Are we really free?

Posted on by Selectively Curious

Disclaimer: This post will be a bit of a ramble, so bear with me.

One of the things I really dislike about the world is how humans have a tendency to cage things. Animal cruelty, as much as it may have reduced since back in the day, is still a massive problem we are facing. Sometimes it’s not even intentional cruelty but pollution/littering that causes some animals to be in agony.

I saw a video, not long ago, with a turtle in it. A man had that turtle on his lap while another person tries to pull a straw out of his nose. It was painful to watch and I cannot imagine how painful it was for the turtle going through that torture. It made me happy when it was finally out and it can be free to breathe as it did before the straw got stuck up there. There are various other videos I have watched and truth be told it makes me sangry (a word I just made up describing the intense feeling of sadness and anger).

I’m no psychology major or expert, in fact I barely know anything about psychology at all. However, I do know that people who go about torturing innocent beings (be it people or animals) may have gone through some sort of trauma in their lives for them to do such mental things. Unless you’re like Geoffrey from GOT then you’re just a very bad human being and you have no defence. Having said that, Geoffrey was probably mental because of incest? Who knows. Going back to the point I was trying to make, people who trap or abuse helpless animals may have been a victim of some sort of abuse too and it’s just a vicious cycle.

Now that I’ve set the thought process behind this post, let me dig a little deeper to explain the title of the post. Why do we trap animals and keep them in Zoos? They’re meant to be wild and free. Just like us when we were created, it’s like the saying goes, you can take an animal out of the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out of the animal.

I think that applies to all of us in some ways. I guess the most specific way it applies to humans is that we want freedom, freedom to do, say, wear and be how we want. We may have become more sophisticated over the centuries, but have we really? We’re more “superior” in some ways compared to other animals because of our minds and the ability humans have of sharing knowledge. Having said all that, we’ve build massive cities with tall sky scrappers and it’s like an urban jungle as stated in BBC’s documentary titled “Planet Earth”(it’s an excellent 6 part documentary, you must watch it). In the cities we have built, we’ve put ourselves into boxes (aka apartments,villas, houses, etc) so how does that make us free? That would explain the thought process behind Zoos. It’s like subconsciously people envy the fact that animals are truly free and humans being “superior”  have caged themselves and in turn they cage animals. Arguably, yes we do roam around freely but at the end of the day we go back to shelters we have built (aka our cages, which we pay good money for). It’s so interesting, the way people are.

Food for thought?

Selectively Curious©

Writer’s block – Help?

Posted on by Selectively Curious

 

I’ve been sitting here for the past hour looking up ideas of what to write about today and I am completely out of ideas.

Work has been very hectic I haven’t had time to read as much as I’d like to. Thankfully tomorrow is Thursday so the weekend is finally here. After work tomorrow I can sit back, relax and let my creativity flow.

My posts recently haven’t been as great as I’d like them to be so that’s got to change.

Featured photo is of me driving an 80s toyota, manual car with its side mirrors broken off. It was quite the adventure. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I love driving and there’s a thrill in manual cars which you don’t really feel in automatic cars. Maybe it’s because it’s slightly more difficult than an automatic and once you’ve mastered a manual car, it feels like such an achievement.

Aside from improving my blog posts, I’ve decided to write a book and I would love to hear some ideas. Please keep in mind, all ideas are good ideas and sharing is caring 🙂

Selectively Curious©

Batman (nanananananana)

Posted on by Selectively Curious

If I could choose a super power, it would definitely be the power to read minds.

Although having said that I would also like the power of invisibility and teleporting to any place and time. Is that too much to ask? Just kidding. I will elaborate on this topic in my next post.

From all the superheroes my favourite has to be the batman, mostly because he isn’t super at all and that’s what makes him the best. “It’s not who he is underneath it’s what he does that defines him.” He is a prime example of what discipline can do. On the flip side, he is a billionaire so it did bother me that he was always so glum and a loner and the most important fact that he isn’t real so not sure if a lesson should be learnt from him. Non the less, he is a cool comic character and I like the concept. I must admit, I didn’t really realise until now but I’m a hardcore batman fan, I’ve seen all the movies, the cartoons and the shows. I just haven’t read the comics so maybe I’m not as hardcore as I initially thought.

Featured photo is when I took the stairs to my apartment in London and I took this photo and sent the snap to a friend of mine, who is also a batman fan.

I recently watched the Lego Batman movie and it was HILARIOUS. I love how they combined every single batman movie/show into that film and did such a terrific job.

Until tomorrow then. (Same bat time, same bat blog site) 😀

Selectively Curious©

 

What’s behind the door?

