The Aim

Here's the moment we've all been waiting for. The year is finally over and whether it has brought you happiness or sorrow it's in the past here is the thing about the past it's gone and over. It's merely a memory and although we cannot obsess over such tenacity it's important to reflect upon the past and learn from it."Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" -Soren Kierkegaard.
The only guaranteed time we have on this planet is the present the "now" we need to make use of it. A few days ago I was conversing with my teacher when he told me that life back in the days used to be much simpler and people used to actually live as opposed to those who only "exist" nowadays he told me how he ,not having had a cellphone, used to visit his relatives and be much closer to his cousins than his children are or will ever be to theirs.  His description fascinated me and really inspired me to live life fully. I realize that one's life has to be lived meaningfully and set the aim for myself to try my best to do just that. To live in the infinite present and really put my heart into every second of it.
For 2015 I want to set a goal to indulge in reading beautifully written books, listening to soft music, eating nutritious food and disconnecting my working out. I really just want to enjoy all the pleasures of life (while of course taking care of all my duties). I strongly advise you to do the same for life is short to stress about anything.




Happy new year. I hope 2015 will be a ray of sunshine upon you and your loved ones.

That time of year..

It's that time of the year again. No, i'm not talking about the chocolates and sweets. I'm talking about the time where the spirit of joy, warmth and happiness is widely spread. Yes, it's christmas time. Now, I look forward to this celebration every year.
It's a great opportunity to give thanks to those who have impacted your life with little thoughtful presents. It's knowing that you are the reason behind their smile that is worth the effort. There is a chance to slow down from the fast pace the world is in and really enjoy and embrace the people you love and care about and see their happiness. You have a bit more patience and a bit less worries.
Let's take christmas as an opportunity to change for the better. To learn to enjoy the present moment and live in it. To not only give thanks to our family but our friends. After all, they support us and are there for us. 
What i want you to do this year, is choose a few people who have impacted your life greatly and write them a message saying thank you. Make sure they know that you wouldn't have been the same without them. It would brighten their day. Let me know how it goes. I know that together we'll be able to make the world a happier place

To everyone who celebrates christmas:
I wish you have a very merry christmas full of joy and smiles. I hope you get to see all your family and loved ones happy and healthy.

Perfectly imperfect

So this week's blog has a lot to do with the previous one I wrote which spoke of how everyone is special and one of a kind. Now, I found that many have trouble believing in themselves and their uniqueness.
This blog post is a 4-step guide, to help redirect you to your happy self whenever you feel down, drained or just lose that spark.

One of the most beneficial things one can do when in such a mood is reach out to someone, I know it sounds quite cheesy but it works. Talk to someone you trust, love and are comfortable around just to pour your heart out. There is a saying that sharing your sadness with the right people makes it less of a burden to carry. That way you'll leave room in your heart for the happiness and positive energy.

Another thing I have found to be effective is going for a brisk walk or jog as it releases any built up feelings and allows you to reflect on your life and really get to the root of your feelings.

It's important to pamper yourself by doing something you love. I personally feel refreshed after having given time to an activity I enjoy doing. It instantly lifts my mood and gets my mind off of things.

Lastly exercise GRATITUDE. This is a very important step. I want you to sit down, get a piece of paper and start listing blessings you're thankful for. Is it your family? Your heath? Your friends?. After completing your list just read it to yourself and remind yourself of how lucky you are.

Remember that you are a human, you're not perfect, you're perfectly imperfect. Give credit to yourself for doing your best even when you fail. Don't blame yourself because everything happens for a reason. Remind yourself that you are beautiful on the inside. Believe in your abilities and strengths while working on your weaknesses.

Ultimately I want you to look at your life as if you are the director of a movie. Choose every scene carefully and enjoy it. Others might criticize one of the scenes but the important thing is that YOU love the scene. At the end it's YOUR MOVIE. Likewise, love the life you are leading with all the ups and downs.

What makes you special?

Like fingerprints and snowflakes none of them are the same, each one of them is unique, just like you. We all look in the mirror everyday. I'm sure you do too. What do you see? Maybe you see a person who can make others smile no matter the situation, or someone whose eye colour is extraordinarily beautiful and maybe even someone who dreams big. They're all aspects that make you one of a kind
. 
A friend of mine once told me to always do my own thing. To never go with the flow or else i'll be too mainstream. It's very important to embrace the part of your personality that differentiates you from all other people. The part that makes you stand out.
Work on personalizing your belongings and leaving your fingerprint behind on everything you use.

