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Do you know this saying?

“Out of sight, out of mind.”

In Egypt, people say: “Out of sight, out of heart.”

Which one do you prefer?

Well… it seems to me that both sayings are talking about different things.

The first one is so true.

If you can’t see something fully, you can’t remember it.

It just slips from your memory,

simply, because you have no interest in it.

The second one talks about emotions,

and about special people—

those close ones,

the ones you love, respect, and appreciate.

According to the Egyptian saying,

if those close ones are out of sight,

your feelings will change

and may become less or fade away.

But can this really happen?

What about children

when they grow up and leave the nest?

Will parents and children apply this saying

and let their existence slip out of the heart

just because they are out of sight?

Of course not.

Why doesn’t your pet, the one who died

or the one who flew away,

still have a place in your heart?

You still smile at their memory.

You still remember them.

What about the one who once treasured with sincere advice?

Or the one who showered you with the kindness you needed most?

That respected teacher who taught you morals before knowledge?

Wouldn’t they always be in your heart?

But of course, my interpretation of the Egyptian saying

cannot be applied to all people.

Some people may push you to drop them out of sight and out of heart,

completely and without regret.

You will offer thankful prayers with utter sincerity when they are out of sight.

As for your heart, it wouldn’t mind,

for those people would never have had a place there anyway.

So…

can we agree that the special will always be special,

and that those dear, happy memories,

will always be in sight and in heart.

And.. remember

the heart always has its own memory

regardless of sight,

regardless of distance

With in–sight-and- in –heart thoughts,

Nahla

Don’t fix it.

Have you heard this saying before?

It can have different interpretations, though.

The most obvious choice is to keep going, to follow the crowd, repeat the same routine, and perhaps make the same mistakes, as long as things are not broken

But isn’t it a dangerous advice?

I heard its equivalent in Egypt. People say, “if it works, let it work.

Same meaning, right.

But what if it’s working badly or awkwardly or uselessly?

Yes, it’s working.

Yes, it’s usable.

And yes, it’s better than nothing.

But what’s wrong with fixing things that aren’t broken?

And first, do unbroken things really need any fixing?

Well… that depends on how you see things.

Fixing can mean replacing, discarding, or abandoning a thing or an idea or even a person.

But it can also mean rethinking, reshaping and reliving.

It can be an invitation to make some changes, some improvements to whatever we’re having or doing.

Imagine you have an old china cup with a few scratches, crakes, and maybe a broken handle.

You use it every day.

You drink your hot tea from it.

You wash it.

You dry it.

And you put it back in the cupboard safe and sound.

You keep it this way until its time comes when it either bursts or slips from your hands and smashs against the floor.

Some will throw it away.

Some will try to fix it by gluing its pieces back together.

In either cases, it will no longer be used for drinking or washing.

It becomes either a souvenir or goes straight into the bin.

So why couldn’t it become a souvenir a long time ago?

Because it wasn’t broken.

And what’s wrong with fixing it while it was still usable with giving it new ideas, new benefits, or even new memories?

Sometimes, we don’t just practise this easy-peasy strategy, but we believe in it.

If it works, let it work.

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Until it’s too late.

Until we finally realise that everything has its time…

And it’s much better to fix it before it breaks.

With fixing thoughts,

Nahla

Tag: attention

Out of Sight

If It Isn’t Broken…