#My First Post Revisited

Miss Tikeethat T from a Thomas’ point of view, tagged me yesterday, in a little fun blog tag I’ve been seeing floating around, but had previously positively turned a blind eye to. Why? You may ask. Well this tag is called #MyFirstPostRevised and as I wrote my first post on the 18th of august 2014, I was hoping it would have drowned amongst the multitude of posts I’ve written afterwards.

I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but when I first began this blog, it wasn’t supposed to be for poetry. I guess it was supposed to be an inspirational blog? (I’m not really sure). Good thing I had figured out soon enough, I was more in need of inspiration than I could inspire. Without further digression, below is my first post: 

EMBRACING OUR AMBITION (August 18, 2014)

We live in a generation where every single thing we do and say, even the littlest detail is scrutinized and criticized. Thus, making it easier for people to wall up and avoid their true calling and way harder to follow the path that they should be taking.

I remember when I first started to write poetry, it was in high school, and where I come from, they don’t get it. Anything that deviates from the traditional “medicine, accounting or engineering” gets a whole lot of resistance. And when you write, you instantly become one with your work, and it hurts when people don’t get it.

But here’s the thing, it shouldn’t matter what they say. I know it does matter, but it shouldn’t. Those people trying to diminish your spirit arent going to live your life for you. It’s your life to live, it’s your mistake to make and it’s your path to choose. If painting is what you love to do, then my dears, paint your hands off. If cooking is your passion, then set the kitchen on fire ( not literally though). The point is, there’s going to be resistance anyway, so just do what you would be happy the rest of your life doing.

It will be ridiculous of me to say it is easy, cause it’s not. There’s going to be people who’d hate what you do along the way, and you just gotta have a thick skin. Words would hurt but you don’t let it show, because the bigger picture is all that matters in the end.

So my dears, pick up those paint brushes, or the clay pot mix, or a pen and paper- whatever it is, block the world out and just do it. You really never know until you try and embrace it wholeheartedly. And remember, we owe it to ourselves to at least give it our all.

Here’s a little quote to sleep on: Don’t allow the world to define your greatness for most of this world is blind.           The end

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Below are the rules, If you’ve been looking for an excuse to share your first post, or you are like me, and have been turning a blind eye and trying to avoid the challenge, feel free to join now. 

No cheating. (It must be your first post. Not your second post, not one you love…first post only.)
Link back to the person who tagged you (thank them if you feel like it or, if not, curse them with a plague of ladybugs).
Other rules:

Cut and paste your old post into a new post or reblog your own bad self. (Either way is fine but NO editing.)
Put the hashtag #MyFirstPostRevisited in your title.
Tag…um…five (5) other bloggers to take up this challenge.
Notify your tags in the comment section of their blog (don’t just hope they notice a pingback somewhere in their spam).
Feel free to cut and paste the badge to use in your post.
Include “the rules” in your post.

Chasing Love…

I think, the more you chase love, the more it gains energy and eludes you. The more you want it, the more it runs off. Love becomes this person who seems to enjoy the thrill of the chase more so than being caught; its mastered the art of evasion and just when you think, maybe, this is it- love has a way of getting one over you, it does so skillfully, taking with it pieces of you and leaving several irregular gaping holes.

And despite, despite the tumultuous ride and the many bumps on the road, we still chase love. We still get on the ride, despite knowing we may be left with even less pieces of ourselves than when we started. What does that say about love? What does that say about us? That we need it, maybe not as much as the oxygen we breathe, but still, as a necessity if we want to “live” not simply “exist”. And sometimes, this love that we’re chasing, isn’t hiding out with someone else; sometimes, this love is within ourselves and we’re simply driving through the wrong paths. I mean, how else can we fill the hole in someone else’s heart when ours is half filled yearning for us to fill it. And maybe, these are the lessons that love teaches us through its eventful journey.

The above image is courtesy of OrdinaryGirl

Writer’s quote: Angelina Jolie

Don’t fit in, don’t sit still, don’t ever try to be less than what you are and when someone tells you that you are different, smile and hold your head up high and be proud.
– Angelina Jolie

The above quote is from Angelina Jolie’s speech after winning a kids choice award for favorite villain in her role as Maleficient.

