Selectively Curious

Berlin, I love you

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Selectively Curious

I would like to share my Berlin trip.

It started with me landing:

Immigration was super fast, just as I expected and I stepped out with my luggage. As I walked out, a man in a taxi yells at me “Taxi?” Without thinking about it for a moment, bearing in mind it was my first time in Berlin and the first time I was completely on my own in a new place, I said yes. He helped me with my suitcase, and off we went. I told him where I was staying:

The cab journey was quite enjoyable, on the way to the hotel, he told me about all the places I must see during my stay. His name was Thomas and he was the most friendly cab driver I ever met, we spoke throughout the car ride and he wished me a pleasant stay.

As I was settling into my hotel, I remembered that a friend of mine, I went to university with, whom I haven’t spoken to in some time lived in Berlin. I got in touch with him and we had dinner together every day. It was nice to have someone to eat with. We even went to the Blue Man Group show, which was, well weird so say the least. It was an experience though but I didn’t enjoy it as I thought I would. At the end of the show, one of the members of the Blue Man Group, took a selfie from my phone:

I was only there for almost two days and managed to see quite a few places, before I took the train to Hamburg, where I attended a work event. Berlin also made me realise how small the world is and I loved it. I bumped into an old classmate of mine, we were in law school together and it was almost surreal catching up with him on a random street in Berlin.

During the day, when I was by myself, I saw a few touristy places such as Victory Column:

Before I got to the column, I had to go through an underground pass and I was slightly obsessed with:

Here’s a full photo of the column:

I also went here, which was more of a stop over. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, at first I thought it was graves as the cab driver pointed it out. I then read all the information about it and it turned out to be a memorial for all the lives lost as a result of the holocaust. Human beings always shock me.

I then walked to Brandenburger Tor:

Let’s not forget about the remnants of the Berlin wall:

And last but most certainly not the least:

I have a lot more photos, but that’s basically the highlights of my trip. I would most certainly go back to Berlin as I was mostly on west Berlin, during my stay and have missed out entirely on East Berlin.

It was one of my favourite trips, mostly because I was never brave enough to go to a place entirely on my own and when I went I wasn’t even the least bit anxious. I had a great time, even when I didn’t bump into random people I knew.

Until, next time Berlin, I will see you soon:

Selectively Curious©

Interesting fact

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Selectively Curious

As I was looking for inspiration for today’s post, I came across a fact, which made me smile:

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the most commonly stolen vehicle in 2012 was the 1994 Honda Accord.

We had that car for years, ours was gold (featured image is found in google, as we no longer have this car) and I still remember the new car smell it had when we bought it. My brothers and I had countless road trips in that car. When we were young we went to Saudi Arabia from the UAE in that car. As far as I remember, I was 6 and my brothers were 8 and 4. It was a 16 hour car journey and we put cartons of water bottles where our feet would be. So it became like a bed, more or less.

Whenever we went on a road trip, I would curl up on my side and sleep. Of course if you ask my brothers, they will say I took all the place, which I possibly did, I was sleeping so I’m not sure how accurate they were in their accusations. I’ve always been skinny and they would always tease me for taking so much space for a someone as skinny as me.

Amazing how quickly time flies, I feel like the three of us practically grew up in that car. We’d play the oddest games. Have you ever heard of dead leg or dead arm? Well, it’s a game where one person hits the other so hard that your arm or leg goes numb. It’s only fun in hindsight, I assure you. I am actually laughing at the memory of it.

In some ways, I’m not surprised that the 1994 Honda Accord model is the most stolen, maybe the thieves had equally good memories? Maybe we can give them that benefit of the doubt. As for me, I’m glad in my own selfish way that so many of those cars were stolen. I can honestly say that I probably wouldn’t have thought of that car today had I not seen this fact. It was a wonderful trip down memory lane. As I live, the more curious I get about the mysterious ways of God and how random connections come your way. Remember, everything is connected or maybe it isn’t, who knows?

Selectively Curious©

Interesting thought

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Selectively Curious

I saw the featured image and thought “woah I can relate”.

Lately I’ve had a bit of a scattered mind, I think too much and too deeply about way to many things as one thought leads to the next and it’s a never ending chain.

This image put somethings into perspective. It’s best to finish a task/thought before moving on to the next, otherwise one might simply just get slightly burnt out.

This is something I was curious about sometime ago and coincidentally before I googled it, I saw a really interesting article about multitasking about two years ago, sadly I don’t have the link to it but I remember it saying that multitasking with devices is bad for your brain*. Scientists believe that such behaviour trains the brain to be disorganised, makes it difficult for the brain to remember/recall things as it rewires it in a non efficient way and interestingly it also releases dopamine which is the chemical in the brain associated with drug abusers.

