Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Paint the Sky with Stars


I am exhausted. Ever since I arrived back to London on the 1st of February, I have not had any opportunity to properly rest.  Through deliberate consent ofcourse. It was just what I wanted, to dive right in to the depths of the hectic lifestyle here in order to escape the memories of the months past. My laptop tells me its 12:14 am, and my sanity begs me to hit the sack and doze off to get some much needed shut eye. However, as I sit curled on the cozy kitchen sofa, with the dim light and music blasting through my headphones, I believe there is so much more to my existence than going to sleep right now. For starters, it’s about high time I caught up on my blogging.





I have so many things to write about. The list is long and some how I haven’t managed to stand still and pen down my thoughts through the crazy blur that has defined the past 2 weeks. Until now. I could ideally start from the top of the list of what I should blog about, such as the recent Pakistan Young Leader’s Conference (PYLC) at Oxford which I attended this weekend. It was arranged by NUPSA (National Union of Pakistani Students and Alumni), an organization I am proud to be a part of. Not only was the whole event a roaring success, the dedication and hard work put in by the NUPSA executives has earned them my complete respect and admiration. However, while I will write about PYLC soon, now I want to pen down some other thoughts flowing through my mind at this particular moment in time. 

I wonder why people define happiness and joy in such absolute terms. Good job, new car, new house. For me happiness is about appreciating life. It is seeing how people get together and commit on putting together an important event for the love of their country. It is people traveling from different parts of the world to meet like minded passionate people engage in intellectual debate. It is running with a friend to catch the last bus, and laughing like crazy when you miss it. It is like posing and giggling like a little girl in front of the camera. It is talking to my two lovely brothers (Masha’Allah) who live abroad on the phone. It’s like the first bite of chocolate after a long hard day at work. And it is writing, because nothing expresses me as much as my writing does. I am an artist and with my words, I paint my picture.

I can sound a bit obsessive about how short life is, considering the number of times I keep mentioning that fact. That’s a good thing though. It makes you realize how swiftly the wind of fate whiffs away time like particles of sand from your clenched fist. So why should we not try to make the most of the little time we have? Life is hard. No one can be aware of what’s going on in another persons life. They may seem happy, but everyone is human. Keeping that in mind, where’s the harm in spreading some good cheer? Smiling at an aged old person on the street. Helping a flat mate with the groceries. Appreciating some one for the task they completed with dedication. Letting some one know they are not alone. Donating your spare change to charity. Or some thing even as simple as bringing a smile on some one else's face. If you could measure the impact your small act could potentially have on some one else’s life, you would be in awe. With so much to gain, and nothing to lose, it is worth the moment.

People must really get an impression that I am an extremely happy person, considering my writings. I am a human being just like you. Life has however made me extremely aware of its unpredictability and short duration. So much so that every few days I need to swim up from the ocean of existence and take in a deep breath of what is really important. To help me some how survive the rough patches. Writing makes me happy and I guess it shows in my work.

Looking out of the window, I think as always how for me the night time is the most beautiful period of the 24 hour time span. The brilliant stars, the moon lighting up the scenery with its translucent pearly light, as if it is a torch God is holding from the heavens. It is a shame most of humanity is sleeping at this time, and hence is unable to appreciate this raw beauty. That said, it is about high time I joined them. And so I end this article, with the hope that I may have inspired at least one person who read this to appreciate life and spread cheer amongst others. Let us paint all of our short lives with the stars of appreciating the simple pleasures of life and joy in helping others. Amen.

11 comments:

  1. - *hug* i completely agree. it's the people in your life that make your life better, and that's REAL happiness, no amount of money in the world can achieve this level of happiness. well written. and i'm very lucky to have you as a big part of my life. love you lots :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. *Hug* right back atcha! And love you more =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. MashaAllah very nice writing indeed...:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful post!
    Thank you for sharing.
    And you're right, happiness that comes from things cars, and new houses, is always short-lived because they are things that pass.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mujtaba and Nas: Thank you both for the appreciation. Glad you enjoyed reading it =)

    ReplyDelete
  6. nice and lovey dovey and all that but lets be honest, a lot of the time we dont want to be nice. oh and being nice all the time can be a bit sickly sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Faisal, I totally get your gist, even I was concerned while writing the article that ppl are gonna mistake me as a very happy person. Everyone is human after all. But sometimes, why not? Like I said, there's nothing to lose and so much to gain. And as a human rights activist yourself, I'm sure you'd agree to that =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Shakespear of the east:)
    Its always so epic to read your posts! And I love the way you appreciate the aesthetics of life!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Haha, thank you, you are TOO kind Sibte! Glad you enjoy reading my blog =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been snooping around your blog. You're a really creative writer. This post reminds me of a post I wrote a while back when I visited California for the first time: http://joeseydl.blogspot.com/2010/03/california-dreaming.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for dropping by my blog Joe, and appreciating my writings. I will definitely check out your blog =)

    ReplyDelete