The Sky is mysterious, so deep, so beautiful.
Look up and see this marvellous creation.
Look up, and watch the clouds smile and dance or even weep.
Look up and watch the sun rises and sets.
Look up, and your eyes muscles will relax, your mood will change.
Look up and pray.
And, be thankful for living such a day!
These are my thoughts for today.
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
The more I read, the more I realise that the characters’ names play an important role in stories. There is a special moment when characters introduce themselves, and when others respond. When the name has a significance, this moment becomes exceptional and impressive.
In real life, we, sometimes, pause and stare at the person introducing himself or herself, and feel something special, real, or odd about them.
One day, a friend was telling me about her sister’s newborn baby;
‘Shadow was doing so and so,’ she said, and I asked whether her sister is living in the Uk?
‘No,’ she said.
‘What’s the baby’s name again?’ I asked.
‘Shadow,’ she said.
‘Why your sister gave her baby an English name?’ I asked.
‘It’s Shadow, the Arabic name,’ she replied.
I couldn’t help laughing because Shadow in Arabic means the birds’ singing, the pronunciation is different, slightly, but it spells the same as the shadow in English.
It is interesting to play with this similarity of names in Fiction, isn’t it?
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Leonardo DaVinci
We might agree or disagree with this view, but this depends on how we understand it.
I read this quote on a photo of two old neighbours, talking together, in a place that looks like an old rural lane. I wondered how can simplicity be the ultimate sophistication, but the photo explains a lot because not all people can appreciate such a simple life.
Simplicity is not a simple process; it’s sophisticated. To sit on the road to talk with a neighbour and feel such peace, just like the two women in the photo, requires a simple way of being.
Simplicity is one of the writing techniques or a recommended one, but a simple piece can also be the most sophisticated.
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
In Islam, usury is forbidden. It’s an unfair deal to exploit people in need and lend them money on the condition that s/she will pay back double or ten doubles.
But what if usuary was not about money?
I’ve just read this quote by Shams Tabrizi;
“Usuary is permissible in love. So, when one gives you some love, give it back double.”
Or more!
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
Have you got the feeling when you don’t feel like writing anything?
I haven’t blogged anything for more than a month and I either didn’t read others’ blogs regularly as I used to. Bored, maybe, but I’ve never thought to quit WordPress because it’s my own space. Here, I write and publish what I want and when I want.
Today, I was doing something else, not totally different, I was reading, of course not in peace but surrounded by endless distractions. First, my eldest son recently passed his driving test, but his car doesn’t work for no apparent reason. We tried to figure out what’s wrong but in vain, at last, it was taken to the mechanic garage. Second, it’s the mid-term holiday for the other two and it’s time for my middle son to share some fun with his little sister. Imagine a16 years old boy chasing a 7 years old girl. Fun, isn’t it?
Then it was time for lunch with not this and not that until we decided what to eat.
Back to read, I breathed, trying not to glance at my mobile, the time thief, but my daughter has a big surprise; she’s just finished writing a story and I really can’t wait to read it!
Thanks to their distractions, here I’m, back to WordPress.
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
Typing is much easier, especially when writing a long essay, dissertation or an assignment. It is also easier for editing and word counting and so on. When I was an undergraduate student (hmm many years ago), it was possible to make a handwriting submission for essays. Typing was allowed but was not compulsory. At that time, I did not have my own PC, so I used to have them all handwriting. I discovered the difference when I started my postgraduate studies, and I will never think or recommend handwriting for long writing tasks.
But Handwriting is so special. To give a birthday card, a thank you note or even lecture notes to your friend in handwriting is different. It becomes not only about words but also the person who wrote them. I read once that handwriting, even scribbles have a significance. Your handwriting tells more about your personality. It is also known that our handwriting is unique; even twins have different styles of writing.
Today my son asked me to write a note for his PE teacher because his legs are so stiff after his boxing club. These days everything is computerised. I usually send emails, text or call the school; to write a note sounds a bit weird today. I was in a hurry, morning time! when I found the paper, I could not find the pen, and when I found both I forgot why he can not do it but I wrote it anyway. When my son saw the note, he said;
‘Mama, am I unwell?’ he asked and laughed
‘No,’ I replied and remembered the main reason, ‘ but you can explain more to your teacher.’ I laughed too.
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
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One of the best things I have started in 2017 was blogging or in other words writing.
Writing has always been my best hobby and though I didn’t keep anything of what I wrote when I was young, I remember very well that writing was not hard, boring or odd for me; simply because I love writing and I write what I love.
At university, I mainly studied English Language and literature but we also used to study Arabic literature and grammar as a main part of the BA programme. One day our Arabic literature lecturer asked us to write a free piece, anything we like, as one of our main tasks and promised that extra marks would be added to the mark we got at our Arabic exam. This wasn’t everything, he also promised that the best five or six (can’t remember the exact number) pieces would be published in his book which we would study that year (of course as appendix). So there were no worries about being marked down or getting a fail, just a page or half, but it had to be done before our next lecture; We all were so pleased and thought that was a brilliant idea, wasn’t it?
I did not care that mine would be one of those chosen pieces; honestly I believed that our lecturer would never read all of our writings; I just wondered what to write but finally I decided to write about my father.
At the beginning of that year, my father passed away, and so I wrote about death, the final fate that we cannot change or escape. I wondered if one has a choice either to die before or after his/her beloved ones, what he/she would choose. I thought of my father and believed that he would have willingly chosen that same time because he loved us.
Before the following lecture, and as promised, the book was available and five pieces were added at the end; mine was one of them. I was totally surprised, delighted and nervous, too nervous indeed; I was surprised because I didn’t make any great effort in that piece, and delighted because my writing was one of the best, and nervous because I became popular, everybody started asking about me, including our lecturer who hadn’t known any of our names before, and I wished I could hide under the desk for the rest of that day.
I have no idea how far my writing will go, but I believe it’s a wonderful gift.
Wishing you all the best,
Nahla
Pure and Simple 