Christmas

christmas nowadays

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Christmas is near; it is nothing I imagined it to be.
With all the decorations, the Christmas tree, the new clothes, the celebrations, the Christmas songs, the dinners with the family, the red wine, the presents, the holiday…
It is not the Christmas I always wanted, the one with the spirit of giving without expecting a thing in return, about prayers, about a time to look towards the people in need and make a difference, time for forgiveness and loving.
Wake up and make each other warm with love this Christmas, love who u hated, forgive who caused you harm, and care about the person u didn’t even care to stop and say hello too…
And keep that Christmas spirit with you everyday.
this is an awesome article about giving, written by Dania Dbaibo Darwish, a woman i respect
http://coachingur3ps.wordpress.com/2…wer-of-giving/

Quote:

How many times do you bend backwards attempting to do someone else a favor only it does not get reciprocated when you are the one in need? Does it happen often enough to discourage you from being a giving person? You wonder: This is not in line with the “norm of reciprocity” (i.e. the social expectation that people respond to each other in kind)? Consider this: the expectation that you receive back from the same person may be the norm, but never the rule. You will receive back in return; albeit, from multiple other sources. Don’t be reluctant to keep giving as you are bestowed at least ten fold. How is that possible, you ask?

1. Giving feels good. You have been a positive impact. You took part in someone else’s life. In return, you reap a positive psychological reward (i.e. I am useful). Caution: buffer your disappointment by not expecting a repayment in kind. Do it for the sake of getting that “helper’s high”.

2. Giving enhances your physical health. When you feel good psychologically, it feeds into your physiology. It is a known fact that psychological and physical states are interrelated.

3. Giving others can offset being totally self-absorbed. That is very applicable in times of distress or even success. It is a distracter from over-indulgence in one’s own misery on one hand; and a source of redirecting the overflow of positive emotions to others in need on the other hand. Why hoard the pleasure of accomplishment to ones’ self? Share it.

4. Giving fosters a sense of abundance. You are wealthy if you are able to provide and give. Have the conviction that your reservoir will not dry. Hey! “There’s more where that came from”.

5. Giving shapes your life with meaning. Yes, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose. Giving is life enriching.

6. Giving satisfies the need for social connections. We all have this need to connect with others; and sometimes those interactions are not so satisfactory. How about turning things round when that’s the case? Make your relationships and interactions beneficial one way or another?

7. Giving makes you nicely remembered. We are not going to live forever (and that’s another fact). Ask yourself: How would I like to be remembered? Wouldn’t it be nice to leave positive prints behind?

8. Giving can trigger a multitude of positive thoughts about yourself. Again, as long as you’re not expecting anything in return, your thoughts will rotate around those positive attributes you possess. You are charming in so many other ways.

9. Giving entails superiority. You have the upper hand. It is your wish and will to do the things you do. Think of it as your choice; no one coerced you into doing anything.

10. Giving characterizes those who are self-actualized (i.e. those who have reached their utmost psychological development like Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and Albert Einstein). Self-actualized people are only motivated by personal responsibilities and ethics; and not by what they receive in return.

So, you see, giving spirals up into a great deal of life and self-satisfaction. I can think of many other alluring reasons for giving, but the above suffice to endorse it as a life philosophy. I am in awe when I hear of those who stretch their giving to that of self-transcendence. They give others because it makes them more fulfilled; they transcend the egocentric focus. They are so lucky to be there. Others give so much, but that has its bases in their “inability to say NO”. Giving becomes distressing, so one has to really consider if negative emotions surface. For me, I keep few things in mind as I adopt a giving attitude: it’s about being a positive influence. It is about the value it adds to my own personal growth and progress. I am able, then, to give back at least double what I receive…..

i am real

The teacher said I am so deceiving, one of the worst things I can imagine being. I didn’t want to disagree but I hated it. She hated the fact I wasn’t afraid and I had the courage to tell her that I didn’t do my project well cuz I didn’t feel like it. She as well said I am full of drama, my words as well. Well yeah I am so I am not deceiving. I just come with different sides but something always remain the same, I am honest, I am a dreamer, I am curious, I am scared, I am sensitive and cold, I am different but somehow I am still the same as others, I try to do what I have to do to survive. I like to have fun, enjoy the moments, so yes I am a child, but I am a teenager as well and an adult, wise and stupid, shallow and deep, hyper and calm, lazy and hard worker, and with each moment in life u get to see a side of me, a true one, I am not faking it, not lying not hiding it, I am real. So no, I end up having to disagree with the teacher I do not deceive others I am real and I am not afraid to show the other side of me.

