Paradise And Inferno

 

To reach paradise, man must pass through inferno. – Bertrand Zobrist” 
― Dan Brown, Inferno

The past few weeks have been tedious on the world stage. Hurricanes, severe rain, and flood have pummelled vast part of the world. My prayers to every nation of the world going through one turmoil or another.

According to NASA,

”Hurricanes are the most violent storms on Earth. People call these storms by other names, such as typhoons or cyclones, depending on where they occur. The scientific term for all these storms is a tropical cyclone. Only tropical cyclones that form over the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Ocean are called “hurricanes.”

Apart from the severe weather, the thought of a nuclear war sends a shiver down my spine, the fact that we have a thoughtless kid in power in North Korea is certainly unnerving! My husband has shrugged it off that it’s not possible, but the threat of a nuclear war at the Korean peninsula is growing with each passing second. I don’t want to be a prophet of doom but it’s increasingly clear that we live in a more dangerous world.

And Yet, most parts of our world are akin to paradise.

We have lakes, stunning landscapes, breath-taking islands with natural outstanding beauty but we also have inferno too. Diseases, wars, and natural disasters are common place which is sadly the way the world works. I sincerely hope everyone caught in Hurricane Irma and Jose will find a safe haven from the rage of Mother Nature. And may there be hope between the rubbles in Mexico as they start rebuilding their lives aftermath the earthquake which devastated the country couple of days ago.

I’m sending prayers to everyone in the Caribbean, the connecting islands, Cuba and the US, I hope everyone in Florida and the surrounding areas will be safe.

May God be with us all.

 

 

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The Ruins Can Come To Life!

 

‘In life, you can’t walk in a straight line, events have a habit of derailing your plans, so be prepared”.

Peter Nelson.

Well, Peter Nelson was my late dad, and he said these words to me and my husband on our wedding day. Things happen that you may not have control over, so get on with your life.

However, it is easier said than done.

I have experienced loss in a deep and personal way, and in my moment of anguish and pain, I actually believed I wouldn’t be able to go on but I did. Time heals, the pain remains in a way but the miracle of time is that it lessens and you would be able to move on.

This past year has seen huge changes on the global stage, and things would always be changing. My dad’s words always echoed in my mind, ‘be prepared.’ I should be prepared for changes, hopefully, positive changes. Which brings to mind other questions.

How do we truly enjoy life when we’re faced with debilitating circumstances?

Imagine a wife abandoned by her husband, ran off with a younger version of his wife. How would she begin the arduous task of rebuilding her life? Or a woman who fell out of love with her husband and left the family home. How would the man rebuild his life?

What about a young life blighted by drugs? How could such a life be transformed?

The scenarios above may well change. I’ve seen couples on the verge of divorce getting together again, and drug addicts living sane, fruitful lives. Miracles do happen. But often times, we have to create it.

I believe the ruins can come to life.

What miracles are in the offing around you?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend friends!

Much love, always. 🙂

 

A Changed Life

I saw this on my way home from work today and knew I had to share it. My dad used to tell me that every day is the same but what we put in a day is what makes it different. The political landscape of our country has changed today and this is as a result of decisions we all made.

What have you invested in today?

Only you can create your future.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Much love, always!!

 

 

Solemn London

 

(Extremism is like a cancer, eating deep into our freedom…)

As a lover of peace, freedom, and justice, I am appalled and sickened by the continuous senseless attack on innocent people by Islamist Extremism. Enough is enough! This evil must be rooted out, we can’t allow this to continue. Things has to change. Our tolerance as a nation is akin to weakness, most of my friends, even Muslims, believed as a country, we’ve pandered towards Islamist extremism, we need that to stop!

As a Christian, I can’t openly practice my faith if I were in Saudi Arabia but here in the UK, and every part of Europe, Muslims are free to practice their faith. I believe liberalism and political correctness is changing the landscape of this country.

In the wake of the Manchester and London Bridge Attack, I read William Blake’s poem with tears in my eyes!

I wandered through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
A mark in every face I meet,
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every man,
In every infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear:

How the chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every blackening church appals,
And the hapless soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down palace-walls.

But most, through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful harlot’s curse
Blasts the new-born infant’s tear,
And blights with plagues the marriage-hearse.

************

 Islamist terrorism will not prevail in our nation but I also believe the Muslim communities have a lot to do to eradicate the vermin of extremism.

What are the Imams teaching young impressionable youths in their mosques? Why are young virile Muslims full of hatred and bitterness against Westernisation? I do believe that most of those who hate this country shouldn’t have any business living here.

There would continually be an excuse for evil to reign. The West had been blamed for majority of the crisis in the Middle East but if I remember correctly, the Arab Spring was not caused by the West. I believe in love, forgiveness, and peace. But I also believe in justice. And if there was one consolation to the debacle and orgy of violence unleashed on our cities in recent days, the death of the three cowardly Jihadists was decisive and just.

In this sad times, I pray for the families of everyone affected by the Manchester and London Bridge Attack. As our Prime Minister had said, Enough Is Enough!!!

