shammaaldabal's posterous http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com Most recent posts at shammaaldabal's posterous posterous.com Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:07:00 -0700 rock, paper, balloon. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/rock-paper-balloon http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/rock-paper-balloon

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I was having a conversation the other day with my best friend sara and we were discussing how we as individuals always tend to carry on the sufferings of others on our shoulders. Meaning that, we as individuals are always a part of a group, that group being family, friends, student body, or a company. No matter how hard we try to stay individualistic we are at the end a part of a larger collective group, and we consequently burden ourselves with the troubles of our group. To keep this post short and informative we came to the conclusion that it’s not insensitive or selfish to think of yourself sometimes even if on that account you might sacrifice the needs of the group, because there is only so much weight a person can handle. You would want to do all you can for the people you care about because you know they deserve it and mostly being out of love or respect, but as this weight adds on you start blowing up like a balloon and before you know it, you simply pop. 

On this note, it's sometimes useful to be like a rock instead of a balloon. 

learn to say no. 

 

you can also refuse to read my posts. 

 

goodbye. 

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Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:44:00 -0800 scribbles. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/scribbles http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/scribbles

Since I came to Dublin 6 months ago I found a lot of free time to work on painting and sketching. I don't major in art and don't have a strong art background so I apologize to the art critics out there. It's not much at all, but just thought of sharing, so yeah just a bunch of scribbles here and there... 

 

Image-1
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Photo
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Img_2097

 

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Wed, 12 Dec 2012 07:29:00 -0800 marco - POLO http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/marco-polo http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/marco-polo

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Watching MTV makes me wonder what happened to the world… what’s with music these days? Currently on MTV is “sound of the underground by girls aloud” ..  I can’t even understand .. I .. what … its like they’re saying different syllables that don’t really make sense .. OH and now another song by girls aloud.. is this going to go on for the rest of the day ? … oh lord help me .. oh now call me maybe is on .. please .. give me something .. a gun .. a table .. a cucumber .. anything to poke my eyes with .. Why do women need to succumb to the patriarchal paradigm by objectifying themselves like that?

 Why am I even talking about that, it’s beside the point.

Doubt is the main topic for today’s blabber post. GOD I don’t understand how people even read what I write, but I do write it anyways. I’d like to think that the web is a constant listener, and no matter what or how much I write it’s willing to listen.

 So, doubt.. In the literal sense:

 doubt [dout]

verb (used with object)

1. to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe.

2. to distrust.

3. Archaic. to fear; be apprehensive about.

We often doubt friends, family, but we most likely doubt ourselves. I do it all the time and I often doubt what I’m capable of. That’s quite normal, to me at least, because that small room of doubt makes you humble. Meaning, people who are over confident don’t doubt themselves and think that there’s nothing they can’t do, which is great! Until they are faced with something they really can’t do. So when doubt exists it keeps you humble, it keeps you in line, knowing your limitations. There are those that tell you that there isn’t something that you can’t do, well they’re wrong. I’m not a pessimist I’m a realist. You can’t think that you are able to do EVERYTHING, but rather there is that one thing you can do, that one thing that you’re AMAZING at. For some people these talents are multiple, but then again no matter how much you can do, it will never be everything or anywhere close to it.

It’s not to say that you can’t do something if you set your mind to it, but those over the rainbow sunshine positivists (if that’s even a word) that use slogans that make me want to barf unicorns are just over their heads with fairytales.

The butter of this الزبدة as they say, is that doubt is good, but not too much of it of course. It keeps you down to earth, it make you realize what you can and what you can’t do. If you have doubt you can then assess yourself in a given situation and critically analyze where you stand and whether or not you can do a given task. So let me marco polo you from planet rainbows to planet earth. It’s good to dream but it’s better to know what you can do.

So don’t listen to Buddha when he says that “There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills”. But listen to me the 21 year old that thinks she knows everything about the world.


Enjoy doubting yourselves,

I know I will.

Ok bye.

Shamma.

 

 

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Tue, 04 Dec 2012 12:14:00 -0800 one way to use a goldfish http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/one-way-to-use-a-goldfish http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/one-way-to-use-a-goldfish

“I have great faith in fools - my friends call it self-confidence.”