Now one final point is to always look at your positives and strengths. We, human beings are very critical and can often be quick to judge ourselves. I want to shed light on the fact that every aspect of your appearance and personality whether good or bad is beautiful, because it shapes you to be the person you are. You wouldn't be the same if it weren't for your flaws so choose to look at them positively and embrace them.

"Embrace your weirdness"~ Cara Delevigne 

A winter's inspiration..

It’s a season full of warmth, no not the one provided by the sun. A season where the family gathers and makes memories. It’s the winter. The winter is the season of hot chocolates and movie nights. The season that encourages us to hold on to that what keeps us warm on the inside, to the people who love us unconditionally. A couple of days ago, I was in the car and it rained. The driver told me that this was the first time it had rained this winter and said that rain, to him signifies good fortune and a bright future. Out of curiosity I asked him which season he preferred. He answered me saying that he was a believer in God and that he couldn’t choose a favorite because the days he lived were blessings bestowed upon him so how could he say that he didn’t like one of God’s blessings? He said that the purpose behind the winter and summer being opposites is that it gives us a chance to appreciate each one of them. They were like pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly. It made them unique, each in their own way. The entire ride home I was still trying to process his answer. I hadn’t expected such a wise response from him. It shocked me that someone whose life is hard and whose worries compiled are mountains high would be thankful for something so simple, that we all take for granted.  He was the living proof of the principle of conviction. He was convinced that his simple life was ideal and therefore was able to lead it happily and reflect on the aspects in it. He found a source of happiness in the things we barely take note of and learned to slow down and enjoy all of the roses in the garden while we only give ourselves time to reach for a few flowers. That day I was fascinated by his optimism and view of life. It’s nice to know that there are people who think so simply and positively. I was definitely inspired

How to lead a valuable life..

Change. A word of Latin origin meaning to transform or convert and is as stated by Heraclitus “the only constant”. Change is the infinite in our finite lives. The rollercoaster we call life doesn’t stop for anyone; it keeps going up and down, the ride changes and the experience is subjective. 

You must remember when you were little, how you used to think that you were tiny kind of like tinker bell in a city of giants. At least I do, I remember always wanting to grow up, to be able to go up the stairs without stumbling and being able to reach higher shelves. Such simple things for which children depend on someone else. 

Getting into teenage years you feel pressured from all possible sides, you can’t wait until you earn your independence, until you have a job and a say as to how you’ll spend your life. It looks like your teenage years will last forever. The countless times of saying “When I’m older, I’ll decide for myself and no one will be able to make me obey them, I’ll be free”. You await that freedom.

Graduating from university seems like a dream come true, you’ve finally built your character and thoughts and are ready to face the world. You get a job and soon realize that your life will remain the same over the course of the following years.
During Adulthood you have long working hours, no summer vacation to look forward to, more stress and less fun. You are still obliged to obey, you just obey different people than the ones you used to obey as an adolescent.

Reality hits you in the face. This wasn’t what you expected. Where was the independence you desired? You look back and regret always having wanted to jump from one stage to the next. 

On a daily basis nothing seemed different but looking at old photos you recognize the dissimilarity.


 

You make sure to tell the new generation that their childhood years are the best years they’ll ever have. It’s a pity that human nature only allows us to learn through our own experiences, not those of others. But the question that has been on my mind is why? Why don’t we live each stage fully? Why are we is such a rush, constantly wanting to modify our lives? Since change is inevitable and will happen regardless of what we think, why not embrace it?


 

We should start appreciating every single stage of our lives as we’ll never be younger or filled with more energy than we are at this very moment. I learned from the book “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom that looking back and regretting signifies an unfulfilled life, one lacking in happiness. Living in the moment will allow us to desire and look forward to change. Leading an optimistic life, one focusing on the value of present rather than trying to get rid of it. A life worth living.

 

The winner stands alone

As kids, we are always told that the things that matter most are chasing our dreams, voicing our opinions and implementing our ideas. We are taught to follow the universal values such as honesty, loyalty, respect and integrity. As we grow older we get exposed to other behaviors that by all means defy the way we have been brought up. We face situations where peer pressure can overcome the ideologies that our parents have worked hard on instilling in us.

Slowly, without realizing, some adapt to those behaviors and start regarding them as “normal”. They dive deep and lose their original values...

