that awful point of stagnation

well ... talking from a personal point of view

have you ever reached that point of stagnation ?

i mean OK stagnation is a big word

it mainly means in general terms

reaching to a point where you are stuck in

economically 

that prolonged period of slow economic growth

in other terms 

(Stuck in a rut) 

that is painful isn't it ?

(talking personally)

feeling as if you are stuck in a position you dislike

with no sense of direction

and certainly no hopes for a better tomorrow

i know it hurts 

knowing that you are filled with dreams and hopes 

for that better tomorrow

you feel that you are stuck in a current situation that dose not

help you to achieve that better tomorrow

but you know what?

its time to stop !

to stop all that

and to begin again

yes you can all get out of that evil thing called (stuck in a rut)

and achieve the better tomorrow you dreamed of 

first you have to know the situation that you are stuck in

it can be stuck in a job, or that your life has become into a rhythmic systematic routine 

in order to break the cycle that you are in

secondly you have to believe in yourself

its a key important thing to do, one needs to believe that he is capable

of adapting a thought and believing that he can achieve it

add to that a positive mind set which can help you to continue with your thought

then we start with the tricky part

what you should do next !

its a perfect opportunity to see where you are in life

meaning to set for yourself goals and objectives to be achieved

this way it will make your 

recalling what you really wanted to achieve 

or wanted to do which in turn will get you moving

that is of course if you are moving rather than staying put

doing the latter will actually enhance your situation of being stuck in a rut

SO lets all get up and lets all get out of that awful dreaded situation 

i personally will do that !

Being thankful

first of all i would like to give a warm greeting 

for the holly month of Ramadhan to my dear readers

may it be a blessed month to all

Secondly in the spirit of this month 

i would love to just talk about this topic

where we also tend to forget quite often

and in the middle of it all we tend to sound a bit 

(ungrateful) 

its not that we are doing it on purpose 

it is because we have lost our focus on life which makes us sound bitter and eventually ungrateful 

what it is ... is that 

we look at our life and then 

we complain of what is lacking in it

we don't have (x) of a certain thing

it could be something of material procession

or a certain goal to be reached 

and in the middle of it all 

we remind our self's

how we are short out of that desire that we want

or how we are just not lucky if we did not have that certain something

in our life 

and wow ... how many times have we thought about it

that if we had that certain something 

we would be more happier people

but what we forget the most 

is to be thankful towards what we already have

yes that is true

to be thankful of what we currently have

   

for what we already are having rather than what we don't have

and what we want to have

for some it would sound just stupid and useless

since its not what they want 

but think about it

the minute you write down what you are thankful for

you then realize 

you will realize that you have quite a lot to be thankful for

of course i don't speak for all 

it may differ from one person to another

and this in no way is an excuse not to aspire for higher goals or ambitions 

but still the main idea

is to realize what you have 

to be able to see the wider image 

and to try and measure out things !

so lets start being thankful for what we have

and maybe we will see things differently 

It only takes that moment !

recently a disaster occurred locally

where a fire took out a local "open market"

 there were no casualties from the fire

thankfully no one got hurt

yes there was damage, and yes lives change

but one can only think of many things from this incident

many lessons come up 

of course we tend to not recall those lessons 

and life can have a habit of reminding us of those lessons

either in a subtle way or quite openly 

one lesson which i recall 

from this whole incident is 

how can one lose in just that moment 

think about it !

it take one minute to make a mistake and lose it all 

it takes moments

and all is gone 

all the hard work 

all of what was worked for

all what any one tried so hard to reach for

can all be gone in a matter of moments !

and one can only start all over again

one simply cannot bare the emotional burden from such incident

and it will be difficult for anyone to overcome such situation

but one can only do that in order to just overcome and move on

it will not be easy 

it will not be

but that is the only way one can ever move on

and wish that life will bring up something good along the way

happiness is not for ever, and sadness never lasts forever  

what do we really want in life ?

i wondered recently 

with life and its ever changing situations 

and with all of its ups and downs

with all the fluctuations of life

with all the different situations 

clearly at each and at every single point it seems

that we have this ever growing (need)

it could be materialistic it could be an intangible thing that we desire 

its amazing how sometimes we switch from wanting a box of chocolates to wanting love affection

and its also amazing in the same retrospect that we go and buy things 

just to feel wanted or to feel that we are within the crowd 

when all that was wanted was the need to belong 

basically speaking 

we have Maslow's Hierarchy of needs 

interpreting what we need as human beings 

what is considered to be basic 

and from it we can trace all what follows after from that 

but when you think about it

needs are changing in life 

what you used to need before is not what you need right now

something that is now rendered obsolete

and you keep on thinking of what is next 

what you really want 

and then comes the big question 

(What Do We Really want in life?) 