 Edgar Allan Poe

There is only a very thin line between self-confidence and a whole load of crap. Meaning that it’s one thing to be confident but it’s another thing to be full of yourself. The funny thing is that a lot of the people that I thought were over confident were actually very self conscious and they only tried to compensate it by blabbing things they thought would impress people, but naaa aaaaaa, not me, I ain’t no fool yo. Ok now I’m being a brag.

I could be SOOOOOOOO self conscious at times. You know when you think you’re so stupid and ugly and your existence doesn’t make much of a difference.. but then I eat a chocolate bar and then realize that my purpose in life is to stuff my face with food and then write a blog post about eating that bar of chocolate. Uhmm. Ok I lost myself.

Yeah. So anyways, as I was saying… why am I talking about food when I just had such a fattening lunch/dinner with mariam. Yeah you only eat one major meal a day when you live abroad. GOD why do I keep getting off topic?! ..

So, you get the idea, people who brag SO MUCH make me feel like stabbing them in the neck with a goldfish. Poor goldfish I’m sorry.

 

MORAL OF THE STORY:

-      Do not eat junk food when you’re depressed because that makes it worse. (ok I know that’s not what you got out of it, but I just thought I should mention it)

-      Girls you’re pretty .. ALWAYS .. and don’t let ANYONE (even yourself) tell you otherwise.

-      Don’t brag, people hate it.

-      Drink lots of water.

 

I love writing useless posts. I’m so smart. GOD I love me. See what I did there? …………….

 

Ok you can leave your hate comments to me for wasting 5 minutes of your time in the comment box below.

 

Love me, hate me, I don’t care.

 

Regards,

Shamma. 

 

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Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:09:00 -0800 I can never be you. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/i-can-never-be-you http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/i-can-never-be-you

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Sitting in a crowded cafe, did you ever wonder who the people around you are, or how their lives are?

I've always tried to guess the profession of strangers sitting across the room from me. Tried to understand what conversations they might have with the person sitting next to them. Studying their body language, their features, their body temperature, their tone of voice, and the way they look at others. 

Did you ever want to be someone else, or at least imagined to be?

I do that quite often. I see a girl walking in front of me and I wonder what it would feel like if we switched places. to be in her shoes, just for a while. 

would that make me thankful for the life I already have or would that make me wish I was born in someone else's body. 

we see people. We try to understand their pain. We try to understand their happiness. We try to understand human emotions, but most of the time we end up lost along the way. 

it's so funny how much we think we know about people, or how much we think we understand what it feels like to be someone else. but the truth is you don't and never will. 

And that is why my dear humans, we cannot and should not ever judge another. Because no matter how much we try to imagine to be in another person’s shoes, no matter how much we think we know about them, we can never be who they are, thus we can never understand what it means to be them. You can never understand how it feels to be shamma, and I can never understand how it feels to be you. 

 

 

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Fri, 19 Oct 2012 04:45:00 -0700 The things I write when I'm hungry http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/the-things-i-write-when-im-hungry http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/the-things-i-write-when-im-hungry

A lot has changed for me this year.. some things were bad while some were good… you think you grow when you go through problems, but news flash, it never gets easier. What doesn’t kill you doesn’t really make you stronger.. it breaks you more and more until you give up at the end.

I don’t know why I’m so emo it’s a lovely day, and right now, right at this moment, I’m exactly where I’ve always dreamed of being, but why do I feel like there’s something missing?

Maybe its just because I’m currently very hungry waiting for my friend to go out for lunch. Yes that’s it …. I’m just hungry.

As much as we want to be the writers of our own lives we never are, or if we do write it we use pencil and people come in and erase it for us and write their own version of what our lives should be like.

Again with the emoness.

 

I realized that I never actually reveal a lot about myself in my blog. Well that’s better.. keeps things much more interesting. But sometimes mysterious people get on my nerves, like dude its not 1995 where being an unmasked superhero was cool, I don’t even know how that relates to what I’m trying to say.

I really think I should blog more often I don’t know why I’ve been away for so long I guess I was busy, you know because I have a life. But I love writing to people behind a screen. Its like I don’t know how they’ll react or think to what I write and that’s exciting. I get to say what I want and I get to ignore what people say, cuz rarely do people respond to what I write anyway.

