Imam Ali on Intellect

A person’s intellect becomes apparent through his dealings, and a man’s character is known by the way he exercises authority.

The intellect is a king and characteristics are its subjects, so if it is weak in governing them, disorder takes place.

The intellect is better than desire, for the intellect makes you a king over your destiny, and desire makes you a slave of your destiny.

The intellect is a natural disposition which learns from experience.

The intellect is what arrives at what is correct through reasoning, and recognizes what has not yet happened through what has already taken place.

Use your intellect to understand something when you hear about it-the intellect that examines, that is, and not just the intellect that repeats what it hears, for surely there are many who repeat the knowledge that they hear, and there are few who examine it.

The one who has an intellect longs to be like the righteous people so that he can be of one of them, and he loves them so that he can be united with them in his love, even if he falls short in emulating their actions.

The one who has an intellect does not openly display it except in one of two situations: when he is furthest away from seeking something in the world, and when he is furthest away from abandoning it.

Surely hated adversity has final objectives in which it will inevitably end, so the one who has an intellect should try to sleep over it until this happens, for surely any attempt to stop it before it has come to an end will only intensify that hated diversity even more.

The first opinion of the person of intellect is the last opinion of an ignorant person.

The one who has an intellect finds harshness of life amongst persons of intellect more agreeable than a life of ease amongst the foolish.

I Also Quit The Race Of Labels

Be this, be that!

They said be a woman, be a man 

Be strong, fight back they said, but wait Who’s “they”? Could they be us?

Be a human, be confident          

Feel strong, feel weak, trust your gut

Be a human

Dress up, dress down. Wear heels, walk barefoot. Dress whatever you like. Wear makeup, surprise yourself.    

Tired of labels? Me too.

Be a human, not a super human. Be a change-maker, speak out, shout loud

There are things to be done. Help them happen

Help others, be selfish. Reign, serve.       

Be a human.

Make love, make money.

Buy flowers, pick flowers,give flowers.      

Be feminine, be masculine.

Only you define it

Have two, have none.   

Be feminist, be activist, be optimist

Be a friend, a friend of yourself.  

Be a human, just be.

These words are quoted from a video on YouTube and it deeply resonates!

Omar Khayyam

Dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows, why fret about it, if today be sweet.

The First Cosmic Covenant

It isn’t where you come from, it’s where you are going that counts.

Ella Fitzgerald

I always remind myself of how easily we can uproot ourselves and thrive anywhere. Even our religion cherishes the idea and entitles us to do so. Cherishing memories, lineage, and places are fallacies that should be eradicated.

The first cosmic covenant; worship, supplicate, and befriend all.

Meaning of Love

No human relation gives one possession in another—every two souls are absolutely different. In friendship or in love, the two side by side raise hands together to find what one cannot reach alone.

― Kahlil Gibran

No More Cocoons

Things do not go well whether they are educational, professional, or personal issues. Living in a place where people starve and struggle to make ends meet due to the recent unprecedented plight of USD and the highest inflation rate we are dealing with. As most of you know that I got rejected from the scholarship to pursue my master’s degree with no despair or grudge as I will keep applying until I get admitted. Professionally, in Egypt work is not managed by efficiency but rather by nepotism and by being loyal to your managers and supervisors even if this means accepting their insolence and intrusion with pleasure! I am studying for six hours daily in order to leave this ranch and never deal with these beasts. These are not insults as they always behave violently with no mindfulness. Personally, after my father’s death, I still cannot turn off the lights before I go to sleep as I cannot forget seeing him dead and shrouded before his burial. It was the last time I saw him silent with no screams out of pain but with all the faith and being a monotheist, death is ambiguous and difficult to digest as long as I am still in a different realm.

My appearance has changed a lot! I put on weight and depression looks like my closest company who would not leave soon. Life is playing its abhorrent game of giving things then harshly snatching them. I want to retrieve the old Gehad; I mean the old appearance with the current mindset. I even think negatively about my value as a woman but human beings are the most valuable creatures on earth. I try to regain my spirits, ambition, enthusiasm, trust, and confidence. I have started to eat healthily and enjoy taking myself to the place where I would mingle with like-minded people and through that process I will snatch my self worth and water it as much as I can. I would befriend honesty, self-care, and authenticity. I would abandon hypocrites, filters even those in my camera!, and self doubt.

Live and love 💘

Happy Women’s Day

The nonexistence of the male figure in any woman’s life does not mean her life is uneventful as women are fully entitled to choose with whom to share her life with no tutelage or discrimination. I, myself, enjoy the spirituality of my religion and how it makes me unworldly and content, but this would never be an excuse for men to have the upper hand over everything in our lives. Religions exist in order to eradicate any fallacies regarding gender and segregation! Now, with all this disruptive technology, The majority falsely believe in  religious standpoints which are overlaid with customs and unprecedented ignorance. We, women, thrive to do better and be more!
#happywomensday

No stigma
Happy women’s day!

