Nobody hits harder than LIFE, Will you get up and Fight Back?

For those who have been following my blog or know me a bit closer than usual, would know how big an inspiration the Rocky movies have been in my life. I have written about this before, but it is a topic which I wanted to write again on today.

I never watched the Rocky movies as merely boxing movies, I easily correlated them with life. The struggle of the man, from absolute pits to the great heights of fame and success. Family and peer support all the way. He wasn't perfect and not made for boxing other than the fact that he had a big heart, and was a fighter and had amazing level of willpower to never give up. Strengthen what he already had and use the skills to his advantage to cover his weaknesses. Adjusting as he went along to that next opponent. Rocky Balbao is an inspiration.

While I have loved the dialogues throughout, Rocky's fear stands out and then obviously the summary of pretty much the whole series captured in this lovely picture above also. "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life", the natural question that follows is what you do after that? Will you stay down and let the count down from 10 to 1 to happen and hence be labeled knocked out, lost, defeated? Or would you find your knees, your feet and find a way to stand up to fight, that one more round? Its not about hitting hard in this life, it is more about getting hit hard and being able to find the strength and courage to stand up again after a hard blow and continuing on to fight.

Nobody can really beat life other than death but in the midst of it all, a life is well lived if you have fought all the way through, not giving up, not being defeated. Why just survive it, why not go on and live it? You can't beat it but that doesn't mean you can be defeated either?

So get up, don't throw in the towel yet. Go for one more round. Push yourself. Pull yourself up. Get your act together. You can be the best of your own self. Nobody else can be that, its your throne to take. Promise me, you will never give up, not on yourself, not on others. Promise me.

My Baba - My Hero

So the elder one moves to Grade 3 this year. So as you can see, time is speeding along. I am already referring to her as the elder one, my grown-up young lady, with the younger ones growing at similar pace. By the way, this indirectly also means that, I am growing old.

As her new school year started a few weeks back, she is already realizing that things are getting a bit tougher from all angles. More responsibility expected, tougher things to learn. It is no longer a breeze through day. I think there is a transition from Grade 2 to Grade 3 which is a larger jump than the Grade 1 to Grade 2 one. It also feels a bit more difficult after 3 months of vacation, everything is a bit rusty.

First week end, I get to know that she had her first setback in school life. She was no longer the ms-know-it-all. This time there were things asked to her which she didn't know. That is the whole point of education isn't it, stretch the mind more. But on that day, she was devastated. So much that she didn't want to go to school anymore. Woah!! Hold on lady.

It was my time to shine. It's moments like these I crave for where mayG has done what she could and now needs me to swoop in, jump over buildings, stop a bullet train, deal with a few bad guys in the middle and then ... save the day.

So, I was in the superhero mode. The basics first, get to know the problem. This didn't take long and it was all about mathematics and adding up bigger numbers, carry-sums as they call it. Time for the deep voice which will live with her for times to come. See, this is something I do, whenever there is a learning opportunity, I make my voice a bit deeper which could speak to her at times when she needs it. It's like the "answer" for everything had to come through that voice. Agree or not, we all have one. Unless we hear something in that voice, we are not convinced on doing something.

So after the change of voice, we went through sums and sums, kept it interesting and basically the message of the day was, nothing is rocket science, all it needs is practice and practice. If she wishes to be ms-know-it-all, it wouldn't be possible unless she keeps learning new things and practices to improve. I think she got the message and realized how radical her decision of not going to school was. She is back on track and back focused on the job at hand.

I didn't realize how big this was until this weekend when I found out they had a session at school about "Heroes". The question, "Who is your hero?" While the standard answer for a 7 year old would be some cartoon or action figure, my daughter's answer? Yes folks, it was me. My daughter's hero is her Baba.

What a day? What a cherishable moment? It's the culminating point for everything that I do. The best reward, the perfect expression of gratitude. Now I am not sure if it was the mathematics lesson we had gone through in the first week or was it a general combination of my performance but all I can say is, it was a proud moment for me. It surely means a lot.

We get report cards when we are in school to tell us about her performance in school. How do we know we are being a good parent? Such situations are what could tell you and give you the boost. To do even better next time.

Being a super-hero to my children is not a new concept for me. I do see myself in a superman costume, doing the best as I can for my children, for my wife, for my family. 

I am UTP by day and UTP by night, no change. Super-hero 24/7, 365 days of the year. My special power is "Being Baba". Bad guys beware, this Baba means business.

Pakistan - A Dawn of a New Era - Election 2013

What I am seeing today is something I have never seen before and to be honest, I had never expected to see in my life. The status quo has been shaken. The empire of the corrupt will fall. It took a long time coming but it has finally arrived. The people of Pakistan have awoken. We are unstoppable now.

"The truth will set you free", was something I heard in some movie. It was nothing more than a movie dialogue until today. As I see the corrupt leadership of "status quo" stand confused on how to manage this new age phenomenon. All their poll rigging, terrorism of their militant wings, revealed through social media, TV, everything out into the open. People finding power and more power, becoming fearless, as they stand together. They realize, they are not alone anymore. A mere few 100 people can't control the masses on the basis of terror. Enough videos, messages getting shared online, on how the common man and woman of Pakistan has stood up to injustice and giving it back into their faces.

The Pillars of Status Quo are shaking and are about to fall. A dawn of a new era, a Naya (new) Pakistan is about to emerge where a true democratic choice of government will be created.

I can't help but quote an excerpt from, one of Faiz's most inspiring piece of work, which before now was nothing more than a sip of inspiration whenever needed and I never expected it to become a reality at least for me. The hope of a new dawn, and then living to strive for that day when all good comes to power and all evil is defeated. The eventual win for good over evil.