So yeah .. with that I leave you to go get dressed and go out for lunch,,,, you know cuz I have a life. I’m so cool.

 

 

PS I am a very sarcastic person. So try to fit that in while reading what I write.

 

Regards,

Shamma.

 

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Sun, 05 Aug 2012 16:38:00 -0700 Let's watch TV, or play with ants. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/lets-watch-tv-or-play-with-ants http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/lets-watch-tv-or-play-with-ants

Good Morning/almost dawn/its dark but not night,

This time of day confuses me.

That’s beside the point.

My posts have been a snore lately; I have been a snore really.

Its not that I don’t have anything to share, I do, but I’d just rather not.

Why you ask?

Well you didn’t ask but I know you were thinking it.

Well, because I don’t really think it would entertain you enough.

These days, as always, I’m sure all of us are going through hardship or change one way or another.

This change could be positive or negative of course, but I mean we are in a constant cycle of instability.

We wake up every morning not really knowing what will happen in the next hour, let alone the next few weeks, months, or years.

I mean I could walk out of the house and a pigeon could poop on my head causing me to go back in and wash up which would make me late to an important meeting I was about to attend which could make me lose a job opportunity, which in the end will lead me to an even better job opportunity in the future without me knowing it (this is a hypothetical situation, nothing about it is true or ever will be true, a pigeon will never poop on my head because it will be dead before it even thinks about it, Chuck Norez has taught me well when we met in hair braiding camp).

So anyways, what I mean to say is that we all go through things in life, good or bad, but we always try to escape reality at certain points throughout the day.

Reading this blog post might make you forget whatever problem you were going through even if it were for a second.

Watching TV would make you live a moment of false reality, hope, joy, and excitement for the 45 mins you were to watch a series.

Playing with ants would make you realize how powerful and physically big you think you are, but how infact puny you relatively are to the universe. How everything that seems small is big, and everything that seems big is small, and how stupid you would actually look to people watching. 

However, whatever we do, the reality we actually live in won’t come to an end, and what is happening or what will happen is inevitable.

Those few moments that we do escape reality, those few moments where the profound universe seizes to exist is the most relaxing moments you could ever get. Moments where you know nothing matters, and everything will be ok.

Now let’s hug and eat some ice cream and watch breakfast at tiffany’s. (Which I think btw is one of the most boring yet meaningful movies I’ve ever seen. I yawned more than I blinked.)

With that said,

I hope in the few moments you took reading my very uninformative post you were able to understand the true value of movies and the ineffectiveness of my writings J 

 

Adios,

Shamma.

 

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Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:20:00 -0700 ok - because I do not have a better title http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/ok-because-i-do-not-have-a-better-title http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/ok-because-i-do-not-have-a-better-title

For this post i decided that words are somewhat boring for your very simple brains and instead a bit of video viewing would be more entertaining. 

So the following videos are some of the things I think are worth watching and wasting your precious time on... since you're not doing something helpful for humanity, and you're just wasting oxygen by being alive, so wasting a few minutes on YouTube won't cause an apocalypse. 

 

A very pretty kitty - For the blonds. 

 

 

A couple of Ads that I liked, for the creative minds out there

I've spent a month in the US about two years ago, saw this comercial a couple of times.... actually alot. From then upto today I am was not able to forget it ....

This video will explain why

 

 

HAHA this one is funny 

 

This song by eminem is funny :) 

 

A cute little video on Muslims in the US

 

this video is abit long, but very interesting.. 

 

 

ok thats enough videos for today, if you have any videos you'd like to share yourself please leave the link on the comment box below.

 

 

see ya later alligators. 

ok that was lame.

goodbye

 

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Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:46:00 -0700 A zombie in an apocalypse http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-zombie-in-an-apocalypse http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-zombie-in-an-apocalypse

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As much as we claim to know about the world, we do in fact know nothing of it.

Well we might have acquired some sort of knowledge through our zombiefied routine in an apocalyptic universe that is life … but just a little.

We claim to know of suffering, but why do we praise people for their strength in times of turmoil. Weren’t we as strong at some point too? We suffer, but we still feel sorry for others who suffer. I mean if we all have our own batch of sorrows shouldn’t we be grateful instead of sympathetic? But I guess its human nature to show kindness through sympathy. I hate sympathy. It reeks of nihilism. Like you feel sorry for someone because you know they won’t get better. I’d rather just get a dog if I wanted sympathy. Not that dogs do feel sympathy, but just that I think humans should be more helpful, because the truth is, sympathy won’t get you anywhere.