Posted on by Selectively Curious

I love doors and the secrets contained behind doors.

When I was younger, my brothers would often say how much I resembled DeeDee from Dexter’s Laboratory (did any of you watch the cartoon?)

To those of you who didn’t watch it, let me give you a brief background. Dexter was a boy genius who had a laboratory under his bedroom where he would perform his scientific experiments. DeeDee was his sister, who was a ballerina and she would often go to his laboratory and press things and ruin his experiments.

Being as curious as I am, I am often faced with a dilemma…”what does this button do?” and as you may have guessed I push the button and something happens, which is never a good “something”

When I was at university, after uni was done for the day, my friends and I went to a corner shop to buy some snacks. In that shop there was a coffee machine and I thought it was quite cool. In hindsight I’m not really sure why I was so fascinated by that machine. Unfortunately it had a lot of buttons. As my friends were paying, I pressed one of the buttons and I was extremely shocked as I saw the coffee/milk combination started coming out of the machine and there being no cup to hold it in, it was over the shelf of chocolates below the machine.

For some bizarre reason I thought that nothing would happen if I pressed the button because I didn’t pay for the coffee. I thought it was one of those that until you pay for the coffee (payment being in the machine itself) the coffee would not pour out. I was so embarrassed I actually said “Oh my God, what is happening” and I ran out.

I felt incredibly guilty though, not only did I waste a perfectly good cup of coffee, I also wasted all those chocolates under the machine, which would have become complete mush because of the hot coffee. I gathered up the courage and went back to the corner shop a few hours later, so that I could pay for the damages and apologise for my mistake. After my incessant persistence to pay him back, he told me it was completely ok and refused to take my money, he was just happy that I bothered to come back to apologise. I do still feel slightly guilty.

Oddly enough I don’t feel curious about doors that much. I’ve never really wondered what’s behind a door.Maybe because it’s impolite to be nosey, regardless of how my curiosity gets the best of me. I guess this is a prime example of my selective curiosity. I’m curious to see what will happen when I press something but not curious to see what’s behind a door.

I read a quote today which is the inspiration for this post “If opportunity doesn’t know, build a door” by Milton Berle. I like the idea behind that. We are responsible for making our own dreams come true by creating our own opportunities.

How can we create our own opportunities? Well having pondered over this question for the past twenty minutes, here are some ideas (in no particular order, though I think number 5 is the most important):

  1. Depending on what you want to do, I would suggest doing research and finding out everything there is to know about that subject;
  2. Put yourself out there, we live in an age of social media and internet and it’s become vastly easier to market ourselves;
  3. be consistent, I guess what I mean by that is, have a routine and stick to it, even if you’re tired (this one is tough for me, I am unable to stick to a routine, so the fact that I’m still writing a post almost everyday is such an achievement on my end);
  4. Put some time aside to just clear your mind and let your creativity flow through and you can be creative in everything you do, in my opinion creativity is what makes you different from the rest; and lastly
  5. be patient.

Patience is key and also the most difficult thing to conquer.

Right, I think I’m going to watch some Dexter’s Laboratory before bed.

Goodnight all you beautiful people. 🙂

Selectively Curious©

My day job vs my passion

Posted on by Selectively Curious

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, my day job (which is also a passion of mine) is of a paralegal/trainee lawyer, however my creative passion is to write and bring my writing to life with my photographs (I always loved books with pictures).

In some ways my day job goes hand in hand with my passion. To be a good lawyer, you need skills (the first three being the most crucial), including but not limited to, as follows:

  1. Attention to detail;
  2. Attention to detail;
  3. Attention to detail;
  4. Drafting (being clear and succinct, with good structure, good grammar, etc);
  5. Assessing client needs and delivering accordingly;
  6. Negotiation; and
  7. Research.

Being a good writer, in my opinion, you need the following skills (including but not limited to):

  1. Research;
  2. Drafting; and
  3. an original idea and in some ways giving the public what they want to read in your unique way.

It’s interesting that I can take advantage of my profession to become a great writer. In fact, I actually don’t know what I want more, to be a good writer or a good lawyer.

The featured photo is one I took from Primrose hill, Regent’s Park in London. It is by far my most favourite place in London and you will often find me there waiting for the sun to come up on a clear day. I chose this photo for this post because I feel that it represents my career life and my creative passion. I can see the sun about to come over the horizon but it’s not quite there yet and that is how I feel about my career and writing.