In a lot of cases such an activity will be responsible for lowering a persons IQ. Also if you are in the habit of doing this, have you noticed that when you are watching tv and your phone isn’t around you, it makes you restless? That’s the dopamine kick you’re craving.

It’s always better to focus on one thing at a time, it’s also how law of attraction can work in your favour. Scientifically speaking, when you focus on one thing at a time, your brain is able to process and store the information better (by storing it in the hippocampus, the “library of your mind”).

Try focusing on one thing at a time, I know I will and let’s see how things change.

*this is the Link

Selectively Curious©

Ford Thunderbird

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Selectively Curious

Gosh, I love vintage cars.

I saw the beauty in the featured image as I was on my way to get lunch. It caught my eye from across the street and I’ve spent all morning trying to figure out what car it is.

Finally, after much research, I have uncovered it to be a Ford Thunderbird 1955 model. It felt like such an accomplishment, safe to say my efforts paid off.

One of the reasons I really want to go to Cuba is because, from what I have seen, it feels as thought you’ve gone back in time to the 50s. It’s like the movie, back to the future and everything is “vintage”

Here’s a photo of Havana I have found from the internet:

Really beautiful isn’t it? One of my friends went not too long ago and loved it. I’m curious to see if I would be brave enough to go. I shall not be afraid.

Selectively Curious©

Stonehenge

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Selectively Curious

It was unbelievable.

I went to Stonehenge in 2014, it was a stop over on our way to Bath. We left just as the sun came up and I took this at the start of our journey:

During the entire trip, we only had one CD which we listened to on repeat and these were the songs on it which I remember (my friend and I love Lana del Rey):

Summertime sadness by Lana Del Rey
Black Beauty by Lana Del Rey
Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey
Wicked Games cover by Gemma Hayes
An arabic song I can’t remember

Safe to say I have the above songs memorised. We were dancing away on the journey, even when we were sick of the songs, the dancing continued, less enthusiastically as the journey went on.

Anyway, back to Stonehenge, our excitement grew as we approached it:

What a sight it was:

When we got there, we paid for our tickets and then got into a mini train which took us up to the site:

and I was experimenting, slightly with my camera and took a photo of the landscape:

Finally the wait was over:

It was completely magnificent. There really is an air of mystery about these rocks, that have just been standing where they are, for thousands of years without much erosion. There are many theories about it, such as it was a praying ground where the pagans performed their religious rituals. However, no one knows for certain what its purpose was for and how people managed to move the rocks and place them as they are. This is me pondering over the mystery:

It was freezing that day, even my handy puffy jacket was not enough. If you’re interested to read all the theories of Stonehenge, please click here

I really enjoyed my journey, oh I must not forget about the sheep:

It was most certainly one of my most favourite trips. Short but sweet. I wonder if the real reasons for the “construction” of Stonehenge will ever be uncovered. Until then, I shall remain, ever so curious.

Selectively Curious©

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Take a leap of faith

Image | Posted on March 12, 2017 by Selectively Curious

Don’t be afraid anymore.

I’ve been a bit of a scardy cat my whole life, in some ways I don’t like an adrenaline rush so you won’t ever find me on a rollercoaster or sky diving. When I was a kid I would always walk behind my mom, her being my mighty shield. I’m not sure what I was so afraid of, here are a few things that I remember:

People;
Loud noises;
Being away from my mom.

The list above is not exclusive and thinking back, I was quite an odd child. Being the only girl with two brothers I’ve naturally been close to my mother. I remember waking up in the middle of the night every night checking if my parents were still in bed. I had this weird paranoia that my parents would abandon me even though I was too young to even understand the consequences for the abandonment to fear it but that used to be my greatest fear.

On one of those nights, I must have been maybe 3, I woke up to do my daily checks and opened my bedroom door. After I heard my parents speaking I closed the door. My younger brother’s pram was learning against the wall and when I opened the door, the pram lost its balance and fell on my foot. I don’t remember the pain but I remember being carried and looking at my right foot with my eyes filled with tears. I have a scar on my foot till this day.

Relating back to the title of this post, it reminds me how far I have come from that night and now even when I am afraid, I fight my fears because no one ever became successful if they gave into those fears. That night taught me to be more brave and not be paranoid about silly things. It taught me that scars heal, even if you pick at it, with time, it heals until it is barely visible.

