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Showing posts from 2014

Lost Identity?

United States of America, the land of hyphenated citizens, is like a safe house for many people around the world. It is certainly true for me. I wasn't born here but I have had many of my best experiences and opportunities here. I earned college degrees, chose my career (even changed it with no social limitation), worked as I wanted, made my own life choices (some didn't work well), broke old traditions without retribution etc. I can  go out of my house without fear of being raped and killed, can leave my house without a man accompanying me and dress as I preferr. I am safe from many life threatening phenomena that women face around the world. I have lived the best moments of my life here, in this land. But I can never venture too far from my afghan roots. I spent the crucial learning years of my life in Afghanistan. Most of my values and personal preferences are based on my upbringing in Afghan culture. Those values and standards were refined by the education I earned and the

Muslim Apology

Being Muslim is getting harder even in a liberal country like US. I blame it to the generalized ignorance that is gripping the land of the free. It was 5-6 years ago that I noticed ignorance was becoming the new trend. People were not smart, just smart mouthed. We started to over simplify theories, to summarize philosophies and lower standards and excuse continuous failure while accepting mediocre performances. At time, I didn't think much of the trend. I assumed it will die away with time. Obviously I was wrong. Ignorance became widespread between many layers of society and now it is the accepted norm. Just listen to some talk show hosts and news reporters and you will see what I mean. The content of their questions, the direction of their proposals and the background of their arguments are shockingly primitive and presumptive. You want to answer the question or argue the idea presented, but for immature debater like me, it gets confusing. Confusing because the question posed or t

There and Here

Life in Afghanistan was simple in all ways. Relationships, needs, work, house chores, celebrations, endings and beginnings even sufferings and pains were all simple. I miss simple life. As a child, you could play outside your house with friends and neighbors's kids, go to school, and help around the house. You didn't have many unnecessary facilities like smartphones, facebook and instagram to distract and confuse you. You would go to school in uniform and held accountable by your teachers and parents the same way for your behavior and academic accomplishments. You would follow your education to college, be married (probably arranged), have kids, maybe have an easy government job, struggle to make ends meet and see your kids grow old. You wouldn't have many options regarding your work environment or accessories to facilitate your chores around the house. Your older siblings or your in laws would limit your choices and in return provide support, social, financial and etc. E

Life Happens

It is liberating to know that You are not the center of the universe. This means events of your life aren't scheduled around your desires and demands. So life happens. How do you live with that? You plan, you choose, you avoid and only a percentage of your life turns out as you want. To be honest, it is very liberating to know that you are not totally in charge of your life. It is Not all up to you. What is your attitude toward life now? Do you see your life as a series of unfortunate events or

Life

Life is unfair and unpredictable. To say life is beautiful depends on your state of mind at the moment of confession. If you have been experiencing favorable situations recently, you will have a positive and hopeful outlook on life. However, calling life unfair and unpredictable is as objective as it gets. There are pleasure and pain in life. You can't avoid the pain nor can you increase your worldly pleasures, regardless of your intentions and efforts. The only way to live is to endure and rejoice the ups and downs of life and keep going. Keep going  for different reasons at different stages of your life. It's critical to find these reasons as they will keep you going. Again awareness is the key. Be aware that nothing lasts forever!