of course lets break this down a bit more into details

you have wants and you have needs

and basically what you need is something necessary to live by

and what you want it simply an extension of your desire 

- so to speak -

and it just is mind boggling to see mixing up of what you really need with what you want

and how people just fell into that trap (including me personally) of just buying stuff

and buying more stuff since the old stuff became useless 

(which is false since that old stuff is perfectly fine)

we have fallen into a mess ! 

of buying stuff in the name of (need) when you just do not need them

we have became something of a consuming society 

where personal possessions rule us 

and some of us are the lucky ones who survived all this 

or who are well aware of this ! 

just remember 

there is a difference (as i mentioned before) 

from what you want and what you need !

what do we know about living ?

an interesting question that has came across 

when i was having an interesting conversation 

with an old friend i am reconnecting with

we talked about a lot of things 

and we stumbled upon the topic of "living life" 

and the whole basic question of 

how to live life ?

but before even going into that question 

we both pondered at the issue of 

(how do you live your life?)

i may have spoken about this topic relatively 

in previous articles, although i do not believe it was thoroughly discussed

how do you live your life?

we were talking about certain issues then we came to a point about me 

where i was like ( ok so i graduated from University and i got a degree ... what is next?)

its that part (What is next?) that got us into the question of asking 

what do we know about living ?

you live through life 

some may achieve goals

some may achieve something !

others may choose to settle down 

since they have nothing else to do !

and that got the both of us wondering 

of course we are not saying anyone is wrong

its just that how are we suppose to do it ?

most of us live under influence of something

culture, norm ... etc

which somehow dictates to us how to live our life 

most of us fall into the norm that everyone does 

graduate study

then 

work 

then

get money

then

get settled 

and so in the middle of it all 

one sometimes asks what am i suppose to do ?

what is next?

what could be that certain thing that i can reach up to ?

after all this one will not know

how to live life, no matter how much he learns

life is a big thing 

and we all do not know a single thing about it

and i for one cannot tell a certain answer 

all i can say

keep looking forward

live today and think about tomorrow

and always think about chasing what you really dream to do in life !

choices and opportunities

we all get choices in life and opportunities to choose from

sometimes we are able to see such opportunities

sometimes we are unable to do so

and sometimes the opportunity comes without us knowing

and the whole course of how things go in in life unfolds afterwards

there are also times where you find yourself in a certain setting 

with a certain status in life

if that setting and status were the ones that you were hoping to achieve 

you look back and you gaze upon that as an achievement

if it was not you will surely ask your self how did you get there?

i share with you again a personal story that happened to me 

just today 

recently i got the call from a company offering me a job

while i was waiting for an international internship program

which i have registered for before this

which was quite confusing to begin with

you want something and then something else comes along

which was unexpected

of course i personally fought with doubts

should i choose this or choose that

and i also thought of the long term implications for such actions that i would take

(of course you should not think of the outcome for anything in life and go where ever you are taken)

i also reached out to friends for help 

of course they did not hesitate to help me out

and they told me on their part to choose 

accordingly and move towards the choice 

and forget the outcome 

little did i know that circumstances can have its own way with things

it may present to you an opportunity 

but gives you better ones while you don't know

it may take it from you but only

to give you something else which makes you move forward towards what you really want

and i personally say

be open to what life may give you 

if you did not get what you wanted in the first place

you can always move yourself towards what you wanted

which ever way you want

what ever possible path you choose

just remember that opportunities open infinite number of other opportunities

its like a hidden opportunity inside an opportunity

ps thank you friends who have helped me in guiding me to my path

this article is dedicated to you all =)

where are you going in life?

in continuation with what i have written in the previous article

about how one can find themselves all of a sudden

out of luck, and that doors keep on closing in their faces

and probably having to start all over again at any given point in life

which dose again brings another question 

where are you going in life?

naturally we are all seeking a direction to go to in life

looking for that path, road

were it will take us to 

where ever we desire to be

that job that we always wanted

that position of wealth were we wished for 

that place where we feel power !

and it dose make you always think 

and ask yourself these questions

what are you doing right now?

what is it that you want to do?

are you going anywhere?

is it a promising destination at the end?

will you feel at comfort at that place?

its all these questions that need some sort of answer

were in you cannot get the answer at the instance quickly

you need to search for it

you need to seek out for that direction, path, road in life

that you have always wanted to go through

it will be scary at first knowing that you are facing the unknown 

and that you do not know what you will be doing

and sometimes you get to carried away thinking of what could 

happen at the end of that road

and you think about the stuff there 

however you must stay clear headed 

and accept what may come 

for it is the first step to just go through 

and in the end i leave you with a proverb said by (Imam Ali A.s)

لا تستوحشوا طريق الحق لقله سالكيه 

fear not the path of truth because it is less traveled