Some Answers

Sometimes we just want to find that person who will take care of us. Is that selfish? Someone who will keep us safe, and allow us to live freely and not worry about being lost or taken advantage of.

What the hell

"Sometimes when I look over at you, you have this look on your face like you are thinking about something that has nothing to do with what you are doing. Like you are thinking about something bigger, past work, I can't explain it"

-American colleague

What the hell is pressing on my mind? I don't even notice, the subconscious weight of something pressing my mind. Is it that obvious that I'm looking for something .

Life for the Twenty Somethings

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

by Constantine P. Cavafy

Zahir

Sometimes we are motivated to travel half way across the world looking to find our Zahir.

" Zahir, in Arabic means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with them or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be considered either a state of holiness or of madness," Faubourg Saint-Peres, Encyclopaedia of the Fantastic

Dubai, a city of 1.2 Million people from all over the world in transit at the hub of the world. It makes you wonder if this is the one place in the world where you would be more likely to encounter this.

Or are we simply looking for Zahir in the wrong places? Like some of us fated to find Zahir in a thing rather than an individual?

New Goals

I recently received an email from a high school boyfriend that really made me smile, and reminded me again we are able to accomplish our dreams and goals.

Hey Lish! GC here. Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you I'm thinking of you! I hope everything is going well in Dubai. It sounds like you're meeting lots of diverse, interesting people, which if I remember correctly from all those cold mornings at Inglemoor, is exactly what you wanted. I'm glad to hear you sounding so happy, so keep up the good work and don't forget everyone who cares about you in Seattle.

So I guess it's time for some new goals than, or at least a renewed commitment/reminder of some past ones.

1. Discover what makes me happy
I struggle with this one as I find many things I like or enjoy, but I haven't figured out how I can manage these things to make me happy, if that even makes sense. This is a broad goal, as it encompasses to, find out what I want with my future, what type of profession do I want to get into? What do I see myself doing in the future, and yeah, it's easy to say, you're young, don't worry about things like these, but if you want to succeed greatly you need some type of vision, or ultimate goal to stay on track and waste your time and energy chasing empty dreams.

Another sub point under this goal is figuring out what I'm looking for in that person . All to often we struggle because we exhaust and stress ourselves out forcing things that were never meant to be forced. We create and justify in minds that this is the right person for me, making up excuse after excuse to make ourselves feel better. Why? Are we that afraid of being lonely, that we like instead to subject ourselves to the agony, which tends to not even balance the so called 'happiness' that this person brings?? I admire and often try to unlock the secrets of those couples you see, and it's so natural and wonderful. And I think a step to finding that is really figuring out what you need and want from the special person. Is it guidance? Support? Friendship? Deep understanding? or even a nice thing to look at? We all have our motivations, none of which we should be ashamed of.

2. Kick Bad Habits
I think it's so important to kick bad habits, because though we know they are bad, why we do we continue to pursue them? Some argue that we do because they make us happy, but truly there are many good habits that make us happy as well. Can't we just be happy with those? Do I need to smoke? Eat fast food? Or settling?

3. TRAVEL
I am now living in the HUB of the world. I need to take advantage of the situation, and travel. This goal can be accomplished by me being more money conscious, SAVING MY MONEY, and researching travel destinations, and of course, planning.

So three goals for right now is enough, it's important not to over extend ourselves and plus these are big goals. Plus I'm always trying to change the world, and that is task just in itself.

British Red Head Insight

I read a cool article on the plane... summary is
below...

"Citizens of the world are not born wise but are made.

The citizens of the world do have a larger quest
quotient than the intelligence quotient. They have
always something to learn.

You give them any job, they do it will full
perfection. Nothing is impossible for them. They
respond positively to the situation and tell,
"Certainly I can do this." Then they get busy and
find out how to do it."

-B.M.W.

Omani Enlightenment

To renew my passport, it was decided to take a little road trip to Oman, relax at the Al Sawadi Beach resort, and catch up on some sleep. Accomplished those things and more. Hit an Omani goat, did some great snorkeling, and met great Omanis who were more than eager to share their thoughts and friendliness.

The rambling enlightenment below is a product of the weekend events and talking with a group of Omanis (Ossama, Najed) over some drinks in the local bar.

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You know when you are able to change the world when by one conversation you feel the world stop or at least hesitate for one moment during its rotation around the sun. And today I experience that moment during one small conversation that you never foresaw happening, and after you go . . . whoa, anything is possible.

You contemplate that if through this little conversation you were able to make this happen, to expand perspectives, share ideas, and dissolve misunderstandings, what else are you really possible of accomplishing. I would forever hate to think I missed the opportunity to understand, to learn and share, dare to never underestimate the power of knowledge. Thinkers live on forever!