Closing Pandora's Box

I have a few friends who don’t understand my obsession for football. This video is for you:

In soccer (football) you have everything in life…
you need to give, you need to receive
you need team spirit, discipline…
sportsmanship.
Sometimes you win…
Sometimes you lose.
This is the way you win in life.

Sorry I’ve not commented on your blogs recently. I’ve been keeping up with all of them on my phone, but haven’t had a chance to log into blogger on the computer. Will visit your comment dabaa soon!

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend. Stay smiling.

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Title: Wavin’ Flag – K’NAAN

When I got a new phone, I got one with a decent camera for a particular reason. Simply so that I could take more pictures. I’ve decided each week I’ll share a photograph with you.

***

I saw this written on the wall of the train today:

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Title: Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford

We’ve had countless boiler problems this year. Every few months something seems to happen. It sprouts a leak, starts letting out gas, making weird and un-boiler-like noises or just not getting turned on when I try to press its buttons. Last week it started drooling all over the floor and the pressure inside would rapidly drop and so prolonged use of hot water (in a bath or shower) would mean you’d have to do some fancy stuff to it to make the hot water come back. This was annoying, since I take my time whenever I have a bath or shower. So much so one of my friends always say “see you next week..” every time I text her, “I’ll text you later, about to jump into the bath/shower.” A few days subsequent to this, the boiler spluttered its last few breaths and stopped working all together. 3 days without hot water and heating.

It is not very often we consider boilers to be of value in our lives. Even when we talk about the things that we take for granted, how often do you hear anyone mention their boiler? I guess it’s like that clichéd line goes “you don’t realise the value of something till it’s gone…”. Said so many times, and probably experienced many more times but still it rings true. I realised the sheer importance of it when waking up for Tahajjud and Fajr (morning) prayers in the bitter cold without any hot water to wash with or heating to warm up the house with. I realised it’s importance when running late for university and jumped into the shower for a quick one only to be drenched in ice cold water. I realised the importance of it when sitting down stairs studying with frozen feet and fingers because of the cold. The water was so cold it left a burning sensation on contact with skin.

“It’s so annoying,” said  my brother one morning. “Why does this stupid thing keep messing up! I don’t wanna go to school today.”

“Think about all the people who live in icy conditions without hot water, or central heating. They only have one pan, in which to cook and in which they heat up water for a bath. Be grateful,” replied my dad.

The whole thing gave a few members of the household a really bad cold but it got me thinking. We use so many things each and every day. Many of these things we use without any thought as to their value in our lives, because they don’t seem valuable. Forget the small things, many of us are caught up in our traps that we aren’t even grateful for the big things that glare us in the face.

Say thank you to whoever you believe in, for once some of these things are gone, they may never come back. Thank God the boiler is now fixed. But more importantly thank God it was only the boiler and nothing more that messed up.

PS
This was written in a hurry so please excuse the grammar and or other mistakes.

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Title: Autumn Days – Estelle White

We were sitting and talking, waiting for afternoon lectures to start. The Indian girls I was with were on a roll; after bitching for about half an hour they moved onto Bollywood and began re-enacting their favourite scenes. I don’t actually know why I was there because I dislike bitching and don’t watch Bollywood. I guess I was literally killing time in the most painful way possible.

The subject of the conversation turned to one particular (absent) individual and I learnt many eye opening facts about their life story. In all that time I had been yawning profusely and making funny faces at people passing by our table at the canteen so the girls looked at me, expecting some input into the discussion at hand:

It’s amazing isn’t it? People form ideas and assumptions about others really very quickly but when you actually hear their story, you have nothing to say but “oh” and wish you could take it all back.

Our eyes see only that which they are capable of seeing or that which we want them to see. That’s also why people wear lenses and glasses. It’s not the thing being looked at that is changing, but the ability of one to see that particular thing. If you stand two individuals; one with perfect vision and another who is short-sighted together at a distance of 15 metres from a sign, they’ll see different things. The sign is the the same but the images perceived are different.

It’s the same with people. What we see of others is nothing but skin and clothes, all superficial. And when seen through our eyes, they’re even more distorted.

*****

In other news, I am extremely sorry for having not posted in over a month. Though I may not have commented on your blog posts, I have regularly been visiting and read them every morning on my phone while on the train to university. The wonders of technology aye.

Lastly, you may recall my previous post was about a series of guest posts that I would like to do in the next month or so regarding the issues women face in today’s society. I have already received some excellent, though provoking and well written articles from a number of you but there are still some slots available if you wish to join the discussion as a few people have dropped out due to one reason or another. So if you wish to get involved, just let me know.

I hope and pray you are all having an excellent weekend!

Stay smiling.

This post is dedicated to Cяystal

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Title: I need a dollar – Aloe Blacc
YouTube video: I saw on Asma Khan’s blog and as it was really pertinent to the post, decided to include it.

Everyone is created equal. Everyone is equal. Or so it’s said. A few weeks ago I came across the fact that the rates of attempted suicide are twice as high in women than in men. It got me thinking so I spoke to a friend of mine and we discussed what the reasons could be. Society, inequality, misunderstandings, misinformation, culture and men were some of the reasons we came up with. What happened to the equality?

Seeing as the vast majority of my readers are women, I decided to do a series of guest posts on this particular issue. Topics include, society coercing women into particular clothes and fashion, forced marriage, domestic violence, female circumcision, working mothers and many more. Hopefully these will be posted either in December or at the beginning of the next year.

If you would like to like to take part in the discussion and wish to voice your opinion about a particular topic through a post, you are more than welcome to do so. I have a few slots still available for posting. Just send me an email (nasdotcom@gmail.com) or contact me on twitter (@nasdotcom) and we can discuss it there.

I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

[This is a scheduled post]

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Title: Keep ya head up – 2Pac
Photo of crying lady taken from here

I read a book not too long ago and a particular scene regarding things really caught my attention and got me thinking.

“Almost everyone to whom I introduced Jennifer remarked on how self-possessed she appeared for one who had experienced so much tragedy. Indeed, she did have a remarkably assured manner, and in particular a capacity to make light of setbacks which might have brought other girls her age to tears. A good example of this was her reaction concerning her trunk.”

