Invictus: a Poem that Inspired a Leader

I really haven't been sharing Poems recently as I was blogging more about food. ( Shared Poems)
But, I am sharing today a very special poem that has affected my life and I discovered it when I was reading about Nelson Mandela's biography back in 2010, amid personal struggles.

The Poem 'Invictus' (meaning Unconquered, Undefeated) by William Henley, and the Leader Nelson Mandela (R.I.P Madiba) was inspired by the poem, and had it written on a scrap of paper on his prison cell while he was incarcerated for 27 years on Robben Island.

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,                              

I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

My Graduation Piece

Commencement Exercises in 1930 ( ( Tamir Nassar Albums)

This was my last article submitted to AUB's students official newspaper on campus : AUB OUTLOOK, issue 24, Volume 24.
I had been planning to write this weeks before submissions but couldnt. I wrote it in 30 minutes. So it might not be  a good graduation piece but it does reflect my emotions when I graduated as a Master's candidate in Food Technology, my passion and my career.

“Root and Flow”
Loulwa Kalache, Staff Writer

How could you write about a 6 years life experience in 300 words? I would write a whole book about these life shifting events that I have experienced in AUB.

This article is not for people who graduated but for people who still didn’t .Nothing is more beautiful than fighting for your grades, working hard on your projects and never missing classes. Nothing is more memorable than making Jafet your studying area and “over-nighting” on campus benches when Jafet closes. Or maybe just pretend that you are studying and end up doing crazy things with your friends. Indeed, they always say these days won’t come back, but these are the days that will enable other beautiful days to come.

Chemistry Lecture Hall ( Notice no women in the class! Great Improvement 80 years later in the sciences' field
( Tamir Nassar Albums)

 If I would advise those are still in AUB, I’d tell them not to miss their chances in participating in all the wonderful events. So, plant a tree, become an active member of a club that represents you or maybe that doesn’t, have fun in Outdoors, write in Outlook,  volunteer in the commencement exercises and sign up for the yoga classes in Hostler. Remember though don’t make your interests absolute. Twist them to bring winds of change in your life.

West Hall in 1933, Still the same 80 years later!( Tamir Nassar Albums)

Even your goals are not immutable. You will realize that the dreams you will achieve are not actually the ones that you dreamt of or planned for.

I wanted to do my graduate studies in USA but I ended up I spending three  extra  years in AUB for my masters, and I worked in two different departments .If I were in USA, I would not have become so fond of AUB, or Beirut, or even of my own country Lebanon.

AUB taught me how to be lenient, to be open, and at the same time to be determined of the values that I was raised on. AUB didn’t make me lose my identity but rather built it up and allowed me express it freely. It was on this campus that I got inspiration, chose the proper guidance and built my passion list. It was on this campus; I wore my hijab and found peace with God.

American University of Beirut Chapel, now Assembly Hall ( Tamir Nassar Albums)

The world has to know that AUB nurtures our diverse identities to make them blossom beautifully so that the whole world can see them.

“ I root but I flow” is the motto that I will associate to AUB , just like those 100 years aged trees on the campus, they are rooted but are flowing with their current surroundings, events and people. And this how an AUB graduates is “we root, but we flow”.

The Famous Banyan Tree on West Hall (  Tamir Nassar Albums)

 **Tamir Nassar Albums from American University of Beirut  website,  SAAB Medical Library Archives 

The albums contain photographs from anthropological field trips in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan by faculty and staff from the American University of Beirut in the 1920's and 30's. They were collected by Tamir Nassar who participated on the trips and who also added a few personal photographs over the years.

Gebran's Birthday And " A Half Life"

This is my first post in 2011. And what is better than beginning the new year with a post about a birthday.

And it's a special birthday indeed because it is the birthday of the renowned  Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer: Gebran Khalil Gebran. 
Gebran is considered an inspiration for hundreds of writers worldwide for his prudent words, graceful style and outstanding ideas. He is not just a talent but a universal legend in the world of literature.

So, I wanted to share one of his writings for him on my blog, and this is a motivation for everyone who wants to change something in his or her life :)

Here  is my own translation for  " A Half life" in English. But you can find  the Arabic version ( original version) below.

Don’t sit with half-lovers.

Don’t endorse half-friends.

Don’t read for the half-talented.

Don’t live a half life.

Don’t die a half death.

Don’t choose a half solution.

Don’t stand in the middle of the truth.

Don’t dream a half dream.

 

Don’t hang on a half hope.

If you shut up, shut up till the end.

And if you talked, talk till the end.

Don’t be silent, so that you can speak.

And don’t speak, so that you can be silent.

If you were satisfied, express your gratitude.

Don’t fake a half gratitude.

And if you are unsatisfied, express your disapproval.

Because a half disapproval, is actually an approval.