Red Alarm on

I would like to say at first that all the pollution and global warming… which lead to Climate changing, Are not the problems, but they are the symptoms of the way humans think and act, so in order to save the earth, we have to change our mentality towards nature and the earth, and be aware of the damages we are causing to our environment.

Earth is a dynamic place with a system for itself. The earth system normally passes through changes, but recently scientists have been noticing other changes in the earth system that are due to global warming as well as changes in the way land is used and pollution.

These changes are changing the regular patterns of the system.

Scientists are also studying how the parts of the Earth system affect each other and how they impact climate.

“The Earth reacts when aspects of the system are changed because of warming. Some reactions shrink the amount of warming while other reactions lead to even more warming. These reactions are called feedbacks.

• Reactions of the Earth system that shrink the impacts of a change are called negative feedbacks. For example, as warming causes more evaporation, this creates more clouds in the atmosphere, potentially blocking more solar energy from entering the Earth system and reducing the amount of warming.
• Reactions that exaggerate the impacts are called positive feedbacks. For example, as global warming makes sea ice melts in the Arctic less sunlight is reflected back out to space and more is absorbed, causing more warming.”

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) things, that we humans are doing, are causing the earth to warm. It is the humans’ activities such as burning more coal and oil for homes, factories, and transportation…burning these fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and more greenhouse gases causes Earth’s greenhouse effect to grow stronger, warming the climate. We should not forget that the way the land is used has impact on the climate as well, and wherever we go we see forests being vanished, we see mountains disappearing.

Scientists around the world with the IPCC tell us that during the past 100 years, the world’s surface air temperature increased an average of 0.6° Celsius. This may not sound like very much change, but even one degree will have tremendous effect in the earth system.

We can notice nowadays some effect of the climate change happening:

Sea level is rising: the global warming will make the sea level rise for two reasons; first, when climate warms, water that is on land in glaciers and ice sheets melts and makes its way down rivers to the ocean.  Second, as seawater warms, the water molecules move further apart which makes the water take up more space. Scientists expect the sea level to rise around one meter by 2100, with such an increase in water levels many coastal areas around the globe are said to disappear.

So what about there are large human populations living in coastal areas worldwide?

What about the freshwater supplies that could become contaminated with salt water?

And what about the farmland that could become flooded?

What about the millions of people who live in the cost of Bangladesh? and the homes, towns and cities are in risk of being flooded in the south Asian countries, New York, Netherlands, Tokyo, and so many other countries?

Arctic sea ice is melting. The summer thickness of sea ice is about half of what it was in 1950. Melting ice may lead to changes in ocean circulation. And this is so dangerous; because once the ocean circulation stops the polluted water would stay on top, which would cause the life in the ocean to fade, such as plants, and humans as well.

Glaciers and permafrost are melting. Over the past 100 years, mountain glaciers in all areas of the world have decreased in size and so has the amount of permafrost in the arctic. Want a proof, do not look so far, ask here in Lebanon, and check the mountains…

Sea-surface temperatures are warming. Warmer waters in the shallow oceans have contributed to the death of about a quarter of the world’s coral reefs in the last few decades. Many of the coral animals died after weakened by bleaching, a process tied to warmed waters.

Heavier rainfall cause flooding in many regions. Warmer temperatures have led to more intense rainfall events in some areas. This can cause flooding.

Example in the US, the amount of rain falling in the heaviest downpours has increased approximately 20 percent on average in the past century.

Extreme drought is increasing. Higher temperatures cause a higher rate of evaporation and more droughts in some areas of the world.

And not only the temperatures which is causing this, but as well humans behavior such as making forests vanish either to build a town or for the wood, can you imagine that at least 85% of the forests in the world do not exist anymore? Do you have any idea how many regions are turning to deserts?

Hurricanes have changed in frequency and strength. There is evidence that the number of intense hurricanes has increased in the Atlantic since 1970…

More frequent heat waves. It has become more common in more areas of the world

Warmer temperatures affect human health. There have been more deaths due to heat waves and more allergy attacks as the pollen season grows longer. There have also been some changes in the ranges of animals that carry disease like mosquitoes.

Seawater is becoming more acidic. Carbon dioxide dissolving into the oceans, is making seawater more acidic. There could be impacts on coral reefs and other marine life.