Our survival instincts have adapted through time, and they evolutionized  (autocorrect states that this is not a word, but I think that it is) in a way to alter the way we think and act, all in a way to save our self’s from harm. From insanity. From death.

It is those instincts that guide what we do or how we think. We go about our lives, in that zombified (again not a word according to auto-correct) routine, thinking that we are fine, basically hoping for the best NOT expecting the worst. So really, these adaptive techniques of ours SUCK. I mean we think we can protect ourselves from harms way, when in fact we are as weak as a dried flower on a hot summer’s day (god I suck at metaphors).

 

We live, we hurt, but do we really move on?

 

P.S: no flowers died in the writing of this very silly post.

P.P.S: please do not ever think of getting me a dog, they scare me.

 

Adios,

Shamma.

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Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:17:00 -0700 Take a picture for the crowd. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/take-a-picture-for-the-crowd http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/take-a-picture-for-the-crowd

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What is justice?

 

Justice is a relative term.

What I state as just others might label as unjust.

What I think is right others might think is wrong.

What I think is fair might seem inequitable to others.

 

We see atrocities around us ALL the time, whether it was global or local.

Are we willing to speak out about what is wrong?

 

Side note: Tweeting about it is not considered an action that results in change; though it is a very successful medium to voice your opinion it is not a dependable method.

 

We might differ in views about the term of justice, even question if justice actually exists, but there are global phenomenon’s that are morally wrong to whomever the viewer is.

 

We see and hear of poverty on the lands of Africa, children dying of hunger and thirst, we gulp in imagination, we hold our belly’s in wonder of their situation, we feel sorry for them, we quiver in fear of it happening to us, we thank god for our blessing, maybe sometimes donate money to help, and then we move on.

 

I’m sure a lot of us are into philanthropy and claim to be philanthropists, but when you help someone it has to be because deep down, the sole and main reason has to be because you want to fight against the injustice in the world, you want to help someone not because you want to make a difference in that person’s life only but because you want to make a change for future generations.

 

Don’t claim to want to make a change and do some deeds here and there for the sake of taking a picture and flaunting about it to the crowd. Do it because you would want someone to help you if you were in his or her situation. Do it because if you didn’t know the taste of meat, haven’t eaten for days, and have a body that is rotten and dried up of water you’d want someone to help you.

Do it because you want to, not because you think you have to.

 

With that said I hope you don’t throw out a bottle of water that is half full just because you think you’ve had enough, or throw out a plate that is half empty because your cow like stomachs are full.

I do admit that I am guilty of throwing out food all the time, and I am ashamed of it.

But I want to change, and I hopefully will.

I will stop shoving my face with food and will stop throwing out whatever is left.

You should too.

 

This however does not only concern food, but also other aspects of your life that can be altered for a favorable future for the people of today and the future.

 

Enough gibberish I will now go make me half a sandwich.

Goodbye. 

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Wed, 30 May 2012 10:22:00 -0700 fancy yourself a pen mate? http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/fancy-yourself-a-pen-mate http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/fancy-yourself-a-pen-mate

Nice … rhymes with mice … mice like cheese … cheese is made from milk … milk is brought from cows … cows eat grass … grass needs water … water comes from rain ... rain sucks .. I can’t drive in rain .. I love driving my car though… cars are dangerous, and fun … fun is overrated … that word is annoying ..  

If we were to replace those words with actions or actual thoughts, it would lead us to an endless pit of ideas.

You know those moments before you go to bed when you think about incidents that happened during the day, or confrontations you’d expect to happen the next day.

You know when you send your assignment to your professor and think of all the things he would say is wrong with your paper rather than what is right.

You know when you have a serious conversation with someone and then later think of things you should have said rather than what you did.

You know when you make a decision, and can’t help but wonder what would happen if you took the other choice.

You know when you read a post like this and wonder what the hell is she writing about…… I do wonder that too sometimes..