Jab Zulm-o-Sitam ke Koh-e-garaan,
Ruii ki Tarah Urrh Jain Gay,
Hum Mehkumoon ke Paun Talay,
Yeh Dharti Dhare Dharr dharrkay gi,
Aur Ehl-e-Hukum ke Sar ooper,
Jab Bijli karr Karr karr gi,
Hum dekhein Gay!!

Translated,

When the mountains of cruelty and torture
Will fly like pieces of cotton
Under the feet of the governed
This earth will quake
And over the head of the ruler
When lightening will thunder
We shall see

Complete nazm (poetry) with English translation at this link.

Faiz's dream comes true!! I never thought I would see this in my life what I am seeing today!! Power to the People, more Power to the combined voice and it has proven that when it comes together, no one can stop it.

While obviously, I am hoping we get a new honest leadership through Imran Khan, I would not be completely lost even if he doesn't get a winning majority. The thing to be proud of today is how the nation has come together to vote. I am still very happy of how the nation has stood in front of the known traditional powers who have ruled for many years through terror which is built from corruption that they did while being in power. The vicious cycle of terror to power to corruption to terror may have been broken.

Proud of my country-mates of Pakistan. Proud to be a Pakistani. At the peak of patriotism today. My heart is pounding so hard with pride since I woke up this morning, at how powerful we have shown we can be, when we want to be. Let the fire remain alive in our hearts and let's take our country into the future and make it one that is respected, valued and seen with honor and dignity across the globe.

If we don't take that responsibility, then who else?

Naya Pakistan - A Father's Letter to his Children

Dear Mahnoor, Mehr & Ibrahim,
Many years from now, you may see this blogpost and be proud of me, your Baba. It's May 2013. 1 more day to go for the biggest and probably the most important election of Pakistan's history. At this key turning point in history, where our beloved country couldn't be in a worse state, economically, politically and financially, I pledge to play my part to give you what I didn't have when I was growing up. A clean, corruption-free, safe and progressive country to be proud of. I pledge to contribute to it's history by casting my vote to bring change. A change for a better, newer and improved Pakistan. A country which you too are proud of when you grow up and live to make it even better.

I didn't do anything to improve it for myself. But I am going to do what I can to make it better for you. I could have just watched and talked the talk. I could have done nothing more than sitting in front of the TV and cheered. I could have saved the trouble and money and stayed at our home away from home instead of going back to our homeland to register my choice. However, I didn't. I walked the talk. I not only convinced myself to go back to our homeland and vote but convinced others who were just waiting to be checked upon.

My children, never forget your roots. Wherever you go in this world, there is one place which will always welcome you with open arms and that is your country, your Pakistan. Never forget, never abandon, never lose hope. I know I did. I shouldn't have lost hope, but I did. Maybe it was the best choice at the time that I could do for you, for me, for us. However, I never abandoned it. You can take the Pakistani out of the Pakistan but you can't take the Pakistan out of the Pakistani.

When you grow up, and you realize you have lost inspiration, find it through this blogpost. Find patriotism, if you forget who you are. Most importantly, be proud of your Baba. I did the best I could, for you. All my decisions drive around what is best for you and your future. A small drop in the ocean of change however, I wouldn't regret that I didn't play my part. So remember this.

My vote for change. My vote for righteousness. My vote for truth. My vote for dignity. My vote for sovereignty of our nation. My vote for economic progress. My vote for social equality. My vote for pride. My vote for my country. My vote for your future. My vote... My... vote. My voice, the expression of my individuality, My Promise.

My vote for Naya Pakistan. Inshallah, Naya Pakistan.

With all my love, your Baba,
Umar Pirzada
10th May 2013

Working hard or Hardly Working

Disclaimer - This post is not meant to make fun of English. If you are an English lover, read further at your own risk, you were forewarned. Do not take home anything other than a bit of fun from this and possibly a hidden message for the day. There is pun intended, wherever you notice it.

I was wondering this morning if there is an element of hard work involved in something, can it automatically be assumed that a hard working person would be able to do it? What if he ends up hardly working on it as it is not in his area of expertise which is where he worked so hard and got tagged as hard working? It can't surely be assumed that a hard-working person can work hard in any hard job.

Take for example, a hard working skilled labourer working hard in UK, can't end up leading a whole organization or for that matter even a specific department for an organization say for instance in UAE just on the basis of working hard as a labourer? Right? Or maybe he knows the English language in an appropriate accent and has the right colour of skin that is part of the job requirements. That could be a good enough reason to land up in that job. Maybe yes, maybe no.

What about a worker who hardly works in some job? Maybe that person isn't meant for it and hence can do a different and hard job better. Maybe he is in the wrong job currently.

What if the above 2 persons are competing for the same role? What should be the basis of selection? Past record would say, one is hard working but not suitable from the relevant experience basis. The other is a poor performer, hardly works, but is a perfect fit for this job from experience and knowledge basis. Who would you select?

The point is that there is no point. Okay there is a point, I could make one up on the go that a hard working person is hard working because he finds it worth his time and effort. There is sufficient motivation and incentive for him. A hardly working person can't be categorized as that as everybody can work hard as long as he can find the necessary motivation and the required incentive is established. So maybe, the reason this person is not a hard worker is that nobody tried to put that person in a place where he can work hard. He didn't find the right job. Maybe the hard-working person wouldnt be the same in a different job. It is important to have the right people in the right job if you want to see your organization or department do well. On a personal level, one should find the right job for oneself to be able to do well.

