Conversations

I like to talk to people … for a variety of reasons, because I think conversations are a key to solving many (if not all) issues faced by our world today. Many wars can be un-fought and many innocent lives can be saved. Another reason is also that conversations help us understand the different viewpoints of all the diverse people in this world. It creates tolerance and a better understanding of life and its challenges others face. In return, of the valuable lessons from these conversations we are able to make our lives a whole lot better (if we want to).

I have learned many precious things from the unending, wonderful, enriching, blessed conversations I have had with people from everywhere and many walks of life. My favorite things to do while I am travelling (travelling itself being one of my most favorite things) is to either read a book or find someone (hopefully interesting….and they always turn out to be!) to talk to. I remember talking to wonderful South African, H (on my way back from Zambia via Johannes Berg) for a continuous 6hrs on an eight hours flight, and it was one of the most enriching conversations. We talked about everything, literally, gliding smoothly from one subject to the other. H is a focused person and some of the experiences had many a lessons stored. Especially that it is good to be focused, because that helps in getting the job done with concentration and lesser loopholes hopefully). Although we did not meet after that day but the learning and sharing continues to date.

I have been blessed with wonderful family, neighbors, friends, colleagues and acquaintances (and I truly mean ALL of you) who time and again are an amazing company and a great source of information via their life-giving conversations. Sometimes, when they just share their life experiences, that itself becomes a huge learning for their audience. And now with the addition of mobiles/social mediums, it is so easy to converse wherever one may be. I do not know about others but I really enjoy the small quotes and sayings that people share, I think some of them are just so cool. In addition, another cool thing about it is that you keep in touch with people and converse with them whenever you have the chance. I think everyone in this world has something to give in terms of information and knowledge. When I think about it the help and support of all these people whom I have met in various capacities have all play a very important role in making me who I am today! Thank you.

There are many small but important messages we receive in life, which makes us a better person. For example, I was talking about advantages of texting earlier on, well, whenever I get the chance I text and share many meaningful messages with my friends. So once, I got this forwarded text from a friend and without any verification I forwarded it to some other friends on my list, (this text was about some disease and its cause etc). Almost immediately, I received a reply from a friend who is very learned and knowledgeable saying, ‘did you check the authenticity of the message you forwarded because I don't think you know that they have actually put up a claim on the net against this particular misinformation being forwarded via text messages and email which is creating chaos amongst general public’. I was very embarrassed but also thankful because from that day onwards, I try my level best to forward information only when I have some sort of prove against its validity. Thanks A.

While talking about small conversations I have had many of those with people I met during my time working with Social development organizations and when I use to move around as a training consultant. This is when I had the opportunity to meet people living in remote suburbs and villages. They have such vast, deep wisdom that astonishes me. Perhaps the reason is that they see life as it is, real and unscripted. Their simple manners, friendliness, respect and hospitality makes you fall in love with them. It has been a tremendous experience each time I have visited these kinds of areas and the mannerism has been the same whether it is a small village in South Africa or near the deserts of Tharparker. We did not understand each other’s language but we spoke the common language of love and humanity. Same incident happened when I visited Damascus and met with a tribal women of Syria who explained me her love towards Lady Zainab(sa) (Grand Daughter of Prophet Saww Pbuh) while we got to sit next to each other in the Holy Shrine of Lady Zainab(sa), detailed story is mentioned a few paras below.

To share some more interesting stories of my conversations let me tell you about this wonderful young women from Egypt, D. We were introduced in a conference in Amman, Jordon and after some brief formal exchange; it was evident that we both like to talk. So from there onwards during the whole time we were together we never missed a chance to share some interesting stories about our lives. I learned from her experiences how a woman should always stay strong even when life throws a meteor shower of troubles and challenges at her. Unfortunately, I lost her contact when I got back, but nature has its own setup and after 5 years I found her via a mutual friend on a social networking website and I am so glad that we can now continue to cherish ourselves from the enriching conversations. Even the mutual friend I speak of is very headstrong and carries a persona tagged and branded (but gladly not copyrighted). She might not know but she has taught me so much by sharing her experiences. She has given me valuable advice, which helps me in my personal and professional life. I owe you F. You rock.

