The Blame Game....

I remember the time when everyone round the world was super unhappy with the meddling government of the United States.....everywhere you turned, there they were, offering opinions and directions as to what everyone should be doing with their lives....
Irrespective of what region of the world you lived in ....
Irrespective of the specific cultural norms of the people affected...
Irrespective of your daily circumstances......
Irrespective of.......everything.
You just had to to as you were told......sort of.
I mean the respective leaders had to agree to it all right...and drag their citizens into it unwittingly.

We were sort of living in an ultra policed world don't you think?
Kind of like of that Tom Cruise movie Minority Report.

So then what happened?
We had a change in administration.................a change in regime some would claim.
So now.........perhaps because human beings are notorious for being creatures of habit, apparently the United States Government is NOT meddling enough in everyone's business!
Huh?! Isn't that what we all wanted??
Stay out of our lives and we'll make decisions ourselves??
They say, be careful what you wish for....................................you may just get exactly what you thought you wanted.

So here we are again....
The not-meddling-enough American government is under fire for doing exactly what people round the world were crying for a few years back...
Memories run short it seems.....

Strife is running high in many places round the world, and yes SURPRISINGLY guess what, everyone is crying for the American government to SAY something, DO something.............!
If i was the President of the US, trust me, I would be damn pissed off, and NOT do anything.
You sort yourselves out.................after all isn't it what you wanted??
No running to big brother when you want things fixed.

A situation where you are damned-if-you don't, and still further damned-if -you do.
Guess someone has to do the dirty job always.

People LOVE to point fingers at the American government and blast Americans.............yet, where are majority of the people in the world migrating to???
Yeah, you ask yourself that question after you take a walk to your local US embassy to see the long lines.

This is my first ever really politically linked blog.
But I seriously am tired of the trifling behaviour of human beings.
Ungrateful, tunnel visioned, whining creatures who take no responsibility for themselves.
Take a step back and really look at yourself and those around you....................What do you see??

Revelations......

The interesting thing about travelling, is meeting new people, having new experiences....and through that, learning more about yourself.............and others!
So here in the US, a lot of issues obviously have been going on since Sept 11th...with a whole bunch of perceptions moving left right and centre through society.
The greatest perception, which I think is currently shared by many regions round the world, is the fear that people have towards Muslim/Middle Eastern people.........only that I think this perception is aired loudest in the US, as opposed to other places that keep quieter about it.

I haven't had any untoward experiences by being a covered Muslim woman living in America....but I have had many interesting conversations since I have come here.....and probably won over many new friends thankfully.
The latest being a very frank conversation with one of my work mates...
Lovely woman....
Who now admitted she has a different mind set since meeting me.
She also admitted that she had never actually personally known someone of the Islamic faith before....and through knowing me, I have shattered every misconception she previously held.
She also admitted she didn't know how to initially behave around me in the beginning....and on the first day that I did show up at work, she went home and told her husband, "She's Muslim!"...LOL.
So currently...I am her only Muslim friend.
And she is no longer afraid of Muslims.

What I've learnt about myself since being here is.........I actually can be patient!:-) Which is a huge feat for me, because for many years, it used to be my one and only New Years resolution....to learn to be patient.
So it warms my heart that I am on the right track to being a better human being hopefully, by being able to endure many inquisitive questions that can make others perhaps uncomfortable or offensive to them.

What others have learnt through me hopefully is......We are not monochrome as people......That MAJORITY of Muslims round the world are just like me....NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS.
That actually what is depicted in the media is a small minority.....That the majority of Muslims round the world are actually Non-Arab.
And the list could go on....

Many times, when there are negative sentiments about a group of people, they go into tortoise mode....retreat into a shell....go into defensive mode, and do everything they think is right to 'protect' oneself....
This creates isolation.
So whether it's people of colour isolating themselves from Caucasians.
Or an ethnic group isolating themselves from other ethnic groups.
Or a religious community isolating themselves from others of a different belief system.
It's all tortoise-mode.
Defensive and self defeating in the long run.

It was an interesting open conversation i had with my new friend....and I totally appreciated her honesty in processing her feelings.
Ignorance is a fertile breeding ground for fear.
Take a step forward to the unknown......
.....challenge yourself.....
..........and you might discover limitless possibilities.

That time.........

A lot of opinions are thrown around...especially by those of the opposite gender....about THAT time of the month for ladies.....
But who knows us better than ourselves?

Was just sitting and thinking about this recently......because I marvel at the internal transformation within myself.
You have good months....and then some not-so-good months.

Growing up in a home with 3 other females, it became inevitable......as happens with many others....that we all got synchronized....moods and all!
I remember precariously approaching either one of them during that fateful one week, where you have to walk on eggshells sometimes....never knowing what could trigger someone off. Lol.
The week when the banging of doors was a normal phenomenon.......
Everyone retreating to their comfort corner.....
Silence hanging in the air.
And I was certainly no exception to this scenario.