Are you in the right job? Do you find your current work, hard? Do you find hard work, hard? If your answer is yes, trust me it will not get better. It will become harder and harder until you reach a point when you are hardly working on it, spoiling your reputation and being tagged as hardly working. Switch before you reach that point. The world is always open for good people. Its more important to enjoy your work, that is the only way you will do well at it regardless of how hard it is.

Flat No. 2601

In this so called busy day and age that we have created for ourselves, our strength of faith weakens with every day. We are part of this daily rat race that runs like a perfect routine with minimal time for spiritual revival.

We turn back to our faiths only in times of distress and otherwise it is just somewhere in our sub-conscious minds that we are religious. I read a nice quote a few days back which underlines this reality,

"Don't make God your last resort, make Him your first option"

We only turn to God as last resort. So, how to keep this faith refreshed at all times. How can we keep God as part of our routine lives? I think that's where regular prayers come in. Make an effort to make those few minutes of your time every day to sit and talk to God Who by the way loves you 70 times more than your mother.

Anyway, the above is what went through my head a few Fridays back where we had a close call and a miracle saved us.

We had found a nice mosque where they give English lectures before the Friday prayer. We were returning from this inspired session where we saw a lady accept Islam as well. Close to our house, I reversed my car almost into a deep hole. I don't know where my mind was but with my family i.e. Wife and 2 daughters in the car, I backed into a spot where the car was half over the edge of a construction site and the other half on the ground.

Obviously, we were shell-shocked. One wrong move of balance and the car would fall down into the deep hole definitely bringing some potential injuries to us and damage to the car.

In this situation, where deep down there was prayer going on for help, the other hand was moving towards dialing the "Tow" support. This would easily take an hour to come in to help.

Out of nowhere a Toyota Hilux pickup stopped near us. There was a Filipino guy in it, who took a look at the situation and immediately realized, he needed to help us. First thing with my car pulled in the handbrake and my foot hard on the brakes, he knew I was stuck. He quickly realized the kids need to come out first. So he took my daughter still in the car seat and my elder daughter out and made them sit in his car.

This left me and my wife with a breather that at least the kids are safe. Next came the thoughts of, what next. The guy came and asked if I had a rope. I obviously don't plan for these things hence did not have rope. So he called a friend and confirmed that he had some rope. The friend lived in the same building as ours so it wasn't too far. Very soon, another Filipino guy came in with the rope. They tied the rope to my car and their car and pulled us out of this "edgy" situation.

Pale faced, we couldn't thank the person enough and he was as modest as it gets. Just going on with business, the kids back in my car and wanted to move on with what he was doing. I asked him, where he lived so we could send over a thank you cake or something. He said Flat 2601. We said our farewell and drove back to park my car.

The ungrateful piece of human flesh we are, we forgot about these God sent saviors. Only after a few weeks, when the topic came up again, we remembered that we should send that thank you cake. I was in the lift and that's when I realized that our building does not have a 26th floor. The buttons only went up to 25. So without a 26th floor there couldn't be a Flat No. 2601. This left me in shock. What? No 26th Floor? Where did they come from?

I had to confirm with my wife that it was indeed 2601 that the Filipinos had said and after sharing my finding with her, we were both amazed. It was really a miracle and an answer to our prayers at the time when we were really in distress.

We still think about it and haven't really got over the fact that there is no 26th floor in our building. I think about it every time I get on our lift. It was a day of a miracle. I am sure lots of such miracles keep happening around us and we don't even realize with our minds taking it all for granted.

The sad part is, it didn't take too long for me to get back to the routine of life and forget about the miracle that had occurred. That's how ungrateful we are. We keep expecting some sign to keep our belief alive and it's just so pathetic. There are enough signs around but we don't see it. Look at the moon, the stars, the sun. How everything works like clockwork and to what precision. How the human body is a world in its own, all working on it's own. We just don't want to accept The Greatness and want a personalized sign of our own to believe.

Even if that sign comes, either we miss it or even if realize, we get over it so quickly then expecting some other sign. How pathetic is that?

Conspiracy Guaranteed

I have been always been interested in conspiracy theories. From the young age of watching such movies which brings the thrill and rush of blood and twists and turns has always enthralled me to the shocking realities of life today.

I never would've thought that it could come out of that TV box and into reality. Conspiracy theories are all around us and evidently making our lives thrilling. We have been brainwashed to believe what we see on TV and when looking at the big picture that the media is controlled by people who show us what they want to show us and we believe it, we should be labelled as quite stupid.

With the advent of media and its growth to Internet and social networking, the whole thing has just got out of hand. Watch the headlines on any news channel, pick up a newspaper, see a twitter feed, follow facebook for a while, all I see is something going wrong in Muslim countries in the fray. Why is it that out of the 192 countries in the world (number from members of United Nations) only majority Muslim countries make the news and that too for all the wrong reasons. Isn't there problems in countries like US/ UK/ European Countries/Far East? I can assure you there are bigger problems but the image of Muslim countries is what these people are after.

There is a conspiracy around it. There is an hidden agenda. We all know about it. We don't want to talk about it. Its understandable.

The only thing important enough is to keep mentioning it. Reminding ourselves about it. This is to ensure we don't get carried away with what we see and hear. If one keeps the big picture in mind, it is very easy to stay focused on the goal and task ahead.

This is a continued test of our faith. The conspirators will keep throwing things at us, hoping we will fail. Fall down, lose hope. I actually heard a very close family member who asked, why should I get close to Allah? People who are not close are more successful. I was surprised and yet not so surprised.