The half is a life you didn’t live.

It is a word you didn’t say.

A smile you postponed.

A love you couldn’t attain.

A friendship you didn’t know.

This half is what makes you strange even to the closet people around you.

And It is what makes the closest people, strangers for you.

The half is to reach and not to reach.

To work and not to work.

To leave and to arrive.

The half is you, when you are not yourself....Because you didn't know who you are.

The half is that you don't know who you are.

And whom you love is not your other half.

It is you in another place at the same time.

Half a drink won’t quench your thirst.

Half a meal won’t satisfy your hunger.

Walking half of the road won’t get you anywhere.

Half of an idea won’t give you a result.

The half is your moment of weakness, but you are not weak!

Because you are not a half human.

You are a human.

You were here to live a life, not to live a half life!

 

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نصفُ حياة

  

لا تجالس أنصاف العشاق، ولا تصادق أنصاف الأصدقاء، لا تقرأ لأنصاف الموهوبين، لا تعش نصف حياة، ولا تمت نصف موت، لا تختر نصف حل، ولا تقف في منتصف الحقيقة، لا تحلم نصف حلم، ولا تتعلق بنصف أمل، إذا صمتّ.. فاصمت حتى النهاية، وإذا تكلمت.. فتكلّم حتى النهاية، لا تصمت كي تتكلم، ولا تتكلم كي تصمت.

    

   إذا رضيت فعبّر عن رضاك، لا تصطنع نصف رضا، وإذا رفضت.. فعبّر عن رفضك، لأن نصف الرفض قبول.. النصف هو حياة لم تعشها، وهو كلمة لم تقلها، وهو ابتسامة أجّلتها، وهو حب لم تصل إليه، وهو صداقة لم تعرفها.. النصف هو ما يجعلك غريباً عن أقرب الناس إليك، وهو ما يجعل أقرب الناس إليك غرباء عنك، النصف هو أن تصل وأن لاتصل، أن تعمل وأن لا تعمل، أن تغيب وأن تحضر.. النصف هو أنت، عندما لا تكون أنت.. لأنك لم تعرف من أنت. النصف هو أن لا تعرف من أنت .. ومن تحب ليس نصفك الآخر.. هو أنت في مكان آخر في الوقت نفسه                                                                                                      !!..

نصف شربة لن تروي ظمأك، ونصف وجبة لن تشبع جوعك، نصف طريق لن يوصلك إلى أي مكان، ونصف فكرة لن تعطي لك نتيجة.. النصف هو لحظة عجزك وأنت لست بعاجز.. لأنك لست نصف إنسان. أنت إنسان.. وجدت كي تعيش الحياة، وليس كي تعيش نصف حياة!!  

                           "جبران خليل جبران"           

                        


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Interesting Links:
1-List of poems written by Gebranhttp://www.poemhunter.com/khalil-gibran/
2-One of my favorite books. I highly recommend it :
http://www.amazon.com/Prophet-Kahlil-Gibran/dp/0394404289/ref=pd_sim_b_2
3-A poem by Gebran  was made into a song to be sang by  Fairouz 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQJqu675Ino

Inspired and Retired (Food Markets)

Though there are plenty of striking books that I have read and are beyond doubt considered an inspiration for me in food writing.

But there is one particular book .

It is not a narrative, nor an autobiography, neither a coaching book.

Food Markets of the World , is a book with an idiosyncratic adventure, that takes us to  60 different markets around the world. Markets that span from   from the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, to the olive vats of Palermo, to the markets of the south of France, and to the Amish markets of Pennsylvania

The book entices all our senses as we flip through the pictures Nelli Sheffer took and through the description of the prominent food critic Mimi Sheraton.

Mimi Sheraton  makes us feel that we are really roaming these markets with her, choosing the herbs, picking the exquisite vegetables, buying those spices,  bargaining over those fresh fish with the sellers .Indeed, a cultural and historical experience that encourages us to visit these traditional markets  and explore somehow their secrets. Mimi also provides us with recipes and information of some exclusive local foods of these markets.

Nelli Sheffer's  eccentric photographs cannot , but  make these markets alive . The lure of each  place is seen  in the book, such as the  Delhi spice vendor asleep among overflowing sacks of fiery red chilies and heaps of burnished orange turmeric.

Nevertheless, many critized this book as it lacks so much information and it is not really satisfying in terms of its writing and that the photos weren’t alluring to some readers.

It got a rating 3/5  from goodreads website.

However, personally, i consider this book inspired me to start this whole photoblogging activity. So, I took few photos of some of the three markets i visited  so far and i will be posting them separately later. 

And perhaps, when I am retired  or hopefully before, I will inaugurate in this voyage to visit the local markets of each country in the world, because it is these places you learn the essence of authentic and traditional foods. And It is that such places, that teach you the nativity of the land , and the folklore of the locals.