The girl Jennifer is a young orphaned teenager who is adopted by Christopher, the I of the story. She had been waiting a very long time for her trunk containing her valuable possessions to be delivered to the UK from Canada. Christopher received a letter informing him that the trunk had been lost at sea. On informing her, she just laughed it off.

When after two or three days she had still shown no sign of distress over her loss, I felt inclined to talk with her, and one morning after breakfast, spotting her wandering about in the garden, went out to join her.

…When I stepped down on to the lawn, Jennifer was drifting about the garden with a toy horse in her hand, dreamily walking it along the tops of the hedges and bushes. I remember being rather concerned the toy might be harmed by the dew and was on the verge of pointing this out to her. But in the end, as I came up, I said simply:

“That was rotten luck about your things. You’ve taken it awfully well, but it must have been a terrible shock.”

… “It’s all right. I’m not upset. After all, they were just things. When you’ve lost your mother and your father, you can’t care so much about things, can you?” With that, she gave her little laugh.

… “You know, Jenny, I’m not sure that’s true. You might say a thing like that to a lot of people and they’d believe you. But you see, I know it’s not true. When I came from Shanghai, the things that came in my trunk, those things, they were important to me… What I’m trying to say is that for me, my trunk was special. If it got lost, I’d have been upset.”

She shrugged and put her horse up to her cheek. “I was upset. But I’m not any more. You have to look forward in life.”

Today we live in a very materialistic society. A survey of parents reported in the BBC showed that one-third of under-10s possess their own mobile phone¹. The Guardian describes it ‘a materialistic trap’². Parents are forced to work longer hours to provide money to fulfil these materialistic desires and thus spend less time with their children. The media plays a significant role in this brain washing of children making them feel they have to own a particular thing or gadget to look cool or to improve. When I was 10, I was too busy playing watching Power Rangers and re-enacting it out with my friends in the park. In this materialistic mind-trap, many people forget the value of the things that matter in life. Things can easily be replaced. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but the day after, or the day after that.

I was discussing this with my friend the General and he said, “Yes it’s true. People give preference to materialistic things. But I think sometimes some things are worth cherishing. When a person is no longer with you, sometimes all you have to remember that person is the things they left behind.”

I have a many such things, which my mum calls junk, but they hold such sentimental value I wouldn’t get rid of them for the world. Because they remind me of what once was, but could no longer be.

Do you have any such things?

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Title: Good Riddance – Green Day
All quotes are taken from the book “When we were orphans” By Kazuo Ishiguro
¹Third of under-tens own mobiles – BBC
²UK children stuck in ‘materialistic trap’ – The Guardian

Some of you may remember Mr Bristol from one of my previous posts. Here’s another assembly of his that I’d like to share with you. It was a story this time and I’ll try and tell it as well as I can remember:

***

He was a staunch believer in God and had been so for many years. Having enjoyed a rather well to do life, with little problems there was never a time when his faith was tested, that is until the flood hit. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. The tops of some buildings could be seen sticking out of the water gasping for air but others had been completely drowned. It had become submerged under water like the lost city of Atlantis, except it wasn’t quite lost yet. Those that lived in big houses or were able to access high buildings waited on rooftops for the rescue services. He was standing at the top of his house with many other people, men and women, boys and girls and waited. A raft came by. They asked him to get on but he refused, “My God will save me.” He continued to pray for his Lord to rescue him. A little while later a small boat came to them and those people that were unable to get onto the raft left the rooftop via the boat. Once again he was asked to join them but once again he replied, “My God will save me.” When the boat left, he started praying again. After some time had elapsed a helicopter came by. It had been scanning the area looking for any remaining survivors. The helicopter sent down a ladder and the pilot spoke, “We are running out of fuel and this will be our last trip so count this your lucky day.” But the man was waiting for his God to save him and refused to climb up into the helicopter. After waiting for some time and after pleading with the man to take the chance he had, the helicopter flew away back to safety. Again, the man began to pray and it continued to rain heavily. The God he was waiting for didn’t come down from the heavens and save him. The real God tried to help him 3 times, but he never realised and did not accept that help.

***

People say we should only ask God for help. After all he is the Protector, the Sustainer, the Provider and the one who created us. I disagree with that. Yes we should pray for God to help us, but like the man in the flood, we shouldn’t expect Him to come down from the heavens and hand us a tenner to pay for the shoes we want to buy, or whisper in our ears when we need help with a question in an exam, or give us a shoulder on which to cry. He sends His angels, makes things happen, or puts an idea in the mind of another person who in turn becomes your angel.

Living in a materialistic world, people tend to give great precedence to clothes that can be replaced when ripped, to laptops that can be replaced when they break down or to cars that can be replaced when they stop working. One thing that we fail to remember the importance of is the people. The family that God chose for us and the family we chose for ourselves, our friends. Once they’re gone, they won’t be coming back. They are our angels that God specially gave to us with the duty to make us laugh when we are down, to steal chips off when we are hungry, to give us a shoulder on which to cry our sorrows and to hold our hand when we are lost.

You can have all the money in the world, but the richness of love, of friendship and of family is more valuable than all that. The value of angels cannot be estimated with pieces of paper and metal.

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Title: I have a dream – West Life

Dear Readers,

A very warm Eid Mubarak to you all and your loved ones. May this day (whether you celebrated yesterday or are celebrating today) be full of laughter, happiness, joy and fun for you, you, you and everyone.

Having just passed through the blessed month of Ramadhan, during which we intensified our prayers and sacrifices, do not forget those less fortunate than ourselves and have not the means to celebrate Eid today. Remember them in your prayers and your actions. May Allah teach us the ways of worshiping Him in a manner that earns His rewards and may He enable us to continue the good deeds we did this month for the days yet to come.