The meaning of success itself has been changed. The perception is different. Success is money, fame, happiness in life, contentment in life, things that I have, things that I want and I get... with my hard work, my efforts, my skill, my talent, my achievements due to my good work and my relationships and my contacts....

It all sounds...so right doesn't it?

Did you notice that the perception of success contains a lot of  "I" who did it all by "himself" and limited to "This Life". This is exactly what they want us to think and they have been successful in their mission. Take God out of our lives and make us falsely believe that it is us who control our lives and success or failure is all due to our efforts and not God's will.

Observe a day an average person lives. How many times in the day does God or religion come in? Prayers are actually a diversion from the "life" that I am living. When the optimum way of living preached to us was life around prayers and remembrance of Allah and not the other way around. Where did that go? Oh right, that is not how successful people are made.

Riba (interest & interest on interest) has been categorized as the termite that keeps eating into you. It is the most hated element in the eyes of God, right up there with adultery, fornication, consuming alcohol, gambling. Every thing condemned by religion is the most popular thing to do these days.

Interest is now so common that its not even a point of discussion. It is understood to get money out of your money in the bank. It is understood that since you need the car, you ll go and get a car loan and pay interest. It is understood that with the continuously inflating value of property the only way possible to own a house is by taking a loan and pay interest. In this day and age of competition the best universities are so expensive that the only way to get into them and afford them is to take a student loan and pay on interest. It is just the "right" way and rather the only way possible to get all these worldly things.

Think out of the box. It is mentioned by Allah in the Quran that whoever asked for success in life, he was granted that. Whoever asked for success in life and the hereafter, he was granted that. So its all about asking for the right things isnt it? What are we asking in our prayers?

Increased wealth? Peace in the world? Fulfilling of responsibilites of family? Good fate of my daughter, my sister? Happiness in marriage? Job success? General Success in life?

While the above are OK to ask for also, where are the prayers for a Successful here-after? Even our prayers have now become focused with things that end with death. We have made the trade of the after-life which is going to last forever with these few 70 to 80 to 100 years.

When we pray, do we truly believe that it is going to happen since we are asking God? Do we have the blind faith that I will get what I want only if I ask The Right Source?

Its a conspiracy... every thing is a conspiracy... I am surprised at how everything has to be a conspiracy for us to come out of our routine life and take notice...

Everything happening around us is set with a master plan that the conspirators have made up. Their plan has been in motion since the day man was put into this world. They have gone stronger with time as indicated to us as well that it will happen. It is all happening as per the script already written and told to us. What the conspirators don't know that the plan doesn't get fulfilled at the end that they have planned. There is another Master Plan, a superset of their plan. This one by The Greatest Planner of all, Himself. There is going to be more and much more after that. But do we believe in that? Ask yourself, do you really believe there is life after death? Has your faith weakened? Is it just something that you read and you don't really believe in it?

Would you be doing the things that you do, would you be living your life the way you are doing now, if you truly truly believed in the fact that this life is the exam and the results are in the hereafter?

The stage is being set my friends. As mentioned in the Holy Quran and told by Our Beloved Prophet (S.A.W). The signs of the end of times are showing. We are losing our grip on the world. Its time to repent and come back to the basics. Go back to the matrix. Get close to your faith. For the times are near when our Prophet (S.A.W) said, it would be the greatest test of our faiths and extremism will not prevail. A person who is one step behind will be better. It is better to be one step behind but don't let the passion die. The fire within has to be keep burning.

Then wait for the Azaan (call) and when it comes, say Labbaik and join the force. The force which will be a comeback, an "in-your-face" to all the conspiracies of the world. The force that will be an answer to all the questions that the conspirators pose on us today. Questions around corruption, terrorism. The answer will be given but not now. Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But only when the time comes. Just ensure you are ready and on the right side of the battlefield. Jihad (Holy War) is our destiny as that is also a form of prayer with death in the way of religion with the truest faith and no worldly reasons, is the key to heaven.

The Reality of Me (The Human)

Actually, I decided to update this post a little more for more completeness. Just the poetry (that follows below) doesn't justify what led me to it. I was inspired by a good friend who brought to notice this first Ayat from Surah Al-Insaan.

Allah asks us...

"Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?"

The explanation of the above is basically towards the fact that we as humans can so easily flaunt ourselves with pride. With the small achievements in life, we feel, we are kings and in control of whatever we want to do. Pride (Ghuroor) is one of the most disastrous things that a human could develop. As that leads to other big sins and eventually away from Allah.

Allah reminds us by asking that question. There was a long time before Man when there was No Man. There were other creations like Jinn, Angels, maybe others we don't even know. However,  in the infinite time that only Allah knows, man is not even worth mentionable.

So, then Man was built from sand, or clay to be more specific as mentioned in the Holy Quran, this Surah explains the reality of me (the human). Surah-e-Insaan further explains how what we are when we are born and we forget who we were as we grow up. Easily fooled that what we are doing is based on our own strengths and talent and not by Allah's will.

Lot of thought depth led from that single Ayat. I think that is the beauty of The Holy Quran. Every Ayat has so much too ponder over.

Got inspired and with inspiration comes out a little Shayari (poetry)...

Kabhi Kehta Hay Khaak ka Zarra hoon mein...
Kabhi Kehta Hay Dunya mein Ashraf-ul-Makhlooqaat...
Koi yeh mujhay bata dey "Kyon" aur "Kya" hoon mein...
Jo Uss nay chaha tha ... Woh tou na bana hoon mein...
Samajh kee baat yeh hay ~Umar...  Mitti say bana hoon mein....
Aur Mitti hee mein ja mila hoon mein...

