"I AM the Greatest of All Time!"

"We are only brave when we have something to lose and we still try. We can't be brave without fear." - Muhammad Ali

My parents have been fervent admirers of Muhammad Ali since before I can remember. My dad had a tape of one of the boxer's fights that he would sometimes watch over the weekend. Not understanding the appeal of a boxing match, I would leave the room. When Will Smith's Ali was released, my dad bought a copy of a documentary on M. Ali, and after watching it I half-understood what the deal was, but wasn't interested enough to watch the movie. I do remember the scenes in which he accepted Islam and refused to be drafted in the Vietnam War because it was against his beliefs.

Earlier this week, my sister shared a link of a short documentary on how Muhammad Ali played a pivotal role in the release of US prisoners of war released after Saddam Hussein's army captured them and others during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It was very moving, especially the concluding scene, and as it was pretty close to home I was overcome by a strong desire to know more about him.

And so I chanced upon his autobiography, Soul of a Butterfly: Lessons on Life's Journey, which is more of a narration of his spiritual journey, before and after he embraced Islam. No movie or actor can truly show you the man Muhammad Ali was—for that you must read his book. It is an infinitesimal glimpse into his soul. Every page I read strengthens my conviction of how a great a man he is. I'm not terribly interested in Muhammad Ali the boxer, although his achievements are remarkable. It's the man himself that has me captivated and awe-struck. His goodness, humility, selflessness, humour, compassion, unshakable faith in God, unwavering confidence in his abilities, his ideals...what I especially admire about him is how he always stuck to his guns, refusing to budge from his principles, even at the risk of imprisonment, consequently raising the ire of the US government and the general public. His license to box was rescinded and he lost over three prime boxing years, but he stood his ground and never regretted his decision.

The book has so many lessons we can learn from, wise words that we can inculcate into our lives to enrich them. The writing is simple, yet holds so much depth. I keep highlighting sentences that I'd like to look up  and read again. I am sorely tempted to publish a post containing the dozens of quotes I've marked, but that wouldn't be fair to you (and would probably count as copyright infringement). I hope you read the book in its entirety and that it affects you as positively as it has me.

I'll leave you with one of his quotes that I love and try to live by.

"True success is reaching our potential without compromising our ideals." 

Disney Dialogues: Things Imma Tell My Kids

Disney has been a huge part of my childhood. When I was five or six, my dad would get me a new Disney film every other evening and we’d all watch it together. Animated films like Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, The Fox and the Hound, Finding Nemo, Pocahontas, Bambi, Robin Hood, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Peter Pan, Aladdin etc. teach a kid so much about friendship, morals, love, teamwork, choices, dreams, growing up, the importance of kindness and life in general. If I ever have children, I would love to share this part of my life with them and ensure they take with them the same lessons.

But besides the endearing story, striking animation and lovable characters, it's the songs and dialogues that appeal to me. I've spent countless hours watching Disney films (repeatedly), and have developed an art of quoting the right Disney dialogue at the right moment. So much so, I realized that a number of them can be used as retorts to unruly children and overbearing teenagers, or as encouraging words when a kid needs some motivation. I set about compiling a list of dialogues I’d deliver to my kids if/when the relevant situation came up, complete with YouTube videos for tone and inflection, including the songs I’d break into at the appropriate moments.

Disney-inspired things I'm going to tell my kids if they:

      1.     Are getting ready for their first day of school:

      “Listen to your teacher and no fighting. Play nice with the other kids. Unless of course, one of the other kids wanna fight, then you have to kick the other kid's butt.” — Mushu, Mulan

      2.     Face peer pressure:

“Now remember, beee yourself.” — Genie, Aladdin

      3.     Make a mess:
“What kind of primitive beasts are responsible for this mess..?” - Terk, Tarzan

 
4.  Grumble about being taken them somewhere they didn’t think would be fun:

“Adventure is out there!” — Ellie, Up

      5.     Ask for a geography lesson (on South America):

“South America. It's like America. But south.” — Ellie, Up

      6.     Complain about the mundaneness of house chores:

“In every job that must be done, 
there is an element of fun. 
You find the fun and...
SNAP! The job's a game!” — Mary Poppins 

      7.     Ever suffer from low self-esteem:

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh

      8.     Are on the verge of giving up a task at hand:
“Giving up is for rookies.” — Phil, Hercules (couldn't find a video)

      9.     Lie:

     “A lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face.” — The Blue Fairy, Pinocchio

    10.  Disobey me in a hyperactive fit or didn't study:

    “I know that your powers of retention
Are as wet as a warthog's back side. 
But thick as you are, pay attention!
My words are a matter of pride.

