Tag: thoughts

daily prompt

Hard Times

nhpureandsimple

What’s a chapter of your life you’d title “The Hard Years” — and what got you through it?

Life is life. 

Sometimes it feels like paradise, and other times it feels like hell.

Sometimes it goes easy and smooth, and other times it goes rough and spiky.

And… sometimes it’s full of promises, and other times it’s full of warnings.

Then you start wondering why life changes, why it is unstable, and why it is unpredictable.

But you know why, don’t you?

Because it’s temporary.

And if you’re thinking beyond the Big Bang, you will definitely believe that life is a big test.

So … hard times come and go.

They may last for days, months, or years.

And based on the unsteady nature of life, everyone is expected to have a share of those hard times.

How we handle those hard times depends mostly on who we are. 

Some people try not to think back, not to remember the pain, and to forgive the hurt. Others stay in the past, replay the pain, and never forgive the hurt. 

By the way, these some and others are not about angels and devils.

It’s more about… abilities and choices. 

Have you read my post Can Experience Alone Shape Us? If not, please do. Can Experience Alone Shape Us?

Now, is there really any need to talk about hard years?

Maybe.

But it’s better to leave them behind.

Just an advice.

With let-bygones-be-bygones thoughts,

Nahla

personal thoughts, Philosophical musings

Can Experience Alone Shape Us?

nhpureandsimple

Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are?

Are we shaped by experience or shaped by who we are?

This is not as easy as it looks. 

At first glance, I said: experience.

Life teaches us how to live through the many experiences we gain day after day.

And… the more experiences we have, the more we change along the way.

So yes, experience does shape us.

But wait a minute…

I re-read the whole thing again.

Doesn’t us or we came before experience?

Yes, it’s who we are that first exists and shapes us.

Experience follows.

Experience offers possibilities and changes.

Yet, who we are is the root of our life tree.

Or, better put, who we are is made of a special fabric woven from too many threads.

There are certain things that make us but can’t be changed; things like our souls, our origin, and our families. 

Yes, I know everything can be changed nowadays, including some of the things I just mentioned, but you can’t erase them from your “who you are” identity.

After each and every experiences you live through life, it’s “who you are” that manages it in the way “ who we are” wants. 

Is your head spinning right now?

Mine is, but only because of the AC, which I don’t like at all. But in some places, it is the most convenient way to survive on holiday in a tropical country. 

So, back to this life shaping player.

Simply, we are shaped by who we are.

Out of each and every experience, we’re the ones who decide whether to learn the lesson, to ignore it, or to destroy it.

Some experiences may push us to be cruel, savage, or selfish.

But in the end, it’s us who decide whether to follow the experience’s recommendations or not.

With who-shape-us-thoughts,

Nahla

holidays

Jet Lag, Humidity, and Writing

nhpureandsimple

A flight with almost fourteen hours and a three hours transit, is not easy at all.

If you’re accustomed to these long… really long flights, then you really deserve an award for endurance.

I think I deserve two, since this is my first holiday with such a long journey.

Perhaps I deserve three, since this flight also comes with a big time difference.

Three or two hours difference wouldn’t be such a big deal.

But… wait, 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7 hours make a significant difference.

Time suddenly feels as if it’s going in opposite directions.

In the morning, you drag yourself out of bed, your eyes so heavy that you fall asleep again everywhere, at any moment. 

At night, you feel wide awake, and surprisingly hungry and ready for outdoor activities.

Breakfast time becomes dinner time and dinner becomes breakfast.

The sun that plays tricks on you in the Uk is now punctual, serious, and happy.

How happy?

So happy that she’s laughing all the time, watching people out and about in sunglasses, hats, and face fans; all enjoying her majesty’s presence. 

Rain visits often but, lightly so far, as if trying to lighten the mood.

Unfortunately, the mood refuses to be lightened because of humidity.

And humidity is that heavy, sweaty, stick neighbour no one likes.

And finally, after those first confused, steamy, lazy days, a gentle nudge of writing arrived, with a smooth landing, to save these funny moments in this post.