What I’m trying to say is that a lot of us have the tendency to overthink and over analyze. We do that to maybe guess the outcomes of a given event, or because it’s just the way we are. We do it because we think we need to.

Well, it’s not healthy. I’ve lost half my hair thinking this way, and grew three white hairs, and counting…..

The point is, to avoid being a white haired bald over thinker, bang your head with a …. Pen …. Whenever you overthink something. Physical force is the only way we humans learn anything….

So get a pen, a Mon Blanc for all you fabulous locals, and hit your head, stab your eye, draw a flower on your face, or whatever other method to force yourself not to overthink something…

 

 

Ok after reading this post I realized it’s actually meaningless.

But we all know that’s my specialty…. Talking nonsense that is.

 

And with that I say adios.

Shamma,

 

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Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:43:00 -0800 Let me formally re-introduce myself. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/let-me-formally-re-introduce-myself http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/let-me-formally-re-introduce-myself

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is shamma and I’m a 20-year-old senior majoring in international affairs and minoring in psychology at Zayed University. I enjoy painting, reading, and writing. I love hanging out with my friends and I love the family that raised me. I enjoy outdoor activities. I…… scratch all that.

Let’s start over.

People call me shamdi, Shamenim, sham, and PMS.

I get angry quite often and cry when I’m hungry.

 

I sing all the time but sound like a dying goat.

I enjoy bullying kids until they cry.

I drink coffee more than I do water.

I hate romance movies.

I don’t like that guys wear pink.

I have stress and anger issues.

Sometime I think I’m bi-polar.

I love laughing.

I’m extremely loud.

I think flowers are lame.

I wanted to be a ballerina as a child.

Now I want to become eminem's best friend.

I hate long nails.

I hate when things don’t go my way.

I never use public bathrooms.

I hate the summer weather, but I love the beach.

This is how I should introduce myself, because this is who I really am. Superficial labels are limits society places on us, or are boundaries we create for ourselves. You don’t have to become the person everyone else expects you to.

You don’t have to study something you don’t enjoy, let alone do work you can’t connect with.

You don’t have to play it safe.

You can become the person you are inside.

You can innovate in ways you didn’t know were possible.

You shouldn’t settle for less, but demand for what you deserve.

You shouldn’t be afraid to be yourself no matter how crazy people think you are.

No matter what people think of you, always know that there is no other YOU. If being special is a laughing matter then they should curse themselves for being indifferent.

 

This is how I re-introduced myself.

How will you?

Sham,

 

 

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Sun, 19 Feb 2012 07:03:00 -0800 With a shotgun, there are no limits. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/with-a-shotgun-there-are-no-limits http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/with-a-shotgun-there-are-no-limits

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de·ter·mi·na·tion

noun

the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.

We are told that the most important predictor and factor of success is determination, and some of us tend to learn that through experience.

The initial step of determination is having the will to do what you want, no matter what. Willfulness is an important factor but is not always enough. You can have motivation but lack self-discipline and restraint. You need to be able to balance between your goals and what you are actually capable of doing. Don’t dream too big nor should you stoop too low, find an achievable middle ground. If you set your hopes TOO high you might get disappointed with your final outcome. I’m not saying don’t push yourself to the limit, but just make sure to balance so you don’t tip yourself on the edge. Do what you know you can, not what you think you are capable of.

If willfulness and balance helps you reach your destination, then commitment makes sure you don’t strain away from the target. Staying committed to your decisions does not mean you can’t be flexible in your approach. Having an open mind to things could help create better and broader ideas to reach where you want to go, or do what you dream of doing. Also, it is important to know that there is a difference between commitment and interest. Interest helps you do things when there is an opportunity to. When you are committed to something, you work on results, and accept no excuses. Desire is the key to motivation and unlocking hidden potential, but it’s determination and commitment that will enable you to achieve the success you seek.

 

A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be

Steven Brust

 Ambition is the fourth important component of determination, which could seem susceptible in a sense. Nevertheless, people rarely know how to be ambitious nor do they understand what they are capable of doing. That is why is it important to engage in different self-inducing projects to learn more about the limitations of your potential.

Define your goals and make a clear plan for achieving them and set yourself with a deadline. Then with determination, willfulness, balance, commitment, and ambition you will hopefully be able to carry out your objectives.

