Beautiful Patience!

 

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Gustavo Juliette

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Being an Arab myself, I used to say” Ya sabr Ayoub!” a lot these days to recall how patient prophet Job or Ayoub was. We usually refer to Prophet Ayoub when we mention patience. I was wondering why prophet Ayoub specifically. I believe all prophets had been through countless calamities and misfortunes, but why we tend to mention prophet Ayoub when it comes to patience and staying patient during a tough time. I think that it's not only that prophet Ayoub bore being sick for 18 consecutive years, but his test was much more challenging than that. He was tested by having all his blessings taken away from him. That's way harder on someone’s self than being sunken deep in poverty and illness from the very beginning. As humans, we tend to behave better when we are deprived; we tend to give when we lack, we tend to help when we need help.

However, if we are in a prestigious position or in authority or famous, it's hard to imagine these things being taken away from us. It's hard for someone who used to be wealthy, healthy, or famous to see others abandoning him because he lost what attracted people to him.
IMHO, I believe that’s why prophet Ayoub was a symbol of patience. Because staying patience during adversity is more common as we seem like we have no choice but staying patient and grateful while losing everything is real Sabr” patience.”
Prophet Ayoub showed manners and used eloquent decorum while complaining to God. He said,” I was touched with hardship and torment,” after 18 years of illness and poverty, and he used the word
”touch,”!
This is exactly what calamity does to our souls. It makes us vulnerable; it makes us weak; it makes us in need of help.
It's unlikely for someone who never experienced actual pain to feel others’ pain. It's hard for someone who never needed help to think that someone else is needing help. And maybe that's why God chose people coming from real-life challenges and appointed them to deliver his message. Simply, they had been there.
Our attitudes toward COVID interpret how we saw our misfortunes. What we plan to do reflects what we learned deeply. Let's make sure we learned from this adversity a thing or two.

 

Guess Who the City Council Girl on a Mission Is?

 Guess who the City Council girl on a mission is?

I’m over the moon you made it to the City Council committee for art and culture, Amany.

I have been volunteering with Amany at MAPS- MCOC - MAPS- Many Cultures One Community) for years, but I wasn’t such a committed volunteer. I was always on and off; until last year, we got to work together as a team.

The first project we worked on was handing out facial masks to facilities and hospitals. We had more than twenty volunteers. She shopped for fabric and sewing supplies, made sure to wash, sanitize the fabric before it reached the volunteers' hands, abided by social distancing protocols. She was selfless to the point that she never cared to have her name mentioned, but she managed everyone else had. 

Alhamdullilah, 

Seldom do you find a leader who cares so much about others working with her than bossing them around.

It’s rare to find someone who appreciates her team talents and works the kinks to get the best out of her team instead of ignoring skills, fearing their success.

It’s incredible how she is selfless, and she is keen to give everyone credit for every task, wait on others' opinions, and collaborate with multiple backgrounds. She has a magnificent ability to glue people together. 

Amany, Keep going, keep shining. Shine bright!

In Arabic

أماني أبو خضير اول مسلمة امريكية من اصول فلسطينية تبقي في لجنة مجلس المدينة للفنون والثقافة. 

أنا اشتغلت مع أماني في كذا مناسبة قبل كده بس كنت متطوعة نص لبة مرة اجي ومرة مجيش ومرة اقول جاية واعتذر

لحد السنة اللي فاتت بقيت متطوعة بشكل مستمر للبرنامج الثقافي ف المسجد واللي ماسكاه أماني.

اول مشروع نشتغل عليه سوا كان مشروع ماسكات تتعمل ونوديها للمستشفيات اول م حصل الكوفيد

كانت الولاية عندنا من اول اللي حصل فيها الفيروس وكان في نقص شديد فالماسكات والمعدات الطبية

أماني تواصلت مع المتطوعين وراحت اشترت القماش والادوات 

ونسقت مع المتطوعين 

وجابت القماش غسلته وعقمته  وكوته ولفت ع المتطوعين بيت بيت توزع عليهم القماش وتقف من بعيد تسلم وتستلم مع مراعاة سلامة الناس.