When you know, own and accept who you are, no one would be able to use it against you. No one has the power to make you feel embarrassed about certain things without your permission. The light is out there for a reason. It is waiting for you to step into it. It is waiting to illuminate the star that you are. And no, this is not just talk. This is fact, this is reality. This is me saying pick up your hat and strut like the boss that you are. You are different? That’s okay. Imagine a world where we all did the same things, looked the same way, loved the same hobbies- it wouldn’t be much of a world.

You weren’t born to fit in. You were beautifully made to stand out. Appreciate the unique being you are and use that God-given creativity to reveal to the world.

This is my submission for writer’s quote Wednesday hosted by silver Threading.

12 Quotes, A day

Four amazing bloggers have nominated me for the 3 days quotes challenge. I have done it before (HERE) but as Ahmed Saiz asked so sweetly, I decided why not do it again. Thank you all very much for the nominations and I apologize for taking so long to do this.
I’m going to have to break the rules regarding this challenge by accepting all four nominations at once. Below is each of the nominee with three quotes as requested. Criminal minds is a series where every episode begins and ends with a quote/saying, so all of the quotes I’m sharing below are from criminal minds.

Ahmad Saiz: a writer Who is passionate about writing, his about page would confirm that.

1) When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you.

2) It’s often said- there is no footprint too small to leave an imprint in this world.

3) The tragedy of this life is that no one is happy, whether stuck in a time of pain or Joy.

IshmaImroz: a proud muslimah who loves to express her thoughts with poetry

4) When love is in excess, it brings a man no honor nor worthiness.

5) We can easily forgive a child that is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.

6) I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their character and my enemies for their intellect.

Nimmi: who blogs at feeling soulmate where she writes about relationship and it’s aftermath In the form of poetry.

7) When a woman tells a man about her feelings, she doesn’t want him to fix her, she wants him to shut up and listen.

8) A woman must not depend on the protection of a man, she must be taught to protect herself.

9) It doesn’t matter who my father was, it matters who I remember he was.

Visionarie kindness: a poet at heart whose poetry is filled with inspiring words.

10) A dark soul can kill you quicker, far quicker than a germ.

11) Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, the glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind.

12) Things are not always what they seem, the first appearance deceives many, the intelligence of a few precedes what has been carefully hidden. 

The image below is one I had promised a dear blogger, Fun Simplicity I was going to create.

 

Now off to go read for my environmental studies test tomorrow. P.S looking forward to knowing which of the above quotes is your favorite.

Writer’s Quote: Meredith Gray

Humans have a tendency to want to give up when the doors are closing and it seems like the roof is caving in. This tendency culminates into some people actually giving up and the others deciding to try just once more. Not everyone who tries again is going to achieve their desired goal. The difference between those who tried yet again and those who didn’t is, for the latter, it’s always going to be at the back of their mind like a nightmare which refuses to back away, the question- what would life had been like if they had given it one more shot. And the answer is, they’d never know.

Rejection is bad, but regrets, they can eat at the soul. This doesn’t mean that I’ve never ran through the slit opening of a door when I realized it was closing; trust me, I have had my fair share of running, giving up and regretting. But, I’m working at making that attitude a thing of the past. Will it be easy? Absolutely not, but I have a feeling I’d go to bed feeling much better knowing I gave it one more shot.

Here’s to writing meaningless sentences till we finally get the inspiration to write the meaningful ones. Here to rhyming words like “the cat sat on a hat” until the rhymes take a world of their own. Here’s to giving our best shots in hopeless situations.

P.S, what are your favorite gray’s anatomy quotes?

This post in response to Writer’s quote Wednesday by hosted by Silver Threading.

Writer’s Quote: Neil Gaiman

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes; because if you make mistakes, then you’re making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.
So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art or love or work or family or life. Whatever it is you are scared of doing, do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever
                   -Neil Gaiman

I was saving the above quote to share during the upcoming New year, but then, I thought, new year is a relative term. For some of us, a new year is far more represented by our “birthdays” rather than the first of January, some follow the Chinese calendar and some, the Islamic one. Today is as good a day to make a resolution as another day and the great part is, whatever resolutions we make beats the odd of not falling into the cliché uncompleted resolutions.

In life, we are advised to always think before we act and as good an advice as it is, we tend to take it a little more and spend all of our time thinking, rather than doing acting. And these seconds, minutes pass, the clock keeps ticking, while we, keep thinking. At the same time, we make resolutions like, “I’d start at Christmas” and then Christmas turns to new year, which turns to Eid and before we know it, the cycles gone round and we arrive at another Christmas with the same untouched goals we had a year back.

