Of course I’m joking, but that’s the trend on social media: Roberts at your service sir/Madame.
Has it ever come to you that one day your neighbour might be a robot? A perfect version of neighbour! A machine programmed to greet you everyday with cheerful voice, knock on your door if it doesn’t see you one day, lend a hand with your children and chores, share a meal with you, congratulate you on good news and support you in bad times. A robot neighbour would do that all and more. All at your service! Isn’t that incredible?
But we are humans, and a robot is not a human, can’t be one. What will we enjoy or learn from this perfect version of a neighbour? How are we going to change or understand others if they look the same, talk the same, and behave the same?
A good neighbour is a kind neighbour. We might be totally different to each other, but kind enough to smile at each other whenever our paths cross. Or, kind enough to share our numbers in case we need help or send messages every now and then to make sure each one of us is still there.
What would you do if you lost all your possessions?
In fiction, sometimes, the main plot is about making new beginnings. Things like how the change, the end, or the loss of something or all things is nothing but a different route for new beginnings, new journey, or new life. But, isn’t fiction, in most cases, a representation of our lives, a mirror of ourselves?
It’s heartbreaking to read a war story, a report in the news, and, of course, posts on social media about a mother who lost everything; her husband, her children, her house, her land, and all her possessions. Why? Did she do anything to have this punishment? No. Then why? Simply, because of Evil: evil that aims at destroying everything, everyone, and all possessions for its own benefit, its own growth, its own lies. But the story doesn’t end, won’t end, at this stage.
The mother is still alive, have memories, dreams, breath, and faith. She starts again with new people, new children, new life around her. Goodness prevail, always prevail.
Isn’t that we read in fiction? Isn’t that what happens in real life? What’s happening now?
Life goes on. Even if we lose all our possessions, we can have new ones, always find new ones as long as good exists, as long as we are real.
This is my daughter’s dramatic reaction whenever I grate some onions. I know she’s just joking, but I love to see that dramatic performance she puts on to show that she cares about me.
I believe most people will cry their eyes out when they’re dealing with onions. But I also believe that a genuine gesture of love, appreciation, thanks, understanding, and support will always bring tears to our eyes.
The future is full of surprises. I think no-one can ignore this fact. You have your own plans, dreams, hopes, and expectations but then the future surprises you with either less or more than what you have been contemplating over the years. Am I right?
The future is a mystery and only God knows about it, and I believe that’s the best for us, humans.
Imagine how we will live if we knew what’s been stored for us in the future. Whether things go better or worse, we would live a restless life. We won’t be well prepared but awfully worried because life is temporary with its ups and downs. Even those born with a silver spoon in their mouths will curse their fate if they take a glance at their future. As for those seeking soothsayers and horoscopists to know some bits about their hidden future, they will be sacrificing both their peace of mind and money. And, finally, those who stive to live a steady balanced life will turn ashen white when they know that their life will never be stable.
What can be more excited than receiving more than what you expect? And what a relief it is to hand your worries and fears, about what’s coming, over to the One who knows your needs and plans what’s best for your life?
Isn’t this mystery such a wonderful gift to have dreams and pray for better days ahead?
Knowledge, creativity, honesty, dedication, and talent, I was thinking of as the main qualities that would make a great teacher. Still, there was something missing, I thought, as an old memory of my school days crossed my mind.
One day in the last month before final exams at my high school in Egypt, it was also the last year, a group of my class, including myself, headed to the agricultural class. By the way, it was one of optional subjects that students had to choose and attend but was not graded. Wouldn’t it be boring to learn about flowers and plants only theoretically without outdoor practical lessons? Of course it would be, but what else could we do? We attended and to make things worse, our teacher was as dull as the lesson. Nothing in her features, her style, and her voice was relating to nature and its beautiful creation.
On that day and before starting the lesson, our teacher assigned some students to do some cleaning in the class while others were instructed to make some readings in the textbook. My friend and I were choosen to wash some plastic plant pots and as I headed to do my job, my friend volunteered to wash them all. It was so kind of my friend, I thanked her and went to the table to start my reading.
A few seconds later, like a captive lion that had just escaped from its cage, our teacher was roaming all over the class searching for her prey – me. Deaf and blind , she kept asking others about me as her bloodshot eyes searching all the faces in the class though I was sitting right before her. Then, the veil on her eyes was lifted and they fixed on me as she ordered me to stand up. I did, feeling my heart would stop beating. I had no idea why she was mad at me.
‘Why didn’t you do the job I assigned you? She yelled and I told her about my friend’s offer, and even my friend, drying her hands with a towel, indicated that she was the one who wanted to do them all. But our teacher was not listening to reason or truth. She screamed while explaining how I was careless, disrespectful, and lazy student. I burst into tears for I had never been any. It wasn’t my earnest tears that had thrown cold water on our teacher’s blazing anger but a sentence uttered by one of the students.