With lots of love, jalebis and best wishes,

Nas <3 x

*****

This is a true story

A man stopped a person, and asked him to direct his gaze to the heavens. “Look,” he said pointing. “Can you see the cluster of stars there?” The man stared intently and replied, “Yes I see it.” He stopped many other people and asked them the same question. A lot of them gave the same answer as the first man. Truth of the matter was, there was no cluster of stars, but sometimes we believe things are there because they are meant to be or because he said so. Ever wondered why Eid is celebrated on so many different days here in the UK? Well this is it, without going into the depth of the matter. Now take a look at this and tell me, anyone celebrating on Thursday?

[This is a scheduled post]

Whenever I am out an about on my own I don’t usually listen to music. Instead I spend my time invoking Durood Shareef, reciting verses of the Qur’an I have been learning and also any prayers prayers that I know. Last year, I was sitting on the tram minding my own business when a girl came and sat in front of me.

“Salaam,” she said. “I just caught a few words of what you were saying. I just heard Muhammad and Ibrahim.”

“Walaikum Salaam. Yeah, I was reciting Durood Shareef,” I replied smiling at her thick American accent.

“Oh what’s that, could you teach it to me? You see I took my Shahadah a few days ago, and am still new to to the whole thing,” she explained.

“Masha’Allah, that’s excellent. I’m happy for you. Okay repeat after me, and I’ll tell you the translation as well afterwards,” I said.

*****

Every Friday we would wish each other Jummu’ah mubarak and catch up on the week via email. As always, I emailed her one Friday morning but didn’t receive a reply. I waited. The next Friday came and went. She’s probably busy, it is summer after all. A few weeks went by and I emailed her again. Nothing. A month went by and still no reply from her. I tried calling her but her number was disconnected. 2 months later, last weekend I received a text from one of her friends:

“She was involved in a car crash and died in hospital,” was all it said.

إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ - To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return.

*****

I have written about death before, after Charley passed away. So I guess I don’t have much more to say. Oh I miss you all. . I guess it’s life.

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Title: Another one bites the dust - Queen

Click here to download my 1 year message.

Here’s a recap on the year. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the reading ride:

~|[ AUGUST 2010 ]|~

August is described as a month of change, a month in which shedding takes place in preparation of new beginnings. It was in this month that I wrote my first ever blog post, giving a brief overview of the story of Pandora and her box as well as justifying my joining of the blogging world. I told you about the life lessons I learnt from my first ever driving lesson about trust and being able to give what you expect in return. My last post of the month was revolved around the quote ‘Instead of loving your enemies, treat your friends a little better,’ and we discussed the giving of gifts.

~|[ September 2010 ]|~

It was in September that I posted my reflections on the passing away of a dear friend in a document titled ‘For your Story’. A few days later it was Eid and I shared a short poem with you. Seeing my brother run out half naked from the toilet inspired my next post and you told me about your fears. Having gotten over fear of spiders and heights, I told you my thoughts about the dark side of love in which one is totally blinded and thus oblivious to the pain they are being put through. With the beginning of schools, colleges and universities I shared with you a poem a friend sent to me and we talked about the importance of time. The next and last post of the month was another spider related story but this time it was about how a spider helped me get an A* in my biology GCSE and in the process reaffirm my faith in God.

~|[ October 2010 ]|~

The month of October began with the sharing of the butterfly of happiness. Then I asked whether you thought too much and gave you a small activity which helped you decide. In the subsequent post we discussed the difficulties of saying sorry and the potential benefits of it. Having been attending the volunteer training at the hospice I shared with you some of the things I learnt about honesty, hope, communication and understanding. Continuing with the same theme the next post dealt with the positive aspects of love, not of the romantic kind but that which is derived from being human and mutual understanding.

~|[ November 2010 ]|~

‘I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky,’ was the title of the initial post of the penultimate month of the year  about dreaming. Next I told you my mother’s advice about tomorrow and shared a poem about the topic topic. This was followed by three short posts about Remembrance Day, Eid and a comical clip with an important message. A few days later I presented my thoughts on hate concentrating in particular on terrorism after listening to a discussion on radio [Part 2]. To end the month, I showed you a picture my friend sent to me and also a song about climbing the mountains of life.

~|[ December 2010 ]|~

Continuing my theme of hate [Part 2], I shared my thoughts on the hate preaching nature of some Islamic schools in Britain. You then told me examples of stupid things you had heard or seen in our next discussion. This was followed by the 3^rd and final post on the hate series and contained a beautiful interview with a niqabi lady. Happiness seen at the bottom of a microscope was then spread among my readers. Coping with grief and birthdays were on the agenda of two great friends, one deceased and one still beautifully young. Death was also mentioned in the subsequent post and I shared an extract from an excellent book. To end the year I shared with you a few facts about myself and the happiness from an award I received.

~|[ January 2011 ]|~

Beginning the new year in traditional fashion I told you my resolutions for the year. The 6th marked one 1 year since the passing away of a dear friend and apart from a poem, I told you how my feelings had changed. On a much lighter note we then watched a good scene from a not so good film about dreamers. My little sister provided me with chocolate love and I forwarded you some. Next we stared at the heavens and took delight from the beauty of the stars. This was followed by a recollection of a mundane and somewhat eventful day at university. On the topic of university we discussed positive mental attitude in relation to complimentary medicines. I then showed you the front cover of my set of reflections that a friend made for me and you told me you’d like me to impart my medical knowledge. But before I did that I gave you a brief summary of a Khutbah (Friday Sermon) and explained why you were beautiful.

~|[ February 2011 ]|~

You started the month by telling me some of the things you believed in but were unable to prove. I then told you about the bank account we have which is topped up with more than £80,000 each night. After this I told you the importance of darkness and how it helps to see the light by showing you a picture. Soon after that we celebrated my birthday together and then I shared with you a leaflet I made on the link between Vitamins and Alzheimer’s. Continuing with the medical theme information about the cardiovascular system was shared. This was followed by an inspirational song video I found on  friend’s blog and thought I’d share it with you guys. The uprisings in the Middle East then began to dominate the news. I made you laugh by sharing with you some conversations with some friends and wished you all a happy weekend.