Rumi

When one whole human being meets another whole human being, there is no antagonism. Even if there is difference, there is respect, because the wholeness of one is not in conflict with the wholeness of the other

Sagacity

When a door closes, a window opens. Do not focus on the closed door, but look for the window!

The Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

What has happened in Turkey and Syria reminds me how fleeting and unpredictable this life is! For someone who is based in Egypt witnessed the revolutions and its repercussions such as insecurity, crackdowns, and gory scenes, I thought there would never be any harsher thing to experience in this life but I was mistaken. A five-minute shake was enough to turn everything upside down and erase life away from those places. I thought the current situation with the unprecedented inflation rate in Egypt was the most difficult thing could ordinary people experience. I, myself, think cautiously when I buy necessary things from the market. It is unimaginable how exorbitant prices are with more than 100% inflation rate and with the same meagre salaries (most of us barely earn 100usd monthly).

My heart goes out to Turkish and Syrian people for this calamity. I feel the Earth is retaliating and punishing us for choosing to be transgressors, imperialists, greedy, double-faced, hyperbolic, and bloodsuckers. Sometimes, I feel nothing towards my people other than sympathy. Ignorance and poverty snatch humanity away from us and they beget nothing but violence, barbarians who swoop down over vulnerable people, and arbitrary. I feel the whole world is on the verge of collapse and maybe we are too late to heed lessons. Sorry for being pessimistic about the future, but it is already blurry and gloomy!

More Time and More Exertions Are Needed

Yesterday I received the rejection mail from the chevening scholarship. I thought I submitted a good application with well-written essays, but apparently, they were not good enough to stand out among thousands of applicants. Surprisingly, I did not feel sad or disappointed, but rather determined to work on my skills, study more for CFA, and maybe retake IELTS with goal 8! I am grateful for being different from the mass of people in my periphery, but I realized this was not enough to study at one of the top 20 universities in the globe. Again there is more time into the cocoon dwelling there active not lying dormant. I feel I have not much time to waste on unnecessary things. I should work hard on what I already have and make some progress here before reaching milestones. The journey to success would never be easy or smooth. There should be obstacles, times of failures, and people who insist on my high expectations Vs my humble capabilities and education according to their standpoint. We will see what kind of surprises the cosmos might bring about to help me achieve my goals and dreams. I believe they are not wishful thinking and they will come true someday.

The New Year In My Life.

After a few hours I will welcome a new year in my life. Despite the blurry projections of the future due to the current plight and the exorbitant prices, I am looking forward to experiencing a better off tomorrow. I always learn good lessons even from the worst people I had to afford in the last years. Hopefully, the upcoming year will bestow me with like-minded people, rewards, and more contentment for what I already have. I am grateful for being a magnanimous learner through the last decade and ready to share and experience firsthand what I have learnt. Self-development is a must as ignorance and stagnation beget nothing other than hatred and parochialism.

The Current Plight

Another currency floating happened this morning moving the EGP from 24.7 to 26.7. I feel paraplegic unable to project the future or how starving most of us will be. Everyone in a position is held accountable for this plight and the humanitarian crisis we all face now. It was indeed our slogan “Bread, Freedom, and Social justice” in January 2011 not to get to the verge of destruction, not to transgress asking for food or out of fear of death. Despotism begets nothing but anger and justice from the mobs.

The situation is unbearable in Egypt now. I am not selfish but deep down I don’t care much about saving money or making calculations for tomorrow as I feel I will not stay much here. I feel grateful for the last decade for being a firm guru allowing me to gain more knowledge and master another language. For their veneer as an insurmountable hindrance to a blessing to another gate. My people are reliant on the relics of our ancestors bragging all the time of lineage, but life does not tarry with yesterday and today what matters only. Education illuminates us and helps us make a living not the opposite. Glad for snatching myself away from ignorance, parochialism, and laziness.

Happy New Year My Dear Friends

I wish you a very happy new year full of prosperity and happiness. There is still much time ahead of us to learn and develop ourselves. The current financial plight results in many who cannot make ends meet including my people (The Egyptians), but we are hoping for a better tomorrow with exertion and dedication. All the best in every endeavour insha’Allah and let this year be fulfilling and filled with lots of milestones.

My Wishes for 2023

I received this yesterday from a dear friend and she made my day by such a spiritual surprise! these supplications are wishes for the upcoming years after unforgettable hardships and afflictions. I hope 2023 will be generous with me and bestow me with everything I am longing for even the farfetched ones. I am glad for learning lessons and understanding the benefits of deferral. The later dreams come true, the better opportunities we get as we grow by time and exertion. Make use of everything and opportunities will pop up out of the blue to reward us.