I will take a leap of faith and challenge myself to be better everyday. We owe it to ourselves to be the best that we can be. So what are you waiting for? Go on, take a leap of faith and believe that the best is yet to come.

Selectively Curious©

I love the beach

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Selectively Curious

I love how it’s empty on a Saturday morning and I love the way the sand is slightly cool at this time of the year.

Abu Dhabi has really good beaches and the one shown in the featured photo is the famous corchiche beach. I can’t believe it’s been 22 years since I first went to it. So much has changed and yet so much has remained the same. It’s nostalgic. The sand is smooth so it’s comfortable to walk on it since there are no pebbles or shells mildly stabbing you as you walk on it. The waves are calm and I love the slight swoosh noise they make as the water comes to touch the shore before retreating back into the sea.

This is what Saturday mornings are for. To take a break from the troubles of life and just forget, even if momentarily the things that stress you out. The beach is my sanctuary in some ways, I feel refreshed as I sit there and sort out my thoughts.

I have always been positive but I’m trying something new. I’m curious to see how this will pan out and effect my life. I have begun to practice gratitude since this morning as I believe it helps ground a person and makes one realise the the important things in life. Everything is temporary, best enjoy the present and as the title of Richard Carlson’s book: don’t sweat the small stuff, and its all small stuff.

Selectively Curious©

I’m listening…

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Selectively Curious

Recently, everyday after work and on the weekends, I binge watch Frasier.

I absolutely love that show and it’s one of the shows that has made me most curious about psychiatry and how the human mind is so complex. In some ways the character of Frasier reminds me of me. How he loves to help people by trying to solve their problems, how he would give reassurances to people that need it most and how to unlock their insecurities and find solutions to overcome them. I do not have a psychiatrist background or education but I like to read a lot and understand why people are the way they are.

He is also an empath and it made me curious, even though he is a fictional character, I wanted to see if Frasier’s birthday was recorded as I always thought he could be a pisces. It’s March 7, in case you were wondering, which makes him a fellow pisces. Now I am not one to believe in horoscopes, however in relation to the personality traits each star sign represents, there is a trend and I do think that it is accurate.

All things aside, I find him to be hilarious, I think it’s a very intelligently written show and the characters are so perfectly developed. It makes me so curious the way a psychiatrist can diagnose people thus helping them find solutions to their shortcomings , easily and yet it is almost impossible to self diagnose. Why is that? I think it’s because when the psychiatrists are diagnosing their patients, its on a very non personal/ non emotional level and thus they are able to form a non bias judgement/diagnoses. Consequently it may not be wise to self diagnose because they do not have that level of emotional detachment with themselves to self diagnose effectively.

It’s all quite interesting, I feel that I must learn a little more about this subject. Any thoughts? I’m listening…

Selectively Curious©

Happy International Woman’s day

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Selectively Curious

Is this day sexist? No it isn’t I just checked.

Funny, I’ve never really heard about International Men’s day, but it does exist and their day is the 19 of November.

This year’s theme for Woman’s Day is #beboldforchange, please click here if you want to be bold for change. This post will be filled with inspirational quotes, and my perspective of those quotes, which will be applicable for both women and men, alike.

In the words of Marie Curie:

Now is the time to understand more, so we may fear less

In the current climate and due to internet, we have access to a vast amount of information and thankfully we have also been blessed with a mind. So now, more than ever, is the time to understand, once we understand, automatically fear diminishes. It’s amazing how Marie Curie said this maybe 100 years ago and I think this quote will be applicable in all times and ages. For those of you who don’t know and want to increase your knowledge on a deeper level, you can sign up to free university courses here. It’s an excellent platform and that includes a variety of subjects. Let’s be bold and learn more, so that we can better understand the world we live in.

I love Coco Chanel, so this post would not be complete without a quote from her:

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.

I agree and her words inspire me, every time I feel shy about speaking up. I think life’s too short for every thought to just be a thought, thoughts dream to be real and the only way you can make your thought’s dream come true is to say them out loud. Don’t be shy, don’t be rude and be bold. Speak up, the world deserves to hear you and you deserve to be heard, it’s definitely something I must constantly remind myself.

Speaking of dreams, reminds me of Frida Kahlo’s quote:

Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?

I really like that, especially since for those of you who don’t know this, Frida was in an awful accident which rendered her paralyzed from the waist down. I love the positivity this quote demonstrates and I believe we all have what it takes, if only we believe in our selves, the way she did.