~|[ March 2011 ]|~

You finally got to see what I looked like and this made way to even more pictures from our family trip to Brugge. Next I shared with you something from my high school folder. I put forward to you another few inspirational extracts from a book which taught the value of living. Having quickly forgotten that, I showed you how I wasted time in my lectures. We then discussed the issue of anti-Semitism in parts of the Muslim community. With continuing unrest in the world, I wrote my first poem in 3 years and we prayed together for those in need. The month ended with us discussing an interview I posted with Britain’s most feminist Muslim.

~|[ April 2011 ]|~

April was mainly a month of awards. I received the inspiration award, stylish blogger award and the seriously rad blog award. In between all that I shared with you a conversation I had with a work colleague about the pornography industry.

~|[ May 2011 ]|~

The month of May was quiet due to exams, and when they finished I shared with you some thoughts and photos I made while gardening. Next you told me what you thought of my fictional writing when I shared a piece about an unknown individual. Finally, I requested your prayers for my father going into surgery.

~|[ June 2011 ]|~

The General kicked off the month with a guest post about none other than myself.This was then followed by an exclusive interview in which you were able to learn about me. Another guest post was next, by Max, who shared the beautifully inspiring story of the emperor moth. I then told you about a primary school teacher that ate dog food. The month then ended with a discussion about choices.

~|[ July 2011 ]|~

July was a very quiet month, with my writer’s block in full swing. I shared with you my High School Motto and we discussed perseverance.

~|[ August 2011 ]|~

I shared with you a speech I gave at the mosque. This was followed with even more awards. Most recently, I posted a few photos from my local area of the rioting that took place here in London and the rest of the UK.

*****

[This is a scheduled post]

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Title: Welcome to wherever you are – Bon Jovi.

Riots and looting started in London on Saturday and have spread all over the country. They were here too, and shops were looted and burned and people made homeless. Here are a few pictures from my town:

A family furniture store that has withstood both world wars up in flames:

And in the morning:

The ashes of a bus:

This was just at the end of our road:

This is what it looked like in the morning:

And from where the water is being poured. Those are flats on top of the shops:

The remnants of an Asian clothes store:

The ironic sticker left on a completely empty gold shop:

How they got into another gold shop:

I saw a toddler wearing a motorbike helmet, walking beside his mother carrying a packet of pampers nappies which they had looted from Sommerfield.

I heard an Asian man with his arms full of toilet rolls say, “Yaar, if only I had a car.”

I saw a woman steal someone’s wheelie bin, which she filled up with alcohol from the Sommerfield storage area and Tesco and wheel it home.

I heard of a woman wearing Superdrug uniform looting Superdrug.

I heard the cries of a lady whose house was on fire.

I saw an injured pregnant lady ask for refuge at our mosque and we fed her the food prepared for iftaar and gave her drink until the ambulance came.

I saw armoured vehicles containing riot police from Cambridgeshire, Devon and Cornwall and Wales the day after. But by then it was all over.

*****

Please remember all those around England who have been made victims of such selfish, stupid and sickening actions. People have lost business’s, their homes, their loved ones and in some cases their lives. May this violence end soon, and may peace return to the streets of this country.

Please also remember the suffering of those around the world who due to war, famine, natural disasters and or disease are also undergoing difficult times.

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Title: Nursery rhyme.
Photos that are not my own were taken from here and here.

I have always been a last minute person. Actually that’s a lie. There was once a time when I used to be extremely efficient, getting things done waaaaaaay before time. But now I’ve realised when it comes to even the most important of things, I leave them till the night before or do them on the day they were due. Essays are one prime example of this. Last year, I can’t recall the number of times I rang or texted the General, telling him how I was having a panic attack because I still had to write 1,500 words of an essay and was going at a rate of 80 words an hour. That’s just a little more than a word a minute. The same happened with my dissertation. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is…yeah you get the picture. This post will not be too long (I always say that and end up writing loads) as I plan to just pass on a few awards I have recently received. Without more beating around the bush, and before I forget due to my laziness, let’s get down to business.

I love This Blog:

This award was given to me by the most lovely Vice Versa (@Cryptic Crap). Ulti Pulti (as I shall call her, with her permission that I still need to get), is relatively new to blogging having only started in April while she should been busy revising for her A-Levels. Her blog is excellent and I very much enjoy reading whatever her fingers type. Apart from the awesome text, her ability to use paint to create stunning (and hilarious) pictures always amazes me. So much so, that you may soon be seeing some of her artwork on my blog. In the mean time, I would highly recommend you visit her blog and see for yourself.

I wish to thank you Ulti Pulti for bestowing this award upon me, for which I am very much honoured!

This is a very difficult award to give, seeing as I only follow blogs that I thoroughly love and enjoy reading. I shall therefore make sure to give this to those people I have not awarded before:

• Reverieriver’s (@Reverie River) blog is excellent. It is like a chest full of treasure in which you know you will always find something of great value; the glittering golden currency of knowledge, rich rubies saturated with thought that get your grey matter going and other pearls and sapphires and emeralds that keep you captivated for a long time. There are very few people out there who when they go to the sacred house for Umrah, remember strangers in their prayers. She is one of those few and I think that speaks volumes about her great personality.
• Welcome to Random Town by lil-bee is a blog that I have recently started following. Her verbal “diarrhoea” is always amusing to read, thought provoking at times and straight to the point. Though she has been blogging since the day she was born, reminding me of Stewie from Family Guy, her ability to write good posts has not declined (maybe because the average length of her posts is about 6 lines). Being Bengali, she reminds me of the General who is awesome thus I make the assumption she is too.
• I don’t think I have ever awarded normal.is.overrated. (AKA Dr R Neo) who is owner of the blog Conceal your thoughts. Contrary to the name of the blog, her posts saturated with her views, questions and comments, all of which are really worthwhile reading, thought provoking and extremely well written. Witty, wicked and worthwhile are just three words I would use to describe her blog. We were recently given a sneak preview of her creativity with words and I can honestly say the manner in which she is able to command words and captivate readers is startling. I think hers is one of the blogs in which you are bound to find a post or topic that will make you nod your head in agreement or smile in amusement. Don’t believe me? Go check it out for yourselves!

