The first thing I thought of when I opened my blog today was baking. Perhaps, because of the delicious aroma that’s wafting in my house today. Yes, today, I am baking some pastries for my family. I’m not professional, but, the aroma alone is enough to make your mouth-water.
‘Happiness is homemade.’ Whoever said that was so wise. What can be better than baking and cooking experiments at home? A good meal and a bad one. Fail twice and succeed thrice. Baking fills our homes with fun, warmth, and long-lasting memories.
I believe that even when we follow the same recipes, our dish will taste different. Because, what we cook or bake is not just about the ingredients. You, the cook, the baker, add your feelings, your efforts, and even your own taste buds into the recipe, and that makes the final product taste different and special.
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
Nowadays, and perhaps even years ago, it’s become hard, no, rare, to find someone who offers you something without expecting something in return. Believe me, that happens even with the simplest things.
One day, one of my husband’s friends invited us for dinner. We had a good time and enjoyed the nice food. The next day, I met one of my friends and we babbled about a few things, including the nice dinner my family and I had enjoyed the day before. Although I had already noticed the change and tense in my friend’s face once she stepped into my house, her face reddened and her eyes bulged behind her glasses after she heard about the dinner invitation.
Perhaps, she was wishing to be invited as well so we all could have a good time. But, perhaps the man couldn’t because, as a matter of fact, his flat was so small that he could only accomodate one family at a time. And, perhaps he did that on purpose. I was pondering the possibilities when all of a sudden she said, ‘he should have returned what he owed us first.’ So, that was it; I invite you, so you have to invite me and before anyone else.
Kindness and good deeds have become a debt that,unfortunately, are not given by a benevolent but by an ursher who wants to use you by all means. But, pure goodness and kindness exist and will always be there even if their proponents are becoming fewer and fewer.
One day, my family and I went on holiday. The hotel we booked was way too far from where we were exploring the city. The only taxi we could reach would be available within forty five minutes. ‘Why not walking instead of waiting,’ we decided and headed up a steep hill dragging our shopping bags. The road narrowed and we had to walk in a line. Then, all of a sudden, a lady called after us from the opposite side of the road. We stopped and turned to look at her. She was the only person on the road, and there was nothing but the cars racing along the road.
There, she cried out asking whether we need a lift. We looked at each other and felt we were saved as it started raining. A godsent, I whispered as we crossed the road to join her. Although her car was a small one that wouldn’t fit all of us, she offered to take us in turns. That would be too burdensome for her, we believed and asked her for a taxi number instead. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart, and I couldn’t help but embrace her.
We don’t encounter such pure and unexpected kindness every day, do we?
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
We learn from our mistakes, don’t we? And we learn from our interactions with others, right?
Throughout our life, our decisions are, in most cases, the outcomes of our mistakes, our experience, our knowledge, and of course our feelings. Some people would say, ‘ don’t follow your heart, use your brain instead.’ Others would say, ‘but of course, follow your heart because it’s your inner voice, your conscience?’ Which one do you follow? But, can our brain function without our heart? Please, think about that before giving your answer.
Have you ever considered that wrong decisions might teach you the best lessons in life? Actually, they might be the ones that help you grow and change to be the better version of yourself. However, you don’t have to fall, to throw yourself into a marsh in order to earn your own way to grow.
On the other side, your best decisions might be the simplest ones. To write has been the simplest decision that helps me to both express and discover myself which in turn helps me to learn and grow.
What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why?
People say we love places because of their people and we also hate places for their people. In other words, heaven is heaven because of their deserving inhabitants and hell is hell because of their deserving inhabitants. However, people have different perceptions of heaven and hell, especially on this worldly life.
In most cases, it depends on you, the whole you, your beliefs, your morals, and your way of thinking to decide whether to visit a certain place or to never do. You might say that a place of worship is the place you will never wish to visit, and I might say that a nightclub is the place that I would never want to set foot in. Each of us has our own background, reasons, and fears. Yet, we can still walk along the same street and exchange greetings when our faces meet.
Describe one positive change you have made in your life.
Throughout our life, change is both a must and a need. We have to change and we feel the change. A child has to grow into an adult though some can still have the innocence and transparency of a child’s spirit. We also need to embrace the change, whatever that change may be, e.g, our way of thinking, our clothing style, our daily routine, etc. C’est la vie.
