Tag: blogging

daily prompt

Pray

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What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

Sometimes we can’t help having some negative feelings every now and then. Worry, fear, and hate, I think are the most common negative feelings in our life.

We worry about our children. We fear the onset of illness. We hate others who hurt or betray us. But what’s worse than these three is when we feel abandoned. Lonely. And, that’s when prayer come to the rescue.

When we pray we hand all our negative feelings and thoughts over to God. The heaviness and darkness that filled us will not merely be lessened but fully removed. Believe me; praying is healing.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Reverie

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What activities do you lose yourself in?

Whatever the thing you like, you will lose yourself in it. A book, a song, a recipe, a sport, a picture, a movie, …. . You’re losing youself because that thing makes you feel better, makes you happy, and, in some cases, makes you be yourself.

Do you know that some people lose themselves in talking. Oh, yes, some have the ability to talk nonstop. They lose themselves and others, and even if you interrupt, they don’t intentinally ignore you but just could not hear other voices.

But, that question also reminds me of my daughter a year or two ago when she found it hard to fell asleep. My advice was to think of pleasant thoughts. Lose yourself in reverie, I told her. Reverie is like a pause that can block unpleasant things and open a winow for pleasant ones, and that’s all free and for just a few seconds.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Five times!

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What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

Could that be only me? But, would you really watch a movie or a TV series five times or more? I think that’s too much. Wouldn’t that be like watching everydays news that are useless to both your brain and your life!

It’s a great fun when a family snuggle together to watch a movie. Something funny, interesting, or even creepy as long as it suits them all, would make a good family time.

To be honest, if it wasn’t for my children, I wouldn’t have watched most of the movies I did. And, three times is the maximum number we watched any. And to be even more honest, if there ever is a third time, we become uninterested and one by one slip away from the gathering.

Perhaps, being a full time mother, trying ber best to find time for her own hoppies, watching movies  more than once is too much for me.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

We’re humans

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Are you superstitious?

Superstitious! It’s interesting to read and hear about superuptions. Actually, I think it’s a bit fun. There are loads of them in Arabic culture.

For example, if something suddenly broke, say you dropped a glass or a plate, we say that’s no problem for such a simple damage had protected us from an evil eye. Or when we see an army of ants marching into the house, we belive that’s envy, someone is envious at so and so. And if you forgot to take the coffee pot off the heat just before it boiled over, we say that’s a good omen.

These are but a few examples and when I think about them, I can’t overlook the connection between what we were thinking about and what was happening at the same time. In other words, if the object we saw or come across is bad, awful, scary, …. then only bad thoughts, and those people we dislike will popped into our heads. On the opposite, if we like what suddenly crossed our path, say a butterfly or white pigeon, that will give us good thoughts and brighten our mood.

We’re humans, and I believe it’s natural to make these connotations, but it’ll be unrealistic if we let superstitions be in charge of our life.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

A slight change

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Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?

Can we make a slight change to this question because I’m really wondering whether an animal would like to be compared to a human?

Animals look happy and content in their world.  Have you ever heard of an animal turning into a human being? Of course in fiction and myths everything is possible but in real life I believe it’s impossible. A leopard won’t change its spots. Cats won’t like water. A fish won’t live without water. Any four-legged animal will only walk bidedally when it’s been forced and harshly trained to do so.

We watch animals and we learn a lot from them. Why, we are using them to describe either our  good or bad traits; we say as loyal as a dog, stubborn as  a donkey, slow as a snail, fast as a cheeta, …..

A person can have as many traits of animals but an animal won’t do the same.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

My dear old me

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Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

Are you already a hundred years old? What an achievement! Hope you’re doing well, both physically and sychologicially. You know that your parents, grandparents and great grandparents had barely managed to reach their seventy five. But, according to what I had seen and heard, they had been acting as if they were a hundred. Pray tell me you are in good form and shape.

Sure, you still remember that madness about beauty standards and cosmetic surgeries which are developing every second these days They’ve been blowing the brains of both men and women for a while. Do you still remember when you used to laugh at how some women are looking all the same. You, then said, one day husbands and wives will be confused, unable to spot their partners among the crowd of similar faces. Hopefully, you’re smiling now while saying no; the number of people who giving up this madness are on rise.

What about smart technologies and artificial intelligence? Are people giving up these things too or things are becoming worse. Please, do not say robots are everywhere. Hopefully, you’re smiling again and say; no, humans are in control and they’re moving, working, and using their own hands and brains.

Don’t forget to send my prayers and love to my children and my grandchildren,

Love you my dear old me,

Be safe,

Be always content,

With the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Browsing

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Where would you go on a shopping spree?

The first thing that crossed my mind when i read “shopping” is to browse.

It’s fun to browse through things in a store or online, and it’s really beneficial since, in most cases,  you’ll end up buying nothing. To be browser can help in many ways;  first to satisfy your passion for shopping. second to economise, and third to brighten your mood. You can add more to these advantages if you like. However, sometimes, a browser turns into a buyer, a greedy one, and that’s when you fall into the trap of trying things especially for free or when you’re merely copying others.

I’m doing my best to work on this go only browsing strategy when I don’t really need to buy things.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Fictional characters

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What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

In stories, the name of every character is carefully picked according to things related to the role, the image, the place, the time …. they are representing.  Sometimes, we as readers overlooked this issue. We read and follow the sequence of the events and the development of the plot. But, I have learnt that writers do pay careful attention and time to the names of each character and they usually have a certain  significance.

In real life our names also have a significance, a meaning that in some cases match our own personalities. In arabic culture, people say  everyone has some share of the meaning of his/ her name.

That’s why I find it a bit confusing to have a middle name as the person, in most cases, will be called and known by just one. The other name will be left aside and known mainly in official documents.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

A proverb

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What is the last thing you learned?

No one is a prophet is his own land!

It is not that I don’t know the meaning of it but when my eyes fell on this proverb in one of the books, it was the beauty of the wording and the accuracy of its meaning hat I’ve recently come to learn.

By the way there this proverb has an equalivat in Arabic. It says; The light falls only on the strangers.

In both versions, the meaning is the same.

Haven’t you ever felt that you are more appreciated and honored elsewhere than in your commonplace?

I did.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

No, not that!

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What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

Honestly,  it is not how old are you? Because 23 + is the simplest and more convient answer unless you’re been asked for specific reasons  Besides that won’t be a lie!

But there are questions that are so annoying, so inquisitive. These are mostly with HOW Much?

How much do you earn? How much do you pay for this or that?

Although I don’t hate these sort of questions as questions been simply asked as inquiries because that would not been considered rude. What I hate is when the person knows already the answer and asks to test your reliability. Or, when the person is asking to make you regret paying that sum whether it is  little or big. Or, when the person is such a telltale or a gossip whose job is spreading the news of others lives.

Is that not hateful?

With the best wishes,

Nahla