Oh, yes, how I can forget my very special friends from Alabama (US), a couple (wife being a designer and the husband a lawyer) and of course, my very dear V. With the couple, my interaction was thrice and that too only for a couple of hours but the insight they had on the topic of relationship was superb. They told me their own very interesting story of how they met at a very late stage of life but how much they cherish each other despite of all their differences and how some things are really just meant-to-be. They said do not go overboard even when your heart is set on something, do not compromise to the extent of lowering your integrity, and always keep your head on your shoulders with gratitude. However, when you do find and achieve the one then spare no time and give your best. Cherish love because it is the most beautiful sentiment of humans, they gave me so much hope, and I will always be thankful to them…. And V, what a wonderful person she is, so real, so kind and simple, the thing V and I have in common is our love for nature. She does so much for it and she is very creative, an amazing story teller, a superb human being. Her garden has a record-breaking variety of flowers, which is something worth looking at. I remember chasing her cat (Ms. R) every time I visited V’s beautiful cottage style house, but the cat did not like me! and would run away the instant she heard me come!

Another aspect of being a part of the conversation is when you are at the listening end, well at least I still consider that conversing because in your head you are arguing and understanding, negotiating with all that you hear and taking mental notes for future reference. When I was part of a Social Development Organization, I was managing this project and needed lots of advice and approvals from my Managing Director (who is also my mentor for life). For that, I used to go to her room quite often and most of the time she used to be with someone or on the phone but she used to let me in anyway and whenever I did not had a most urgent pressing issue, I used to calmly wait for her to finish her conversation. Trust me, I have learned so much from just hearing those conversations do not think I was eaves dropping because I was permitted to hear. From them, I learned the art of conversing beautifully (when to intrude, when to question, when to verify, how to round-up and summarize), usage of most appropriate words as per the demand of the conversation, I learned facial expressions and most of all how you can share the gift of knowledge in a most unintentional manner. Will always remember you Prof. A. May you receive high place in heaven inshaAllah.

Yet another aspect of being part of the conversation is when you are preaching, sharing knowledge and when the receiver (could be you) is listening or reading (as in this case when you are reading what I have written and debating inside). This and the above conversations are what i'd like to term as the conversations within, although something/one triggers the thought process but they actually open up horizons within, the invisible third eye whose vision is not restricted to internal or external, past or present view, it can see anywhere it focuses on. These conversations are the best and many a times act as your basis when you are in conversation, dialogue or discussion with others. It is all that information which your mind as per agreeable to your personality permits you to believe in. It helps in defining your parameters and creating your boundaries no matter how vast or narrow. It begins when you listen carefully and internalize and process all the information received and then putting it into virtual yes, no and maybe boxes, and then each time a related topic comes up when you give your point-of-view that’s where you pick up your data.

The most interesting part of conversation that I have come up with is that unless you converse with yourself you built up your views on what others think. Nevertheless, once you converse with yourself you assess from your own mind and after presenting the case in your own court knowing all the pros and cons. After that whether the decision you take is right or wrong it is still your decision and you have come up with it yourself. Every sane person knows in a given situation what is right and what is wrong at least if he is honest with an active conscience, in taking his or her decision. No matter what the circumstances are, they are hopefully going to go for the right choice and that choice if collected in the pool of right choices is going to derive collective right decisions. If we all start to do that, my third eye sees a very prosperous human society. Yea, I know that sounds extremely idealistic, but hey, that is my and purely my point of view and it has no negatives (as far as I am concerned), except for pessimistic people who are negative themselves and wish to remain negative.

