World Affairs And Beyond

Mastering death is an art. There was a point in life when I thought I would keep dying and death would keep hurting. I was not sure about how many deaths I would have to die more till death would not hurt me. Then the more deaths I died, upon each new death, I felt stronger than before. Now at this point in life, I am glad I am almost near to mastering death. To me, death now would just be another thing.  

 Flames speak a language of their own. If you look closely, you will know that they are trying to communicate. They make signs and say things that we may not understand. Their dance is quite fascinating. They move like no other object in the air, so free and so complete. I, for one, am captivated for hours by their astonishing rhythmical motion, each complete in itself.

I heard my little sister reading some chemistry and definitions of gases and electrons getting excited upon heating, so all of a sudden these electrons, that are tiny round creatures to me, would upon heating appear to just go insane, moving their hands and feet like crazy jumping about yelling yayyy yayyyy yayyyy ! :-D

You are not gonna know, if you don't try !

You can find fear in anything if you look hard enough !

As "today" is coming to an end, I come back to life and realize that I skipped one whole day in my life. I remained in the realms of sleep; a temporary death for hours and hours. I do not remember anything other than the words, "I am the brother of death", from spending the past many hours in the valley of death.

Home is a feeling of belonging and being needed !

Well, this morning I accidentally burnt my toast again. This happens quite often. I also came to know that burnt toast is a remedy for regular hangovers. 

The tragedy is that we live on earth for a very short period of time, while the comedy is that we make plans as if we are to live here for centuries. We go to wars over lands that we can never own, because we are only but travellers through this dimension.

I found myself on way to the airport with a couple of friends. We got a bit late due to some traffic. It was not easy to get to the airport. I got off the vehicle as it was caught up in traffic, and went into a house on a nearby cliff. I remember a castle there too.  The whole place was sandy. It was a dry noon in Egypt. By the time I returned to the road, the vehicle carrying my friends had left, and I had to find some other transportation for myself to get to the airport on time. I had two bags. One was my golden  colored purse and the other a brown traveling shoulder pouch bag that I often carry along for my important documents. Most people there seemed to be looking for some public transportation and the place was under fire from the other side of the road. I do not know who was shooting and what were they shooting at. People seemed to be running for their lives.

Fear is the root of all evil. Yes, fear is what makes you do things you would otherwise not want to do. This last Ramadan, I learnt alot about how other people felt. So far, it was the toughest Ramadan of my life. I went thirsty and hungry, and by the "Aftaar" time, I went almost greedy. I was still in control of me and my want for water and food. I had my share of food right there in front of me, yet I didn't have the patience to eat it in my own "princess style". I was eating like a poor hungry greedy man who had never had food for days. 

Be kind to the unkind, because that is how you will teach them what kindness is. The unkind are unkind because they do not know what kindness is; and that is because nobody has ever been kind to them.   Kindness begets kindness !

I have seen a majority here in the North-West Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan, my home province, confusing religion with culture. Does wearing "jeans" make you a kafir? I think "jeans" is a much thicker cloth than the traditional "shalwar kameez" of Pakistan and India. It does not reveal your figure or skin and one cannot see through it. Your traditional "shalwar" is revealing and should be termed as un-Islamic and not to mention the "churidar pajama" compared to the skinny jeans, should be totally banned if you consider yourself a muslim or a Pathan/Pashtoon. Churidar Pajama (the allowed)

A beautiful magical spot along the Karakorum Highway. Photo by Bash Afridi

Every action starts a chain reaction ! Create positive change for a change. Think Positive and do positive. Not only for yourself, but also for others.

How can one work for peace between the so many different nations when firstly, their governments are determined to wage wars against one another, and secondly their people are worlds apart with neither the will, not a chance to understand each other, while only believing in the news on television about one another (which may not always be true); and whatever they are made to believe in by the negative elements working against peace?

