I have this amazing ability – something changes, my life is altered. It is almost always bad news but I pick myself up, dust my self off and start all over again. It happened yet again. First of all, go to YouTube and listen to Frank Sinatra’s version of Pick Yourself Up. It is a totally upbeat song and will get you in a good mood. You will be shrugging your shoulders, tapping your feet, snapping your fingers and feeling great. I promise. Here are the lyrics.
Please teacher, teach me something,
Nice teacher, teach me something.
I’m as awkward as a camel, that’s not the worst,
My two feet haven’t met yet,
But I’ll be teacher’s pet yet,
‘Cause I’m gonna learn to dance or burst.
Nothing’s impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start all over again.
Don’t lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.
Work like a soul inspired,
Till the battle of the day is won.
You may be sick and tired,
But you’ll be a man, my son!
Will you remember the famous men,
Who had to fall to rise again?
So take a deep breath,
Pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.
I’ll get some self assurance
If your endurance is great.
I’ll learn by easy stages
If you’re courageous and wait.
To feel the strength I want to,
I must hang on to your hand,
Maybe by the time I’m fifty
I’ll get up and do a nifty.
Nothing’s impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start all over again.
What happened, what put my chin on the ground was that I cannot get a booster shot as one has to have an Emirati ID to get the shot. I thought I could get one at the hospital but, although they are private, they have to adhere to UAE regulations and UAE says that those on tourist visas cannot have them. There are no exceptions although the wonderful people at the hospital tried everything they could. I was planning to travel in the Middle East for the next six months or so but it will not be possible. A man I ‘met’ through Instagram wanted me to come to Palestine – he lives in Bethlehem. But without the booster shot I fear for my health – Covid and all. Another man I ‘met’ through Instagram wants me to visit Iraq. But the same is true – neither country is fully vaccinated. So, at first I was completely devastated. But now looking into other plans. I shall perhaps go back to Canada, where I can get a booster shot, settle down and then come back to the Middle East to travel when all of this has died down. It was definitely back to the drawing board. It is an idiom If you say that you will have to go back to the drawing board, you mean that something which you have done has not been successful and that you will have to start again or try another idea.
There is another expression called Landing On Your Feet. There can be found many quotes to this phrase. Here are a few. “Start every day with a positive thought. And a grateful heart.” Roy T. Bennett. “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.” “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.”The last quote has to be my favorite: Happiness is the only thing that multiples when you share it’ I do spread my happiness around even when things do not turn out the way I planned.
I possessed these qualities before my conversion to the Islamic faith but it has been enhanced a thousand fold. It sounds rather sacrilegious to say this but I just shake md and say:
Me: Allah you know what you are doing! . Thought for a minute that you did not but you do. It was only a minute Allah and every day and in every way I am getting better and better.
Allah: Yes Alexis, (or shall I call you Fatimah). Your trust in me grows with each passing day. It is rather glorious to see.
What is sacrilegious by the way? It is involving or committing sacrilege: a sacrilegious act. Used in a rather trivial sentence: it seems sacrilegious to say this, but it’s really not that great a movie. That does rather beg the point and further research was done: Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical, it is often called desecration. In a less proper sense, any transgression against what is seen as the virtue of religion would be a sacrilege, and so is coming near a sacred site without permission.
My conversations with Allah are not really blasphemous. I pray formally at sunrise and at sunset but at other times during the day I chat with Him – I feel very close to Allah My life is geared to please Allah and not the people around me. But when I please Allah I do please the good people in my life and who cares about the other ones? I have the enhanced ability to reject or walk away from those who would do me psychological harm. Some people have been good for me at one stage or situation in my life but things change and they can become extremely harmful. I do have tens of examples but shall not dwell upon memories of them as it would not be positive and not be a good way to start (or finish) the day.
The photographs attached to this blog were taken at the hospital, the day I learned that a booster shot would not be in my near future. One is a photograph of me taken by S.A.F.E. which he sent saying:
He: Here you are my Queen! Taken at the hospital.
Me: Thank you my dear! You are a loyal and faithful servant.
The other two are photographs of Sheikh Zayed. He is pictured with the Queen Mother, Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. It was on one of the walls of the hospital. The other is again Sheikh Zayed being driven in a car to the adoration of the nation. It appears that the driver is his son but cannot say for sure.
As you can see, even before leaving the hospital I had picked myself up, dusted myself off and started all over again.