Now I do not know whether you have ever encountered ‘mute conversations’, these are very special in a most interesting and heart-warming way. One might think that these are conversations between people who are challenged (physically or mentally), yes, that is one kind, but, even more interesting are conversations between people who are from different parts of the world and do not know each other’s language. My personal experience mostly has been when I travel to distant lands. They do not just say travelling to be one of the best ways of learning for the heck of it. It really is true. I recall a few of these amazing long chats, like the one in Damascus, Syria, where I got to sit next to this pilgrim women who explained to me in her language (which I believe was some tribal Arabic) why she had come there and what were some of her believes. I could make out her origin by noticing the traditional tribal marks on her face and by her dress and looks (as I have seen similar kind of women in Saudi Arabia). She used many gestures like when she had to talk about spirituality she would look heavenwards. When she tried to tell me that she has travelled far to reach here she would extend her arms and then take it behind her head as if pointing towards the long journey and she also stretched the word she used for describing ‘long’ (perhaps) like ‘looooooong’ and narrowing her eyes when she said that. She pointed towards her eyes and with her hand gestured the trail of tears then raised her hand upwards as in praying and then putting her hand on her heart and showing that she believes her prayers would ‘Insha’Allah (God willing) be answered. She mention words like ‘Allah’ (God) and name words like ‘Jannat’ (heaven), ‘Shaheed’ (Martyr) etc to share her wisdom. She told me about her kids and introduced me to a couple of women sitting around us as her relatives; they all greeted me with a smile. When it was time for me to go, she gently and lovingly kissed my forehead and blessed me with prayers and all of her relatives shook my hand. That left a warm wonderful memory in my heart and mind.

Sometimes it also happens that you know someone for very long yet you never had the chance to really talk and get into conversation with each other. That has happened to me more than I can remember! However, lately a friend and I, we discovered that we had much knowledge to share with each other and since we have begun conversing both of us have learned immensely from each other about society, beliefs, norms, emotions and surprisingly politics (my most non-favorite subject). My friend has a unique style of sharing information, almost never gets personal and shares whatever we are both comfortable with. I am at full liberty to talk about my personal life and never forced through query or questions. We argue and disagree but it gauges towards the understanding of the topic at hand and never because of Ego. Thanks A; I truly treasure our friendship and the enlightening conversations.

While I mention A, it would be absolutely unfair not to mention my dear R. Most interesting person to talk to, that is how I will describe her. She defines the world in her own way. Very sincere and honest, not afraid to admitt. Very curious and loves to inquire but in a sweet way. We both have our share of the hours long conversations we have and there is never a dull moment. Thankyou for being there my very sweet R. Allah(swt) bless you.

There are those too (and I am sure this kind appear in everyone’s life at least once) who are there for some time, those whom we refer to as seasonal friends. This kind usually becomes best friends almost instantaneously and you cannot imagine life without them. Things are absolutely hunky dory; you will have gazillion wonderful conversations with them. However, almost instantaneously, they will desert you and that is when you realize that there was never any spirit of friendship, that is where the line disconnects and all you can hear is silence. It occurs to you that were all purely incidental and at that particular moment when you met them (him/her), all the stars were aligned and you clicked instantly but as they say, ‘easy come easy go’…. This itself then becomes a great experience, but what I have learned (from my own and related experience of others) is that don’t let these people leave a mark, learn from these incidents and avoid making the same mistake (if you can) or get use to the idea of walk-in friends! Shakespeare describes it beautifully:

“Everyone has a best friend during each stage of life, but only lucky ones have the same in all stages of life.”

On a different note, I remember when I use to teach Business Communication and at that time, I use to tell my students that there is no difference in normal and business communication, the difference is of formal tone and usage of words. I see people unable to deliver their thoughts because they try to be someone else when they are dealing with clients or business partners, I wonder why they even try to do that! Even in business, one has to be him/herself with a slight touch of formality and that is it. Why sound mechanical when you are actually in conversation with a human being? In my experience, all the successful officials and entrepreneurs (the ones I have met) all deliver their message in a very normal and authentic style. In my view authenticity is the key to success in this (or any other) trait.

Alas, there are those conversations where we backbite and blame people with the soul purpose of proving ‘we are right, they are wrong’. These conversations have no conscience and they are 100% guilt free. All that we receive from these chats is how to make other people look bad and how to feel good about ourselves after doing that. I have noticed that wherever majority of people are inclined towards these types of discussion, prosperity is very low and faces are stern, hearts blackened and eyes emotionless. Let me share a great lesson I learnt while receiving training on human interaction and how to make the best out of it. Every person has positives and negatives and that is what makes them a human being (otherwise, we would only either be angles or devils), if we want to be successful then whenever we interact with people, we should focus on the positive side of the other person’s personality rather than the negative. This way knowing that, the person has some negative traits even then focusing on the positive once we will be able to converse with that person without prejudice. As we, all know that all humans emit various kinds of energies, mainly positive and negative. Now when a person focuses on his own and other person’s positive energy he is able to make their combined environment positive. Now who would not want to be part of a positive, peaceful and happy environment?

