Suddenly remembered a word that describes me. I am a waif: a a homeless, neglected, or abandoned person, I have no home, I am constantly being abandoned (although I bravely do not speak of this abandonmentt) and I am neglected. (I think, but need to look that up.)
The answer is! Yes! I am neglected. I am not paid proper attention to; disregarded.
Technically I am an orphan as both of my parents are dead and I have no family but somehow I prefer to be a waif.
As per usual , Wikipedia is telling us more than we want to know about it all.
“A waif (from the Old French guaif, “stray beast”)[1] is a person removed, by hardship, loss or other helpless circumstance, from their original surroundings. The most common usage of the word is to designate a homeless, forsaken or orphaned child, or someone whose appearance is evocative of the same.
As such, the term is similar to a ragamuffin or street urchin, although the main distinction is volitional: a runaway youth might live on the streets, but would not properly be called a waif as the departure from one’s home was an exercise of free will. Likewise, a person fleeing their home for purposes of safety (as in response to political oppression or natural disaster), is typically considered not a waif but a refugee.”
So I suppose I am a refugee, not political oppression but oppression based on my faith. But there are SO many refugees, in such awful situations. I prefer waif – not ragamuffin, because I dress quite well, with my abayas and hijabs. I am not a street urchin, as I am living in a hotel, not on the street. Recently been assured that I can continue to live here until suitable accommodation is found. PHEW!!! I was getting a little nervous, do have to admit.
My worry was a misdeed, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that I should not trust the care and beneficence of Allah (SWT).
Wikipedia informs us of waif’s appearance in Literature.
“Orphaned children, left to fend for themselves, are common as literary protagonists, especially in children’s and fantasy literature.[2] The characters Catherine in Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights and Jo, the crossing sweeper in Charles Dickens’ 1852 novel Bleak House are waifs. Dickens, it may be noted, has been called “the Master of Waif Literature.”
There is also reference to a lesser known publication.
“Chicago’s Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, a long-term residential home for troubled young men and women from the streets and abusive homes, has published The Waif’s Messenger for more than 100 years.”
I came from an abusive home, further proof of my waif qualifications.
There are Legal references, which are rather frightening.
“Dating from the Middle Ages, when a woman was proscribed and subjected to penalties of outlawry, she was said to be “waived” and called a “waif”. This waiving of the law was tantamount to outlawry since it removed all protection of the law.[5] Women in this status were outside of the “law”, and as with male outlaws, others could kill them on sight as if they were wild animals.”
That would not be fun. I have no idea was proscribed is and have decided that I do not want to know.
More information provided under the Legal section.
Under British common law, items stolen by a thief and discarded during the thief’s flight are “waifs.” The monarch owns such waifs by royal prerogative.
As a waif under those conditions, I would be owned by King Charles. That is, as they say, a revolting development in these days when he is saying absolutely nothing, not one word, in support of Palestine.
Canada is mentioned under the Music section. I am a Canadian by birth.
“Moreover in 2017, the Canadian band Alvvays recorded the indie pop song “Saved By A Waif”, together with the whole album Antisocialites.”
Another section on Botany, where again I qualify as you shall see.
“In botany, a “waif” is an unusual species found in the wild that is alien and either a) is unsuccessful at reproduction without human intervention, or b) only persists a few generations and disappears.”
I am considered alien wherever I go and I have been unsuccessful at reproduction. I will only persist for one generation in this Dunya.
Admittedly I do not qualify in the Fashion section.
“In fashion and related popular culture, the term “waif” is commonly used to describe a very thin person, usually a woman.”
I am not very thin, never have been. I can best, and most flatteringly be called: pleasantly plump. There are decided benefits to being pleasantly plump – we of the pleasantly plump persuasion do not age like our thin and anorexic sisters. How do I know this? While living in London met the plastic surgeon who did the work on the Ab Fab duo. He told me this, do forget his name. Interesting man in many ways. He was abused by his mother. Men tell me their secrets, not sure why. I keep them. Nobody cares about their secrets actually – not even me. I pity them as they are haunted by their secrets.
The Islamic Faith speaks of secrets lying that secrets should be shared only with one’s spouse. When you think of it, this is very wise. It builds a bond between the couple.
Enough of this. You have to admit it was a distraction. A distraction is a a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. The something else is Palestine. Wikipedia has a great deal to say about distraction.
“Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources. External distractions include factors such as visual triggers, social interactions, music, text messages, and phone calls. There are also internal distractions such as hunger, fatigue, illness, worrying, and daydreaming. Both external and internal distractions contribute to the interference of focus.”
Distraction plays a part in religion.
“Rabbi Alan Lew in his book, This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared, writes, “The thoughts that carry our attention away [during prayer or meditation] are never insignificant thoughts and they never arise at random. We lose our focus precisely because these thoughts need our attention and we refuse to give it to them. This is why they keep sneaking up on our attention and stealing it away. This is how it is that we come to know ourselves as we settle deeply into the act of prayer [or meditation]”. According to philosopher Damon Young, distraction is chiefly an inability to identify, attend to or attain what is valuable, even when we are hard-working or content.”
An email suddenly totally and completely distracted me. Computer Guru sent my blog statistics. I have not seen them for awhile, it which time I had this ambition: wanted my Saudi Arabian readers to be greater in number than my Canadian readers. His message was short, sweet and succinct.
He: Well S.A. has definitely moved up in the rankings..
Me: This makes me obscenely happy!! It truly does!!! One Must realise that SA is NOT an English speaking country. Muslin perhaps, but English speaking NO. Alexis
Later, I sent another response, my joy continued to grow, as I informed other team members of our success.
Me:I am absolutely joyous beyond belief for SO many reasons. Yeah Team!!!! It was a team effort. I did not do this alone. I have a team. With so much love to all three of you. You the dog and Claire hahaha. The dog is not a team member, however. What does the dog do?? I can make her a team member if she makes a contribution. Hahaha. Alexis
One other member of the team is AK. Sent him several texts via WhatsApp. Many of his responses were emoji but there were some words. I sent him a copy of the statistics, with this message.
Me: Seeing is believing! Hahahah
He: IMG I saw it. (Many, many emojis)
Me: Thank you for your congratulations. Thank YOU by the way! Your blog cards contributed to my stunning success. Please tell your mother. She will be proud and happy for the two of us.
He: She sure will!!! I will tell her. (Many, many emojis)
AK’s mother is the most kind, compassionate and generous woman. I have spoken of her on the blog in the past. She once said I have a white heart. That is the ultimate and utmost blessing a Muslim could ever receive.
Not all good news Instagram is playing with me again. But I have prevailed. The reel suggesting that refusing to pay US taxes is the ultimate protest because billions of US taxes used to murder and starve Palestinians is accessible on You Tube via my blog. Therefore even if the reel on My Story does not reach viewers – access is available through the blog. Instagram has no control over, nor shall it ever, have, control over my blog. I love facing down a bully. Like David and Goliath. Guess which one I am?????
Do recall that Malcolm Gladwell explained why David was able to vanquish Goliath. It does have relevance to today’s Isreal-Gaza ‘confrontation’. I will explore the matter thoroughly and get back to you.
The photographs, the statistics and a beautiful painting on the wall of my Oberio Hotel room. As you can see it is beautiful – a Sister in her hijab.