Translation

Some where He says I am a grain of sand [1]
Some where He says I am the highest of all His creations
Can somebody tell me "Why" and "What" I am
What He wanted... I have certainly not become...
The thing to understand ~Umar is... I have been made from Sand...
And I have gone and mixed with the Sand [2]

[1] - "Grain of Sand" - The smallest particle possible as in of minimal (close to zero) value in this world
[2] - "Mixed with Sand" is used in the context of getting Ruswa (disgraced, insulted, humiliated, defamed) in life

Cynical Independence from the Cynical Expat

There are different types of inspiration I seek at different times. Sometimes it is religious, spiritual which I get from getting closer to God, Sufism. At other times, it is inspiration to do well at work. Strangely but true, that you need that as well to keep going. My family, my responsibilities and my plans for the future repeated to me and I get back on track. Then there is another form which is Patriotic inspiration.

With the devastating things happening in Pakistan in the recent past, I have been feeling distant from my roots. I wasn’t feeling the sense of ownership that I should feel. This is not a comfortable feeling for someone who has been brought up with feeling of “Shahadat” (martyrdom) deep in his veins. I have grown up watching the right things, listening to the right things, speaking to the right people to know that the ultimate death is martyrdom. Leave sacrificing my time, my material wealth, I wasn’t even feeling bad for seeing the floods in the country. I was simply feeling cut-off from the reality. I knew I needed to get back to my roots and do some thinking and planning. I can’t be called normal if I don’t stop this now as it would only get worse and eventually put me at a difficult distance to come back from.

With the planned annual leave available, I wanted to plan it in a way that I spent time in my homeland on the Independence Day celebrations. Find some inspiration to do something about the mess.

14^th August 1947 was when Pakistan got independence. We became an independent state, in a position to plan out the future of the country in our own way. This year, 63 years down the line, we are not even close to our potential. I have been getting a series of strange confusing dreams and thoughts. Hopefully, they fit together and then they will be unveiled at the right time. But they were related to doing some good for the Muslim world, starting from my own country. Let’s see how these random thoughts come together and materialize if at all in the future.

There were many hurdles on achieving a simple trip, interestingly from different facets, family, work, personal interests. Just planning a trip to be there when the Pakistan Flag is the most selling item on the day had its hurdles.

Amazing, how the negative energy tries to fight anything positive that one wants to do.

Anyway, my will prevailed and we did land at Karachi on 13^th August, all set for an enjoyable Independence Day the next day. The landing brought back the Goosebumps I always feel just by the thought that I am touching ground to my soil. My place. It is Home. I’ll be honest; I don’t have a permanent home in Pakistan. I lived in a rented place pretty much all my life when I was here and on my visits, I stay with relatives but nothing of my own. But, it is still home and you feel it every time you come back with the country welcoming you with open arms. I was happy to feel those Goosebumps; it confirmed to me that I still got love and attachment to my home soil. This was a great assurance for my perceived goals and the things I want to do.

However, as a true expatriate, I felt a sense of insecurity as soon as I stepped out of the Airport towards the car park. I watched my baggage with hawk eyes. I kept a special eye on the bag that had the valuables. I mean, it is just sad and strange to compare how I don’t do that at this stringent level in the different places I have visited recently around the world. In my home country, around my own people, I felt more insecure.

Insecurity is a psychological feeling. It is all in the head and completely dependent on the individual. The mind is tuned by the media and what we see in the news which becomes grapevine and spreads like wildfire. If me as a Pakistani, felt this way after coming back after long time, I don’t blame the people who have not been here at all to build a negative opinion about my country. The media does ensure to portray Pakistan as hell on earth.

Okay, so this is not an Ostrich approach. I am not in denial. There are genuine issues here, agreed. Political instability, economic concerns, poverty, education, security... but it is no different than many other places in the world. Many experts are saying that America is now the worst place to live in the world. Your savings are gone, you are down in debt, and the economy is on its way down. However that is not the image it has right now. Take India; while the economic boom is clearly evident from the media reports, there are other issues worse than Pakistan related to poverty, secular issues, religious issues etc. Take the Far East, Korea, Russia, and Europe, take any country. Every country has its own major challenges however if one spends some time on any major news channels for a day, the result at the end would be that that its all going wrong in Pakistan and every other place in the world is somehow “manageable”.

Let me tell you friends. The issues in Pakistan are no different than any other place and yes they are manageable as well. I have seen how people come together to help each other and every problem has a solution which is being put into action. The sad part is, it requires a natural calamity to bring us together. We still got our passions and energy within us. We need stimulus and that’s all. I’ll tell you when something can be labeled as “unmanageable”. When people don’t have the passion in them to stand up for something they believe in. I think, we as a nation are far off from that.

We are just a little disappointed and disheartened with the series of leaderships that we have had since independence but that doesn’t mean we are dead meat. We are just saving ourselves to put it all together when the time is right.

All people around the world know about the Pakistan Floods that initiated from North West and has trickled down the river Indus through Punjab and is currently in Sindh causing devastation to millions along the way. What the international media is not able to show is how independent social organizations, school children, college university students have come together to gather relief funds and have been able to take it to the regions for supporting the people there. There is some good stuff going on here and yet the world doesn’t see that. I ask, why? All the bad news, so called terrorism, devastation, plane crashes, economic situation become a highlight reel but the good stuff about the country is not shown. Anyway, there is no need to ponder over that, as we pretty much know already. The media is a huge propaganda and it’s on a different mission altogether. I won’t even go there. But I’ll tell you its no worries, we will prevail as we are meant to as a nation.