Another very (most) important conversation is the one between the Lord and man. And amongst all I feel this particular conversation weighs the most because in my point of view all the conversations that have generated on this planet and everywhere else has been given birth from the conversation that God has been doing with us. Are prayers not a conversation with the one in-charge? All that we talk about has links to that particular source, and I invite you to think neutrally about it putting aside everything else. Even if you analyze all the examples of the experiences and conversations, I have mentioned here you will be able to connect them somehow with nature, and what is nature but a gift from our Lord. Everything in nature converses with us in its own special way; it depends on us how much we expand our horizon and communicate with them. Our most respectable and most dear Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (Saww) and his Progeny (a.s.) has taught us beautiful mannerism, ideal ways of conversing with Allah(swt) (God) and His creatures. Knowing and practicing that makes us real Human Beings. SubhanAllah.

There are tons of other types of conversations, which I may not have mentioned or maybe I have not encountered them yet. Nevertheless, the ones I have mentioned are very few excerpts from my life so far. Many amazing books have been written on the subject but my purpose here was to share some personal experiences. This helped me remind myself of all the wonderful people I met and who have taught me so much in their own special way. In addition, it is a way of sharing this knowledge I gathered with those who wish to acquire and use it. So keep the magic of conversations going and create your own language of peace and love. And do not forget to share it.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES . . . . . . . .

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES . . . . . . . .

I am a very passionate Pakistani. I take Pakistan with me wherever I go, from the way I look to the things I do and say. Since my return from the IVLP in February 2007, I experienced many new and adventurous things in life. And I am sharing this all with you here because man has evolved by learning from each other and perhaps some of my experiences could be of use to you in your own lives. Also it is enlightening for us to observe how one achievement supports the others in becoming successful stories. Also observe (while you go through this essay) how I have utilized my experiences from my trip to States and used them to promote work in Pakistan for my people. This in my view should be how we should contribute if we have had the chance of gaining knowledge from the rest of the world....

Soon after my return I was interviewed by several TV channels, invited on various TV talk shows / discussions and was exclusively interviewed for a live Radio show. This was all very encouraging and the best part was that I got to share my IVLP stories with people all across the globe (and hopefully inspire some in the process).

By the mid of the year I was chosen to be a part of a group of forty participants from all over Pakistan for training vis-à-vis selection of consultants for a project of the British Council (Pakistan) and I am proud of the fact that I was selected from the same and am now amongst a group of 10 consultants who are trained in Africa, UK and Pakistan by African and British senior consultants and we are now working for development of youth all over Pakistan with special focus on Leadership, where I am also utilizing the learning from my IVLP experience. During my journey, I have also had the opportunity to meet many prominent international figures such Mr. David Milliband (Foreign Sec. UK), Dr. Kenneth Kaunda (The great African leader) and many more.

I also was generously invited to participate in selection, interviewing & training of school children from all over Pakistan by the country coordinator of International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). This was a very interesting experience. The children after selection are then sent on a one-year study in the United States under the Youth Exchange Program (YES) and they act as little Pakistani ambassadors. Because of my experience in IVLP I had a good understanding in selection and training these students for their participation in this program. I enjoyed this immensely.

I try to remain in contact with a lot of wonderful people I have met in different States and we exchange ideas and knowledge from time to time. For example, soon after I came back from IVLP, for a brief period of one year I joined one of the leading Financial Company of Pakistan, (they deal with electronic safe keeping and transfer of shares in the market) anyway when I joined I was designated with the task of designing the upcoming year’s calendar and for the same I got in touch with a Lady whom I met at the Library of Congress during my visit and she & her colleagues were kind enough to share some very good ideas from Historical point of view from the Library content.

During this time I have also had the opportunity of serving as Project Director for an upcoming unique Boarding school of excellence in Karachi (God willing, it will be first of its kind in the region). Again meeting with educationalists and visiting several schools during IVLP has added much to my knowledge which I utilized extensively for developing concepts and linkages for this school which will have boys and girls from all over Pakistan. I wish the school loads of success.

