New year's resolution




Every year about this time I would empty a blank page in my mind and start jotting down my thoughts. The year is about to end, the New Year is hours away. It’s mixed emotions that I feel. So I start to put down the things I want to achieve, my dreams. I think by now that list has had more resolutions than I can remember. Quite frankly, more failures than successes, but I'm still standing which has to count for something. The list went on, from achieving my degree, getting into physical shape, quit smoking, be a better person, read more, write more, travel more, help a few people along the way, find the woman of my dreams, fall in love with her, visit places I have never seen, have a beautiful daughter that reminds me of her mother and a charismatic son that will protect his queen and princess with his soul and heart. I would say those were fairly regular thoughts, most of which you will find in the average list of most people.
 
My visions have always been rather simple, although they are more than satisfactory for my personal happiness. The complications kick in when your realization forms an unwanted thought, the thought that your simple life will not be satisfactory to those you love. Now I am referring to family and the wider members in our society. See, we have a certain “standard” for happiness. Yes, although it makes us sound like we are machines that share common characteristics, wants and needs and although the truth is far from that, I must deal with the reality that materialism dominates my atmosphere. Further to that, my rejection to their reality will simply mean that I will be labeled with insanity and irresponsibility. The point being that those so called simple dreams are not so simple anymore, but rather very complicated. Making complicated dreams, that are exhausting to one’s life journey (due to the fact that they are continuously expandable) - like running after power or money, more of  simpler dreams, as they fit the “standard” measurement of success and you're strongly supported by your surroundings to run after them. So if he drives his Ferrari, or he is a pioneer in his career, then we start to envy his success, even though we all know from basic experiences that human emotions have much more complex perimeters than that, and that the matters that affect the heart can make the biggest successes meaningless and joyless.

If my life is to be measured by “standards”, then I would rather put on my cloth of arrogance and think of myself as extraordinary, thus what satisfies most around me will just not be enough. I know everything will be “ok” and “fine”, but has it occurred that those words will just never be enough to fulfill my thirst, my thirst for a truthful smile that will light my heart and face with no limitations. It doesn’t matter what others think, because for the first time as I try to write what I want to achieve in the following year all I can think about is the past. The moments that made my heart race, the moments where I felt my heart beat and the moments where I was sincere without the need to wear a mask. I may have broken a few rules, but I smiled from my heart. I remember a time when I was able to sleep for eight continuous hours with nothing on my mind but peace and joy. When I didn’t have to force myself to dream, but those visions were simply flawless. When the moon seemed complete every night of the month, for I didn’t have to look up to see it, but it rather felt like it was always down here by my side.

My New Year's resolution is to find ways to make my heart race. I will find out what it feels like to ride a motorcycle. I will climb Mount Everest one day, maybe not all the way up, but at least I will try. I will go skydiving; walk through a village in the Far East. Maybe I will find the answers to what I am looking for, maybe I won’t. Who's to say you can’t do what you want every once in a while and take a break from your career, city and every stressful thought you hold?  Yes that is it; break the occasional rules to feel alive.

Every year it gets harder to smile, for life's pressures increase as do our responsibilities.

Looking at my past now, I am not smiling as I write this because of anything I have achieved, but I am smiling at the little things that made me happy; some of them ended sadly and some are still ongoing. Nevertheless, they are the highlight of my life.

When I look back one day, forty years from now, I want to envy myself for the smiles I have
collected from my heart. Pray for me that I find them, and if I don’t, pray that in forty years I will still be fighting for my dream.

Newcastle - 28/12/2011

10 comments:

  1. That's a great resolution! May your heart race in 2012!

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  2. I will pray for you my dear friend. You reminded me of myself thirty years ago. I had my full share of successes and failures. Sometimes, I wish I could go back and correct things and do what I haven't done. Then, a thought strikes me. What if I went back and after thirty years I don't have what I have now? No, no, no. I don't want to go back. It doesn't matter if it would be better. I love what I have now for better or worse, and I don't want to change things. Alhamdo Le ALLAH. Yumma's joy with my first son, Majid and his first car, Rola's disappointment for knowing the real me, Heba jumping & screaming when Real wins, The tired but happy Nouf on her first "On Call" night. Rawan's smile on graduation day, Yara's driver's license, Reem's rolling on the snow, Sara's first Laptop, Yusuf scoring the winning goal, Nora's surprise with the dogs, Mohammad crying for Pepsi. No, no, no. I don't want to change things. I will pray for you my friend to experience those moments, then you will know what life really is. I will pray for you my friend to truly find ALLAH, then you will know what happiness is. I will pray for you. Mjmo3at Ensan.

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  3. Inspiring as always mashallah
    May Allah fill ur year and life with outstanding smiles just as u do to ur readers

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  4. Myyas: My dear friend and a true role model to many ... If I am to give an example of a man that I enjoy and appreciate how he raised his children, in a beauty filled with respect and pure Love, then I must say Abu-Yusuf.

    I must add that they are very lucky to have you as a father. I believe that anyone who would look at you, would be envious in one way or the other (mashalla), I am sure it doesn't come at a cheap price, but rather requires patience and hard work. I am lucky to be blessed by Allah to have you and your family as part of my life, a part that I will hold onto as long as Allah permits me to live. I am also thankful that I have learned much from the way you raised your family and I will continue to learn.

    Please always pray for me, for those prayers are my best guide to that happiness.

    Thank you

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  5. Rawan: Thank you , Thank you, Thank you ... Allahumma amean, and may Allah bless you with a beautiful year ahead of you :)

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  6. 2nd and last paragraph are the key! I am heart and soul with them. I think success in life is being able to look back in time and feel satisfied and happy with yourself and your choices.

    And to be honest, I am against this new year crap, every day is as new as the new year! :)

    Qais

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  7. I am a silent reader of ur blog and i decided to beak my silence today and say to u that what ever u write resonates with me at so many levels .. Just wanted to say Happy new year and keep on writing and posting cuz u have readers who hang on every word u write .. thanks

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  8. Qais: How lucky am I to have a friend like you, who has supported me since day one, thank you for your continuous feedback, and that is a moment worth smiling for :)

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  9. To the silent reader: I am more than happy that you have broken that silence with such sweet words. I received an email notification on my Phone as I was walking down the streets of the city last night, it was rather foggy. By the way I hate such weather, i find it extremely difficult to smile at such times. See the fog hides the beauty of all the surrounding and limits our vision to anything beyond the very few meters ahead of us. Regardless, as I read this during my walk a happy feeling occurred, and for that I am very thankful :)

    Happy new year to you too, and I hope you would break that silence more often.

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