The cynic in me has been my worst enemy. I hate the cynic in me. I don’t trust anybody anymore. I ask why? It is just straight forward brainwash. I have never been robbed or put in a firing line or even had a near encounter with terror. Yet I feel fear and insecure. Am I the lucky one? I wouldn’t think so. I think the majority of the people here would say the same. However, the minority that has been through it and the media has shown it building a red, bold, circle around it to ensure fear is maintained would say, I wouldn’t know as I have not been through it. I am not trying to shy away from the truth but it is not as bad as it is pictured. If we could put a percentage to crime and the ratio of it with the population, I am sure that the number calculated would give us a place far away from the top in the list of countries. We are a peaceful nation and it’s a peaceful country. We are not the most peaceful/safest agreed because of a little confused minority but we are not the most terrorized country either as depicted. However, the media has brainwashed the world as well as us as Pakistanis to think that… and sigh… built the cynic in me.

I land in Karachi and my cheap phone comes out, my PDA stays in my bag until I am on the flight back to UAE in fear of getting robbed. I watch over my luggage, my family with eagle eyes. I am in constant lookout for any strange people around us. Is anybody following us? I don’t leave valuables in the car. I don’t trust people. I hate myself when I observe the cynic that has become a monster inside me.

On the morning of Independence Day, the cable TV went off. This is the time when I was trying to switch it on, looking for Patriotic inspiration dialogue, songs, and speeches. All stuff that could revive my sleeping patriotism. Seeing the cable just be switched off due to some technical issue, gave me the cynical thought that even this is planned as well. They are controlling the media and showing whatever they want the public to see. Why should the public see something that brings them together, lets just kill the cable. An off day at home, and people doing nothing but worrying about what’s going on around the city. It would have been great to listen to some inspirational stuff being shown around the channels and get the spirit of Patriotism back. On the other hand the people were left with thoughts of whether it is safe to go out? Is it safe to help the people? Aaaarrgh!! I hate the cynic that has created within us.

It is an internal war I am at, trying to find inspiration of turning my passion and love for my country into actions which definitely speak louder than this stupid blog post which does nothing other than me venting out my thoughts. Did it do any good for anybody? No. Just a blabber-post forgotten on the next day it was posted.

There are so many things that I want to do. It’s a big picture in front of me but to get there I need some grooming. I need to prepare for the responsibility in whatever way possible. I need maturity, I need knowledge. I need to build management qualities. I observe my life behind me and I see how I have experienced the right things to be ready for the big task that is coming up in the near future. I am sure if you review your past, my fellow countrymen, you might feel the same as well.

Enemies of my country!!! Stop me now while I am just a bud, just a kid, otherwise prepare to regret in the coming times. I plan to blossom and prove my worth and live my destiny. May Allah be with me. Aameen.

My Countrymen!!! Put it all together. Kill the cynic in you. Be the salesman. Be the ambassador. Be the leader. We are born to lead. Find the right inspiration. Put your passion to work.

This is not how it ends. This is how it begins.

Getting Over the Writer's Block

I have been staring at the "Add New Post" screen for the weekend which will end in a few more hours. I have being wanting to write something but just can't seem to get myself to write. One of my fellow blogger had said once that this is the typical situation called "the writer's block". There is a cure and that is to get the fingers talking without any peer pressure.

This means write out whatever you think without thinking of the "perfect" topic to write on. Sometimes there aren't any topics around and it doesnt have to always make sense when you write. The best thing about writing is that even if you feel you are not making sense, you are. Thats the amazing thing about writing.... and reading for that matter.

The same line could mean different for different people. Hence the most nonsensical piece of writing still has the probability of making sense for someone out there. The probability is freakishly low considering firstly that somebody has to come read this post and secondly he/she needs to make sense out of it. Considering the no. of hits I am getting these days, I wouldn't count on it.

But thats the second point to remember when trying to come out of the writer's block. You dont need to worry about the audience or the reader. You just write for the love of it. I think I realize what I am doing. I am just writing and letting the words just get completed into a phrase and into a sentence to a paragraph and I already have 4 para-blogpost in place. I feel like writing more. Maybe another blog-post after this one.

I think a blogger needs to remind himself consistently that he didn't start blogging for the sake of somebody else. He started writing for himself and we are back in business. So, this one is for myself and for all those fellow bloggers who can just realize from this post, how easy it is to get out of a writer's block.

Come... Come... Yet Again...

For Allah who sends down love, unmeasured
Come.

Come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of learning,
It doesn’t matter.

Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Come, come yet again.

Come.

Rumi

Beauty-P or Bea-UTP :P

Creative with the title right? Hehe...I know its lame. But that's what today's post is about. Beauty as UTP sees it. I used the same content for a Toastmaster's speech this last Tuesday so thought I might as well make use of the effort and make a blog post out of it.

There is a famous folk story about Laila Majnoo. I am sure many people have heard of it. It goes that Laila was very dark in complexion and yet Majnoo was crazy about her. Let me narrate a beautiful verse...

Loagan aakhiya Majnay toon, oh tedi Laila rang dee kaali...
Majnoo aay jawab ditta, tu sakoon akh nahi dekharn wali...

Which roughly translates, people asked Majnoo, that your Laila is dark in complexion and Majnoo replied you don't have the eyes that see her beauty.

Its a point to quote the stereotype, "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder." That's exactly what I believe in as well.

The glossy magazine & advertisements showing zero-figure appearances of super-models females or otherwise have just distorted the image of beauty that we originally had. The true sense of beauty has got lost somewhere.