Ecosystems are changing. As temperatures warm, species may either move to a cooler habitat or die. Species that are particularly vulnerable include endangered species, coral reefs, and polar animals. Warming has also caused changes in the timing of spring events and the length of the growing season. You watch the changing of seasons here in Lebanon, it is a drastic change, and summers are getting hotter year by year.

Climate disruptions will affect more people than does war.

Now the solution, the solutions have always been there, written in books from ages, but placed on the shelf in libraries, and never applied. Why? The biggest companies which are controlling the world today mostly the petrol’s companies would not benefit from it, and the politicians who rule the countries and work under those companies would not accept those solutions that is why…

The industrial companies are ruling the world, and they look at nature as if it was an object they can own and get the freedom to do whatever they want with it, the law alone was never able alone to protect nature, nature should be protected, the conception of nature needs to change, nature has rights just as humans do, without it humans can’t survive.

The change needs to start, in the people’s culture, in the people’s minds, little step could help, stuff we learn in school, and in campaigns…

We humans are quite selfish, as for nature, all it did was give us, and we took and never gave anything in return, and that has to change.

Climate changing is not a game anymore, it is not a “What if ?”, it is happening Today, and we have to act before it is too late.

“Every citizen of the world needs to be aware of rapid climate change:

1. Understand the problem, its causes and threats.
2. Let your leaders know the facts and that you expect them to act.
3. Do something today to reduce greenhouse gas output — please Take Action”

I did my researches, and the majority of what I wrote was taking from websites, I watched documentaries which opened my eyes, and pushed me to act, I am not telling you to save the planet, but to care enough and try too.

I found Blog action day a great idea, it pushed me to open my eyes and look around me for real, and Turn the Red Alarm on. >> http://www.blogactionday.org

holding some prayers

Holding so dear, some prayers written on old papers

Found under what used to be the room of a little child

But now what is left of it is couple of filthy dolls and an abandon pink dress

Missing the girl sleeping forever under the wreckage

While upon it, raise the whimpers of the mother

And I held so dear those prayers

Letters to God writing by the absent girl

Demanding a war-free tomorrow

A tomorrow she never reached

Money First… Humans Second

Sir… I Have an Objection

From the doctor’s oath :

“To keep the good of the patient as the highest priority.”
“ There may be other conflicting ‘good purposes,’ such as community welfare, conserving economic resources, supporting the criminal justice system, or simply making money for the physician or his employer that provide recurring challenges to physicians.”

I was always outraged by stories I heard about people dying on the doors of the hospital because they have no money to pay for their surgery.
My mother is a nurse, she has been one for more than 25 years, and I heard from her stories, which make you wonder if humanity has any meaning anymore.
I did imagine if they did treat people without money, it will cause chaos and some other sort of injustice, and then all people will want to be treated for free, and will claim poor just not to pay, but I think solutions can be found, such as let them pay later, after a long time, and if someone lied about his/her financial status, let there be bad consequences such as take extra money, so he won’t do it again, and this way it will be a lesson to someone else to not do it as well…
We have a brain to come up with such a solution, but to let people die on the doors just because they have no money is just wrong!
For money to come first and humans second is just wrong!

And my other objection, are shrinks and therapists… they are too expensive.
My friend who seriously needs to go visit a shrink can’t go now, because he can’t afford to go.
This person might someday endanger his family, himself, or others can’t seek proper help because he has no money.
And so many other people I know as well, which makes me so angry, because it is just unfair.
I did ask my social assistant in school 2 years ago, if I can find one who is not expensive, she tried to look up, but she told me you have to go to an organization or even go to a school for special needs, well I was for 2 years in school for special needs people and it was too damn expensive, and all they wanted was fake stuff just to swallow more money.

Why do the majority always care about the money, more than they care about a human being?

Life is more than a game

My friend asked my opinion on this line: “life is a game, but it not fair” that line is taken from a song, my friend didn’t agree with the fact that life is a game, though he did admit that it isn’t fair.

And I told him that it depends on people, and on their conception of life.

Some see life as a game.

Some see life as a test.

Some see life as obligation…

Some as well, might see life quite fair.

I, as an example, see my life as a novel, and myself the hero, the story starts at my birth, written by other authors ( by example parents ) and I get to a certain age, where the pages start to get empty and blank, and I continue writing the story the other authors started.

Remember what people often say about the past is the past, but we can still control the future… that we can’t do anything about the past, but we can change our future?