In a way, I am inspired by John Grisham, who is a terrific writer and I think a good lawyer too. One of his quotes “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, which inspires me to be a good lawyer and reminds me why I chose to go to law school in the first place. It’s been a tough journey, especially since I’m in a very competitive field but I am determined to qualify and become a great lawyer. I know that I have the ability to be great and I know that I have the ability to help many people. I definitely want to be a good lawyer in that aspect because I want to be the voice of people who are unable to defend themselves.

Additionally, I want to be a good writer because I want my words to make a difference in people’s lives and I want the positivity to spread. I want people to be able to relate to my writing and those going through a tough time to realise that they aren’t alone and that we are all only human after all. I want to spread joy into people’s lives and have them believe that thing’s aren’t all bad. The sun will rise again.

At the moment I am striving to be both. Good luck to me. 🙂

Selectively Curious©

I didn’t choose the desert life, the desert life chose me (100happydays-day18)

Posted on by Selectively Curious

This whole 100happydays challenge is really restrictive. 

I remember now why I didn’t do it wholeheartedly the first time I attempted it. I am a happy person and I like to enjoy the moment without taking my phone out and taking a photo of the momemt. In my opinion that changes the moment to a new one and the feeling is no longer the same. Does that make sense? Also I don’t need to prove to myself that I’m happy. So starting tomorrow my blog posts will not have the 100happydays tag. 🙂

I think I’ll continue doing the challenge on Instagram instead so I can blog about things organically. I guess it’s going to be a trend of mine that I will blog everyday, except Fridays (because I go out with friends and comeback quite late and frankly I don’t want blogging to feel like homework) and probably twice on Saturdays. Just to give you some insight, our weekends are Friday and Saturday. 

I was born in the desert (figuratively and literally but not really literally), the desert being Dubai. In some ways no matter where I go I will always be tied to the desert. Oddly enough I have really good body temperature control. I don’t feel hot or cold easily. That’s just a random fact about me. 

I love how Dubai is a place where I feel everyone can fit in. There are people from all over the world, it’s truly cosmopolitan. Aside from that, which is great, one of the most amazing things about it is how accepting the nation is of other cultures and beliefs. The best thing though is how most of the best restaurants/cafes/food chains are available here. That’s utterly delightful. 🙂

Currently I am sitting on my roof while my cat plays with the dust. Let me show you her. 

I love how pets have such a great influence in our lives. 

Going back to the reason of this post, the featured photo is of when I went on a desert safari, in Dubai desert. I wouldn’t really call that “desert life” however as the sun began to set and the temperature got slightly cooler. It was so quiet. I love how the sand dunes shifted with the wind and it’s a great reminder that nothing lasts forever so enjoy the moment. 

Selectively Curious©

There’s light at the beginning of the tunnel (100happydays-day16) 

Posted on by Selectively Curious

Isn’t that a nice thought?

I’ve never heard anyone say that there’s light in the beginning of the tunnel. As many of you are aware, the saying goes “there’s light at the end of the tunnel”It helps people hold on to whatever strength or patience they have left, just hold on for one more day (things will go your way, hold on for one more day) since there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Whilst driving home (I love driving, but I’m getting ahead of myself, please read below) I saw this tunnel, I pass by it everyday but I never really looked at until today and since it’s quite late here, I had the whole road to myself (what blissful joy!), driving at 15km/hr, really taking my time, I take this photo. It’s probably the most inviting tunnel anyone has ever seen, it’s not dark at all. How lovely 🙂

So, driving, well that’s a love affair that goes back about 7 years now (wow, psychologists say that if a relationship lasts more than 7 years, it will last a lifetime, that’s promising :D). We go way back. Anyway all silliness aside, I love driving, it’s my favourite thing to do.It’s relaxing, just the road, my car, my music and I. This past year, since I go back and forth from Abu Dhabi to Dubai every weekend, thank God I love driving, otherwise that drive alone would take so much out of me.

Something I haven’t mentioned about me, I’m very emotional as a person, but I don’t get angry. It’s quite odd and when I do get angry I don’t actually know what to do with my anger, so I either cry it out, however I really do not like crying. Recently, I have discovered the most perfect outlet for my anger. I get inside my car, put my music on and sing at the top my lungs. It’s the best form of release. 🙂

That’s all for tonight, folks. Good night, sleep well, tomorrow awaits another wonderful day, filled with possibilities. 😀 x

Selectively Curious©

 

Scotland (100happydays – day 15)

Posted on by Selectively Curious

Just got home from work, it’s been a wonderfully long day.Today’s post will be short but sweet (maybe?).

