First, I imagine this box will be full of some old toys, old favourite clothes, audio tapes, photos, books, colouring books, cards, and candies and sweets. Perhaps there’ll be more items, but I won’t care as much about them, I would only and mainly have rummaged through that box to find one particular thing.
It’s my first notebook. My childhood pieces of writing. My first writings, my innocent thoughts, and my childish handwriting. I can imagine how precious memories will rush into my head. Memories of my parents’ old house, my father’s voice, my mother’s cooking, my old siblings noseness, my schools, and my old neighbourhood.
Would any other make me feel the same? Perhaps, but not as strong as those first writings, especially after discovering that writing has always been there deep inside me.
By the way, I found this prompt on Instagram. Try to think about it and write something about yours.
Every experience I live and each lesson I learn out of it, guides me toward a new direction in life.
We learn not only from our mistakes but also from those of others and that opens before us a new direction to follow in life. Our stories, whether short or long, with the people we know, e.g friends, colleagues, or even our family, also play a role in guiding us toward a direction that would add or change something in our life.
The Almighty doesn’t only give us life but He also puts on our path certain people, some unexpected changes, some blessings, some trials, or even some ideas or books that would make us live a different experience and follow a new direction.
Life, with its ups and downs, will draw before us too many directions, and we have our own reasons to decide whether to follow any.
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.
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.
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?
The pandemic! That was such a hard time. Those long days were like a nightmare that you didn’t wish to live, but couldn’t escape either.
Do you remember the lock down, the vaccines, the masks, and the sanitizers? Didn’t you attempt to strengthen your immune system through food and exercise? Didn’t you keep up to date with the latest news of the pandemic? Wasn’t that what the majority were mainly concerned and worried about?
But then, we made it and lived it with its good and bad days because after every hardship comes ease, and, in most cases, there will be a light, an opening, at the end of the long dark tunnel. That’s how I believe.
I wept. I worried. I tried everything. I looked after my family, and they looked after me. And, with every passing day, I learned to pray more and to hand my worries and fears to my Creator. That’s how I adopted throughout those long days. That’s how my family and I regained our high spirits, our fun indoors and outdoors, and our close ties together.
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Such a beautiful saying that encourages us to make full use of each day in our life.
Rising up with the sun, or better yet, a little before, makes the day so long that even the laziest person on earth will find himself with something to do.
People in olden times used to bake, cook, clean, and do all other housework, as well as outdoor chores before sunset. They would get up before sunrise and go to bed straight aftersunset. With no electricity, no takeaway meals, and no cleaners, they still lived and accomplished more than we do nowadays. And, they socialised every now and then, read books, and maintained close family ties.
It’s a good idea to make and follow your own routine. Since we are different, we will have different priorities and schedules. It would be wonderful if we all manage to keep this ‘early to bed, early to rise’ rule.
Pure and Simple 