Ask the mother. Is your child beautiful? What a ridiculous question right?

Let me ask you. Is your mother beautiful? Are her wrinkly hands beautiful to you? I would probably get beat up if I ask that in public.

I can  tell you from personal experience that a new born baby in the hands of the father is the most beautiful and purest sight existent today. Unfortunately, the baby soon grows up and gets introduced to the pre-conceived notion of beauty as we have accepted as a given now. Soon she will realize that its a completely different version that is assumed by everyone so it must be true.

I fear a day when my daughter comes up to me and asks me, "Baby, am I ugly?" Now, what do I reply to that? Just because somebody called her ugly, she would come up and ask me that right?

I think the word ugly was just invented for the sake of it. They would have had the word beautiful since God made everybody beautiful. Then the devil's advocate came in and asked, "Who do we call somebody who is not beautiful?" And the so-called smart man who had been given intellect came up with the Smart Alec reply..."I know, I know...lets call it ugly..."

Ugly in itself has no stance whatsoever.

My question is, who are we to define the element of beauty? How did we assume that we have the right to call anybody ugly? Its just so unfair and displays extreme arrogance.

Is it looks? Most people believe so. Whether we accept or not, we do get attracted to beautiful and handsome, don't we? Well OK so God made them good-looking, beautiful-looking but that doesn't exactly mean that they are beautiful right. In the truest sense, beauty is something much more deeper.

It is something beyond the obvious. Its like you see a really juicy red apple and when you take a bite, it could be rotten inside. Its much much more deeper. Its not about the skin and more about the heart and soul. Its about the good deeds. Its about the behavior and nature.

When we judge beauty with our eyes, we can only see what is visible which is the skin, the appearance. I think in order to be able to see real beauty we need to open the eye of the soul so that we are able to see the other souls around as well.

Beauty can be different for different people. But the roots are very close.

In continuation from the verse above, let me take the next verse...

Chittay warq quran day, oh jehn kay siyahi rang dee kaali...

oh jehn naal dil arh paway, oh gori huay ya kaali...

Roughly translated as,

The paper of The Holy Quran is white as well. It only starts making sense when the Black ink falls on it. Majnoo trys to explain in a form of philosophy. When the heart likes somebody then it doesn't matter whether that person is white or black. WAH!!!

Beauty is what your eyes see. The purity of your heart will be able to see the beauty everywhere just like God created it. Just like He wanted you to see it. Take the material curtains off your eyes and open the eye of your heart.

There is nothing artificial about it. Look around you. Look at your home, your work, your school. Look at how beautiful God made this world. Go out and look at this world in a different way. See how the world looks back at you in a different way. Lets get back to the basics. Lets get back to the real beauty that exists even today.

How long will the assumed artificial beauty last anyway? 10 years? 20 years? Life is much longer than that, isnt it?

Winning Re-Defined

In this cut-throat world of competition where we are always striving for success and trying to win every battle that we get part of, it is very natural to be stressed out. It is inhuman to win every time with the way we define winning today.

We think we have to be the best to win. Winning doesn't always mean that.

Lets take an example of a contest which has some judges who decide who wins. It could be a beauty contest, a speech contest etc. Winning in a judged contest may not mean you were the best. Similar losing or coming second doesn't mean that you are bad. The fact of the matter is that improving and growing is the real way of winning.

Winning doesn't always mean being first, winning means you're doing better than you did before - Bonnie Blair

I like this quote specifically because it emphasizes on continuous improvement. Improving is winning. I think based on this point, it may be a better deal at times to come second. You still get the limelight for coming in second and yet you didn't get the award after which arrogance and feeling of perfection come in. It is very natural to feel there is nothing to improve upon if you came in first.

So lets re-define winning today. Winning is not being the best. Winning is more about improving and growing with every next attempt.

Think Differently & Positively

I will a post a beautiful story...today...



A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."

What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

Great men say, "Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness.. In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience."

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling.

And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

Adjust The Sails

"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails..."

I think its very natural to force something against nature. When things don't go our way, the more natural tendency is to try and fight the tide. Try and stand as a wall in front of it. We tend to forget that there is Nature that will take its way. One can't do anything about it.

There is a system that is running around us. The tides come in and go out. The wind changes direction. The earth shatters and volcanoes erupt. There are thunderstorms and hurricanes and tornadoes. There are enough things happening around us to at least realize that there is some Unseen Force that is making this world function with such precision.

In this world, there are things that will either go your way or will not go your way. Out of those things there are some things that you would have an influence on and some of them you wouldn't.

My question. Why sweat over things which you have no control on? Things which are going to happen no matter what you do or don't do. We tend to feel bad about things that happened because of something we did. We try to find logic out of things for which there is none and that is where we enter the zone of bringing ourselves down.

Here is the new strategy. Use nature to your advantage. If there is a forceful wind blowing against the direction that you want to go, use it well by just adjusting your sails and speeding your boat up. The best part about this anology is that for a sailboat, you can actually use the wind to go in an opposite direction than the wind itself.

So when things dont happen your way. The wind is blowing in some other direction. If you look beyond the obvious. If you stay positive. You can actually find a way to sail through while utilizing the strong wind to your advantage.

Just adjust the sails and keep moving. The tides will change again and the wind shall start blowing in the direction you want. That is when you can motor your way ahead.

Awaken the Desire

I put on an old CD of Junoon last week while I was driving home and heard their famous "Saqi-Nama" by Iqbal. Came across this beautiful verse...