For the past few months now I have been involved in facilitating school heads and staff in learning latest ICT tools which will help them connect their classrooms with those from other regions/countries so on and so forth. This also has been a most amazing experience so far and through this I have been lucky enough to travel to some of the most remote and fascinating parts of our beautiful Pakistan.

There comes a time in all of our lives when opportunity knocks on our doors and it may be in any form. Now it is up to us whether we answer the call and how we answer it. Choice is simply ours.....

Athens State hosts international educators. Four international educators were guests of Athens State University’s Wallace State-Hanceville Center recently.

Dr. Wanda Hutchinson, assistant professor of education, was host to the educators from South Asia. Hutchinson and her colleagues prepared detailed teacher training and highlighted teaching methodologies, including online classroom management. The visit is sponsored by the International Visitor Leadership Program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with the Alabama segment being hosted by the International Services Council of Alabama.

Last year Hutchinson hosted a similar group from Bulgaria with an emphasis on ethnic diversity and civil rights education. “I was asked to serve as a consultant as well as host the international visitors again this year,” said Hutchinson. I will facilitate experiences with program themes to include the use of technology in teaching distance learning courses, student teaching and rural education.

Foreign educators Sheela Rajendra from India, Abdul Sameu Hassan from Maldives, Hum Nath Acharya from Nepal, and Gulrukh Razi from Pakistan will be traveling throughout the United States to explore pre-service teacher training in a program that will expand their knowledge of educational procedures that will combat some of the obstacles they face in their home countries.

MY IVLP STORY:

They say ‘will & determination’ can take you to places and destinations sometimes beyond your expectations. For me this became true when one fine day I received an invitation from the US State Department via the US embassy in Pakistan inviting me to visit their country as a guest of the State to share and learn all there was to offer in the field of Education with reference to Primary, Elementary and Secondary levels under the auspices of International Visitors Leadership Program.

I got a lot of support from the Karachi office of the Public Affairs and then also in Islamabad for my Visa and other travel details and briefing. Finally the day arrived when I said goodbye to family and friends and embarked on this journey full of excitement, knowledge and opportunities for meeting with diverse groups of people. For this particular group I was the only one representing Pakistan and was to be joined in Washington D.C with people from the South-Asian region namely, Maldives, Nepal and India. After a long journey I finally reached the Dallas International Airport and was received by the representative of the State Department Ms. Jackie, who then introduced me to the rest of the group members who had already arrived. I felt proud being the youngest member of the group and representing Pakistan.

Traveling is my hobby which proved to be a good thing as this was a really stormy trip from one part of this large country i.e. Washington D.C to the other end Los Angeles in California with mid stops in various other States. Every day was jam packed with scheduled meetings with Government/State officials, Non-Govt. Organizations and then visits to various institutions like Schools, Libraries, Museums, City tours and other amazing places. Then there were official lunches and gatherings and we were also invited on various dinners by American families who opened their doors for people from the other side of the planet to share their culture and get to know what we had to offer each other.

Everybody we met greeted us very warmly and apart from briefing us about their work also answered several queries which we asked time and again as this exchange of ideas was very informative for the group as well as the people we met.

The comments I received from different people I met on several occasions were very interesting, like when I told them that ‘I am from Pakistan’, many of them in a very polite way asked me how is that possible, Pakistani girls are not allowed to come out of their homes, or work or for that matter travel!! And you are this young Pakistani female who has done so much work and now you are here, how is that possible? And my response was always simple, with a smile I said, ‘here I am standing in front of you and that in itself is an answer of the misconceptions that are unreal and created by those who do not like the nations of the world to develop, unite and live in harmony’.

Throughout this visit I found people quite eager to know what kind of a country Pakistan is, how are the people, culture and traditions, what aspirations do we have and what kind of festivities and celebrations are there. This was all very encouraging as I got to speak passionately about my homeland and I was so happy to enlighten the American people about so many beautiful things Pakistan has to offer including the gift of friendship. Some of the people actually became quite eager to visit Pakistan! It was most wonderful when we were invited at a big school gathering in Alabama and I gave a presentation on Pakistan and then all the hundreds of kids, staff, the City Mayor and other people sang “Jeeway Jeeway Pakistan” (A national anthem “Long Live Pakistan”) with me. It was just so amazing.

