Passionately M

My elementary teacher told us that "It is wrong to tell a child climbing up the tree that he will fall down."  The tongue has its power.  From that day on, I have kept this in my mind. Old people say that we speak things into existence. Even God did so when He created the world. Genesis 1 : 1-31 says -- In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day... If you will watch inspirational videos created by life coaches and preachers, you will hear them always saying positive things, hacking our brains to think that way -- that they will come into existence. Joel ...

My beloved niece asked me why I love to paint Arabic women and other subjects with Arabian touches. She is a Muslim (convert) so she is happy to see some of my artworks with such a theme. I cannot explain my profound interest in them. Maybe this is also the reason my feet landed here. When I see Arabic artworks, I feel that my soul travels elsewhere to a whole new world where everybody understands the patterns of life, as reflected in Arab artists' geometric arts. That whole new world is an amazing converging point where everybody is respected and protected, regardless of race, religion or economic status. The soul is the essence of life. Once it has experienced a different journey, it flies happily to another dimension, far away beyond the physical boundaries. My first painting with an Arabic theme was "SuperMoon". It was painted for some months when I was in my worst trying times. The sight of the moon and the sounds of names with 'moon' as a commo...

There are many shawarma stands near our place but I take a long walk to get one from a cafeteria about three blocks away from our area, for some reasons. In addition to good staff services, the shawarma there is yummier than the rest I have tasted so far. The wrapper is somewhat crispy and grilled.  The juicy meat and vegetables inside are all fresh. At AED5.50 per order, it is a cheap dinner so no wonder there are lots of customers falling in line to grab their pieces, with matching chai (hot tea with milk and ginger, AED1 small cup and AED2 bigger cup). I usually ask for garlic sauce in addition to tomato sauce that they serve. It has a spicy kick that I love. I recall when a friend sent me an invitation to his birthday get-together.  He called it a 'shawarma party' held in the same place, then after that, there was a fun run. I was not able to join them but for sure they all enjoyed it. Shawarma,(alternative names: chawarma, shaurma or showarma) is a pop...

To truly live the meaning behind the celebration of 2019 as the Year of Tolerance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), some practical initiatives are swiftly acted on. For one, as published in Gulf News on 23 February 2019, AED361M loans of 3,310 Emiratis were waived, in cooperation with some local banks . According to general-director of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi and chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Debt Settlement Fund Jaber Mohammed Ganem Al Suwaidi,  "it aims to make tolerance a sustainable institutional work expressed through practical initiatives". I respect the government led by the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan more for this. I just wish that the local banks will embrace more practical initiatives in handling the loans of people of other nationalities, in observance of the Year of Tolerance. If you watch "Heal" on Netflix , you will understand that stress is the root cause of most illnesses these days. Im...

My caring flatmate knocked on my door and gave me a 'brunch' -- some pieces of Filipino bread pandesal with fried salami and luncheon meat. It left me a good feeling. As long as I live and my memory lane will not fade away, this simple act of kindness I will remember.  I feel good about everything and about myself when I see people like her. When do you feel good? Sometimes we need to take a break and focus on things that make us feel good. There are eight (8) things that make me feel good -- When I feel healthy in body, mind, and spirit; When I know that my family members and those close to my heart are all well and in a safe condition; When I am productive and do things creatively; When people love, respect and care for me regardless of who and what I am; When I can manage to completely tolerate difficult people's actions towards me, but with a boundary; When I see God's wonderful creations in the form of nature; When I meditate and mentally fe...

I best understood the importance of drinking water after giving birth to my first child by Caesarian section. My mother had to put a little water on the cotton and wet my lips with it. I was very thirsty and the view of plain water in the glass appeared different to me on that day. It was very precious. True, water is life, and water is therapeutic. My mother always told me to drink eight (8) glasses of water a day, but I could not consume that much. I do not know what is wrong with me.  Ideally, we must take two (2) liters of water every day. I think my sickly mother's love of water helps treat some of her illnesses. W. H. Auden said, "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." True, yes? Water is very important. My friend's friend was right when she decided to put up a drinking water business. She asked me to think of the brand name and design the logo plus the first advertising material for the signboard and banner that will be placed in ...

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, president of the Philippines, signed into law the Universal Health Care Act (UHCA) yesterday. The law provides automatic enrolment of Filipinos to the National Health Insurance Program and expands Philhealth coverage to include free medical consultations and laboratory tests. I remember when my uncle said that my paternal grandmother died due to lack of medicines to treat her hypertension. I never saw her face, but another uncle told me she looked like me. If there was a law like this in the past, perhaps she would have lived longer. Many people died because they are poor and do not have access to healthcare services. Health is wealth and wealth is health. If you are sick, you are not fit to work and if you cannot work, who will pay the bills for you and your family (if you are the breadwinner), to survive? With this very timely signing of the said healthcare act, every Filipino will be given equitable access to quality and affordable healthcare...

Long time back we saw robots and automated things only in movies. These days we see many things being done through machines via artificial intelligence (AI). Soon many more jobs will be unmanned. How do you feel if a robot will greet you at the reception area of a building? Or if a robot will take your order when you go to a restaurant? Will you feel safe if you ride in a driverless car, boat or airplane? How does food cooked by a robot taste? Will you be happy if you have a robot mate or electronic lover? Will you trust a robot to perform surgery on you? For many companies, this will save a lot of costs as government-mandated benefits will not be extended to them. There will also be no issue on disciplinary actions as they will serve their purposes as programs, and there will be fewer labor disputes. What will people whose jobs are to be taken by automation, do then? If many will lose jobs then the consumption of goods and services will be lesser so it will affect the econom...