Unfortunately, the changes we go through can be both positive and negative. Let’s put aside the negative changes for today and focus on the positive ones.
While walking with my children, when they were young, I used to tell them not to turn back. ‘You are supposed to watch for things before you because you are going ahead, and sometimes turning back result in harm and unneeded distraction.’ Over the years, I have been trying my best to adopt this strategy not only while walking but along my life journey . Never look back, never regret things that I couldn’t have or achieve. That’s one of the positive changes I have made in my life.
It’s so funny when my birds open wide their little beaks, stretch their cute necks, and close their mouths. They repeat this exercise for five or more times. I’m pretty sure that they are yawning and that’s one of their daily exercise routine.
By the way, I read that some people practise yawning as a sort of exercise that helps relieve jaw tightness and other facial tense muscles . And, some people say yawning is also good for your heart in a way that can increase your oxygen intake which helps you become more alert.
The funniest thing about yawning is that it is contagious. Once a yawner starts a round of long yawns, the others surrounding them will follow suit. They call it social mirroring, but at least that can benefit your health.
When the book is intriguing, unexpected, and full of events, its reader can finish it in two nights maximum even though its pages might exceed four hundred pages. But, rereading it might be doubtful. The fun, the excitement, and curiosity would be all faded. So, why not try another of the same author instead? That’s what I do and I seldom reread a book even if it is one of my favourites.
However, there is only one book I will read over and over again, and that’s the Holy Quran. It’s part of our faith to never abandon our holy book. Once we finish it, we start reading it all over again with the same commitment, respect, and joy.
If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?
I am quite a reader, and it is not that I read everything, but I believe that books find their readers. Perhaps, as a reader, you are in need of something; be it company, a morale, an encouragement, a guidance, an advice, some fun, or anything else. I believe that the title, the front cover, the blurb, and the first page are what attract a reader to a book. And, that’s why I continue reading a book even though I find it boring later on and have to skip some parts and pages. But, I always find something new to learn.
Now, although I’ve come across too many fictional characters, there are mainly two I like and remember the most. Jane Eyre and Judy Abbot. If I have to choose one, it would be Jane Eyre. Why? Because, she learned to live, she was a good student and a good teacher, and she stood by her principles. She had neither bowed to humiliation nor yielded to temptation.
Isn’t it hard to feel like the odd one out, mainly because you care while others surrounding you do not, and they don’t understand why you care, either. But, these unique characters teach the readers that it’s the odd ones who are the most remembered.
The Arabs and people in the Mideterinian region in general like cats. They are such adorable creatures that make your heart melt as they rub themselves against your leg, or give you one of their begging meows.
One day, my family and I moved to a new house. The area was so beautiful but so quiet especially at night. Then, a few days later, and just before going to bed, I heard meowing at the doorstep. My husband and my boys, who were still young at that time, went downstairs and opened the door. There, they found our cute night visitor; a tabby taking shelter under our small shelter. When I joined them, the cat was still meowing at the door. She had a collar, but apparently all she wanted was to get inside our house. I let her in and she straightaway started rubbing her wet fur against us. Later on, I discovered that it was the pet of my next door neighbour. So, she wasn’t a lost cat. From that day on, the cat became our popular and so welcomed guest.
We had moved again, but I still remember that cat and its name, and still have its photos.
Years ago, one of my neighbours, a Muslim but not from an Arabic country, asked me to teach her daughter to read and write in arabic and wanted to pay for the lessons. I welcomed the idea but insisted on teaching the little girl for free. When she first asked me, the thought of earning money didn’t even cross my mind. But then, I was taken aback when she asked me how much I am going to charge her for the lesson.
There’s nothing wrong or embarrasing about charging others when you are doing them certain job and giving them some of your time. But, that, in most cases, depends on the person’s motivations and the workload of the job. Taking both into consideration, I decided to make this job for free for certain reasons; First, I was already teaching my children Arabic at home which means I am used to the job and had the materials. Second, she was my neighbour, and do we charge our neighbours for doing them a favour? For me, that cannot be. Third, I wasn’t planning to make it a business. It was merely a sort of a small help I can offer to the little child.
I did that again, and I will do it more if need be. Although that was money- free service, I earned things more precious than money; a child’s smile, a pleasant mememory and my neighbour’s appreciation.
Pure and Simple 