When others have already figured out their diverse in life, this group of people is caught up in that age and its’ thoughts.

Vulnerable adolescents become followers of a person or a group of people, lose so much of their identity, thoughts and individuality. The “fake” independence gets the best of them and gets them caught up on the very thought that they rule the future. The power to influence what is to come is used negatively. The structure of their personalities is messed up.

Others, get lost in the crowd and do that, what they see their friends doing but continue to hold on to their ways of thinking anyway. They face a struggle between following the values instilled in them or the group of friends they belong to and feel torn and shaken until they find the path they’d like to pursue in life.

On the other hand the minority grabs onto what they have been fed as children refusing to integrate the slightest bit. They are teased, somehow bullied and isolated. They either become idealistic and introverted or develop a psychological problem, not having lived out their teenage years.

It is those who manage to find the balance, those who are able to escape the bad influence without being isolated, that succeed in life. The ones that aren’t just told to follow the rules and values but have really soaked them and are fully convinced with them, that keep them.

At the end you need to find out the road you’d like to take in life, for your friends will not be the ones to blame if you fail to realize your dreams. When people speak of your successes and failures, your friends will not be mentioned, for the winner stands alone. Put your future and thoughts above everything else but it is mere social intelligence to be part of the friends your age, to become a part of society. Find the right balance.

 

The winner stands alone.

Are you satisfied with the life you are living?

Today, I was in the car with my dad. We were having a nice conversation that was suddenly interrupted by an accident we saw. It was a young lady that had been run over by a car. Her head was covered in blood and people were running in her direction. It was rather clear that she had been killed. Now, accidents like that are not out of the norm here in Egypt. But this particular image of her was stuck in my head. I couldn’t begin to fathom how horrible her family would feel. I don’t even know her but it’s rather sad to see someone part from life at such a young age. Think about her hopes, her dreams and plans. All shattered in the blink of an eye. Just like that. Everything was gone in something we rarely give importance to, a second. Why don’t we, humans realize the value of something until it’s snatched from our hands? Even if it’s something as worthy as our own lives.Why are we all so caught up on our materialistic and pragmatic realities that we fail to recognize that we are only granted one life? As I have learned from the book “Tuesdays with Morrie” recommended to me by a friend of mine, what matters most are the small pleasures in life. We have to cherish them for they are bound to come to an end. Life is NOT short. I promise you it’s not. It is we, who insist on wasting the time we have. Life’s not a competition on who has the best car or who has the most friends. It’s a ride during which we encounter challenges. The way we face them shapes our personalities and defines us . The successes along the way drive us to have hopes, ambitious ones. We create ideologies, opinions and theories. If we are lucky we get to turn our dreams into reality. But there is never a guarantee.

Live out every second of your life. Do something with it. Dream, dream big. Reach for the stars and grab them. Make sure you put every single minute you’re given at use. No regrets.

"If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of"- Bruce Lee

By: Hanaa El Sammak

The Happy Jar..

A while back one of my teachers asked me to prepare a presentation on Breast Cancer. After having read a couple of articles and done some research I decided to read about women who have experienced this disease in their lifetime. I was very interested in knowing how they felt, how they overcame it and what worried them. The stories affected me in so many ways.  Their confidence amazed me. I realized that sometimes God gives us a battle so we can come out stronger.  I couldn’t get that out of my mind and I noticed the positive impact it had on my life. I started appreciating even the smallest of blessings. Consequently, during my presentation I made sure to deliver that same picture to my class mates. Admittedly I was surprised by how emotional they had gotten and felt the need to share with them something that I now do on a daily basis which is the “Happy Jar”.

At the end of each day I just like to sit down and think of something that happened to me that day and made me feel special, appreciated, happy, loved, blessed or thankful, and it doesn’t even have to be anything major. It could be as simple as coming home to my family at the end of a stressful day or going on a run and feeling brand new and refreshed. After choosing that one thing I just write it down on a small piece of paper along with the date, fold it up and throw it in my jar. It’s literally that easy.  It helps you focus on the little blessings you have in your life. Exactly 365 days from the day I started I’ll open that jar and look through all of those little notes. You can only imagine how amazing that’s going to feel. I want to prove to myself and others that no matter how stressful life may be we need to take note of the little things we come across because our time in life is limited if we don’t start appreciating it now maybe we never will.