In life, we are tested by whatever our hearts attach to.
Waking from a night stifled by memories, I interrogate myself: “How on earth did you arrive at such positive opinions of all involved?” In truth, all that I subsequently imagined was quite preposterous. But such is the heart, rendering us blind to what we do not wish to see. Looking back, I now remember every …
I really should stop feeling intimidated by people who tell me how brilliant they are. Most of the time, they’re just bluffing. Which will become apparent when they need help. Take it easy.
I suppose I should just reconcile myself to my role in life being the eternal butt of the joke.
It’s a fair question. When I speak, people laugh. When I appear, they wink at one another. Is it my voice, my face, my eyes? What is it? I wish I knew, for it has always been so. From years ago in my youth to just yesterday, presenting to two separate groups of leaders and …
If people wish to hold a negative opinion of you, they will, and there is nothing you can do about it. Even if you do nothing but good for them, freely spending your wealth for them whenever asked… if they wish to see none of it, they will see none of it. If people wish to …
Alas, we must acknowledge that regularly having your heart broken comes with the territory of being a parent.
I first met my mother-in-law twenty-four years ago, in the late autumn of 2001, during my first trip to Turkey. I’d just been made redundant from my only recently secured job in Maidenhead — last in, first out — but had been retained as a freelancer. The visit wasn’t long-planned. It was an urgent, spontaneous …
I didn’t see it then, but I see it now. It was a blessing that I was so shy and hormone deficient in my youth. It bestowed the patience to await my turn.
Nobody knows in which land they will die, nor in what circumstance. When it is decreed, there is no changing it. From God we come and to Him is our return.
For years, it bothered me that others had such negative opinions of my intentions. But now I know that honourable young men are so few and far between that those assumptions may well have been justified. Why expect anything different when most are motivated by one thought alone? Naturally, you would protect yourself. Safety first.
Allah rahmet eylesin. Mekânı cennet olsun.
Coincidentally, our daughter started a conversation this evening about her not believing in coincidences on the basis there are just too many of them. Which led us to trading stories. She had to admit that my own collection was pretty awesome. Maybe I should compile them and publish them in a book.
Sometimes, it seems, the only way forward is to hit crisis point.
We spend a fortune on tuition for our kids, but in the end, we must admit it’s pointless. Every human being must ultimately decide where they stand: whether to help themselves or not.