The past is already written… I can’t change it but in front of me there is so many white pages, and I have the pen ( referring to the ability  to change my life ) to write my own story and continue it .

During that time, stuff will be written, stuff I can’t erase or change ( example a car accident, or someone’s death, or me getting a disease) but in the book there is still some spaces available for me to fill, so in the end, I can still have my own story, what I write in it matters.

In conclusion, we all have our own story, where we are the hero of this story!

An untitled hate

After all the hurt I’ve kept
In my gloomy darkness I’ve dwelt
After all the tears I’ve shed
The script of the bible, said
Killing you is a sin
But you killed me deep within
And I tried to overcome the past
But I can’t breathe
Till the breath you take is your last

a foreigner

How could I trust something that keeps changing?

A world, never stable, always changing

Meander alone as a foreigner

I seek no isolation

Sowing particles of my vision

In each land I visit

Shall I leave it for time?

Put my trust in it

But will it stand on my side?

With my vision will it chime?

inspired by Kino’s journey

Taking a Stand

Summer will soon be over, universities and schools back, and I had to take a stand.

I heard a lot about universities, and I read a lot, as well as I saw a lot, and I have to say it is quite a shame for the government as well as for the entire country to not provide an enough and respectable orientations for students getting into universities, or even providing opportunities for student to have the chance to study the major they love and they are good at it.

Most private universities in Lebanon are expensive, and yes there is financial Aids, but I know that even with financial Aids, it is so hard to afford such universities, because they always forget that the student not only has to worry about tuition but about transportation, tools, projects… and there is some other private universities, where you learn for couple of years, but in the end, it is useless.

The Lebanese universities, we all know how hard it is, not only to get in, as much as to fit in, and to go with the system.

First I have to give my own opinion, which is that the administration in LU hadath sucks, they barely give you information, and if they do it is mostly wrong, and for the website to be under construction for months, that is just wrong.

Yes, not anyone can enter LU, if u do, you are lucky, and lucky if you will be able to handle it.

Where are our choices? Myself as a Lebanese student, searching for a decent university which will offer me the knowledge I need, a chance to do something I love, and pushes me to achieve my dreams.

Is it okay, to let in Lebanon, money limiting the dreams of the future generations?

I see people searching for majors, no idea in what university to go, what this major is about, or what majors do we have in Lebanon, and mostly what the country needs! Who is responsible for that?

Yes it is the job of the student to search, but I searched by myself, I asked people, I went to university, I went to orientations, and I read books, and I still find majors now that I didn’t hear about before because no one told me about it before.

So this student graduating from school, with enough stress, standing in the middle of this crossroad, who will help him/her to make the right choice, the choice that will affect the rest of his/her life?

Everyone should care about that issue, because this is our future generation, the people who will rule tomorrow, who will build Lebanon tomorrow, who will handle our business, and who will heal us.

Someone needs to step up and take responsibilities.

Schools as universities should work together, in order to do more orientations in all schools, not in the expensive private schools only, and they should offer to the school more guide, as books and websites and brochures, for them to check, and someone to talk too, someone able to answer their questions about the major.

Now there is what to choose, what major, should we do what we love, what we are good at, what we can finish faster, what is easier, what brings more money, what sounds better?

My choice was easy, easy for me, but not for people around me, a graphic designer.

You chose something you love over money, what mum usually says, maybe but maybe not, I am planning to continue my education as long as I can. And I rather live poor going to work happy everyday, focusing all my energy on something I like to do, being enthusiastic about what I do, it is all better than going to a job I hate, just to be able to afford the home of my dreams, or to get the perfect car.

But money is important, it is not a game, it is not about buying an expensive car, or a big house, it is about life and death, because without money, I won’t be able to take care of my parents, and years from now, I would have my own family, how can I be happy doing a job I love, while my kids are starving?

That is a dilemma but it can be simple, we should be wise, do some sort of balance, put some priorities in your life, it always helps, what is more important than what, and focus on that, we can have money and same time be happy, we just should be wise and acknowledge the world we live in, and embrace reality, as well as to keep some of our idealistic thoughts, and keep on dreaming, because this is how we change the world.

My reckless angel

Wander with me in this universe.
Behold me, my reckless angel,
As I fade in the dusk.
I will carry you away my heavenly child,
Like the time your mother held you in her womb,
Allow me to offer you a place to hide.
Beside me, my reckless angel,
Stay and fill up the void in me,
In your innocent love,
In your smile,
Bury me,
My reckless angel.
Bury me,
My heavenly child.