Influential blogger:

I have never believed myself to be a good writer and so was genuinely amazed when I discovered Hamza (@Teenage Mutiny) had awarded me with the Influential Blogger award. It is truly speechlessnessising to know that one person at least thinks that. Hamza’s blog is always excellent to read, dolloped with humour, clever and punctuated with more puns than a errrm *insert appropriate word here*. I’d like to offer him my heartfelt thanks for giving me this award, and I hope and pray that my blog can continue to influence, if not people, at least one person.

While thinking of who I should pass this award onto, the first name that came in my head was Leah’s (@Leah’s Treasures). Why you ask? While thinking of the why, I realised one of the main reasons I thoroughly enjoy reading this blog is because of the person that writes it. A truly lovely person whose good nature is infectious. I don’t think I could say a single negative thing about her even if I tried lying. Her blog is just as amazing as she is. The quality of her posts is second to none, each one giving the reader food for thought, giving the reader something to relate to, and each one is just so human. The beauty of this blog lies in its simplicity. Coupled with the fact that at the time of her 1st blogiversary, last Thursday, she had in excess of 400 followers which speaks volumes as to why she is a worthy recipient of this award.

I hope and pray that you all have an excellent, productive and enjoyable week ahead. Stay amazing, stay smiling.

PS
This post was written in a bit of a hurry so please excuse any grammatical and or others errors that make your eyebrows hit your hairline.

________________________________

Title: I thank you – Sam and Dave

A few weeks ago I was at a youth meeting at the mosque and the person who was meant to give a talk was unable to attend. Thus, literally at the last minute, I was asked to say a few words on defending the honour of the Holy Qur’an. With about 5 minutes of preparation, here is what I had to say:

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, ever Merciful.

It was not too long ago that an unknown pastor of a small Church in the US gained worldwide fame overnight after organising Qur’an burning day. It makes little sense to judge a people by the amount of freedom they have as that is usually out of their control. But instead it is more logical to base the judgements on how people use that freedom once reigns are cut. The actions of Pastor Jones were an example of abusing of that freedom by disturbing the peace of society and intentionally causing hurt to many people. Freedom and responsibility are directly proportional to one another and as one increases then so does the other. Freedom and responsibility is a topic of its own and I shall delve into it no more.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Holy Qur’an:

Verily, we have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely we will be its Guardian [15:9]

Previous verses contain the mocking demands of the disbelievers that if the Qur’an is really a divine book sent down by God, then it should have descended under the protection of angels. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala emphatically answers their ridicule that He Himself will protect it from any corruption and or change. When the Qur’an was being revealed, it was committed to writing as soon as possible. At the same time, it was committed to memory by countless individuals and this practice has increased to such an extent that today there are many hundreds of thousands of Muslims who have memorised it from beginning to end and are able to recite it when so ever required. The recitation of the Holy Qur’an during the Salah was made an obligation and thus helped in the memorisation of the sacred verses.

There are many miracles of the Qur’an. One being the sea of knowledge and wisdom it contains. The immeasurable depth is full of riches, solid facts heavy in philosophy. In an age where there are some people or groups of people who wish to spread the fire of hatred, and cause division among communities by spreading adultered truths about others. There are many ways of combating this, but as believers, the first and foremost should be that we try to extinguish these fires with the tears of our prayers. If fires are to be lit, then they shouldn’t be those of anger; burning flags, and tyres and embassies. For these fires are temporary and last no longer than a few minutes. What good is that when the fires of the mischief makers continues to burn? Instead we should light the fire of the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in our hearts, and the love of His prophets, and the love of truth, and the love of justice. True love can move mountains. I’d like to finish this short talk by telling you the story of someone I recently met, who converted to Islam. He told me that for most of his life he didn’t really care much for religion and believed it to be the root cause of many of the problems of the world. God he believed was a figment of man’s own creation. Karl Marx’s famous quote "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" summed up his attitudes to religion. I asked him then, what was it that changed your mind? “My neighbour. I hurled abuse at him in my drunken state, and he would give me the greetings of peace. I would keep his family awake at night and he would be awake praying for me.” This went on for a few years and something caused him to ask his neighbour why he put up with the problems and didn’t just phone the police. “I believe in Allah and the last day,” the neighbour replied. “The rights of the neighbour are given such importance in Islam that I didn’t want to barter my faith for a little peace.” The man was so impressed, he began to study about Islam and today Islam has become his opium. The conviction of his faith is astounding masha’Allah.

There’s a simple message to this story. Practice what you preach. The Qur’an says:

“O children of Adam! We have indeed sent down to you raiment to cover your shame, and to be an elegant dress; but the raiment of righteousness — that is the best. That is one of the Signs of Allah, that they may remember.” [7:26].

Let us cover ourselves in the teachings of the Qur’an for that is the best we can do. Just like the neighbour, if we too wear the perfume of the Qur’an, then it will not go unnoticed. After all, we don’t have to shout if we’re wearing an expensive perfume. Its scent travels far and wide, and people themselves will ask you about it.

The fear of failure is something that haunts many people. It leaves some people so traumatised that they don't even try. "What's the point? If I'm going to fail in the end, why should I even bother?". There have been many times in our lives that we have failed; a lot of which we seldom remember. The first ever steps we took, were after many times of landing on our backsides. The first ever bike we managed to ride without the stabilisers, was after many times of losing balance and ending up on the floor. The first ever time we managed to float and swim, was after drinking many litres of water while drowning. The first time we hit a home run, or a six, or the goal, was after swinging and missing many times. But we kept going, and today we can not only walk, but run and dance and skip.