I had taken with me souvenirs from my beautiful motherland and whomever I presented these different items, they were most amazed of their uniqueness and thanked me immensely.

I am therefore very glad that there is such a program and I know of some others too where through exchange these misconceptions can be removed for good and people can come closer to each other and understand the beauty of the diversity there exists.

“The strongest bond of human sympathy outside the family relation should be one uniting working people of all nations and tongues and kindreds.”
Abraham Lincoln.

BRAINDUMP

Every story when written has a set plot in mind, a beginning, the main story, climax and then finally an ending no matter what the story is about. But how to make a plot out of something which is not created by the writer, in fact which is far beyond the imagination even when it is right there in front of us as the truth, 'the reality' itself. It is after all 'LIFE'. A small four lettered word where the word 'everything' really fulfills it's deserved meaning. It is all around us, in us, surrounding us in all shapes, forms and sizes. There are then portions of life which is like mitosis and meiosis when some of us are being given life from something/ someone and the other where we are going back to the origin to the source where it all began a great big journey, an evolution, a cycle. I myself travel between the thoughts where I feel all of this is really very simple yet there are challenging times when I fail to understand the complexities of it all. Is it us who have failed to understand the delicate balances or is it really that it is an unexplainable phenomenon. Little minute things that either shake or strengthen our foundations like understanding of the journey from the seed to the plant to the bud to the flower and then pollinating everywhere and during it all the relations good bad and unexplainable. It's like solving the mystery of the Pandora box itself. Is it that we have evolved ourselves into as the most complex creatures existing on the face of this planet or was it meant to be this way? Being a part of the same unit yet so much apart, or is it a journey that takes one from being 'a part' to being 'apart'!! Language …another phenomenon I need to dig in to find the roots of. One can't just blame the tongue for the whole body speaks much more than just the very small muscle itself. How much of what or how we express ourselves is actually our self/ myself. Many things come from the fact that we did not choose to be given birth and then into a particular family and then into a particular culture and then into a certain religion or creed or cast …!! Which brings us to the point where we have to decide how to lead our life (if one has that choice) and then whether to experiment with new ideas of living or follow the orthodox way of existing, in a way it all makes sense and in the spur of the moment causes chaos, given the fact whether we have the liberty or we are tied down because of emotional or cultural bounds. When to do, how and why, how much of it is my choice, who am I in the given situation and in the fast pace changing life which is dragging and pushing me like a strong current … what to do? So much confusion!! Need to stop, stop everything and ponder who I am? Where I am? Where am I going and why? In everybody's life every passing day, for all of us we have a natural tutor who is 'time' but is the passing time changing itself or is the human race actually forcing it to change. It's just like a saying I once heard that ‘future is not some place we are going to, but it is some thing we are creating, and this journey changes both, the creator and the destination.’

No matter how much superior our evolution takes us these natural questions have and will derive our behavior. Because they have been a very important source of information and act like milestones in our journey.

We are creating ‘things’ everyday when one day we know these things will be the reason for our destruction. When they talk about hope, I sometimes laugh, it's amazing that in the name of 'a better life' they are actually inventing newer ways of eliminating the human race. But what they do is give 'hope' in many shapes and forms and they sell 'hope' and the irony of the situation is that… we buy it! Is that really hope, is it what I hope for or just a manipulation of my dreams and aspirations presented so beautifully that it mystifies the original concept and influences all our previous thoughts. Every day marketers sell us hope and everyday we give away our hard earned money, time and energy in various forms to have more and more 'hope' in this hollow life. Hoping someday it will feel 'filled' and 'contended'. And these marketers can be anyone ranging from the shop seller who sells products, to family and friends who trade emotions.

