blogging | Selectively Curious

Ramadan Kareem

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Selectively Curious

I was born a Muslim.

I say “was born” rather than “I am muslim” because now I choose to be one, even though my faith has taken it’s fair share of hits, especially with the way the news portrays the religion. I have lead a pretty sheltered life, up until university, I could say that I was a devout Muslim, not that I have done anything that is against my religion to date, however, my devoutness has gone up and down, much like a roller coaster. When I went to university, I did some exploring, as most people would do. I read up on other religions, not because I didn’t believe what my religion taught but I suppose to better understand my own. I wanted to understand other people’s religion to better understand the way people think and to make sense of it all. It’s a daily mission, I suppose, it’s not easy to just follow a religion, without understanding it 100%. It opened my mind up as I have tried to look at things from various other perspectives. We live in such a diverse world and it really does amaze me. I have been fortunate enough to know and encounter people who are very different than me, in everyway and it’s a privilege to call some of those people my friend.

Having said that, I’d like to emphasize my belief in God has been unaltered. It’s hard to explain it but my faith in Him has never changed. However, it is my belief in some of the stories of the teachings, which I find myself questioning and yet simultaneously, I am in awe of what the Qur’an has said. I won’t get into the details of it as the purpose of this post is to talk about one aspect of my religion, which is Ramadan.

It is the month where most Muslims fast in the name of the religion, to better themselves. It is a test for our patience, endurance and I suppose most of all, how grateful we ought to be that we are fortunate enough to break our fast at the end of the day with wonderful food. It teaches me to be generous and it is truly a month of giving. The reason for it to be a whole month, in my opinion, is because as popular theory also suggests, it takes 21 days to form a habit (though there are other studies that say 66 days). If we practice kind acts, after 21 days, surely kindness becomes a habit? This month we are meant to reflect (as the featured image shows, I suppose that’s what a person who is reflecting on life would look like?) and think about the bigger picture, to practice generosity, kindness, goodness and spread such acts of kindness. If people did follow this wholeheartedly, I do believe we would be living in a better world as I believe that kindness is contagious. Overall, at the end of the month, can’t speak for anyone else, I feel that my soul is lighter, in terms of spiritually. I let go of petty things and there’s a lot about my faith that is reinforced, which has dimmed throughout the year, as a result of busy schedules.

As Michael Jackson said, “If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change”

Ramadan Kareem everyone, may God bestow his blessings and mercy upon us all and may we all be better and try to make this world better, one person at a time. 🙂

Selectively Curious©

An apartment by the Bay

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Selectively Curious

Almost a year ago I moved away from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. I was transferred to the Dubai office of the firm I work for.

I’d like to take a moment and just reflect on how quickly the time flies. When I was transferred, I was given two weeks notice (much like the movie) and in those two weeks I had to find a new place and move in immediately. Luckily Abu Dhabi is not too far from Dubai so initially, for about a 2 weeks I did have to commute, until my furniture arrived to my apartment.

My heart was set on a building which was right next to work and it had a few apartments empty. This was because I was new to Dubai and didn’t want to get caught up in the morning rush trying to get into work. However, for some reason, either the agent would increase the price or tell us it was no longer available. We had contacted a few agents about the apartments in the building. Until finally we managed to secure one and handed in a deposit. Little did I know that handing in a deposit doesn’t mean much and the next morning the agent called saying how the apartment is in high demand and can only make it available to me if we pay a higher rent. I flat out refused (pun intended), it’s not a joke and it shouldn’t be this difficult to book an apartment. Shame that people are not good for their word anymore and luckily I got my deposit back. Time was running out and I was back to square one and had no apartment. It was difficult to call agents at that time too because work was extremely busy. I have to admit, I was extremely lucky because my parents were very helpful. They would drive to Dubai to view the apartments on my behalf. I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for their help. In any case I gave up on that building and even though the agent called again confirming that another apartment was available, I was now adamant to find a place anywhere else and never live in that building.

I had basically lost faith in ever finding an apartment and decided that commuting won’t be that bad and that I could do it. 10 days into commuting back and forth everyday, my hunt was back on. Luckily my mother had found another agent and she was excellent. She knew exactly what I was looking for and didn’t play any games in relation to my budget. She booked a viewing and I had taken a few days off to find a place. So on a Thursday, I went to Dubai with my parents to view the places. The first building was in a compound with a cluster of 13 buildings. We walked up to the compound from the underground parking, as we stepped outside, my dad said to me “This is it” with a big smile on his face and this was before we had gone up to look at the apartment! It just had a nice vibe to it, which the other building next to work did not have. We went up had a look at a few apartments and I chose the corner apartment. We got the lease signed the same day and I had the keys to my very own place.

It makes me curious how something’s just work out. Maybe it is fate? I guess the moral of the story is, if something is meant to be, it will be easy peasy. Don’t force things, just let it be. 🙂

Featured image is the view from my apartment.