LIFE AS IT IS

Happiness comes in different shapes and forms. A new cell phone makes us happy, so does a long-overdue vacation or a good movie. But happiness can come from very simple things, too, things that do not cost us any money at all. For instance, we feel happy when someone lends a helping hand, appreciates our work, utters a kind word, or makes us feel loved, wanted and cared for. I don't know if it's because I have spent almost 9 years in the West, but every time I visit my home country, I feel that people there are not kind or helpful enough. No man ever opened a door for me in my own country! Here, I always see men doing it. Women do, too. I almost always hold the door open for the person behind me. When on a crowded bus or train, I get up and give my seat to someone who needs it - an elderly woman, an expectant mother or a disabled person. And I am not the only person who does this, of course. Others do, too. Random people show care in random places... and it makes our day...

I felt I needed a break, a break from my routine life. I called up a childhood friend who lives in New York City and arranged a weekend trip to her place. However, my plan raised some eyebrows among friends and relatives, who thought that leaving a 2-year-old for two nights alone with her father was not the best idea.  My husband, however, did not object to my wish. He purchased my Amtrak tickets, helped me pack my bag, stood on the railway platform with our toddler, and waved at me for as long as I was visible. Like me, he also believed that a weekend away with an old friend would refresh me!  Since 2015 one my closest friends and I have been enjoying our "girls' weekend out" every year. On those Saturday and Sunday of the year, we eat, walk, laugh, talk non-stop, sing, dance, shop, pamper ourselves in spa, take photos, try out new eateries and do something that we have never done before. For instance, on our first girls' weekend out, we bought tick...

You may find it hard to believe but a plastic bottle takes anywhere between 100 and 1000+ years to degrade, with an average degradation time of 450 years! Does this piece of information interest you in using less of plastic and more of environment-friendly substitutes? If yes, then you are treading the right path, because it is never late to start saving our environment.  There are innumerable ways to limit the use of plastic in your daily life. Some people may stare, tease or make fun of you at times, but remember that those are the ones who are not equipped with the right kind of knowledge.  Take your own bag:  When you go shopping, be it for books, shoes, clothes or groceries, carry your own sturdy, reusable bag, preferably something made from cotton or jute.  Carry your water bottle:  Instead of purchasing a bottle of water when you are thirsty, carry your own water in a bottle or flask made of glass or stainless steel when you leave h...

Sitting under the summer sky I hear two finches warble. Who knows, what they are singin' - Their language foreign to me...

I want to get up and smile The first thing in the morning. I try, but I can't. I want to wake up and jump off my bed, I try, but I can't. My legs feel heavy and mind benumbed. I want to tweak my resume, Re-write my cover letter And fill out those application forms online. I try, but I can't. I want to hang out with friends, But I can't. I eat when I am full But starve myself when I am supposed to eat. I cry, I cry for no reason at all. My eyes, my poor eyes, I want to stop sobbing at night. I try, but I can't. Some nights I sleep too much Other nights I am sleepless. I am irritable, I am restless. I am hopeless and totally helpless. But I don't give up. Giving up is out of the question 'cause I know the sun will rise soon Sooner than you all think. And my life will begin anew. By Wara Karim 

It’s the little things in life That make life worth living. We carry a stranger’s smile, Gesture of love, Drops of tears With us wherever we go. We remember the first snowfall in a new country, The first dance in the summer rain, Or the first rainbow in the western sky. We remember who gave us a good meal When days were bad, Who uttered words of hope When there was no hope, Who held our hand and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” We remember the people, Who made us laugh And made us feel That the world wasn’t a bad place at all. We remember the blind man We once met at a train station - His white cane was his scepter. He radiated hope, he emanated courage. Yes, it’s the little things and experiences That make life worth living, Ask us to stand tall And brave all the storms, And tell us that the sun is there, Right there... behind those gray clouds. You may not see it now, But it's there, there, right there. -W.K.