One very interesting question that I often ask myself whenever I come across an evil toxic person is whether people are born evil or they just become evil. When I as a child, did not understand a lot of things, I did not know some people were evil and some good. I thought it was all a reaction to what others did as in if an evil person is being evil to you, you must have done something wrong, that is why he is being evil. It was when I grew a bit older and started to notice things more in detail that I realized that some people just could not help being evil.  I have a few toxic and evil persons around me, that keep forcing me to think about whether evil people are born or made. In order to know more about this fact, I started studying astrology and palmistry about seven years ago. Though both of them are good sciences, yet they were not enough to tell about a person; so I took up numerology and face reading as well. Now after alot of experience in al...

We all have someone in our circle of friends or siblings who criticize us. Sometimes it annoys us alot. They find your perceived weakness and then try to make you feel bad about it, be it your dress, your hair or anything else.  Actually when someone tries to criticise you, they are trying to bring themselves up, by putting you down. That is one way they think they can feel good about themselves. It is only the people who do not feel good about themselves who will criticise you or put you down.

“Whoever does an atom’s weight righteousness will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”  -- The Quran Chapter 99 Verses 7-8 In other words, whatever goes around, comes around. Our will, thoughts and actions in this world are like a boomerang. We throw them in the air and they come right back at us. Being a staunch believer in the laws of requital, a law that rewards or punishes according to a person's deeds; I do not worry about many things. I know every wrong will take care of itself and every right will also take care of itself. No deed can escape this "time and space". I have seen it happen. 

There is a point in life when people really do matter to you. There are people who will say things to bring you down and hurt you. Their hurtful words will adversely affect you; yes they will. Then there are people who will believe in you and their belief in your abilities will give you strength. You will then be able to believe in yourself and eventually will rise again. There are friends who believe in you; they are your strength ! Okay this is how I look at it sometimes...

Some people are used to slamming doors behind them. I mean literally and not figuratively . If you are one of them, try avoiding shutting the doors with a bang. People who are graceful, will always close the doors gently. Just notice, the next time someone closes a door behind them. People who slam doors are mean, rude, loud and crazy in a "not good" way. You can slam your door when you're alone and nobody is around to hear it; but when in public or with friends and family, try being polite and kind even to the door. When you have your brain completely under your control, and it can coordinate well with the rest of your body, then there is no way you will ever slam a door like a jerk. Almost everyone around me except for my dad, slams doors. Whenever I close a door, I make sure it does not make any noise. I think you can judge people's personalities by the way they normally close doors behind them. You are actually a beautiful person, if you close a ...

I remember how I befriended a stray dog. I was in this huge room where there was some partying going on. There were wide and tall windows all around. The room had two doors. The backdoor opened into a circular staircase which went up as well as down the building overseeing a wide river.  The other door opened into a hallway.

We take poets too seriously forgetting that every time they speak, it's only true for a specific moment in time and space. What is true one moment, may not necessarily be true the other moment. They feel each moment forcibly reflecting on it and penning it down. It is the emotions they pour onto their note pads. Emotions change and so do the writings. They move on and on !

Just a dialogue: The government of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa ordered to file a case against the man who brought dengue from Lahore into Peshawar and the 7 mosquitoes which bit him. They were all arrested and brought before a session judge. Dengue infected man : It wasn't my fault that dengue is spreading fast in Peshawar. I didn't want for this to happen. I am suffering myself. It's the mosquitoes. Hang them.

There have been floods in the Province of Sindh in Pakistan this year and at the same time, we saw devastation in Vermont, a state in the United States of America, due to the Hurricane Irene. So far I did not see the Vermonters begging anyone, even their own government for help with anything after the destruction of their property and lands. In Pakistan, so much aid and relief activities are going on in Sindh right now. Both the governments of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa each have sent around 20 million rupee aid to Sindh. I was just watching Makhdoom Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani the Prime Minister of Pakistan on TV, begging the International Community for more Aid. This really appeared quite shameful to me. I was just wondering if these floods are designed or are they natural? For how long is the Pakistan government going to beg others? Are they begging for themselves? Do the ones suffering actually get the amount of help sent by the good guys?...