A Liar In Heaven

Tobias Amos slid the knife into the drawers, stealing a quick look back. He stared at his hands in dismay; it was as red as the sweet chilli sauce Mama bought a day earlier.

‘Where are you, Tobias?’

Mama’s voice bellowed a few yards away. He scanned the room in nanoseconds; saw the red gown Mama loved wearing on special occasions hanging loosely on the sparsely filled wardrobe. He dashed towards it, yanked it off the rails, wrapping it delicately around his crimson fingers, allowing the blood to soak through, his eyes the colour of a limpid pool.

He closed his eyes and was transported to the events of eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds earlier. He could feel the knife ripping through the supple milky flesh, the bones cracked, the gurgles of blood splintered about the basement like the paintings of Michelangelo. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his long scrawny neck.

Mama entered the tiny room, she took in everything, the deranged look on her son’s face belied the calmness she felt. Tobias Amos stood still like a statue, watching his mother’s reaction.

There was an uneasy silence.

‘What have you done?’ She asked in an icy tone, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

There was no answer. He kept his eyes down, all the feeling of conquest and elation he’d felt had evaporated like a mist in the night.

‘Tobias Amos, what have you done?’ This time, Mama inched closer, towering over her whimpering son, whose bravado had dissipated…

******

I haven’t written for quite a while but today, this just came pouring out. I have lots of manuscripts I’m working on, and lumping this with other unfinished projects is a mammoth task. However, I don’t believe in letting a good story plot go to waste. We’ll see how this goes!

I hope you’ll all have a wonderful weekend. I’ve visited several websites and blogs, if I haven’t been to yours, please bear with me, I’ll touch base soon.

Much love friends!

:):)

The Demons Among Us

Yesterday afternoon in my office at MoD, I was unduly worried about mundane official deadlines and paperwork when the afternoon was shattered with the security announcement of an on-going terrorist attack. Every single building in Whitehall was placed on lockdown as news filtered in slowly of death and carnage on Westminster bridge.

We were in a state of shock at the enormity of the attack, the barbaric atrocities unleashed on innocent tourists and a police officer performing his duty infuriates me. The devilish perpetrator also ploughed into pedestrians on the bridge killing scores of people and wounding almost 29 people.

Today, I am proud to write that London is not on lockdown but sadness still pervades the atmosphere as we slowly came to terms with the callous attack at the heart of our nation. My condolences to the families and friends of PC Keith Palmer, mother of two, Aysha Frade, and an American tourist, Kurt Cochran.

Terrorists are the demons among us, and I pray their evil plans would continually be thwarted. My appreciation to the armed police officers who swiftly put an end to Khalid Masood’s murderous campaign.

I echo these brave words: We Are Not Afraid! London is a city that thrives against all odds, and we shall stand strong in spite of agents of destruction and division.

Much love to you my friends wherever you are in the world, and please, stay safe!

Here In Paradise…

                                                                                    (Photo credit: Flickr)

On Friday, March 10th, 2017, it was precisely 7.25 in the morning as I walked up the steps of Westminster Station en-route my office. I walked briskly, mentally calculating ‘my-to-do-list’ for the day and then like an image out of a disaster movie, I saw two people, a man and a woman. The man was hovering over the woman, his lips quivering, his gait was like a man under the influence of alcohol, he tried to move away from the woman and almost fell. My gaze turned to the woman, her pale face had obviously borne the brunt of living on the street. Her face was lined with weariness, her eyes devoid of happiness.

I stopped in my tracks.

I didn’t know if I should offer money, or simply give a hug. People pushed past me, a man swore under his breath, but it was loud enough for me to hear the words. I fidget with my bag and moved out of the way, my heart broke into a thousand pieces as I watched them.

The man and the woman were oblivious of my presence, and sadly, I turned away.

Here in paradise, (at least that could be the thoughts of millions of people in other parts of the world) we shouldn’t have homeless people. Throughout the day, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. There was something about that couple, they may as well be working in one of the imposing offices in Whitehall, or maybe, as tourists keen to see where most decisions in the UK were made.

Centerpoint is a charity here in the UK helping homeless young people but what about middle age people, old men and women? I have a passion for the homeless, although I’ve read that some do make themselves ‘intentionally homeless,’ but still, I couldn’t expunge their image out of my mind.

I did some further research and realised that there are many homeless charities all around us. Below are some of the charities in London:

There’s also West London YMCA, they  provide the same services as most of the organisations I’ve listed above. I think if we live in paradise, we should be able to do more for people less fortunate than we are (I know, we’re not all millionaires but we could always volunteer at a homeless shelter). I will volunteer at some of these wonderful charities doing such wonderful jobs, changing people’s lives.

If you’re living in other parts of the world, it wouldn’t hurt to give money to a beggar you see on the street or a homeless person. Some of you reading this may think, ‘well, she’s so naïve, most of these folks are drug addicts and rapists… maybe murderers.’

Maybe, some of them are, but some aren’t. Life’s just dealt them a hard hand.

Maybe Phil Collin’s song, ‘Another Day In Paradise’ would be a great way to finish this article.

I hope you’ll all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Much love to you friends, always!

🙂 🙂