Day 21

How wonderful it is to talk to friends. Friends- they always give us pleasure and a sense of comfort and security. I sheepishly feel proud of myself that I have exquisite taste in human beings and inherent gift to develop nurturing relationships with my friends. It’s a blessing.

Today I feel better though not completely out of the effects of the catastrophe of yesterday, a suicide attack followed by putting on fire several hundreds of thousands of shops and businesses in Karachi. It gets frightening in Karachi when huge scale devastations occur as the ripple effect to one main incident. Nowhere else it is seen in the country where atrocious crime like a blast takes place that immediately the entire city starts to burn and comes to an abrupt terrifying halt. Many have lost their lives, even worse to know that so many families have lost 2 or more members, their loved ones, in an instant. But there is a consolation to know that all who lost their lives though suffered unimaginable pain but shall be at a peaceful and glorious place and very near to the Creator. It is extremely tragic for their loved ones who shall miss them for the rest of their lives but it is worse for the people whose livelihoods, their businesses, were burnt and the fire ripped through several markets. There is simply no compensation for the loss that the people of Karachi suffered on the 28th December, 2009.

What else could we do then becoming a silent spectator? May be praying, yes saying a l’ill prayer. As an adage typical to movies where doctors would say that they can’t do anything else with the patient and now it is the time to pray. But then a simple question arises- why do we pray as a last resort? Why do we pray only when we have exhausted our mortal resources and there is nothing left? Why don’t we pray before we go to the doctor Why don’t we pray for God’s guidance before we even think to begin a new task? Praying after the meeting is over feels like we want God to give His seal of approval to whatever we did during the meeting. It is the high time almost an emergency that we start to pray before we begin the meeting and pray to Allah for a Miracle, to take away these miseries and bestow upon us a blossoming tomorrow, a blooming New Year.

With lots of prayers for the New Year 2010…..

Sonya.