وبعد كل الجهد ولا حطت صورة ولا حتي اهتمت يتذكر اسمها ولا مين عمل ايه

بس كانت حريصة تذكر اسماء الناس اللي عملت المجهود ده اسم اسم

وتشكرهم واحد واحد 

وتدي كل واحد حقه من العرفان

وعلي فكرة مش كل الناس بتعرف فن العرفان

في ناس بتخاف تحسس غيرها بشطارتها 

لكن القائد الحقيقي مبيخافش من شطارة الفريق اللي معاه

بيبقي اول واحد ييجي واخر واحد يمشي 

بيدي لكل واحد حقه

ويحمي اللي معاه لو اتعرض لمشكلة

وياخد له حقه لو انظلم 

وكل الحاجات دي انا لقيتها ف أماني 

ومن كل قلبي فرحانة بيها انها وصلت للانجاز ده

ويارب يبارك فيها وفي جهدها  ويسدد خطاها ويوفقها ويفتح عليها 

وحقيقي الفلسطينية من أحسن الناس اللي ممكن الواحد يشتغل معاهم

حقيقي لا يضرهم من خذلهم

وياريت نتجمع علي بعض كده كعرب 

ونفرح لبعض ونحب لبعض الخير ونقف لبعض

ونعمل في الغربة اللي معرفناش نعمله ف بلادنا 

ونخللي نفسنا حلوة ونشوف نجاح الناس حاجة ملهمة

وندعي للناس بالبركة والتوفيق 

"إن يعلم في قلوبكم خيرا يؤتكم خيرا مما أخذ منكم"

Stop Asian Hate

 

As a Muslim who lives as a minority in a country I call it home, I know fear. I know how it feels like when you go out, either you fear being attacked or being looked at as a threat. I remember when the pandemic started last year, and while shopping at one of the grocery stores, I walked through the aisle. I ran into an Asian lady who stood still in her place, looking at me for 20 seconds. The look in her eyes tells it all. "Are you scared of me? I don't have the virus!" At the moment, I wished I could take my facial mask off and let her know that I wasn't afraid of her, and I hoped that she wasn't afraid of me either. I wished her peace and safety. The virus has no nationality.

And when I heard about the Atlanta shooting, I was appalled and perplexed. How dare we live in a world where either we are afraid of someone or someone is afraid of us? When is this supposed to end? And how can we offer a genuine support system for each other? How can we offer sincere help to one another? 

Do you know why I care? Because I have been there. I can relate. I see your pain. I feel your fear. I hear you!

If you don’t get the idea behind solidarity and why we should stand firm for hate upon anyone, especially minorities, do you know why we should say Stop Asian Hate out loud?

Let me tell you a story that my grandma would tell me to urge me to stand up for others the same way I stand up for myself.

Once upon a time, there were three bulls. A white bull, a red bull, and a black one. They were friends living altogether on a spacious farm.

A hungry lion was living nearby. He would come hemming and hawing every day. The lion was desperately looking for a fulfilling meal. The lion thought about how he could eat the bulls, but it seemed hard because they were united and never left apart.

One day, the lion saw the black and the red bull waiting without the third white bull involved. He came close and told them that their white bull friend looked so bright and he would make them look like an easy target for hunters. The lion suggested to get rid of the white bull or let him go. Even better, the lion pointed out that the farm was better shared between the two bulls rather than three.

The two bulls thought, and eventually, they agreed that there was no need to keep the white bull with them anymore. They reached out to the lion the next day and inquired about getting rid of the white bull. The lion told them wickedly: “I will take care of it, just make sure to leave him all alone.”

The lion waited while the white bull was alone, then he attacked the white bull and ate him. The white bull didn't even resist the attacker because he never expected that his friends would sell him out.

A few days later, the lion got hungry again; he managed to play the same game. First, he failed when the two remaining bulls were together. They fought him together and kicked him out. So, the lion planned to meet the black bull alone and convince him to leave the red bull alone. The lion said that the farm would be all for the black bull alone. The black bull was hesitant, but in the end, he thought it might be a good idea to have the farm for himself.

Hence, the lion attacked the red bull and devoured him.

A few days later, the lion came back, trying to attack the black bull. The black bull wanted to stop him. The black bull fiercely resisted. 

The lion mocked him and said, "You were eaten once you let the white bull be eaten.”

Just like that. As the old saying goes, “Evil prevails when good people do nothing!”

Now, it's time to change our narratives. It's time to show our respect and support for each other. It’s time to take hate against anyone seriously and stand firm for each other’s safety. This is how we create a sense of belonging for whom was hurt and this is how we create a room for ourselves to feel needed, connected and loved. This is how we build a real connected community!

“ A person is either your brother in faith, or your equal in humanity.” Imam Ali.

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