While cleaning up some of my stuff that I still have from high school, I came across my school diary. On the deep blue front page, underneath the golden logo it had the words "Vincit qui patitur" written in the same colour. He who perseveres conquerors. Life is full of many decisions, many choices, that we consciously make regarding whether we should invest in something and pursue a particular goal. There are times when obstacles are laid in our paths and we are hindered in our progress. Sometimes it's people who leave us with so many problems and headaches that we begin to question our own abilities. You may be used and you you may be abused by others. Keep your head up high, and keep moving on. Giving up doesn't help anyone, especially as we will be held responsible for our successes and only we will be blamed for our failures. If we never try, we will never know whether we can or can't do something. When faced with a difficult task, rather than wishing it were easier we should wish we were better and strive to be so. "Failure is an event not a person," Zig Ziglar. It's okay to fall, but it's stupid once having fallen a person does not realise why they fell and continues to fall repeatedly, again and again.

I remember posting a PowerPoint presentation earlier which my dad once sent to me. It was full of quotes and examples of many individuals who continued to persevere against all odds and whose names we remember today. "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all," Dale Carnegie.

Be not afraid of failing and worry not about it. Instead, worry about the countless chances we let slip through our fingers when we do not even bother trying.

In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, "Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." (29 October 1941)

Persevere, and you can conquer it all. May you all taste the sweet syrup of success.

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Title: Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics

Giaus	I have no choice. I’m sorry Gwen.
Gwen	In life you always have a choice. Sometimes it’s easier to think you don’t.
Giaus	Well then, my choice is to leave.

We make choices every day of our lives, every hour of our days, every minute of our hours and every second of our minutes. Our lives are replete with decisions and many of these choices we make consciously, spending minutes, hours, days, weeks and even months on them. Others are made in a split second, things we say in conversations, things said when high on the drug of happiness or low due to a lack of it.
There are some instances when due to circumstances we choose not to choose. But is it not paradoxical that when a person has a decision to make and does not make it, that in itself is a choice? And why do we do that? In such situations where we feel we have no choice and thus are indirectly forced to do something, we do it to protect ourselves or those really close to us. In doing so we may trample on others, the truth and much more to make sure we are safe. Blinded by our fear and that of the consequences we make ourselves believe what we are doing to be right. But is it ever right?
One way of defining a person is by their choices. People are commonly described as being reckless, driven by passion, logical (and the opposite), sharp-mined in regards to the choices they make. A person can be sweet to the core, full of goodness for others, mentally strong etcetera and yes those things do matter, but unless those internal qualities are expressed externally, no-one will be able to appreciate them or experience them. Never a judge a person on what he can or can’t do, but by what he does or doesn’t do. We all have ability, maybe not the same but ability nonetheless and some people choose to use that ability whereas others choose not to. Humans have been given free will, thus each and every day we can choose to bring light to the lives of others or take it away from them. We choose whether our actions do good or evil. It is that which raises you in the eyes of others, or condemns you to the scum of society.
Our choices shape our lives and subsequently our ourselves. This process only ends with our last breath. We are free to make choices, but we are not free to decide the consequences of our actions which may reverberate for many many years to come. Our choices are ultimately our own responsibility. Many of us have seen how sometimes we make detailed plans for our lives but our choices burn them to ashes. After all life is nothing but the sum of our choices; some good and some bad. A person learns to make good decisions after having experienced the consequences of bad ones previously made. Though none of us have the ability to see into the future, we have been given understanding which is especially important when making decisions. Until we take responsibility and accountability for our actions, we will never make worthwhile choices. ”We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them,” (Khalil Gibran).
All animals choose. It is our ability to consciously think and understand before we decide something that makes us different from animals and other organisms. But choosing to be a good human is one of the hardest choices to make. A wise person once said, “You (always) have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. To be or not to be.”
What do you choose?
Title: Anyway – Martina McBride

A few days ago my dad brought home a lot of cherries. He shouldn’t have bought a lot because it turns out that only mum and I eat them. Though I passed a cursory glance over each of them before sticking them into my mouth, I realised that what we see can be deceiving.

It looked succulent, a deep purpley red colour and so I gave it a pass in my short quality check test. Just as I popped it into my mouth and bit into it, squishing juice everywhere, I realised I had made a mistake. It tasted horrendous, as if someone had injected mud into the centre (Yes I know what mud tastes like. I had a fun childhood). I was speaking to Rosaline about it, and she said something that dragged me down memory lane. Rewind to..

Primary School Assembly, Year 3

I always enjoyed assemblies in which a class gave a presentation or a teacher did something interesting. I remember once Mr Bristol was going to be taking the assembly. After the announcements were read out and the general business dealt with, he walked onto stage and began talking.

“I know it is against the rules to eat in assembly, but the head teacher here has said I can. Just this once.”

We were all curious. I sat there stuffing my face with polos.

The head teacher walked over to him, a tin and fork in hand. She opened the tin, stuck the fork inside and fed whatever it was to Mr Bristol. Those children who were sitting at the front, and so had a better view, let out noises of disgust. “Ewwwww!”

“What is he doing?”

“That’s so disgusting!”

“She’s feeding him dog food!”

“I’m going to be sick, how can he eat that stuff?”

As news spread to the back of the hall, the disgust and a fair share of disbelief got louder and louder and louder. The head teacher continued feeding the other teacher. As the contents of the tin were about to finish, he began talking again.

“If any of you would also like to eat some, please come to the front.” He was replied by silence. Not a single child spoke. He pointed to a girl sitting at the front. “Do you think what I was eating is nice?”

“No! I would never eat it,” the girl replied.

He pointed at a boy, “Would you ever eat it?”

The boy replied as the girl had done, “No. I’d not even touch dog food!”

The teacher smiled. “Many of you think that the tin I was eating from contained dog food in it. It didn’t.” He proceeded to remove the label off the tin and revealed another label below that showed it was actually pineapple. Everyone gasped. We had been fooled completely. It wasn’t even April yet. “The lesson I want you all to take away from today’s assembly is that we should never judge anything or anyone on what it or they look like.”

*****

Each and everyone of us portrays a certain image. We all hide behind masks so that others don’t take advantage of us, or know what really goes on beneath our skins. It is usually a protective measure. Only very few people see us with our masks off and barriers down, but even then some of them may not see our naked skin. We are quick to judge. A person that doesn’t conform to the norms, or doesn’t look good is left out, marginalised and the last one to be picked. But the surface is never really real as we only see that which our eyes are capable of seeing. People cover themselves up with make-up to hide the cracks, others distract attention from their sorrow-filled eyes by their beautiful smiles and some people walk tall even when they are broken.

