Today is Black Friday but I am not bleak. I will begin this blog by adding cheer using a reliable source, Andy Borowitz, more about him later. Opened the Inbox to find a funny article about gaslighting relatives at the Thanksgiving table and could not stop myself from sharing, It is American political humor but very transferable as governments everywhere are not worthy of gratitude (except perhaps Malaysia (and I am saying perhaps).
1. Matt Gaetz would have been a great Attorney General. No one cares more about America’s children.
2. I can’t wait for Trump’s tariffs. I’m sick of paying so little for everything.
3. American education is a mess, and that’s because we’ve never had someone in charge of it with professional wrestling experience.
4. The fact that a worm ate half of RFK Jr’s brain means he won’t have as many thoughts distracting him from his job.
5. If you ask me, Kristi Noem’s dog was asking for it.
6. Thank God Trump is kicking out all those undocumented workers! If I want fruit and vegetables I’ll just pick them myself.
I do not know who Kristi is, much less what she did to her dog however I can understand and laugh at the rest, particularly paying more because of tariffs and picking your own fruits and vegetables.
Thanksgiving was a blessing. I said this to one of my texting friends.
Me: I am fasting today on American Thanksgiving. My Thanksgiving dinners were nothing short of legendary. Cooked for days in anticipation – turkey, stuffing, potatoes, appetizers, desserts, condiments. Special cookbooks and everything. But today, no food, Just gratitude. I am blessed to be of the Islamic Faith with no wretched bothersome family. Here by the water with waves lapping on the shore. I am truly blessed.
He: The Lord has truly blessed you since you came of the faith.
Me: Alhamdulillah
This a perhaps transformative moment occurring earlier that day. I watched an excellent Andy Borowitz ‘Thanksgiving special’. A comedy routine he had recorded in 2009 describing his near death experience a couple of years prior. It ended with gratitude for the horrendous experience – said every morning he awoke to the sunrise, looking at this beautiful wife by his side and was So grateful to be alive. I watched it on YouTube. The very next selection, chosen by YouTube (not me) was my cherished Thousand years song. I began to sob convulsively, tears of almost rapture. The message was so profound that it is impossible for me to describe but yet again felt SO blessed to be of the Islamic Faith. I am not particularly glad to be alive, would prefer Jannah but plan to spend my remaining days striving for good health and good deeds. Mere mortal men and women let me down and disappoint me daily, but I carry on carefully eliminating their toxic presence or merely seeing who they are and not expecting anything from them – keeping them at a distance and not trusting them.
I will link the Andy Borowitz ‘comedy’ routine and direct you to the blog in which I discussed Thousand Years and its meaning. It definitely is my signature songs – so well known at the Karaoke machines in Lewis Suites Penang. Andy’s link https://open.substack.com/pub/borowitzreport/p/why-im-thankful?r=3xvuao&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Decided to copy and paste from my July 6,2024 blog rather than make you search for it.
A Thousand Years
The day we met
Frozen I held my breath
Right from the start
I knew that I’d found a home for my heart
Beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I’m afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
Time stands still
Beauty and all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What’s standing in front of me
Every breath, every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
(There is a repetition of words, it ends with the following.)
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
The Songwriters: Christina Perri and David Hodges. Questioned as to the meaning of this song, it was said “The In the end, ‘A Thousand Years’ isn’t just a song; it’s an experience, an exploration of the depths of human emotion. It’s about the joy and pain of loving someone so deeply that the boundaries of time become meaningless.”
I have got news for them and (parenthetically) for you. It has even greater meaning. The greater (no greatest) love that is being spoken about, in my belief is Allah’s (SWT) love for those who believe in the One God. I did, upon my reversion to the faith, did indeed find a home for my heart. . My doubts did go away, I was not afraid. It seemed I loved Allah (SWT) from the beginning for a thousand years and I will love him for a thousand more. I am. And have been brave, Time brought me to Allah (SWT). I see now that I always believed I would find Him.
Back to the Blog of Today
My Thanksgiving Inbox revealed a blog from Yaqueen Institute blog with a topic that held great interest. Reading it was difficult as you shall see if you follow the link: https://yaqeeninstitute.org.my/read/post/living-with-purpose-the-powerful-meaning-of-the-basmala
I scrolled throughout the site and found to my utter amazement that this Institute that is most informative and helpful has its headquarters in Malaysia. Alhamdulillah!!! The blog was entitledL Living with Purpose, the Powerful Meaning of the Basmala. I, somewhat humbly say that the man who wrote the blog is a learned scholar but I am a better blog writer. The site mentions opportunities for volunteers,. I will explore how I might be of assistance. This paragraph summarizes the wisdom found in the writing.
“Al-Rāzī observes that spiritual striving and self-discipline serve to temper these innate tendencies but cannot completely alter them. The goal of discipline is not to eradicate negative traits but to diminish their influence, enabling virtues to take precedence. This idea resonates with the Prophetic saying: “People are mines (maʿādin), like gold and silver,” which suggests that each individual possesses unique qualities that can be refined and brought to their fullest potential. Similarly the Prophet likened souls to “mobilized troops,” emphasizing their tendency to gravitate toward those with similar characteristics.”
I may at some point in time attempt to paraphrase the entire article. Paraphrase is the perfect descriptive word: express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity. Some synonyms of the verb are: put/express in one’s own words, express differently, rewrite, rehash, interpret. But not at this moment, the early morning hours of Black Friday. Daylight is breaking, time for my morning walk on the beach. More about my exercise program in an upcoming blog.
Two days ago I climbed aboard an exercise bike. The well equipped gym is on the nightly floor of Penang. The plan was to start out slow, then work my way up to greater time and intensity. You will see the results of this endeavor. It is amusing. The reel’s professionalism a result of a staff member filming with my 16 iPhone Max. She concluded the filming.
She: Thank you for this Singapore souvenir. Laughingly, giggling away ,I said to her: Give me back my phone toute suite, immediately. (Decided a little French might frighten her. )
Groups of Chinese, Taiwanese, Saudis, Algerians etc. etc.arrive at this hotel in tour groups accompanied by Malaysian tour guides. They stay for a couple of days, transported in vast tour buses. They receive greetings upon arrival and a fond farewell. The other morning, after my beach walk, I joined the staff waving goodbye with five fingered contraptions supplied by the staff. I was having fun, as you can see. Volunteered to do this when needed. My offer was, I think, rejected because I was too enthusiastic. Most of people in tour groups never even smile, must less have any fun. So my boisterousness was not probably appreciated.
Boisterous is (of a person, event, or behavior) noisy, energetic, and cheerful; rowdy. That can be me at times. Not always of course, I definitely have my serious side but sometimes it is fun to be noisy, cheerful, energetic and rowdy. Try it, you might like it. Hahahaha
Just to give you an idea of how much fun it can be survey these synonyms: bouncy, frisky, excited, high-spirited, ebullient, vibrant, uproarious, rip-roaring, rumbustious. Occasionally, sometimes quite often, I am quiet and restrained.
Also photos of the lobby’s Christmas tree in the process of being decorated. It is not a real Christmas tree as you can clearly see. My hatred of Christmas has not abated. However today I was invited to the Christmas Buffet – free for me, but not for a guest who may be in attendance.