They say every one has been sent with this gift of life for some reason and during our life time we struggle to find out what that purpose is. It is heard some did achieve that goal, amazingly those too who were not prophet, saints, or some other superior form. But was it truly the reason or whatever they thought they could do or achieved, they named it their reason for living. I mean a kid can look up to an Air force pilot dreaming of becoming one all his life thinking of many things like protecting the country or looking good in the uniform but in the end when he actually becomes one and during a flight when his plane has some problem and he decides to give his life and save many others, was that the real purpose why he chose to become a pilot?? (Of course every action has consequences). Because in that case it would have been better if he was not, then he wouldn’t have to waste his life like that. Or when he is posted in a war afflicted area where he is bound to kill innocent civilians in the line of duty, is that why he as a kid dreamt to become a pilot. Thing is we might dream of a destiny but in order to achieve that we forget all the dreams of others that we tread all over. We are all individuals yet our actions can affect so many we don't or will never get to know, yet we may change their lives forever (for better or for worst). Probably the thought of being answerable to a Superior being can support to this idea of dreaming and aiming positively instead of walking all over someone shattering their image of the future.

Nature itself teaches us many lessons for life and yet the brain can draw as many and as different directions/solutions from those lessons depending on its inclination towards being good/ bad, logical/ emotional or otherwise etc. Maybe it's all the different changing needs that develop inside of us that force us to act in certain ways or move in a particular direction. We also built on the actions of people before us, and the decision for that is based on facts and past occurrences and again the direction we chose to move in is purely our choice. There are many kinds of humans some who give in to the decisions of the nature and others who rebel or are too egoistic to let nature take hold of them whereas they are naïve or plain stupid in understanding that there are some things which are truly beyond us and that when they take a decision for us nothing can change that but them. We are not puppets yet nature has a string attached to all of us which it keeps pushing and pulling at all times. Over here I would like to share an amazing statement of Imam Ali (as) (Brother of Hazrat Muhammad pbuh, Messenger of God): ‘More wonderful than man himself is that part of his body which is connected with his trunk with muscles. It is his brain (mind). Look what good and bad tendencies arise from it. On the one hand it holds treasures of know- ledge and wisdom and on the other it is found to harbour very ugly desires. If a man sees even a tiny gleam of success, then greed forces him to humiliate himself. If he gives way to avarice, then inordinate desires ruin him, if he is disappointed, then despondency almost kills him. If he is excited, then he loses temper and gets angry. If he is pleased, then he gives up precaution. Sudden fear makes him dull and nervous, and he is unable to think and find a way out of the situation. During the times of peace and prosperity he becomes careless and unmindful of the future. If he acquires wealth, then he becomes haughty and arrogant. If he is plunged in distress, then his agitation, impatience and nervousness disgrace him. If he is overtaken by poverty, then he finds himself in a very sad plight, hunger makes him weak, and over-feeding harms him equally. In short every kind of loss and gain makes his mind unbalanced.’

So, what is the best way to live? How to be aware of our actions, our actions and their repercussions. Human thoughts are like big tidal waves bringing so much from so many places and dumping it on the verge of the brain for us to pick up and start building on. We have all been gifted by nature with the power to think analyze and act but how much of it has been granted is the question only nature can answer.

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE:

Is all this development really necessary? I mean for me the question must have risen like a gazillion times that, how do we know when to stop? Is there actually a time where we realize that this is it! Or is death of one the actual answer to this process, and I am talking about all this evolution, discoveries and inventions. Basic human need is food, healthy environment, security, what else? How much ‘ease’ do we actually need in life? Isn’t this a little ridiculous? We are all really becoming lazy bums because now we can drive automatic cars, never feel the heat of the sun (accept when sun-bathing at the beach), lit up the whole house by clapping, eat frozen food by microwaving it like crazy, use up all the power supply to lit up a few dazzling (larger than life) Billboards, and yet that is all the lavish life-style of the filthy rich, because the mass is still searching for ways to keep up with the pace of this so-called modern world. As I had mentioned earlier, that all this ‘development and technology’ has made us blind, every day many environmentalists try to bring these people to their senses by protesting and spreading awareness that we are limiting our own existence by making our life ‘easy’. Why is it so hard for our leaders and scientists combined to think that all this money they are using to make our world more and more robotic can actually be used to make simple houses for the shelter-less people across the globe! Who are we competing against? Ourselves…? Mad aren’t we? All this has made us worst than animals!