 

(P.S: I am not in any way a life coach nor do I intend to be. Life coaches talk about things you can learn while watching Oprah. Even though what I have just said has not been tested, I do recommend you do it within the safety of your own house. Preferably with a shotgun, to kill your self, incase it doesn’t work. Or kill me. Either way, have fun with a gun.)

 

(P.P.S: by shotgun I mean determination, of course.)

 

 

 

Shamma.

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Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:23:00 -0800 We all want our own guru http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/we-all-want-our-own-guru http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/we-all-want-our-own-guru

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Have you ever reached a point in life where you’re faced with a dead end?

Sometimes, its not that there isn’t anything else you can do, but you just don’t know where to start, or the direction you should follow.

Options are limited, and confusion tends to be over powering.

You try to open a door, but the lock just breaks.

You seek but never find.

You work but never prosper.

You try but never succeed.

Everything seems to be on the verge of instability & uncertainty.

Everything is more or less, a blurr.

 

 

What would you do?

Where do you seek guidance?

When do you start acting?

 

 

To many, all it takes is a definitive stance to take on the world. To prove himself and others wrong. That drive is something that would take many of us to far reached limits.

What drives us though?

Is it family?

Friends?

Spouse?

Siblings?

Teachers?

Ourselves?

Dreams?

 

What is that drive that pushes many to the road of success?

What helps many in becoming who they are today, men and women of greatness?

 

That, I do ponder.

 

Many of us want that flicker of light that we try to reach at the end of every tunnel. That light of hope & optimism. We all want that everlasting drive that pulls us away from ambiguity.

 

We all want our own guru.

 

The everlasting lost soul searching for the right path,

Yours,

Shamma.

 

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Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:08:00 -0800 A Silent Message - a video project http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-silent-message-a-video-project http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-silent-message-a-video-project

A thursday spent at home with my little cousins resulted in the following video : 

Hope you enjoy the madness. 

New_Project_1.m4v Watch on Posterous

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Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:02:00 -0800 A new dawn, A new day. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-new-dawn-a-new-day http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/a-new-dawn-a-new-day

We are only a few days away from moving to a new year.

Overlooking the year 2011, I’m sure we all feel overwhelmed by the incidents that happened throughout the 359 days that passed.

We have all been hurt.

Happy.

Sad.

Overjoyed.

Fulfilled.

Empty.

Excited.

Let down.

Lent a helping hand.

A mixture of days that bring joy, and days that take it away.

Days that make you feel like you are nothing, and days that make you feel like the center of everything.

Looking back you must not feel regret or remorse, because anything that happened yesterday made you who you are today.

What hurts you only makes you stronger, and when you give up is when you become weaker.

Reminiscence on the days that uplift you to put you on cloud nine.

Don’t go back to wonder what if? Go forward and wonder what’s next?

We live in a world where we all get one chance to live. That chance is one we all take for granted.

A lot of people left us in the year 2011, and their loss is something we mourn everyday. Take that as a wakeup call to furthermore emphasize the need to take that chance and do what you always dreamed of.

Aim for the stars and the skies are your limits. There is nothing stopping you but yourself.

Never make excuses because that is for the weak. We were made strong but we succumb to our own fragility & fear.

Be wise with your decisions but don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith. Think with your mind but feel with your heart. If something feels right, just do it. There is nothing wrong with following your heart sometimes.

Even if you make bad decisions, you end up learning. Whatever mistake you make today teaches you what you should do tomorrow.

Learning the hard way is never the easiest way, but it’s the most efficient way.

You scarcely remember when you are rewarded for a good deed, but a slap from life is never forgotten.

Looking back on the 359 days that passed. I feel blessed, happy, & thankful.

I have met new friends, and lost some.

I have helped some, whilst some helped me.

I have lost, and I have won.

I have failed, and I have achieved.

We have all been through unforgettable memories that we’d want to relive, and some we just want to forget.

Whatever happened in the 359 days that passed is well… in the past.

We must look towards our future … your future.

As the great Abraham Lincoln once said “ The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time”.

So don’t overwhelm your self with goals for the next year, but instead set daily goals and go forward from there.

Take each day as a new challenge. A fresh start. And go on from there.

Take every new dawn as a gateway to a new beginning, and everyday as a new adventure.