‘You’ve gone so far, miss. You know you shouldn’t behave like that’, said one of the students. The teacher turned to the girl and looked so ashamed. She didn’t approach her because she understood well what the girl meant. Both the teacher and the student were christians, and the first impression the teacher’s behaviour has on a class of both Christian and Muslim girls was her prejudice against me as a Muslim. A few minutes later, she calmed down and asked me with a broad smile to join her and study my lesson at her own desk as if that was a great privilege.
Could her new attempt overcome my shock and my hurtful feelings toward her irrational conduct. Never.
Wisdom that’s the missing quality I was looking for and I believe a great teacher should have it.
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
Have you ever tasted Egyptian mango? It’s special, so sweet, so juciy, and so refreshing. It always brings back some of my childhood’s messy and joyful memories.
I would never forget how my mother used to teach us a how to eat properly and stay clean when eating mangoes. Mango etiquette! That’s the rule:
First hold it tightly in your plate. Second, cut it into two halves. Third, carefylly separate the two halves. Fourth, put the one with the seed aside in your plate and hold the second half. Fifth, use your dessert spoon carefully, don”t dig into the mango as if you’ve never seen any. Sixth, spoon it’s juicy flesh bit by bit. Seventh, After you’re done with the first half, put it aside in your plate and repeat the same process with the second. Don’t ever pull the seed with your hand, just spoon out it’s flesh.
Phew, that needs Job’s patience, and of course most children don’t have any especially if their mouths are watering. Therefore, we understood the method, but never applied it. Once we got the fruit, we had a small bowl, we peeled it, and bit and licked. No cutlery, no etiquette. And, we ate the seed like a lollipop. Thank God, we had never made this- no etiquette mango scene at a stranger’s house. Mother always used to be in charge of the cutting process. Besides, we always were entertained by mango juice when visiting others- something like economically wise.
In my childhood, and as I was fond of this delicious fruit, and still am, I expected everyone else would be. I even wondered whether there was anyone who could destest this nourishing fruit. Many years later, I found one who finds mangoes disgusting both in taste and smell. ‘I don’t understand how and why you like it so much? It makes me feel sick.’ He’s always telling me and never eats any. Imagine, that’s my elder son.
That reminded me of the day I created a website and started blogging on WordPress under the title ‘Pure and Simple.’ I think it was around 2016. My plan was to write blogs that would have a simple style and a pure content. By simple, I meant brief and easy to read. By pure, I meant genuine – things that would be reflecting my thoughts, my voice, and my personality.
Now, thinking of my tagline I think it would be: Live a simple life and do your best to keep pure.
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
Close to where I live, is a small shopping area. Sometimes when I go out, I see a man stretching his arm out, turing his open plam heavenward, and his hand full of birds’ seeds. A beautiful white pigeon is always the one that stands there to peck at the seeds from his hand. Other pigeons will be gathering and surroundintg them on the ground while pecking at some more seeds that, I am pretty sure, the same man scattered for them. It’s a serene scene that always brings a smile to my face and fills me with joy.
I usually scatter some seeds in my garden for the pigeons to visit and eat. Sometimes, I add some leftover rice or bread crumbs so they have a different treat. But, my little visitors are not as brave as the ones I see outside. I have to be very quiet as I peek from behind the window to watch them. Still, their sight makes me smile.
Do you know that the lenses of our digital cameras, phone cameras, can never give us the same joy as seeing and contemplating things or people with our own eyes. Most people take so many pictures these days, but none will make you feel as the actual moment they were taken.
Throughout our life journey, we usually meet with a lot of people: different people, strange people, and special people. There is an Arabic saying that means; the friend to all is lonely. Or, in other words, the friend to all, has no friends. Do you agree? I do.
I have never had too many friends. As a matter of fact, I’ve never had more than two in every stage of my life. Having this few, or better say one friend every now and then, I have come to appreciate friendship as a unique and pleasant experience that involoves more than just people. This why I agree with the Arabic saying. I encountered people who have tried their best to make as many friends as possible. But, the process often proved futile when they find not a single friend who can listen or be around when they need someone. Just then, they feel lonely even with so many around.
Friendship is a noble and rare experience isn’t it? And, a friend should be a special person. And, by the way, ‘special’ can mean too many things but it doesn’t imply perfection. And, what I value most in a friend is their honesty.
What else could be better than being a true friend? Honesty. It really hurts when, one day, you find out that your friend was using you just like a taxi driver who’s been booked to take them to a certain destination. Once they arrive, they slam the door and left without even offering a goodbye note.
Pure and Simple 