One must also be confident in their abilities, so I think it’s not enough to just believe in ourselves, Cleopatra put it so eloquently:

I will not be triumphed over

I love that. I love the simplicity of this quote and yet how much power it holds. As many of you may know, Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh of Egypt and people were drawn to her, not because of her beauty which is a myth as she is now known to be a simple looking woman but for her wit and intellect. She had charm and charisma that Caesar and Antony could not resist. Above all, I think it was her confidence that made her as alluring as it did.

I could go on endlessly as there are many inspiring great women, however I do not want this post to drag on. Maya Angelou is one of my favourite writers and I feel it is worth mentioning her too, so lastly but most certainly not the least, Maya Angelou said:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Maybe I haven’t lived long enough to learn what she learnt, which lead to her saying that but it is the way I live my life. I like to be liked and I like to be there for others and add some value to their lives. I want to be remembered for my kindness and I try to be. Although often times it’s not easy to be kind all the time, specifically when I’m hungry and tired, then it’s a mission impossible. All silliness aside, I must say I do agree with her. I am an empath and I feel what others feel on an intense level, which makes me cautious before I do or say something which could be remotely hurtful to others. People do forget what you have done for them and maybe the thing that they remember is how you made them feel.

Happy International Woman’s day, we’ve come a long way as women and we must strive to be better, always, in every way. #beboldforachange and let the change be for women to empower each other rather than put each other down. 🙂

Featured image: google search images for “we can do it”

Never lose your childish innocence

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Selectively Curious

As I was grabbing lunch today, I saw a little girl, skating on her scooter and as she went past me she was in her own little world, humming away.

It made me remember a line from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, which is one of my favourite movies, when Katherine says “No matter what happens, always keep your childish innocence. It’s the most important thing” It is also something the Italian director and writer Fedrico Fellini said. 🙂

I really like the idea behind this, we get so caught up by the unnecessary stresses of life that we lose our childish innocence and it’s sad. I think it’s important to take a step back to reflect, re-ground ourselves and just keep it simple. To quote Leonardo Da Vinci

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

I wholeheartedly agree with him. There’s elegance in being simple, which is why everyone I know owns a simple black dress (although their reasons can be entirely unrelated to this idea) and would also explain why Mona Lisa was such a masterpiece. If you analyse the painting, there’s nothing spectacular about it and at the same time everything about it is spectacular. It’s a simple paining of a simple looking woman and it represents so much grace, elegance and sophistication, in the way that she is smiling, sitting and looking at the painter. Arguably, she was drawn from the imagination of Leonardo Da Vinci and wasn’t an actual person, but still. I can somehow understand where he was coming from when he said that, even though maybe the context of why he said it might be completely different.

This also makes me think of Einstein’s quotes:

Things should be made as simple as possible but not any simpler

Things should be simple, I don’t understand the incessant need people have to complicate matters. For example, lawyers are known to be all fancy shmancy when usually they can say what needs to be said in three sentences rather than 3 paragraphs. Although, in our defense, this has changed immensely and good lawyers are known for their succinctness and the following quote emphasizes and proves that:

If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough

and lastly, since I am speaking of keeping it simple, Einstein’s quote:

I believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody physically and mentally

This is where I don’t agree with Einstein. I was listening to a song called Happiness sung by Needtobreath, a song I felt they sung for me as it resonates with me on so many levels and in the song they sing:

I’ve got dreams that keep me up in the dead of night telling me I wasn’t made for the simple life…

I don’t think everyone is made for the simple life and I don’t think one should be simple in every aspect of their life, just maybe in the way they communicate. I think a conscious effort must be made to keep things simple, don’t over stress and don’t sweat the small stuff. Sometimes it’s better to take things at face value and not allow yourself to overreact to something that’s nothing, don’t assume anything without having hard facts, as Eintein did say “unassuming life”. This point is crucial as the less you assume the more peaceful your life will be, mentally and if you’re mentally at peace then you’re mentally healthy, I think that makes you somewhat physically healthy too.I mention this because often times I find my girlfriends complaining about a man in their lives, where they’ve gone 100 miles away from the facts because they’ve assumed the worst and built a whole story in their mind. Having said that, a lot of the times they get the worst advice from their girlfriends.

If I can add any value to anyone’s life, please do not assume anything about anyone, until you know for a 100% that they’ve done something wrong and even then, give them the benefit of the doubt and hear their side of the story. 🙂

Featured image: I chose this photo for the featured image because there is nothing more innocent than nature, it’s simply beautiful and I didn’t use filters to enhance the image. At the same time, I like that over the horizon you can see the complexities of life, aka high rise buildings and it’s complex nature, thus demonstrating a balance in the world.