With July-holidays-thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

From Imaginary World to a Real One

nhpureandsimple

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Once upon a time, there was a petite mademoiselle who dreamed, always dreamed of stories with ever happy endings.

Then one day, her prince knocked on the door of her house.

“For you I have two surprises,” he said.

She smiled, her face shinning with happiness.

“The first is the wedding ring,” he said with a playful wink.

“What about the second?” She whispered, blushing, lowering her gaze.

“The second is a new home in a new world,” he replied.

“Really.” Her eyes widened and sparkled with happiness.

“America or Britain, you choose,” he said, smiling.

“Britain,” she replied without giving it a second thought.

And from that moment, Britain became her second home.

People say the place finds you before you find it. 

Or, in other words, wherever you go, you’re simply following your destiny. 

So wherever you are, rest assured that your place has been calling for you. 

You may stay for a short visit or a long one or forever, but…  be thankful for having your own place in this big world.

With imaginary-and real world thoughts,

Nahla

 

Just writing

The Bad Apple

nhpureandsimple

What villain actually had a good point?

Why do you think there is a villain in almost every story?

Because without one, the story would not only be boring, but also unrealistic.

There is a bad apple everywhere in life, and real life is such a big story.

So…this person who stirs problems, spread lies, wounds others, behaves this way mainly for their own benefit.

After all the hard efforts and plights the villain weaves and plots, they gain no real prize, only a bloated self-satisfaction. 

They could do far worse things, of course, but let’s stop at this level.

Do you think a villain has any good point?

A good point for being mean, sneaky, and evil!

Perhaps this good point is possible in fiction, where the writer is the sole weaver of the character. In fiction, the only “good point” a villain can offer is a memorable warning sign — a danger zone marked with a quiet Please Be Careful note.

In real life, things are different. The villain chooses to be a villain, chooses the path of Abel, Scar, and… Voldemort.

There is no good point they can have, or pretend to have.

Is there any good point left after choosing to be the bad apple?

With villains-and-life-thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

Chaos, Chaotic, and Chaotically 

nhpureandsimple

Is a little chaos actually good for us?

Can you live your whole life measuring things with a pencil and a ruler?

But a life like that will be so stiff.

By the way, using a pen and a ruler is a common expression is Arabic, or you can say in Egypt. If you say someone lives by a pencil and a ruler, you mean they measure everything in life.

Actually… it can be a compliment.

But it can also be a defect.

The extreme opposite of this condition is chaos.

And if someone is known as chaotic, this means their life goes upside down, aimless, and messy.

There’s no way chaotic can be an advantage.

But a bit of chaos won’t hurt.

Actually, it can make some change, bring a laughter, or earn you some skills.

And what better example is there than baking?

My daughter insists on following the recipe from A to Z, including the exact measurements and using the scale which I bought mainly for decoration. 

Yet the kitchen under her supervision looks like bedlam. 

I usually, perhaps out of experience, take the shortcut.

No measurements, no scale, and always sticky hands.

Still, the kitchen under my supervision looks no better.

In both cases, we enjoy the chaos in the chaotic kitchen, even though we chaotically complain about the mess.

But without this chaos, we would be sacrificing baking for the sake of glassy, glossy Kitchen. 

With a bit of chaos thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

Please Be Kind,  Bloggers

nhpureandsimple

Who is your favorite blogger to follow?

What a question!

To pick one favourite blogger and announce it publicly is so unkind. One should, at least, consider others feelings.

Yes, some may sign out from WP or delete their accounts completely after such a heartbreaking announcement.

I’m already considering taking action.

Maybe I will hit unfollow… or block… or worse smash my iPad.  

But of course… I’m joking.

The question about your favourite blogger is more about connection rather than preference.

It’s more about blogs than bloggers.

This is how I read it, honestly.

In other words, sometimes you find something similar, related, funny, or interesting in what you read by another blogger.

You press follow and look for more.

So “ your favourite” doesn’t have to be “your best.”

It may simply mean that you somehow don’t feel like a stranger, or an alien on a different planet.

On the contrary, you feel welcomed… or, better yet,  involved  in what you read. 

