“No one should negotiate their dreams. Dreams must be free to flee and fly high. No government, no legislature, has a right to limit your dreams. You should never agree to surrender your dreams.”
Monthly Archives: July 2009
I LEGO N.Y. | 3
Stop *Puffing*…
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“History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads.”
A Green-Winged Longing…
I came across this poem more than a month ago and thought one day, when I feel like blogging again and when the mood is right, I’ll share it here… Today is that day… This is dedicated to you – you know who you are… “A Green-Winged Longing” by our beloved poet, Rumi.
This world of two gardens, and both so beautiful.
This world, a street where a funeral is passing.
Let us rise together and leave “this world,”
as water goes bowing down itself to the ocean.
From gardens to the gardener, from grieving
to wedding feast. We tremble like leaves
about to let go. There’s no avoiding pain,
or feeling exiled, or the taste of dust.
But also we have a green-winged longing
for the sweetness of the Friend.
These forms are evidence of what
cannot be shown. Here’s how it is
to go into that: rain that’s been leaking
into the house decides to use the downspout.
The bent bowstring straining at our throats
releases and becomes the arrow!
Mice quivering in fear of the housecat suddenly
change to half-grown lion cubs, afraid of nothing.
So let’s begin the journey home,
with love and compassion for guides,
and grace protecting. Let your soul turn
into an empty mirror that passionately wants
to reflect Joseph. Hand him your present.
Now let silence speak, and as that
gift begins, we’ll start out.
— Version by Coleman Barks (from a translation by John Moyne)
S
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“Nobody really cares if you’re miserable so you might as well be happy.”
— Cynthia Nelms
London Calls…
OK guys, I reckon I’m getting back on the track… writing wise, I mean! My last post was a general update and here comes a more specific one following my “writer’s block”, hah!
If you are regular reader, you know by now that I have this love affair with London… so I thought it would be good to share that last month, I took a trip to the city, 9 years after leaving the place I considered (and still do) my second home… oh yes, my beloved London… often called as the coolest city in the world…
This time around, my stay meant even more as I was surrounded by my lovely family and friends whom I haven’t had a chance to spend real quality time with for several years… I revisited my beloved spots which refreshed my memory… where I used to stroll… where I fell in love… where I tried my very first cigarettes… where I cried like there was no hope and laughed like there was no tomorrow… the trip was also filled with cultural experiences: galleries such my beloved Tate Modern, new dineries, “Billy Elliot” on the West End (you want to jump up on the stage and give him the biggest hug for his amazing performance!), having pints beside the Thames the way only proper Brits do, the lovely Brick Lane, debating (elections and otherwise), and so much more…
I’m grateful for all and I truly hope one day I can walk in the city while heading home… my second home yet again!
S
Motherland…
Wow… it’s been a while… almost too long… left with a blank slate, sort of… not sure where and how to start.
A few days ago, while I found myself restless in the office, I decided to take a walk… the weather was hot and humid… as a friend suggested, I started to breathe… inhaled the hotness and exhaled it out, oh so good… then I thought to myself, what’s going on… I haven’t been writing for the longest time… I had no incentive whatsoever these past few weeks, but that was one of the only ways that could rescue me from my restlessness… so I opened this page and started to share the occurrences of my mind but never posted it until now…
The past month or so has been full of news… I hate to say this, but it’s mostly been bad news… my motherland went through a lot of hardship, to put it mildly… the election which resulted in some of the most controversial post-revolutionary news… the one that made me – and everyone else – wonder until when our people should suffer from the injustice, the lies and yet more lies… this was an eye-opener for me and others like me in diaspora for over a decade… it made me realize that no matter how far we live, we are still a part of that land… we still care about our compatriots, our brothers and sisters who put themselves in grave danger while fighting their rights… so today, I started writing for them… for those who made me the proudest in the past month… no matter how hopeless or disillusioned we all felt…
Today I salute you and your courage and send you a big smile, a much bigger open heart and the biggest wish for hope.
S