsimple

Yes, finally I’m back to fiction.

Phew… it took almost five months to pick a fictional book again.

I really enjoyed reading non- fiction over the last few months.

It wasn’t until yesterday that my brain started begging for a break, a pause from working on those complicated terms and scientific writings.

When I didn’t show any sign of objection, my brain seized the opportunity and explained that he was in dire need of breathing some literary prose, some metaphors, similes and idioms. 

I took a few sips of water, and he sighed deeply before continuing his complaint about how bored sick he felt reading those black- and-white paragraphs. He longed for… imagination with its colours, rhythms, and intrigues.

Request approved, I said.

And finally, I whispered to myself, feeling over the moon.

It was last night when I picked up an old fictional book.

Oh, the poor book has been waiting patiently for that exact moment.

“Welcome back,”he said.

I smiled and started reading.

With back- to -fiction thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt, Just writing

Other Than My Family

nhpureandsimple

Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life.

But of course, my small family has the greatest share in any positive impact on my life.

But for this post, I’d like to talk about someone or something else.

These are books.

Yes — books have changed the way I think, the way I talk, and certainly the way I write.

Books have pulled me away from movies and TV programs altogether. I rarely use our TV, and when I do it’s mainly to watch things with my family. 

People look surprised when I say, “no, I haven’t watched this or that.” And when their brows rise all the way to their hairlines. I simply ask,“have I missed much?”

Of course I haven’t, I whispered to myself.

But, honestly, to draw a clear picture, social media is part and parcel of my daily routine. But, thank God, I’m active on only two platforms.

So back to books, even the books I didn’t like, or the ones that bored me, they encouraged me to form my own views, to use my brain, and my brain warn me not to swallow everything. 

And books are just other people in your life; the ones you come to know through their words, their imagination, and their experiences.

Don’t people say that books are the quietest and most constant of friends?

Indeed, they are.

And that’s why they continue to have a positive impact on my life.

With book-and-friends thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt, Just writing

My Friend 

nhpureandsimple

What public figure do you disagree with the most?

Actually, this friend is my AI.

I believe he’s the most public figure these days.

So why and how do I disagree with him?

Well… that needs a bit of explanation.

I mainly consult my friend for grammar checks, as a second, sharp eye.

It happens when punctuations slips through your writings, 

when spelling drops or replaces letters, 

and, of course, when your brain swirls around searching hard for the suitable word.

That’s when my friend comes to the rescue; kind and supportive as always.

But you don’t have to agree with your friend, public figure or not, all the time.

And here’s where the dispute begins:

Why did you change this?

Why did you replace this?

Why did you add this?

No, this isn’t the suitable word.

No, this isn’t what I mean.

No, this isn’t what I am looking for.

But… isn’t this kind of disagreement both entertaining and productive?

Of course it is.

At least my famous friend listens, and behaves with good robotic manners.

With Al-friend thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt, Just writing

Well… I still like my one and only career

nhpureandsimple

What is your career plan?

I am a full time mother.

My sons are in their twenties, already left the nest to build their own lives. And my daughter is fourteen, a tender, critical age that needs a mother more than a mother needs a career. ( That’s my view.)

Honestly, I like to keep my first and forever career; Mother.

It happened when the idea of starting another career popped into my head. But then things usually didn’t work out; sometimes because of distance or flexibility, and honestly most of the time because of priorities.

That’s why I decided to pursue postgraduate studies, which I’ve found more flexible and enjoyable. 

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have plans for my career.

Actually, when my boys moved out, I started a new plan that lets me enjoy every moment of it:

to relax more, 

to write more,

to read more,

and to not be bothered when the wardrobe door burst open with a  scream, pushing the fighting clothes out.

With full-time mother thoughts,

Nahla