With favourite-blogger- thoughts,

Nahla 

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daily prompt

Ideas to Make More Daily Steps

nhpureandsimple

Hit 5,000 steps today and drop your achievement here — we’re cheering you on!

Before I got my smart watch, my family wouldn’t believe when I said I move all the time at home. 

After I got the watch, they finally did. 

Simply because 3,000steps and often more became a solid proof  no one could deny.

And since then, my steps have been on the rise, indoors and outdoors.

But before I hit more than 9,000 steps today, I hit about ten spiders of different sizes.

These uninvited, unwelcome visitors with their big heads and eight long legs can make you score higher steps than usual. 

How?

By running.

You either run away from them, or you run to hit them.

Things depend on the spider’s size, and on whether you’re spider friendly or not.

In my case, I’m not friendly with spiders, and I will never be.

But if one day, you feel you didn’t make enough steps, start a spider search and hit- battle.

And of course, you can include them as part of your “more steps” routine.

Yes, you can say: I walked indoors and outdoors, and ran to hit spiders too.

With let’s-do-more-steps thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

How Strange Is Our Brain 

nhpureandsimple

What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?

Yes, how strange! 

That brain in your head can play tricks on you.

In a moment, it can make everything rosy, nice, and safe.

At other times, it turns the magnificent world into a dark, gloomy, and scary image.

And it’s your brain, the same machine working up there in your head.

Is it making fun of your useless powers?

Maybe.

But you’re the one in power, in control of this unique machine.

Now what are you going to do with these bad thoughts that visit your brain every now and then?

Well.. I’m going to ignore them, 

and to tiptoe around them so they wouldn’t hurt me.

But bad thoughts are just like that bully

who won’t stop bullying others until someone stands up and slaps him in the face.

I can’t they will attack back, stronger this time.

They are all pretences.

The bully is nothing but pretences that will shatter like broken glass after one big slap.

So what am I supposed to do?

Face them, fight them, and conquer them

Some people just can’t.

And some people can.

How?

Maybe out of strength,

or wisdom,

or experience,

or faith.

But they are so powerful.

But the tortoise won the race against the hare, 

and the ant saved the elephant.

Still… I can’t 

Then you’re the one needs the slap

Slap.

With strange-brain-thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

From Hate to Something Like Okay

nhpureandsimple

What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?

Actually there are many things I used to hate, but… I don’t feel the same now.

You could say I’ve finally come to accept them.

By the way, I used the word hate which I hated so much.

But sometimes hate can’t be replaced by a gentle dislike.

Strong words belong to strong feelings.

Right.

For this post, I’ll just mention one of them which is … Dogs.

I used to hate these creatures in all their shapes, species, and origins.

Many years ago, during the summer holidays, we used to go to the village where my grandparents’ big house was. There, dogs were my nightmare because most of the big houses had big guarding ones.

Their barking, their sharp teeth, their lolling tongues weren’t showing any sign of cuteness or any kind of amity. 

Worse, dogs were known in Egypt as savage, and the masters of biting. 

How could anyone on this earth love these creatures.

Dogs in cartoons were the exception, for two main reasons: 

First, they were fictional.

Second, they sometimes behaved better than humans.

Now, don’t they say; after hostility comes amity. 

Or better put, after hate comes amity.

I try to follow this piece of wisdom.

My hate levels gradually went down. 

Cute and funny joined my dictionary of dog vocabulary.

Until that day, about three years ago.

My neighbour on the opposite side of the road used to have two big dogs. 

They barked at everyone passing by whether as a sign of welcome, excitement or warning, I honestly don’t know.

I always avoided crossing the road and walking past their door.

But once, when I was in a hurry, I totally forgot about their routine.

So I crossed the road, and as I was checking the time, they burst into barking.

My heart almost stopped beating as I froze before the gate and looked them straight in the eye.

“You’re such an animal!” I mumbled under my breath, and they looked as if they had swallowed their tongues.

I walked away my head up, full of dignity, proud of myself. 

I even managed to stifle a big laugh, wondering whether I had hurt their feelings.

So … I can’t say I like dogs.

But I can say I’m okay with dogs as long as they keep sufficient distance and show good manners.

With hate-turn-into-okay-thoughts,

Nahla