To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.
- Jill Bolte Taylor
How do you take time out for yourself to unwind, de-stress and find some balance in this frantic and exhausting race?
Location : Koh Lanta Yai, Thailand -Spectacular, blissful and relatively untouched.Captured with : The humble iPhone 4s
Urdu- my mother tongue. Strongly influenced by the beautiful Persian and Turkish languages, Urdu is both elegant and immensely poetic.
As a teenager, I was a voracious reader of urdu poetry, a gently sensual mingling of words with love. Sometimes rebellious, other times inspiring.Faiz Ahmed Faiz or as known in the literary circles as Faiz Saahab, is dubbed as one of Pakistan’s greatest poets and one of my all-time favourites.
Today, I would like to share with you a beautiful poem written by Faiz Saahab, Dasht-e-Tanhaai (and its translation), a set of painstakingly threaded words which never cease to give me goosebumps in the raw emotions they capture.This poem was also later sung by popular Pakistani vocalist, Tina Sani. If you are a fan of Faiz Saahab and urdu literature, the song warrants a hearing. You will find the link at the end of this post.
Dasht-e-Tanhaai
~ Faiz Ahmed Faiz
dasht-e-tanhaai mein, ai jaan-e-jahaan, larzaan hain In the desert of my solitude, oh love of my life, quiver teri avaaz ke saaye, the shadows of your voice, tere honthon ke saraab the mirage of your lips
dasht-e-tanhaai mein, In the desert of my solitude, duri ke khas-o-khaak tale beneath the dust and ashes of distance khil rahe hain tere pehlu ke saman aur gulaab bloom the jasmines and roses of your proximity
uht rahi hai kahin qurbat se From somewhere very close, teri saans ki aanch rises the warmth of your breath apani khushbuu mein sulagti hui smouldering in its own aroma, maddham maddham slowly, bit by bit.
dur ufaq par chamakati hui far away, across the horizon, glistens qatra qatra drop by drop gir rahi hai teri dil daar nazar ki shabnam the falling dew of your beguiling glance
is qadar pyaar se hai jaan-e jahaan rakkhaa hai With such tenderness, O love of my life, dil ke rukhsaar pe on the cheek of my heart, is vaqt teri yaad ne haath has your memory placed its hand right now
yun guman hota hai that it looks as if garche hai abhi subah-e-firaaq (though it’s still the dawn of adieu) dhal gaya hijr ka din the sun of separation has set aa bhi gaye vasl ki raat
and the night of union has arrived.
Bravo Faiz Saahab, bravo !
And here is the hauntingly soulful rendition by Tina Sani
Allow this song to seep into you, I promise you, it will.
I love transits. Stopping over in a previously unknown destination, spending a few hours experiencing its distinct culture, taking away with me a small piece of some new place. Learning that can only ever be inspired from travel. If you are lucky enough to have a couple of days in transit, that’s even better! But not all transits are the same.Some feel excruciatingly long when all you want to do is be home and stretch out in your own bed, not some uncomfortable, bony seat in the transit lounge of a country you won’t remember the next day.
So what happens when your entire life becomes a transit? Do you embrace each day for all it brings? Or does your quest for the best in normal make you feel anxious and exhausted-everyday?
My life has been in one such long, painful transit for a while now. The decisions and choices leading up to this transit were/are my own and I have no regrets about them. And I am also aware that what to me feels like transit is for a lot of people normal and perfect. Am I then being ungrateful? Perhaps I am. Let me explain.
I have 2 beautiful children, a job that sustains us, a loving family(albeit geographically removed). I would never be classified as rich but we have a reasonable lifestyle and I do my best to provide for the Fab 2. All things to be very grateful for.Yet, in myself I am scattered, my energies furiously focussed on how I can make things better, normal. Oddly enough, the “one day” seems to hold much more promise than the “right now”. Thus stems the feeling that our life is in a constant state of transit. This phase is like a bridge I need to cross to be able to get home. But I am tired. I am human.
I often wonder.
Is there really ever a normal or is normal just a never ending futile search? You decide.
Nothing fancy, a few simple, raw words I stringed together today. To you, Fabulous Son 1
I Know.
When you turn to me for comfort But don’t quite know how to articulate it I know. When your dreams seem far fetched And your eyes seek mine For encouragement, hope and promise Someone to say, it will be okay I know. When you reach out to hold my hand But don’t tell me that you are scared I know. When you are sorry And want to make it all okay I know. When you smile at me your beautiful smile And your heart brims with love I know. When you seek peace and warmth in my words And love in my arms
Knock, And He’ll open the door
Vanish, And He’ll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.
Mumchic Picks – Today’s Top 9 Quotes By Khalil Jibran
Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.
Hearts united in pain and sorrow will not be separated by joy and happiness. Bonds that are woven in sadness are stronger than the ties of joy and pleasure. Love that is washed by tears will remain eternally pure and faithful.
When you love you should not think you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another, and no sunrise finds us where left by sunset. Even while the earth sleeps we travel. We are the seeds of that tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart.There is a space between man’s imagination and man’s attainment that may only be traversed by his longing. that we are given to the wind to be scattered.
There is a space between man’s imagination and man’s attainment that may only be traversed by his longing.
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.
One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night.
Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Over to you ; what quotes have been on your mind this week?
A friend who chooses to remain anonymous shares with Mumchic’s readers , the trials and triumphs of a road less travelled. Please note , I have deliberately chosen not to make any edits to the piece as it spoke volumes to me in its rawness and honesty , adding or taking anything away from it would do it much injustice . Over to you , guest author.
For You Believed
There will be the highs and lows
There will be a search , optimistic , relentless
For answers , for a utopia you have never known
There will be a moment too many
When you will want to give it all up
To find bliss in the arms of the beloved
To come back to the one
And all you know as home
Most nights
You will gently slip into a slumber
Only too exhausted to dream
You will laugh but you will cry more
There will be a leap of faith or two
You will fear the failures
And celebrate the smallest successes
You will trust and wonder , you will vehemently question , you will hope
And you will dare
But there is also the promise each sunrise brings
Of a slowly unraveling dream
Distant but not invisible
For you dared , for you believed and persevered
For you travelled a path
You didn’t even know existed
~
Taking a path less travelled is riddled with its own perils and promises. Share a thought : what are your experiences with choosing to do something against the social norms/expectations ?
Surviving single parenthood one baby step at a time...overdosed on coffees and red bull mostly.This is where I blog about food, inspiration, lifestyle, sweet nothings and love.
Pakistani|Australian.
Canberra, Australia.
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