And the cars slow down, and the voices go hush, and the alarms are silenced.
When you don’t need to be anywhere, don’t need to speak to anyone, don’t need to meet a deadline.
That’s your cue to kick your shoes off, laze in your favorite spot and read a good book.
Have a good weekend.
She breathes out, we breathe in. We breathe out, she breathes in.
She breathes out our air, we breathe in her waste. We breathe out her air, she breathes in our waste. In natural equilibrium.
But how generous we have been lately! Tipping the scale ever so much. Giving her so much more than she asks for. More than she needs – to breathe.
And so she ails from our suffocating generosity.
In each one of us resides an artist.
Some of us have met her, came to know her and made love to her. The rest of us have ignored her, suppressed her and denied her.
If you are of the former, your artist is waxing day by day. And if you are of the latter, your artist is waning hour by hour.
If you are of the former, your artist feeds her soul to inspire. And if you are of the latter, your artist wastes her soul to expire.
If you are of the former, your artist lives on after you. And if you are of the latter, your artist deceases before you.
And you, have you met your artist yet?
When you cross paths with someone you haven’t seen in years. And you get that ‘seems like yesterday’ feeling. And you are awakened by a long forgotten depth of comfort. And you are enwrapped in a warm sense of familiarity. And your conversation picks up from where you left off that very day you parted. And you want to say everything and nothing at the same time. And you are not in a hurry any more. And you want to take the moment entirely before you lose it, but you are at a loss at where to begin.
And so you stop walking, stop talking, stop thinking and simply gaze at each other – longingly.
Then, know you’re still in love.
Is it the bordered land and sea? Is it the structured government and books? Is it the branded flag and anthem? Is it the practiced language and religion? Is it the inherited foods and arts? Is it the categorized race and color?
Or, is it people coming together. Despite the different lands and seas they come from. Despite the different languages they speak. Despite the different religions they follow. Despite the different foods they eat. Despite the different arts they appreciate. Despite the different races they belong to. Despite the different colors of their skins.
They come together to live with each other, love each other, and learn from each other.
What is your country?
Sometimes we find ourselves running and running and running and running and running and running and running. And then we stop. We realize we’ve been running in place. Running on a stationary treadmill. How about we step down from the treadmill and walk. To see where our feet take us.
‘Hello World!’ How very suitable. For a writer that has been secretly writing for all her lifetime to just decide to open up her books to the world, ‘Hello World!’ is most appropriate. After years of writing behind locked doors and keeping pieces of writings on scraps of papers hidden in bedside drawers to today where she displays herself to the world, ‘Hello Word!’ is most befitting. From believing that every string of words she puts together is hers and hers alone to read, to wanting to share her literary creations to the world, ‘Hello World!’ is just right.
A very long time ago, a professor told me that once a writing is published it doesn’t belong to the writer anymore. That made me hold on even more. How dare anyone lay eyes on any of my bundle of words without my consent. I pick and choose whomever I bestow the honor and privilege to read my word creations. How could I lay them out there for anyone to read. How would anyone have the audacity to interpret meaning as he pleases from my pieces. Each was written of a certain time and of a certain experience. And that is all they stood for. My writings were not open for interpretation, until today.
Why not then? Why not later? Why now? I don’t have the answer. All I know is that now it feels right. Now I feel ready to share, to say it out loud. Now I’m ready to let go of my darlings that I have long protected, overprotected. One by one, I will let go to the world.
Today I give you a piece of me, part of my core, what I am made of, my composition in words and rhythm. Open for interpretation. I belong to you now. Judge me, criticize me, interpret me. I let go to you.
And so ‘Hello World!’ is just perfect to start this journey.
Life Demiraged 