I’d like to end this post with another incident from the past. Back in high school, year 10, the first year of GCSEs a guy dramatically changed. I wasn’t really friends with him at the time, but he was in my maths class and so we occasionally spoke. He was known as being a social, easy to get-along-with type of person, but as time went on he became less and less so. His friends started falling out with him because he no longer took part in their past-times and no longer shared their interests. At lunch times he would sit in the school library immersed in a book or would walk aimlessly around the school building lost in his own mind. “Neek” they called him, “they’re just stupid exams and still 2 years  away. Why is he being like this?” He became quieter and quieter and quieter. No-one knew why, and so people used it as an excuse to spread rumours and taunt him. He wouldn’t reply. One day we discovered his mother had been involved in a serious car accident and was in intensive care. The penny had finally dropped. “Oh s**t, I didn’t know.” A bit late for saying sorry don’t you think?

Unless you’ve crawled inside the other person’s skin, taken a look around, seen the world from their eyes and have some sort of idea about them, the real them and not the mask they wear, be careful of what you say or do. You will never know. Just like they don’t know about you.

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Title: You’re a better man than I – The Yardbirds
Picture of cherries Dee taken from here
Picture of pineapple taken from here
Picture regarding masks was one sent to me by a friend. I do not have a link for it.

As my drought for words continues, I asked another of my lovely friends to write something for me. This time it was Max. After reading what she had written I’ve decided the ‘write whatever you want policy’ is not going to work. You’ve probably heard a lot about me in the last few posts and will hear more in the next part of the interview. So next time, there will be no writing about me. Anyway, without further ado, let me share with you Max’s piece:

*****

Dee Dee (My name for Nas) asked me to write a blog post about anything I wanted. I’m not much of a writer; I find it hard enough to write essays. The only “writing” that I probably do is texting (LOL) and rambling in my diary. But anyway, I said I would do it for him so here I go.

Firstly, I want to tell you why I call Nas ‘Dee De’. It all started when we met, about 5 years ago (crikey) through the world of MySpace. His screen name on msn was ‘Red Devil’, so I began calling him ‘Devil’ for ages. That is until I got really lazy of saying and typing Devil so it got cut down to a single letter, ‘D’. One day we were talking about Dexter the cartoon, and I wanted to name Nas after ‘Dee Dee’- Dexter’s sister! =P. And thus Nas came to be known as Dee Dee.

When Dee Dee said that I could write about ANYTHING, only one thing came into mind; the time when he helped me through the hardest part of my life. In my darkest hour, he was the only one I could turn to. Even though he was in the opposite side of the country, every word he said made such a big difference. I was ready to give up, give up on life, give up on the future that I now have and give up on everything for the sake of others. But Dee Dee showed me that I would never be happy and in turn the happiness of others would fade fast too. I was so low that the only solution I could think of was to disappear. Literally, disappear from this world. But he made me realise that would be selfish and made me think about the ones most dear to me, like my little brother and sister, my best friends but most importantly, ME. He made me love life again, find my happiness and gave me strength to stand up for myself. He pushed me to strive and pursue my future goals. He reminded me of who I should be, not who I could be if I gave up.

I owe Dee Dee my life. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today. Even though we are yet to meet in person, it does not make a difference to how true the friendship is. He is one of the few people who I would call a true, real, honest and genuine best friend. There have been ups and downs, but without the downs, it wouldn’t be real or honest. Having problems only helps to make you stronger as a person and gives a chance for you to learn and strive; just how Dee Dee once said to me.

If you are one of the few who have met and or know Dee Dee, you are as lucky as I am. He is one to love, cherish and keep close to your hearts.

I would like to finish by sharing a story with you that I read a few years ago, which has become tattooed onto my mind. I hope those of you that read it are able to learn something from it and also enjoy it:

The Emperor Moth & the Struggle

The emperor moth is the most majestic species among all the moths. It has wide wings spanning out majestically when it flies. Before it can become a full grown moth, it has to be a pupa in a cocoon. Now, the interesting fact about the moth’s cocoon is that the neck of the cocoon is very narrow. In order that that it becomes a moth, the pupa of the moth must squeeze its way out of the narrow neck.

One day a man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. He sat and watched the moth struggling to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. It just seemed to be stuck.

Then the man, in his perceived kindness decided to help the moth. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth was then able to emerge easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings. He expected that the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings. It was never able to fly. A few days later, it died.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it could be ready for flight, once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the emperor moth of health.

You see, the struggles of life, heartaches and pains are necessary if you want to be great. Instead of cursing them, understand them while you are experiencing them. They are part of the making of a man / woman.

*****

I’d like to thank Max for the extremely kind words, but more importantly for sharing such a beautiful and inspiring story from which we can all benefit. There are times when we all feel like the emperor moth, helpless, unable to breathe  and trapped with no way out, but with perseverance, struggle, and continued effort we can break free from our bondages and learn to fly. The last paragraph of the story sums it up rather nicely.

[This is a scheduled post]

________________________________

Title: Hey there Delilah – Plain White T’s
Picture of Dexter and Dee Dee taken from here
Story of the Emperor Moth taken from here

[The Interview - Part 1]