A new dawn. A new day.

  

 

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Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:03:00 -0800 The absence of self. The existence of others. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/the-absence-of-self-the-existence-of-others http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/the-absence-of-self-the-existence-of-others

Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egoist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.”

Is it possible for a man to be completely selfless?

If we were to discuss selflessness in the actual literal sense, it would mean putting the interests of others above yourself. The act of being kind and generous to others without expecting some sort of personal gain in return. Many thinkers questioned the rationality of the term, stating that selflessness demands the primal beneficiary of your actions be others. Now when I came to think of it, what determines who “the others” should be?. Most of these decisions are based on personal values on who is more worthy to benefit from your act of generosity. This in turn shows how we create a personal decision of worth. Thus, disregarding the true meaning of selflessness, which is acting for the sake of others without thought to oneself.  For example, choosing to help your brother over your enemy is a selfish act, because you are personally determining who is more worthy of your help.  So, is helping your enemy considered selfless? Wouldn’t that conflict your personal values?  See how we inevitably associate our feelings and thoughts when trying to do a “selfless” act. Should you defy your own personal values or at least be able to block it to really be selfless?

It is worth noting Machiavelli’s view on human nature: most men were naturally selfish, corrupt, cowardly, faithless, base, dishonest, and violent

So is it possible to find magnanimity, philanthropy, and altruism as a motive to human behavior?

However, taking away the philosophical concepts behind the term, we do actually see numerous selfless incentives all around us.

Personally, the only “selfless” act that really gives me joy is working with people with special needs. They give me motive, drive, and inspiration. When you spend time with them you really do substitute “self” with “other”. You disregard all external environmental factors with the main purpose of helping them.

This, in the philosophical content might not be considered “self-less”, but according to my dictionary it is.

 

So all you self-indulging egotistic immortals, do something selfless every day, and see the difference you make.

 

shamma,

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Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:30:00 -0800 Jealous Much ? http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/jealous-much http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/jealous-much

 

That’s a phrase I’ve been constantly hearing nowadays. “Look at that girl she’s staring at you“. .. “uh please ! Jealous much?“ …. “You look tired today “ “uh jealous much?”… “ You’re so stupid“ “uh jealous much?“.

What really baffles me is that most of these people aren’t that great to start with, so why flatter yourself? I mean if someone is staring maybe it’s because you have something stuck in your teeth. OR MAYBE just MAYBE they criticize because it’s the actual truth? I don’t know, think about it.

That is if you can actually think.

Oh and no I’m not criticizing because I’m jealous. 

 

Never hate those people who are jealous of you but respect their jealousy because they are the ones who think that you are better than them.

 Unknown quotes 

 

So maybe that feeling of jealousy comes from a right place. I mean if someone is actually jealous means you have or are something they want to be. This in turn is kind of an indirect compliment.. in a way.. if you get my drift..

  

 

Side Note: Jealousy is not just one emotion, and it can manifest in many ways.   Some of these include anger, fear, hurt, betrayal, anxiety, agitation,
sadness, suspicion, depression, loneliness, envy, feeling powerless, feeling excluded and panic. All these feelings can be attributed to being jealous.

 

Another thing I wanted to mention is how people often misuse the word jealous;

Jealousy refers to a fear of losing something we have to another person. 

Envy refers to wishing we had something that another person has.

 

So from now on please use the phrase “envious much?”

 

Great, spread the word so we can both flip to the same page.

 

Regards little insecure earthlings,

Shamma.

 

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Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:54:00 -0700 Munch & Crunch little earthlings. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/munch-crunch-little-earthlings http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/munch-crunch-little-earthlings

 

 

Shortly after World War II, retail analyst Victor Lebow proclaimed that:

“Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and using of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever increasing rate.”

 

 

Consumerism: the friend of many and the enemy of the few.

 

Many thinkers tried to explain the concept of consumption that basically started with modernity and the invention of new machines and technology. This in turn caused a massive change in the production industry that facilitated a rise in material living standards.

 

If you are bored by now, I advice you to skip this paragraph, knowing that your little brains can’t comprehend a few hard words.

 

What was I saying? Oh yeah consumption.

Moving on….