"Jigar Say Wohi Teer Phir Paar Kar... Tamanna ko Seenon mein Bedaar kar..."

Translation & My Two Cents

To make it word-to-word, this is what it means. Send that arrow through the liver and awaken the desire in your chests...

Its basically one of those powerful verses by Allama Iqbal trying to wake up the people of the subcontinent in his times before independence of India & Pakistan. He is known for such famous verses which charged up people in those times.

Bring up that desire in your hearts. Where is that will? Where is that drive? You can only reach what you want if you desire it to the highest level possible.

I think this is one of the most motivational piece of writing I have read or heard in the longest of times. Its emotionally charged up. Find that energy, that height of emotion which you can get if an arrow is passed through your body. Find that desire to reach the most highest of goals.

Its the appropriate time somehow to find something of the sort as everyone is trying to find something or the other within themselves to keep motivated. To find something to look forward to. To keep going on.

Confidence vs Over-Confidence

We  have heard and used this term very regularly in our conversations. "There is a fine line between..."

There is fine line between Massage & Torture... :) There is a very fine line between Being funny & Being offensive...There is a very fine line between Encouragement & False Praise... I am going to write about another one of those famous "very fine lines"...The very fine line between Confidence & Over-Confidence...

Aah... This is such a fine line that while a person driving his car of life with confidence can go towards much success on the road ahead, a person on the other side of the line with over-confidence can see his life going towards disaster. This is a fine line which could make or break a career.

There are basically 3 major differences between people with confidence & over-confidence,

1. FOCUS - Confident people will never lose focus from whatever they do. They would remain on track for the eventual goal no matter how much praise they get along the way. Over-confident people will be found basking in the spotlight and enjoying the good times for that little while longer where they should actually be concentrating on the task at hand.


2. TRYING NEW THINGS - Confident people are never afraid to try new things. They will always be looking towards newer horizons, newer challenges. Over-confident people would be comfortable in the zone that they have found their success at most times. That is also how confident people remain always in demand.


3. ALWAYS IMPROVING - Confident people love to take feedback in order to improve on their weaker points. They are always en-route to perfection. The mission is always on. Over-confident people are found to be defensive when receiving feedback and much negative about people trying to judge them which pretty much keeps them from improving and changing the way they do some things wrongly.

Added to that, the shake of the hand tells a lot. One gets a feeling of warmth when around a confident person. Its on the other side of the diameter when it comes to Over-Confident people.

I write about this after getting this feedback from someone who has guided me well. I have been found on the wrong side of the line at times when it comes to being confident or over-confident and it is a constant improvement point for me personally. I mean, we do enjoy the spotlight, don't we? Its only naturally human to do that. But the results are not favorable in that spotlight cos when it shuts down, one is in the dark.

I think writing about the topic is a good way to stay on track, right?

Seven Ways To Stay Motivated at Work

I found a really relevant post in today's time where everybody is feeling demotivated at work. Layoffs, unpaid forced leaves, restructuring, etc. These are some tough times and pretty much the toughest most of us will ever see again, hopefully.

In these times, motivation is something that needs to be searched for. However, I got to this post which was written as professionally as possible. The seven ways to stay motivated at work.

Without taking away any credit from them, I will just list the 7 points down. Go to the above mentioned link to read in detail.

1. Clarify your Goals


2. Establish a clear Game-Plan for achieving your Goals


3. Ride the Wave of your Successes


4. Reward Yourself


5. Keep things in Perspective


6. Maintain a Healthy Work/Life Balance


7. Think Positive

I think it couldnt get more concise and precise than that. Just love the experts.

Death

I believe one of the greatest motivators we have in this life is Death. The presence of death in this life gives it much more meaning to make worthwhile. Every time one remembers that death will come upon the most strongest and the most successful, one can easily make every second count. Make every effort 100%.

The death of my grandmother this last Wednesday has left me lost for words. I feel like I cant move on. Her prayers were a very important part of my so claimed self-motivation. She was one of my most honest well-wishers. Where I feel I have lost a very important part of my motivation, I also feel this is a question asked by my fate.

The question states, "Will you be able to motivate yourself more, Umar?"

You have lost a huge part of your support system that has kept you going in the toughest of times. "Can you find it within you, Umar?"

I dont know if I can answer that question. But I know, this death is going to be more than just a soul leaving this world to rest in peace. This is going to leave a hole which is will be left till eternity. I know, I cant fill this. Nobody can. However, I know that her taught lessons and her unmatched will power will come out to get me through this.

Death being inevitable can be simple motivation. But the death of a close relative can be a challenge that sets up the stage for breaking through and find infinite motivation. I am looking out for that. Setting up goals to prove that you taught me well grandma. Your grandson will face this world alone. Sigh.

Direction & Focus

Many times in our lives, we find ourselves standing at a fork in the road of life and a decision pending. We weigh our options, the pros and cons and decide on which route to take. We would tend to spend more time on more critical decisions and sometimes even ask for suggestions.

There are other times where we are completely lost and don't know where to go at all. Its not about weighing the options there, its more about getting to a place where we get those options. We are simply way off.

These are situations where lack of focus and the objectives is disastrous. I am talking of situations such as this,

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to..."

"I don't know where. . ."

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go..."

In order to have a direction, it is essential to have some kind of focus on objectives. So before treading on the path of life dreaming of success, it pays to sit down for a while and jot down what exactly is that we want from this life. What is the goal that we plan to walk towards.

"If the vision is clear, that itself drives us to the right direction" - UTP

Have you ever sat down and asked yourself what it really is that you want from life? Think about it.