I used to warn my friends, never to take anything that I say personally....And once they got into the swing of things, it was no longer an issue....They just stuffed me up on chocolate. Lolol.
A few days later, we were all back to normal and the internal sun was shining again.

As I said...there may be good months, and there may be bad months.

There may be the days where you cannot stand any other human being for no particular reason other than the fact that they are just alive......
There could be moments when you dream up everything you want to pig out on down to the very ingredient of the dish.....
When you get bloated......and as you continue to stuff your mouth for emotional relief, get even more depressed while looking down at your fat-lined bulging belly............(An oxymoron of actions, that you should NEVER make the mistake of voicing out loud! We know it already)
There could be moments when you just do not want........cannot......willingly or unwillingly....to do anything other just stare at a wall.............all day.........no interruptions!
When sounds and smells become amplified....good and bad.....and you wonder why human beings just talk sooooooooo much!?
When emotions MAY run amok, depending on the time of day...the environment...the trigger.......

Sublime endless possibilities.

This is how we are created.
And contrary to popular male belief.....and some females who are not blessed with the madness of PMS......there is a tendency to think that it's all a put on...............that women take advantage, go crazy, and have something conveniently to blame.
This is just to clear the air........

• We really are NOT in control..........as much as we would like to be and not go through the roller coaster of emotions.
• It is NOT fun for us.
• Understand the dynamics....and LEAVE US ALONE  in peace!

3 very simple, east-to-remember, take-home points:-)

My hubby learnt the not-so-easy way......Lol.......but, he's still alive and well:-)........and after much needed education, we are at a beautiful point.
In fact his support, patience and understanding, has almost erased the dreaded PMS for me.
There are many more good months than bad ones now.....and you can hardly notice it anymore.
So it is possible to reshape the people around you, and manage to work with creating a balance within.

This is how we are created.
It's not an act...Not a farce...Not an excuse.
And if anyone still has a problem with PMS......Take it up with the Creator at your own time!

Bowing out of 2010............

Why is it that as soon as you start a diet....then ALL that your brain can think about all day is FOOD....?!?
I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but somehow, I think it's just psychologically easier to start off something new when the year starts......When you still have renewed zest and positive anticipation for the year ahead.......
So after falling off the lifestyle change bandwagon.....I am now fervently back on....with a bang!:-)

The last 2 weeks of December were spent partly reorganizing my life to get back to my lifestyle change plan.
And the rest of the time, in between the sampling of mouthwatering edibles, was spent introspecting.

Other than just growing up...I think marriage has really made me know myself better as a person.
So this year, I've come to a new level of humility I think........
Known myself better....
Accepted myself....flaws and all.

This year I've also come to realize how truly screwed up we are as a society in general.
Just look around you and take a step back to notice what is now normal.....

Knee-jerk reactions to every situation, big and small...........
Not being able to truly speak your mind, because someone somewhere has not grown up and whose feelings will supposedly get hurt, and then they'll proceed to attempt to ruin your life by repeatedly attacking you in social media (like that has any real bearing on things!)..........And I'm not talking about teenagers here, I'm talking about supposedly-grown-up adults, behaving like toddlers in their terrible-two's stage.......!
People just cannot take criticism, however positive, however much-needed by that particular individual........And people cannot hear a different view from what they hold on their own.....Differing opinions are no longer respected............No one wants to feel challenged, lest they actually have to explain their opinions, beliefs, practices, choices........which more often than not, they don't know themselves, and hence the extreme discomfort and knee-jerk reaction.
Let's all be clones of one another, so that people can be comfortable and feel safe.

An expansive sense of entitlement by people.......
We live in an age of fast food, and fast results, so people just want want and want some more......without wanting to work for anything anymore......Results expected, with no input!
Somehow I think that defies the laws of all reasoning.....
But hey, just look around you, and listen to people as they speak......Expecting everything and everyone around them to be DOING something for them, sorting out their lives, fixing their problems........And oh Lord, let it not be the government again!.....And the particular individual wants this whole heavenly red carpet out for them without ever lifting a finger to do anything.....!
People have mastered the art of singing this Woe Unto Me anthem.......which is frankly just....disgusting....pathetic.
And a new generation of young people who have no clue about the How and Why of things has mushroomed....further confounding the situation.

For me, those 2 topics above generally summarizes the canopy that holds many the societal problems I see around. I can only postulate that they are stemmed from serious immaturity and a prevalent lack of self-esteem in the general population.
How to fix any of these problems, I truly do not have a clue. And I am yet to decide whether I even want to attempt to tackle them at any level.
But that was 2010 for me.
Not a bad year per se really.....but a year with many curve balls, which thankfully, I managed to navigate.
But I come away from it with a new sense and understanding of reality.