General	Hello everyone, this is the realities forgotten blog…
Me	The blog is called Closing Pandora’s Box you twillop.
General	Haha okay, my bad. I am the guest interviewer, the General. Today I shall be asking Nas some questions to discover who he really is. So Nas, why are you called the Red Devil, as illustrated by your msn screen name?
Me	Okay. Well. When I was young, pre 14 years old, I used to be a menace. A bit like Dennis the menace but the Asian version. ‘Sharaarti’ was my middle name. I would play pranks on people, my attitude was carefree, and thus people would call me ‘shaytaan’, a devil. I remember once when I was 11 I stuck a spider in my teacher’s coffee because she was picking on me. Classic moment! Red was my favourite colour and hence I became known as the red devil.
General	What does ‘sharaarti’ mean for our non Urdu speakers?
Me	Ummm.. mischievous I think?
General	Would you describe yourself as being a menace to society still?
Me	Nah, I think I’m past those days.
General	Okay so how would you describe yourself now?
Me	I don’t even know.
General	Everyone knows dude. It’s like when you’re writing your CV. Just describe yourself in a sentence.
Me	Ugh. I dislike you for asking such difficult questions!
General	No problem. Difficult is my middle name.
Me	You have so many middle names you could be Sri Lankan.
General	For all the Sri Lankans reading this, Nas is not trying to be offensive. He is just telling the truth as always. Now back to the question…
Me	Haha. Okay. I like to think I’m nice, pretty good smelling and have awesome eye lashes.
General	I concur. Please describe your strengths and your flaws but not in a job interview mode, but like a raw onion.
Me	Raw onion?!
General	Yes raw onion. Like kalunji with emotion man.
Me	My strengths include that I’m clever but my weakness is that I don’t take advantage of it. I try hard at being a good friend, a good person to all, and pride myself on that. But at the same time in doing so, I become attached to people and that is a weakness.
General	Nicely said. Now, who was your first crush?
Me	I was thinking about it a few days ago and realised my first crushing happened in year 4. No I didn’t physically crush anyone. Anyway, I used to have a HUGE crush on the teacher of the other year 4 class. It lasted about a week because she went and married another teacher. I even remember her name. Well after she got married, I was heartbroken which also lasted about a week because I got occupied with other things and totally forgot about her.
General	Oh that is so sweet. Did you ever go back and see that teacher again?
Me	Well I stayed in that school till the end of year 5 till we moved house, so I did walk into her here and there. But she fell in my eyes after she got married.
General	Who or what was your first love?
Me	One love, one United. Manchester United. Though I don’t believe in love at first sight, that was a case of ‘head-over-chappals-at-first-sight’. *sighs*
General	Haha. Now lets get ready to business.
Me	You mean down?
General	Yep I meant down. What are the characteristics that turn you on in person, be they male or female. I meant that in a non-sexual way.
Me	I like people that are honest. Who have only have one face and are not like a coin with two. I like people with humour, who can make jokes and take jokes. I like people with opinions and beliefs and so the strength to stand up for their beliefs and opinions. I like people that are different and random. Oh and I also like people who give me cookies.
General	Haha! I hope cookies that have not been a part of a contest.
Me	I’m not even gonna comment on that. You filthy, disgusting, cookie ruining boy.
General	So what characteristics would you like in your ideal partner and why do you think you would make a good husband?
Me	My wife. I would like her to have at least half a brain. That is to say she must have some knowledge. She must be religious. She must be a good cook but doesn’t have to be perfect. If she can make haleem and biryani that would be a 1000 point bonus. I’d love to bake with her and make cakes and cookies with her and help her with the cooking too. She has to be understanding of my love of football and it would be an infinite point bonus if she also liked it!
General	This is like an advert for shaadi dot com, but in the General style.
Me	As for  being a good husband, I was thinking about this in the bath this morning.
General	And what would be your answer? Apart from the great love life.
Me	I think being the nice person I am, don’t cough…
General	*coughs*
Me	As I was saying. I’d be willing to compromise. I understand that people from different backgrounds will have different upbringing and standards. Just because she’s a village girl it may mean her habits, her way of living will be different to say a city girl. So, I’d understand that and also everyone has shortcomings because none of us are perfect. But I’ll never lay a hand on her. You know you hear about husbands who after a week or so of ‘be-nice-time’ go all narky and get the danda out? I would never forgive myself if I happened to hit her. I wouldn’t make her do or force her into doing anything she didn’t want to. If she made a mistake or was doing something wrong, I’d try and teach her, and I hope she would be able to teach me too. I’d also help around the house as much as I can.
General	That is spoken like a true gentleman.
Me	*does that thing with the tie people do when others are praising them*
General	So let’s move onto blogging itself. Why did you begin to blog?
Me	Well it was Supz who forced me into blogging. After Charley passed away I started writing my thoughts about the whole thing. You may remember the title was ‘For Your Story’, which I got from the pen you all gave me for my birthday that year with those words engraved on it. Well Supz saw some of those ‘reflections’ and said that I should blog about them so that other people could read and share.
General	I see. What inspired your writing style?
Me	I don’t think I have a set style to be honest. Some posts are written factually, others with the odd bit of humour, others are chatty and some are just conversations.
General	Why do you write so good?
Me	I don’t believe myself to be a good writer and therefore cannot answer that question.
General	You are too modest dude. Also why is it called Closing Pandora’s Box?
Me	Not modest, just honest. When I first made the blog, the hardest thing was the name. I just didn’t know what to call it. I wanted it to be clever and not something standard like ‘through Nas’s eyes’ or ‘Nas’s narrations’. I wanted it to be different. I remember reading through my brother’s history text book and came across the story of Pandora, and the box she was given by gods and told not to open. But her curiosity got the better of her and she did. And that is how suffering came into the world. And that is also where the name of the blog originated.
General	What is your most favourite quote?
Me	That’s really tough, I have diaries full of favourite quotes, but the first that comes to mind is one that Charley told me many many years ago. “If you cry because the sun has left your life, your tears will stop you from seeing the stars”. I don’t know who it’s by though.
General	That’s a sweet quote. What’s the most important thing in your life? Is that a hard question?
Me	All your questions are hard! I think apart from faith and all that, people. Especially my family which God chose for me and the family that I chose for myself, my few really close friends.
General	You didn’t even mention football. Ah I feel quite emotional now.
Me	Dude! You can’t have a breakdown!
General	I know, it will ruin my mascara.
Me	Haha! As you have all just heard, the General wears makeup.

There’ll be more questions going up soon, The General wasn’t going to let me off so easily! Have YOU ever wanted to ask me anything? If so, this is your chance. You can ask me any question you like (yes just the one) in a comment or email and I promise to answer it honestly, if I can, in the next interview post.

And with that I say Au Revior  and wish you all a very happy weekend.

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Title: Who are you – The Who