 

People basically started questioning and understanding human behavior with the start of the scientific revolution. ( Yes I know bla bla bla, READ ON ). Such questioning and spread of new ideas lead to the growth of secular culture, individualism, rationalism, and spread of free speech and liberal democracy. Accordingly, religion that was once used as a mechanism for social understanding has been undermined with alternative theories.

 

In the aftermath of the scientific revolution, modernity, and enlightenment …

 

Consumption and human behavior held a different meaning. 

With the division of labor and the spread of “specialization” the nature and mechanism of industrial production changed. People no longer produced to meet their basic needs, and with the rise of capitalism, changed man’s input for wages. These are thoughts by Karl Marx, which he discussed in detail, if you’re interested in further readings on the matter.

 

Another thinker, Oliver James, argued that the political values of modernity have been hijacked by selfish capitalism. Corporate and business success measured by share price; the privatization of public utilities; increased de-regulation and tax relief for the rich; and growing consensus among the latter that consumption and market forces can meet all of man’s needs.

 

On average, people are working one to two hundred more hours per year than twenty years ago and our obsession with the acquisition of material wealth is having serious consequences for our spiritual and psychological wellbeing. - Boot,2008.

 

 

-> Consequently, many think that human worth is defined through possessions, earnings, appearance and celebrity.

 

To take up this subject on a simpler tone, patterns of consumption have changed drastically over the years both globally and locally. All people acquired before were basic daily survival needs. Now people’s wants become their needs. People want to own the latest gadget, car, and bag and slowly started misinterpreting that want for a need. For example, if you’re thinking of buying a car for the main purpose of taking you places, you can basically choose ANY car right? You can get a Corolla, Toyota, or even a Ferrari. So you need a car, any car, but you want a fancy one. Ultimately you’ll get the fancier car not because u need it but because you want it. However, people will often believe that they actually need a fancy car. So that primal instinct of basic self-fulfillment is ultimately altered.   

 

Are these patterns of consumption causing any change in our society?

Is that change good or bad?

Do we really need that change?

What are future implications of consumerism?

What’s the role of capitalism in promoting consumption?

Is the free market economy really “free”, aren’t they chaining us with values that subject our traditional way of life?

 

There are MANY questions that are put forth when thinking about this subject.

And yes this has been a mind fulfilling yet boring post to many.

After reading this post you can now go and play dominos with your monkey pets.

 

And like my fellow consumers say,

Goodbye,

Shamma.

 

 

 

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Sun, 02 Oct 2011 06:51:00 -0700 Love thy self, and love thy excess material. http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/love-thy-self-and-love-thy-excess-material http://shammaaldabal.posterous.com/love-thy-self-and-love-thy-excess-material


 

The title of this post gives the subject away.

An important social problem that is evident in all parts of the world.

BODY IMAGE. 

In every culture there is a certain set of characteristics that should be found in a person to be called “beautiful”. Thus, the concept of beauty is culturally constructed, and globally differs in its importance and measures.

 

For example,

-> In China, the measure of beauty stands upon the size of the eyes and the color of the skin. The bigger your eyes and eyelids are, and the paler your skin is, the more “beautiful” you’ll be.

 

-> In western countries, skinny women are desirable. However, many of the countries in Africa do not view this as beauty. The larger you are, the richer you are, and the more desirable you become.

 

The main purpose of this post is to emphasize how people are so overwhelmed by trying to get accepted into the category their peers call “beautiful”.

 

Some take it to extreme measures like conducting operations whether to enlarge or to cut off excess material. J

(excess material: refers to any of your body parts that you want cut off or altered. In my case it’s my nose).

It saddens me to see how people treat their bodies like a piece of dough to RESHAPE into a perceived better version of themselves.

 

Don’t take me the wrong way, taking care of yourself, staying healthy, and trying to look your best is GREAT of course!

 

But the means and measures people use to fit into the category of “beautiful” are truly repulsive.

 

How can you expect others to accept you, when you don’t accept yourself?

 

What really got me thinking about this topic is an article I read on the national “Body image pushing girls to attempt suicide

 

I know accepting yourself is hard sometimes. There are a lot of physical features that I’d want to change about myself. But this is how God made me, and I’m better off this way.

 

 

Now all you ugly creatures out there,

Love yourselves.

I know I do.

 

Shamma.

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