Today is the 30th, one more day and a new month begins. Here’s to making beautiful, amazing and glorious mistakes; to writing our worries and ignoring our fears; to completing our projects and changing ourselves; here’s to living and loving and writing away…

This post is in response to the weekly event Writer’s Quote Wednesday

Writer’s quote: Maya Angelou

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on and it will be better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled christmas lights.
I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they are gone from your life.
I’ve learned making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life”.
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
I’ve learned that everyday you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
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.

The late Maya Angelou’s words are an inspiration and as writers, we are always on the lookout for inspiration. Life is a process of living and learning. Everyday, we see things, and sometimes we don’t realize the extent to which they impact us. We grow and learn from those things. And if we’re lucky enough, we get to write about them too.

Whenever the dreaded writers block creeps in, and my brain becomes a blank space, I look to personal experiences. I dig into an emotion, how it felt at a certain time, how an experience impacted me, and more often than not, the ink flows. In a way, it is like killing two birds of with one stone because on one hand, I have a piece completed and on the other hand, I get the opportunity of looking at those experiences through a new lens- through thought out words and not the irrational intensity of the emotion. As Maya Angelou said, we’ve learned and we still have a lot to learn. Here’s to learning and writing about them and learning some more.

This post is In response to Writer’s quote Wednesday. If you’d like to participate, just click on the highlighted link. IMAGE CREDIT: Counselling.org

Twitter: @WordsOfARandom

Writers Quote: being a writer

The past few weeks took it’s toll on me, in a good way. I felt something I haven’t felt before, it was magical to say the least; unexpected and wonderful. I’ve always said I love to write but this time, it was different. I sit at a table, tea In hand and I feel it in every nerve cell in my body, that Joy which I’ve only ever read about. That in-depth passion which some writers talk about- I actually felt it. And it’s an amazing feeling.

I’ve spent the last two weeks smiling and thanking God for the gift of writing. For the first time, I feel in tune with writing- like it’s something, I never want to live without. There is a point in every writer’s life where they know for a fact, there is no going back from writing. I feel I have reached that stage, and If not, then this is a start for me.

This feeling, it’s not a burst of inspiration where you feel like you can go on days writing. It’s writing a brief piece, reading it back and smiling, feeling contented. It’s a tree of Joy sprouting within as you read every word appearing on the screen/paper and at that moment, you know, this writing- you can’t stop it even if you wanted to. And as tight as your schedule is, you make time for it. You make time for writing cause you know, you are a writer. That’s all there is to it.

This is my submission for Silver Threading’s writer’s quote Wednesday. You are welcome to participate with a writers quote which you find inspiring. The more, the merrier, just click on the link above.

Writer’s Quote: Silver Lining

Silver Lining– a prospect of hope or comfort in a gloomy situation, according to the free dictionary. The above quote is from the oscar nominated movie, The silver lining playbook and I chose it for this week’s writer’s quote because today is Monday and we all need all the positivity we can get.

“You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest”– this is the baseline towards success, giving it your best shot and leaving no stone unturned. Personally, I find a certain level of comfort in knowing I did the best I could. It helps me sleep better at night and I look towards the next obstacle knowing the previous door closed for reasons other than my efforts.

“And if you stay positive“- now that’s one of the hardest things. Staying positive after multiple defeats, multiple rejections is not easy. But that is what makes it worth it In the end. If there are no storms and clouds In the sky, there sure wouldn’t be a silver lining.

First things first, we’ve got to give it our best shot. If we stumble, we pick ourselves up; if we fall, we rise and wipe the dust off. Stay positive and keep on walking, trudging, and then, we’ll have our shot at a silver lining.

This post is in response up Writer’s quote wednesday hosted by Silver threading.

One and the same

To the broken hearts,
And the withered souls;
To the ones unwanted,
The golds, world has thrown;
Here- a poem I send,
To soothe your ache;
May winds so serene-
Dispatch at your place.

To the wilting flowers,
And the flickered flames;
The pure hearts ignored,
And voices unheard;
Maybe words and phrases,
Aren’t much anyway;
But I hope they remind you,
We are one and the same-
Bunch of broken winged birds-
Determined to fly their way.

Image credit: word by Pictures. PS: Mental Health Friday is launching tomorrow with two stories I can’t wait to share with you. See you then 🙂