The featured photo is a photo I took when were on our way to Inveraray from Edinburgh and it’s one of my favourites. I love how there’s a lake in the photo and it almost looks valleyesque (yes, I’m aware that is not a word but it’s so perfect for the sentence so maybe one day the Oxford Dictionary will determine it to be a word). I love nature and I love being in nature, especially in England (mostly because it doesn’t have dangerous looking creepy crawlies). Looking at this photo is nostalgic and takes me back to when I was there. I can almost feel the cold air as I inhale. I do miss it.

Here are a couple of photos of Inveraray:

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Oh I’m slightly confused now, my snapchat comment appears to be wrong I think (oops). Oh after double checking, it’s correct (false alarm!). I may be dyslexic, the spelling in the photo is actually wrong (triple checked, third time’s the charm, so many/too many r’s).

Sadly, the castle was closed, but look how beautiful it is 😀

IMG_4808.JPG

Scotland always reminds me of the movie “Brave Heart” which of course it should because William Wallace was Scottish. Random fact as the tour guide told us, William Wallace was actually a lowlander rather than a highlander. On the way to Inveraray  the tour guide did point out all the famous landmarks in relation to William Wallace and I thought that was quite cool.

It’s a shame my trip was quite short there and due to the weather we had to make it shorter (my friend was pregnant too) and a lot of the attractions were closed too as a result. On the bright side it gives me an excuse to go back. 🙂

Selectively Curious©

 

The mysteries of the sky (100happydays – day14)

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Don’t you just love pink skies? Why is it pink?

It’s like candy floss (or cotton n candy as some may call it). It’s delicious.

Scattering is a phenomenon which determine the colour of the sunset (or sunrise). Scattering occurs when the direction of light rays change due to molecules and small particles in the atmosphere. The phenomenon affects the colour of light coming from the sky and the details are determined by the wavelength of the light and the size of the particle.

I kind of regret looking up the answer, sometimes physics ruins the beauty of things.

Out of all the beauty in the world, my favourite part of nature is the sky. It reminds me of a huge canvas and it’s so beautiful to look at, it has the moon, the sun and the stars. It’s a sight which can be be enjoyed by all who can read this blog post. Some nations have mountains, some have seas, some have valleys, some deserts but the beauty of the sky can be admired by everyone and that’s wonderful. Even prisoners have the right to have a window because sky for most is a sign of hope, which is why many look up to the heavens when they pray and it makes people dream.

The featured photo is one of my favourite photos, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the sky that day and I wished that I could pause time so I could stare till my heart’s content.

On a side note, I’ve decided that I will write in my blog earlier in the morning rather than at night as I am currently doing. I think it will have a good difference in my creativity in relation to my writing. Let’s see how things progress.

Whenever I think of the sky, I think of one of my favourite quotes by one of my favourite philosophers (artists, inventors, scientist, he was pretty much an all rounder) Leonardo Da Vinci “When you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with you eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.”

Having said that, I am not particularly fond of flying, but being in the sky is actually magnificent and it’s amazing that flying has become so common and it was impossible in the time of Leonardo. “Flight” in his quote was him referring to his flying machine, I’m assuming and it can be applied in other contexts too. For example, once you have tasted high standards, it’s rare for you to lower them. I believe one must always strive to be better, even if it’s difficult. Positivity, perseverance and prayer can really do wonders.

I guess the quote can be looked at, in so many ways. Sky’s the limit.

Selectively Curious©

 

 

 

Relax, take your time to trust in me and you will find infinity (100happydays day 13)

Posted on by Selectively Curious

I love being near the sea.

For some curious reason, every time I look out into the sea, I think of the title of this post and sing the song (by Guru Josh). It’s such a chilled out song, I wouldn’t call it beach music, it’s got a really cool beat though. I’m actually listening to it as I type this. 🙂 Maybe it’s the endless horizon which makes me think of infinity, or the sky above the sea. I’m not entirely sure what it is. It’s probably both.

The featured photo was taken on one of my fishing trips. I love going fishing, even though I do not actually take part in the fishing (animal lover, can’t be responsible to kill anything). I tag along to these trips because I love the serenity I feel when I’m out at sea. The weather is always perfect and it’s excellent for taking photographs. I don’t much believe in star signs, but as a water sign and a pisces I feel the sea and I have a strong bond, that’s inexplainable.

Water is soothing, when I am very upset, all it takes is a shower and I’m back to being my happy self. If I happen to nap after I’ve showered, well, then I’m in a state of euphoria. Pure bliss. I’m sure I am not the only one who feels a certain degree of peace because of water. To quote John. F Kennedy “All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.” I love that he said “whence we came” old English is so charming. We are tied to the ocean, I do believe that.

Selectively Curious©