Wise Words (to live by)

Food for thought

Unsafe Journey. A woman is riding between the railway carriages of a local train heading north from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Her luggage is tucked under the carriage in front of her. It is the month of Ramadan, a fast which culminates in Eid-ul-Fitr, a three-day celebration. Tens of thousands of people leave the city to go to their home village and celebrate with their families. Trains are packed and many who fail to get tickets before they sell out or can't afford buying them at the black market ride on the roof of the train or, like this woman, finds a quiet spot between the carriages.

 Photo and caption by Amy Helene Johansson

Sitting at home on the comfy couch in front of the TV, I am a millions mile away from the world this photo was taken at. Still, my heart goes out to all the unfortunate. Spending time with our family and loved ones during Ramadan is something we take for granted. I feel so blessed to be able to see my family and friends almost everyday.

Lots of Love!

BOHO BRAID

I was visiting one of my favorite beauty blogs (The Beauty Department), and their latest hair tutorial is perfect for Ramadan gatherings!

image from thebeautydepartment.com

Who's going to try it?!

On Forgiveness

It's that time of year that when we're supposed to forgive while hoping others forgive us too. Our sins aren't completely erased until those we wronged on purpose or not have truly forgiven us. Mass messages asking forgiveness are sent, and  mass messages claiming forgiveness to all are sent too.

We try to forgive others hoping they too will forgive. But is it enough?

I don't think people really understand the concept of forgiving everyone. To tell you the truth, it is hard! Forgiving everyone means:
- Forgiving the people who talk about you behind your back.
- Forgiving that person who refused to give you way on the road.
- Forgiving those who didn't explain the assignment you missed.
- Forgiving that person who rudely shoved you rushing by in the mall.
- Forgiving that one person who always seems to have something mean to say.
- Forgiving that other person that deliberately tries to offend you.
- Forgiving every malicious thing said about you to you and behind your back.
- Forgiving those evil glances and snide remarks.
- Forgiving those close to you for not understanding.
- Forgiving all for how they made you feel.

It is HARD! I'm not the one to hold a grudge, but if you think about it have you really forgiven people or did you merely just forget.

Forgiving and Forgetting are too different things.

Test yourself: try and remember an encounter where someone had hurt you're feeling. Is there a tiny bit of hurt still there?? If so, you may have forgotten about it but you didn't forgive at least not completely.

I once heard that the stupid neither forgive nor forget, the naive forgive and forget, but the wise forgive but do not forget. And that forgiving is not forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt.

How can I achieve that? As I always I looked for hints in the words of wise people.

"You will know forgiveness has begun when you recall those who have hurt you and feel the power to wish them well." - Lewis B. Smuedes.

I think I am powerful enough.


To all those who have hurt me in a small or large way; now or in the past; knowingly or not... I FORGIVE YOU.

I forgive all of those I recall (and those who I don't) in every way, and I truly wish they all are leading a good healthy life.

I hope they get to read this. I also hope people who I've hurt intentionally and unintentionally find it in their heart to forgive me.

On a lighter note, if you're not motivated enough to forgive people:

"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde

Anyways. there' still one more day to Ramadan by then Inshallah all our sins are to be erased by our newly acquired good deeds.

Filofax

I want one now! They're only available in Magrudy's. I still can't decide which color to get, although I must say this raspberry leather is looking pretty good!

Closet Organization

I've been trying to implement this system for a while now, but every time they hang in fresh laundry everything is back to the old mess. So I came up with this idea to hang up a guide inside my closet doors. I'm not completely spoiled; I am going to re-organize everything myself first THEN I'm going to ask the maids to hand stuff in order. The guides are there so neither I nor them will forget to implement this system.

It really does change your closet, and makes it easier to browse different clothing and find what you want faster.

The first picture is the tops rack. You arrange clothing my sleeve type and then by color within the different sleeve categories

The second picture is the pants and skirts rack, and where I also keep lightweight sweaters, cardigans, and jackets. They follow the same system as the tops rack; categorize items by shape and then by color.



P.S sorry for the low quality pics! I was kind of in an oranizational rush!