COVID Reflection.
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I
remember a story my grandma once told me. Once upon a time, a guy was sailing
his boat. The waves were so high and caused the sailing boat to sink. The guy
swam for hours until his limbs were numb. After hours and hours of swimming, finally,
he reached the beach of an island. He was sorry for the boat he had lost, even
he didn't know anyone on the island where he landed. Days passed, then he
figured out that there was no way he could get back to his home village. He
gave up searching for ways to return, then eventually, he started to explore
the island. He found out that the island was even better than his home village.
"Allah always has better plans," he told himself.
The
guy lived on the island for years and years. He built his hut, established his
business, and everything was going fine. Until that day, he forgot his food
cooking and left his hut. He went away for hours and then returned to find that
his house was set on fire, a massive fire. The smoke was everywhere, and the hut
was burned to the ground!
He tried to put off the fire, but,
unfortunately, it was too late. While the guy was putting off the fire, he lost
a finger as well. He was so devastated that he started to blame his luck. He sobbed,
wailed, and cried out loud. A few minutes later, a gigantic ship was crossing
by the beach. The people on board were curious to see where the smoke was
coming from. They found the guy and his burnt hut. They got off their ship and told
the guy that their king just died, and they were looking for a new king to role
them. They suggested that he might be a good fit, but he should have a scar on
his body. They believed that Scars are signs of strength and well-being. In
their tradition, they think that if someone had a scar, that means that this
person has survived great misfortunes. Then they saw the burnt finger of his, then,
they decided to appoint him as their new leader!
Allah always has better plans!
Let's
just say that this year has been the best year of our lives. The year that we saw
how many blessings Allah had granted us. This year is when we realized how
important our families are, and our true friends have revealed.
The year we discovered that even our ability
to breath is a blessing, our ability to run errands and go out is a blessing,
our health and well-being is the greatest blessing of all.
Still, this year has been so hard
for many of us. However, as long as we still breathing, there is always a
chance for better days and new beginnings.
Of course, we might feel sad for
those we lost during the pandemic and for those who caught the virus, but let's
just say that pain, loss, and tragic events are natural reminders of the
hereafter. They are reminders that nothing and no one would last forever, so we
remain focused on living our lives like we are travelers. We should not behold
or hoard anything. We should love with all of our hearts and stay kind as much
as we can. We should give and forgive. We should practice gratitude and see the
good in others. We should love more and judge less. We should be more sharing
and extra caring. We should count the blessings instead of thinking about what
we lack.
I need you to take all of these brain tips into consideration and try your best
to practice them…
·
Brain tip: Do you know that you can rewire your
brain if you count three things you are grateful for 21 consecutive days? Stay
grateful!
·
Brain tip: You will be who you always think you
are. Stay positive!
·
Brain tip: Art will enhance your mode even if
you're not good at it. Art can be drawing, cooking, baking, writing stories,
beading, or photography. Stay artistic!
Biography: My name is Shama Farag. I was born and raised
in Egypt. I graduated from the school of science, and I got a premaster degree
in Botany. I worked as a researcher at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs in
Egypt. Then, switched to translation and language localization. It was the best
choice, along with my family's needs. I got a diploma in Islamic theology. I
studied writing for young readers at Commonwealth Trust, creative writing at
Wesleyan University, storytelling technics at the University of Houston System.
I got courses in History and modern literature from Stanford University and
Harvard University as well.
I'm grateful
for people who made online learning free back then.
My dad was an
Engineer and a scholar. He was granted a magnificent sense of righteousness,
caring, and wisdom. He taught me the importance of community work and how it
instills purity in our hearts and favoring others over ourselves. This is hard
for many people to do. Still, it's considered a pure Iman "belief." When
you help others, help make them as good as you, when you love to see goodness
happening to others as much as you love goodness for yourself, that means you
have a strong faith. It's a pure test for your heart and intentions. As simple
as that.
I started
volunteering at an orphanage 16 years ago. I volunteered to tell prophetic
stories to kids. Then I began to record audiobooks for non-profit organizations
for the visually impaired. Hence I started my media platforms on SoundCloud and
YouTube. Also, I began to write short stories on Facebook twelve years ago. I
have participated in many interfaith work and programs since I moved to the US.
I'm grateful to be a part of the MAPS-Many Culture One Community and MAPS-Interfaith
Outreach community.
I have been
writing since I was 12 years old, and now, I'm a published author. I have more
than eight books published through Amazon kindle. I'm the chief editor for
little Farah Magazine for Muslim kids all around the world. Also, I'm a
columnist at Arabicpost and Aljazeera Arabic. My writings are mainly focused on
diversity and inclusion.
My latest
release on Amazon is Mrs. Z, the substitute, a novella for kids nine years and
up. I have partnered up with some young fellows from my Blog fans, and I was
blessed to have two incredible little eight and ten years old illustrators and
11 years old author helping me out. Feel free to write back to me at
Also, feel free to check out my Amazon author
page here,
https://www.amazon.com/Shama-Farag/e/B073XWK3JZ%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
My website,
https://shama-farag.square.site/
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