Thoughts from the office

So that's it. I have officially become someone who works weekends. Yes, this is my first Saturday here.

Hey I wonder if I'll become some type of crazed workaholic now. That sounds kinda cool...bags under the eyes, right hand shaking with a travel mug full of strong black coffee, irritable and anxious.

Only problem is, I'm way too lazy to be a workaholic. I mean, I'm blogging at work.

In other news. Winter blues.

Food for thought

I wonder which will get more media attention.

The death of Heath Ledger? (which has already been immortalized on wikipedia and on numerous blogs and facebook groups composed of fans reeling from the horrible news.)

Or the Gaza Crisis?

Hmm.

A Land Called Paradise

CommonPlacer tags me to post this video. It is quite brilliant :)

A dandelion by any other name...would smell as sweet

I have never explained my blog header to you readers. (Not sure if there are many of you left after my several hiatuses and creative droughts. If there are not, I will write this as a letter to myself.)

My blog header, a puff of a weed, a dandelion. I never saw dandelions as being weeds. I always liked them, brought them home for my mom (who promptly threw them away after smiling and telling us she loved them). You see, this is the nature of adult life. We are no longer able to enjoy the small things we did as children.

Dandelions are scattered eventually. They don't remain whole. Which I think is a perfect metaphor for a human being. We are not in control of the various pieces of ourselves. We give away portions of our hearts, our time, and our efforts. Wind and life makes us scatter these things, makes us give them away until perhaps at a later point in time, we feel naked and robbed of what we could have kept for ourselves. What is a dandelion without its seeds? Without the beautiful yellow and white that surrounds its core? Does it have meaning anymore?

But all those seeds it gave away are sprouting and becoming something beautiful on their own. And we, as people, we are drained sometimes. We are plucked of our seeds or willingly donate them to others who need them more than we do. And suddenly we find ourselves without anything to protect us from an oncoming winter. We have been too scattered, have not conserved anything for ourselves. Winter crushes us and we suffer.

This, the ultimate sacrifice. To leave aside what we could have selfishly kept, so that others can live life a little better. But as the weeds that we are, our roots run deep. And when the pain and frost have ended, we are not gone. We grow again, and we give again.

It's funny perhaps, that I could have such a role model. But I aspire to be as strong as that dandelion.

Can this be classified as a....rishta?

Egypt and India meet.

How do you Explain Violence?

Toronto Muslims are in a state of shock and horror about the story of Aqsa, a young teenaged girl mercilessly killed by her father, allegedly over her refusal to wear the hijab. There are no meaningful words for me to try to explain such an act, such a state of mind.

We have indeed created man in the best of moulds, then do We abase him (to be) the lowest of the low. (Qur'an 95:4-5)

It is the depths of inhumanity and complete ingratitude to God to take His Just and Merciful words and use them, coupled with the power He gave you to oppress the weaker amongst you.

It astounds me that some men, perhaps given more physical and psychological strength than women, could express their power in such a heartless, abusive manner. This isn't the first case of severe abuse we've seen in the Muslim community, and it won't be the last. To have a daughter, mother, wife, living in a real and constant fear of her male relatives, what kind of a life is that? I'd like someone to explain to me what kind of an Islam this has become.

I am sad that some hearts have gotten to this level, that what is supposed to be a vessel of faith and mercy and love has become so hardened.

I can only hope this man gets exactly what he deserves.

Saying Goodbye

How do you say goodbye to someone? How do you look someone in the eye, or talk to him or her over the phone and know that at the end of the conversation, you'll never speak to or see that person again?

I had to do this a couple of days ago. One of my friends from high school went back to Kenya to get married and live out his life. And it was a strange conversation we had the day before he left. He phoned me on his way to jummah and we had our final "may Allah (swt) bless your life and give you all the happiness you deserve" conversation. It was extremely unnerving. Not because are very close or anything, but the concept of it was horrifying.

I used to see him around the subway station or at the library, grocery store once in a while. Maybe at the mosque in Ramadan. Beyond that I don't think about anything related to him, nor do I talk to him except when I see him. But knowing that he'll never be around anymore, that some routine surprise of seeing him buying milk or waiting for the bus no longer exists...you are now completely living a life apart and without any minute relation whatsoever.

This might sound strange, but the knowledge of being completely disconnected bothered me. How do you say goodbye to someone forever?

Blasphemous Teddy Bear

This news from Sudan was tickling my funny bone.

Officials at Unity High School where Gibbons taught say she was teaching her 7-year-old students about animals and asked one of them in September to bring in her teddy bear. Gibbons then asked the students to pick names for the bear and they voted to name it Muhammad.

Each student then took the bear for a weekend to write a diary entry about what they did with the bear, and the entries were compiled into a book with the bear’s photo on the cover and the title “My Name is Muhammad,” in what teachers in Britain said was a common exercise to involve pupils.

At first I thought "these Sudanese folks...crazy people!" But then I was thinking about it very deeply and I thought to myself, I think they were right in reacting so harshly. I mean...setting aside the "Muhammad" naming, teddy bears are just pure evil. Those beady eyes. That smug look on their faces. It's obvious that they're out to get us. We should be very afraid.

Also, I think anyone who owns a teddy bear should be destroyed.

One Random Friday

So, it's been a while. I could make excuses about how I've been WAY too busy to post anything. But no. My randomness is being depleted. There is something about being in the workforce (sounds pretty cool, eh?) that slowly drains the creative energy out of you.

But don't be sad, I have some random pictures to entertain you (maybe).

So last Friday I came across this magnetic poetry thing in a bookstore, and I stood there for a couple of minutes putting together a poem. It was kind of cool.



Closer:

I also went to Friday prayers that same day, and happened upon this:

Because HEAVEN FORBID the males and females use the same stairwell!! Like, Astaghfirullah.

Then this shortly thereafter:



Not sure what to make of this poster...now when I say the phrase "halal meat," it'll never be the same :(

Dandelion

This is beautiful.