I was so passionate about building a nest for an injured homeless bird and its hatchlings but it just wouldn't last for long, because I didn't realize I was building it in the wrong place; it was raining too hard. It took me a long time to realize that I should first get out of the rain, choose a safe place where the rain wouldn't wash it away; that's where the nest will stick, the bird and its hatchlings will be safe.

Nothing is written in stone !  There isn't a problem one cannot find a solution to. Nothing is impossible. Everything is possible. All it takes is faith in your own abilities. Everything is subject to change. This is the beauty of life. No matter what; it keeps surprising you.

We are what we eat, true; but, we are what we hear; this is also true. Our thinking is shaped by what we hear and watch. I am referring to the songs we listen to. No matter how strong our nerves are, no matter how composed we are, if we keep listening to sad songs, sooner or later they start showing in the way we act. They have a great deal of affect on our mood. Sad songs make us sad, they depress us. Try to listen to a motivational song and even if you are upset, it will help you cheer up. Motivational and happy songs are the best mood uplifters. I like to listen to songs that serve a purpose of positive energy.

Mubarak Ho ! Eid ka chaand nazar aa gaya hay.

Today the North-West of Pakistan felt an earthquake of 5.5 Magnitude ! Pakistan was born today in 1366 A.H (Hijri calendar), and this earthquake was definitely that moment in time and space when that agreement was made. The man who sacrificed everything he had to build this country for us Quaid-e-Azam said, "Unity, Faith and Discipline" do not ever forget this. This moment of Earth Shaking beneath the feet of the Pakistani people this night of the 27th of Ramadan, was a reminder for the people of Pakistan not to forget "Pakistan" & not to forget  "Unity, Faith and Discipline" ! Like it if you agree with me. Like it if you think it's time Pakistan should wake up and realize the need for "Unity, Faith and Discipline" !

This Ramadan is teaching me what no Ramadan in the past has ever taught me before. It is making me feel the other side of the story. Those who have been good guys all their lives, do not know what it is like to be a bad guy. It is teaching me why the bad guys are bad guys. Why the greedy are greedy. When given a chance, they too can become good people. It is just that they do not have faith in their tomorrow. They need to reach deep inside their hearts and find that faith. It is patience and faith that is missing in their lives.

The battle against evil and injustice is not easy. You will make many foes. Those who were once your friends will become your enemies. Your own family will become your enemy. Nobody wants to be corrected and if you try to come in the way of their evil doings, you will be targeted as well.  It does not mean you should stop doing good because it bothers others. If there are bad people in the world, there are good people in the world too. Those who have a problem with your good work, have a problem with themselves. Let nothing discourage you. Let nothing hurt you. People are just people, they will say just about anything to bring you down. Know that God is there to support you. With God by your side, there is no way you are alone in your battle against evil and injustice.

I've been looking for the meaning of the word "Ali" for over a year now. I cannot disclose my reasons for now, but it has been a very long and tiring quest. Last night while I was reading Allama Iqbal's Persian poetry book Asrar-e-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self), I came across a poem I am sharing here. This seems to be linked to the quest somehow.  Setting Forth The Inner Meanings Of The Names Of Ali در شرح اسرار اسمای علی مرتضی Ali is the first Muslim and the King of men, مسلم اول شہ مردان علے In Love's eyes Ali is the treasure of the Faith. عشق را سرمایہ ی ایمان علے Devotion to his family inspires me with life از ولای دودمانش زندہ ام

  The Upper Kachura Lake is approx 70 metres deep.

Roohullah changing the tire on our way to PTDC Rama! :-)

Nanga Parbat (The Naked Mountain) is the ninth highest mountain in the world and the second highest in Pakistan. It is one of the eight thousanders, and is 8125 meters high. The eight-thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than 8000 metres high above the sea level.