Sonya Syed

  I saw this amazing quote by Albert Einstein and I think it explains in one brief sentence the entire of discipline of teaching. We have either direct experiences or indirect experiences when we met teachers who are wonderfully educated, and I say this with the deepest respect for all the teachers, but some of them start from being moderately complicated and end up being extremely complicated.  We always think that it’s us who are unable to understand the complexity of the subject but today I realize that the concepts of that particular teacher are unclear to her/himself. If you do not understand anything clearly yourself, you simply cannot explain it anyone else, rather it is in teaching or any other subject. I am not a numbers person and honestly my mathematics is pretty scary. In tenth grade when I had to prepare for maths exam, I wasn’t exactly feeling happy. One of our family friends recommended to us a Mathematics teacher.  I do not know whether he

This morning while I was getting ready to begin my day, I started recalling one incident few years ago when I had a series of dreams about my early childhood. In those series of dreams, which continued for a period of almost two weeks, I saw a very significant event of my childhood unfolding bit by bit. I was amazed to see very clearly all the tiny details i.e. from the colour and type of clothes that people in my dream wore, to sounds, smells and feel even the winds. They were all full-sensory series of dreams narrating one particular story. Later, I tried to verify the information which I saw in my dream from the people who were with me in those dreams, without spooking them of course. To my surprise most of the things were positively verified. At first, it was a fun experience to remember my childhood memories in great detail and in a dream; I felt like a Protagonist in some Hollywood psychological thriller movie. Yet, in all honesty I can recall bits of information shown to me in

I wonder if this ever happened to you, that you are searching for your wallet or an important paper in your room but was unable to find it. Then you call your Mom “Ma, did you see my wallet I can’t find it in my room”. Mom tells you to look carefully because she has kept that article in its place, nevertheless, after your recurring failure to find your desired object your Mom finally enters the room, go straight to the drawer and within blink of an eye finds your wallet. And of course, while handing over your wallet she is going to give you a solid piece of her mind simultaneously pointing out your complete inability to ever find anything If you observe closely you would notice that this is so true for everything in life. You see, most of the time the things/answers/ solutions we are desperately searching for are mostly right in front of our eyes; but we are unable to see them. Same problems keep on showing up repeatedly, disturbing emotions continue to rise, and you

I couldn’t resist the temptation of writing, of saying something, of venting out what has now been buried for months in the mind. Not to worry, not everything that is on my mind is going to be published but whatever I can say remaining within the safe and sane parameters shall be said. These days my life has so many new adventures that I am unable to focus on blog. In fact I am unable to focus on myself. My regular readers have written several emails and had personal  inquiries  about my prolonged absence from the blog, but all I can say sheepishly is that there is issue of time management on my part. The so-called discipline that I believed I had, was merely a myth. I start making preparations for beginning my day at the crack of dawn and still I found myself running around trying to get everything done in time. I have now become a certified late comer. Most probably my slow motion-ness, too much concentration on the minor details, following all the protocols and most im

I should have but I didn’t. Why? because my life and its activities have overwhelmed me to such an extent that this year I forgot about the significance of Independence. 14 th August 1947, is the day when Pakistan received Independence and every year we commemorate this day by celebrating our freedom. We celebrate and give our heartfelt gratitude to Allah and to everyone who gave their lives, their families, their wealth so that today you and I can live in safety and peace. So that you and I, can live according to our religious believes fearlessly. So that you and I, can get educated and serve our country. Whatever I am today, is because of this country. Like million others my life, my education, my prosperity are only because I was born in this free country. Yet how easily I took for granted my blessings. I am not blaming anybody but only myself for my selfish attitude. Yesterday, I went out and the streets were filled with green flags. People in cars, bikes and

This Eid, I pray that all of us be blessed with Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness. I pray that all of us live in peace, harmony and prosperity. With so much pain and despair revolving around Muslims these days that it becomes difficult to celebrate Eid and feel truly joyous. Even though you want to ignore or at least forget for a while the brutality of war, yet it is not easy. It is not easy to ignore the crying faces of children and all the bloodshed. Yet we move on, with deepest prayers in our hearts that Allah bestow us with His divine forgiveness. And so it is... Ameen! Once again Eid Mubarak! Sonya Syed. (Day 487)

Since early hours of yesterday I had a feeling that I am missing something or someone badly, life seemed meaningless as if there is no inspiration left in me. I felt depressed and extremely torpid and lethargic; feelings of loneliness and despair were all over resulting in irritability. I was unable to concentrate on anything and I thought that I am completely lost in this world. Food lost its attraction, although I had been fasting yet I didn’t have any inclination to eat or even looking at food. Apparently, these symptoms point towards failure in romantic pursuit. However, what was alarming that there was neither any pursuing nor the factor of being pursued. It was after the Iftaari (breaking of fast) I had to go to a nearby mall and for some strange reason I felt a pull towards a Cinnabon café   where they made extremely delicious cinnamon rolls, I ordered my favorite chocolate roll and a cup of iced mocha (which was extremely bitter, so better try mocha frappe).