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(This photo is the property of the Publisher of the Book)

Publisher Notes:
In Food Markets of the World, noted author and food critic Mimi Sheraton conducts an international tour through a full itinerary of marketplaces, introducing each region and sharing recipes, market lore, and colorful anecdotes about local culinary traditions. And photographer Nelli Sheffer has traveled the globe to capture in stunning images the spice merchants of Delhi, the floating vegetable stalls of the Mekong Delta, the olive vats of Palermo, the Amish farmers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and more. Included are markets in China, Egypt, Brazil, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Tanzania, the United States, and Vietnam.
Published October 1997 by Harry N Abrams

more details... ISBN 0810911841 (ISBN13: 9780810911840)

No Average Eyes

She grows up with a dream, a "wild dream". A dream she thought she will never lose. 

She never wanted to be a doctor, or a teacher or a lawyer like all the girls she used to  play with.

Her mom wakes her up for the morning bath. She watches the ants walking around, while she is sitting in the bathtub. The ants were searching for food in a place that had  nothing.  But look how they were naïve when she poured water or stepped on them. She wanted to have their stamina, their endurance, but she wanted to be witty and sophisticated at the same time.

She went outside to shout at her cat that was ruining the flowers her mom planted. A bee comes around her. She heard it doing its symphonic humming sound to scare her off. Yes, she wanted to hum like a bee..but she didn’t want to sting though. 

A butterfly came roaming around. Then, the little girl thought I wanted to grow up like it; to wander freely, but I want to have a purpose in my roaming.  

She went back inside her house, to the work room of her father, with all the papers thrown here and there …What a mess! Usually, she sneezes alot when she enters this room, it is so dusty and her dad doesnt allow anyone to clean it. She screamed. She found a spider hopping around with his thread.  How fast he was, and how cunning!! She wanted to be like it , fast and light, but she didn’t want to make webs and let people fall for them . 

It is dusk now. Her mom was dressing her up her pijamas, when a moth entered the room searching for light chaotically. The little girl started looking at the light as well, she wanted to be driven by light but she didn’t want light to burn her like that poor moth.  

She is tucked in her bed now. She heard an annoying noise. Here comes the mosquito! Ahh, how she uses the perfect time during the night to get her food. "I want to be smart like it, seize the perfect moment when it comes ", said the little girl."  But I don’t want to live on people." 

 She eventually asked her father to get her a magnifier. Yet she was always afraid from them. 

Perhaps, one time in her life those insects inspired her. Yes, she wanted to be something different. 

Perhaps her dream changed by now, like all the girls who wanted to be doctors, teachers or lawyers...Their dreams changed too. So she is no different than them. But she still holds this aspiration deep inside, that nature will always be her idol, and she will always learn from it.

She is a grown up now. Sitting in bed , reading a book for Rumi , when she comes across this part: “Every tree and plant in the meadow seemed to be dancing, those which average eyes would see as fixed and still."

She knew her childhood eyes were never average. 

Paulo ! It is Contagious!

Well, this whole post started because of Paulo!!.
Ah i was listening to a singer called Paulo Nutini. Perhaps none of my friends heard of him. A young singer but with a 50 year old voice!! Even more when he sings country music, his voice would sound like a yorkshire! But i was surprised while i was reading his biblioraphy that most of his songs were featured in the most watched series :  Last Request (Scrubs & One Tree Hill ), Million Faces ( Grey's Anatomy )...etc
Check his other songs as well . They are awesome. Gotta love his voice ;)

" Tallllll--INT"
Talent. Talent. Talent.
 Yes, everyone got a talent, an allure that makes him/her different from others.
Maybe am not in a position to judge who is talented and who is not . But i know  for sure that talent is everywhere around us . An average eye ignores a talent.So, we just have to search, look and enjoy it . It is a bless to have it and even more to enjoy people having it.

Perhaps, we dont know what is our true talent, this one special gift  makes us unique.  One talent , two or even more  are just waiting for you to be discovered.

You might be a drawer, a musician, a singer, a swimmer,  a businessman , a dancer.....you might be a comedian, an event organizer,  a politician, an adrenalin addict,  a computer geek,or  a fanatic soccer fan, a  community volunteer, a story teller, a workaholic, a  music collector, a crazy driver,

A marathon Cheerer ,traveling across countries 

                                                                A Wanna be clown!!
                                   

A C

Crazy Scientist!!

A Cool Farmer 

a cameraless photographer , a creative blogger, even a "post- it note " maniac, ..oh and i almost forgot a magical cook! ;)

So like What Paulo said :Try " New Shoes" every day, 
Try them all .....And  whatever you find is " your special" thing, enjoy it , and spread it around you.Show your apptitude .

Inspire others because talent is contagious ! :)