Humanity

Humanity / 14.05.2017

I don’t know hate anymore. I know it exists but I personally have veered away from hateful thoughts, acts, deeds or words. It is a conscious choice I make when I wake up in the morning to be guided by love: loving thoughts, joyful deeds, and a pure heart. I am living in a space that God would have me reside. It is sacred and holy, where solitude has become my best friend and companion. There is a difference between solitude and silence, so do not mistake my silence as acceptance. My heart is ready to fight and my mind...

6 Likes
Humanity, Stories / 10.04.2017

Our soul tells a story. Each soul has numerous experiences that make up its journey. Whether that journey is short lived or aged into many lifetimes, it is a journey of moments which make up a story as individual as a fingerprint. According to my Daadi, I was born an “old soul” always gravitating to the elders: their conversations, their laughter, and stories were intoxicating. I couldn’t get enough! Sitting underneath the stars in Pakistan, in the basement of our family home in Chicago, or on the Persian carpet in our living room in Rialto, the stories were endless, the nights...

4 Likes
Humanity, Politics, Religion / 02.08.2016

Immigrating has never been an easy journey. As an immigrant from Pakistan, in the fall of 1979, where my family was comfortable in their surroundings to the harsh, bleak winter of Chicago was an extreme change. Besides the weather, there was the language, environment, norms, holidays, and so much more to adjust to. But the most fascinating were all the different people. In Pakistan we lived in a homogenous neighborhood, but in Chicago my six-year-old self delighted in the variety of human variations. There was an Italian family a few houses down the street who gave me my first taste of...

4 Likes
Humanity / 10.02.2016

The kindest, most genuine man I’ve ever known carried a gun. My Daada (paternal grandfather) was born in India, sometime around December 1918. Record keeping was of no importance when the family elders documented everything in an oral history, sharing stories at multi-generational family gatherings, and offering up morsels to the younger generation to carry away and savor. Daada always had to work harder, prove himself worthy, be the best in sportsmanship, scholastics, and citizenship because the color of his skin- brown. Even though the Indian population was much larger and more diverse than the Whites ruling them, it was a...

3 Likes
Humanity / 02.12.2015

In my naïve nature, I thought terrorists only targeted big cities- your NYC, Paris, and Londons of the world. San Bernardino and Redlands are dots on a world map where our only reference point is in relation to Los Angeles, so why would anyone want to bother us, make a point of hurting scores of people in a Regional Center whose main directive is to assist and help others? That changed today. The world knew where we were, even if for a moment. The world knew that San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States with a...

3 Likes