There is no absolute ending to this debate, it has been there and will stay there. It is a thought-provoking message that needs to be sent across over and over again. Living in the third world and trying to keep up with the changes the developed countries bring overnight it has become suffocating and tiring. We have forgotten our original issues. A designer would launch something one evening in a cat-walk in Paris and by next evening it would have reached the boutiques from United States to Tokyo, this might be of preference to the designers or the fashion industry, but then why do the developing countries feel left out…?? Reason being, we have other priorities, people in our neighborhoods are dying of diseases and economical issues, they give a damn to what the fashion industry has to offer, for them just having one decent, clean set of clothes on them to cover them is all they ask for. Those are the issues of the masses which are overshadowed by the glamour and shine of the riches. People need work, education and literacy to guide them to lead better lives. Education, trust me, is the only thing that differentiates us from the rest of the beings, otherwise if we only live in the false belief that we are created as the superior beings we will gain nothing from these lives. A literate mind is all that is needed to make our lives a whole lot better. Another funny dilemma that we suffer from is that whom so ever has the highest degrees from the best institutes is the most literate person … if that’s the truth look around you … there are so many ‘educated’ people who are nothing but a burden on the society because once they receive their degrees and shiny, glittery medals on the chest they upgrade themselves on the superiority scale and just expect to be treated like royalty.. The real deal my friends, is a ‘Literate mind’, a mind that has understood the phenomenon of our existence and is ready to play its role in this world. I am not generalizing this statement but I am pointing to the masses who think on these lines. The more tech-savvy our world is becoming the lower our rate of communication ‘real’ communication has become. I am not against that, its great to have such a communication device with you that you can use anywhere and at anytime to contact absolutely anyone in the world, but, this way we have lost essence of touch and feel which are the basic elements of a human being. How many of us especially in the developed countries feel the cover and smell of a book from the library or personal collection. Let me share a blessing of living the third world, so we are facing energy issues and continuous flow of electricity is rare especially in summers, trust me it has its own benefits, when the electricity power is turned off temporarily during load-shedding and all the televisions, computers, Air-cons, printers, faxes, microwaves, lights and God knows all that goes off (and an average family cannot afford to have generators running for three-five hours continuously), then everybody comes out of their rooms, in the living rooms of their homes or on the terrace / roofs, balconies and sit together in the light of candles or battery lamps and then they get a chance of interacting with each other, share with each other what is happening and feeling each others expressions (laughter, worry, suggestions etc) giving a hi-five, tickling, hugging, holding hands etc. Everyone sort of comes together to the very natural essence of human society where we live together.

Whatever we say, there is a difference in holding and reading from a book, feeling its cover and weight, thinking how much time, energy and knowledge it must have taken to write it and instead just typing search words and extracting information from Google/Wikki etc. Another example which will support my cause and this one is focused from the developed world’s point of view (because such things are still hobbies of the rich in the underdeveloped countries), so tell me, why is it that people still prefer to ‘go’ to the concerts (rock, opera or whatever). We see everyday such massive crowds gathering for concerts on various locations. The reason being the sense and feeling of being there in that place, listening and feeling the thump of the speakers, looking at the artists performing, all the lights and sounds, people all around jumping, dancing and creating that environment of enjoyment. Would it be the same if you are watching the concert ‘live’ on television or internet?

You know what… I might sound like a huge critic of this modern technology stuff, but on the contrary I am a huge advocate, in fact I have been involved in projects where schools have been introduced with the idea of using technology to interact and share with the rest of the world and in the process support children in using these technology tools that should help them coup with their peers across the globe.

When we talk about existence of human essence perhaps very importantly we need to have enough room in our daily lives where we are able to communicate with ourselves. In this rushed up mechanical environment where it is difficult to take out time for others, more challenging is to find that cushion during the day where we just turn the power switch to an offline mode and only let one line active which connects us from our inner person, our soul and lit up the world inside. One of the most important tips to have a healthy mind is to have a sincere relationship with yourself and your conscience. Only when you are aware of your own needs as a human being will you be able to realize the needs and wants of others around you. Scientists, writers, teachers, people, everyone and anyone if are sincere with themselves they will definitely add positive value to this world.

The point I want to make through sharing this is simply this: ‘it’s good for mankind to evolve but all I am asking is that should we evolve so much that we turn into something else, or should we engage ourselves into evolving in better humans? Growing together in harmony, sharing powerful resources gifted by nature and not race ourselves into extinction! THINK.

‘There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.’

Brain Dump