It's clear from your vacant expressions,
The lights are not all on upstairs...” — Scar, The Lion King

    11.  Can't empathize:
“If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, 
you'll learn things you never knew
you never knew.” — Pocahontas

12.  Feel low or unhappy about something:
“Look for the bare necessities, 
the simple bare necessities, 
forget about your worries and your strife!” — Baloo, The Jungle Book

    13.  Find themselves in a moral conundrum:
“Always let your conscience be your guide.” — The Blue Fairy/Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio

    14.  Didn't like what was for dinner:

     “A dinner here is never second best!” — Lumière, Beauty and the Beast

     15.  Try to bribe me into letting them have their own way:
“I don't make deals with peasants!” — Kuzco, The Emperor’s New Groove

                                         

16.     Said or did something incredibly stupid:

      “I’m surrounded by idiots.” — Scar, The Lion King

17.     Need to hear some inspiring words:
“Set your sights,
Upon the heights,
Don't be a mediocrity.
Don't just wait
and trust to Fate
and say that's how it's meant to be.
It's upto you, how far you go,
if you don't try you'll never know.
And so my lad, as I've explained.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!” — Merlin, The Sword in the Stone

Of course, there are innumerable quotable gems in non-Disney movies that deserve their own lists, but I couldn’t resist adding a couple from The Lord of the Rings to my arsenal. If my kids:

- Were late for the school bus:
   “Fly you fools!” — Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

- Refused to study:
   “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” — Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

Oh yeahhh. My kids are gonna be awesome.

a godsend.

The past 10 days or so have been miserable. I've been plagued by a terrible toothache and had a depressing experience looking for a dentist on a Friday afternoon. I finally got it sorted with my dentist in India, who came through with a simple and effective remedy (apply Sensodyne!). A few days later (again, right before the weekend) I was hit by another toothache of a totally different kind, and emailed my dentist in India. He thought it might be my bite that had to adjusted and advised me to go to a dentist here to get it looked at. I booked an appointment with my dentist in a private clinic (having had more than enough of government clinics) for Sunday morning. It turned out to be a root canal that would cost 200 KD, which incidentally is the cost of ALL my dental work in India. The timing really sucks considering I was in India just two weeks ago…

It’s been a while since I've been so upset. I've had five root canals so far (including this one) and an implant. Almost all my teeth have fillings despite the pains I take to maintain them. Will it ever end?

And then, in the midst of all this misery, something truly unbelievable happened.

Yesterday, a friend texted me out of the blue saying he had something that had to be given to me that same day and that it couldn't wait, refusing to divulge any more. Mystified with the cryptic texts, I suggested he stop by P2BK (Proud to be Kuwaiti exhibition) since that's where I've been living the past week or so.
Between watching the Harlem Shake performance, getting snacks, handing out brochures and talking to booth visitors, I whiled away the hours until the designated time.

He showed up with a huge package.

"What the heck is this?" I asked, even more mystified.
"It isn’t from me."

I ripped open the pretty packaging,

and read the card.

"OH MY GOD! THIS IS SO FREAKING COOOOOOL!! THIS IS SO SO COOOL!!"
*bobs up and down in delight*

Sheikha is a reader who discovered my blog via Botamba. She leaves me immensely supportive and encouraging comments on every post, and only recently revealed her name.

I pulled the ribbon on one of the boxes (there were two) and discovered a cake inside. We exchanged a wide-eyed glance of amazement. Try as I might I couldn't tie the ribbon half as neatly as it was to take a picture—in my excitement, I forgot to click a pic of the original package.

I went home taking great care of my precious cargo and was bombarded with questions from my flabbergasted family:

"Where did you get this from?"
"Sheikha sent it to me!"
"HOW DOES SHE KNOW WHERE WE LIVE?!"
"It wasn't sent home! We have a mutual friend who delivered it to me."
"How do you have a mutual friend with an anonymous person?!"
"We live in Kuwait. It's hardly surprising."
"Are you sure it's a woman? Maybe it's a guy who changed his name?"
"IT'S A WOMAN!"

I opened the boxes, thus ending the ridiculous interrogation.

a godsend!

We devoured the cake and the cake pops (from The November Bakery). Delicious!

Sheikha, thank you so much for the lovely package! The flowers are especially gorgeous, I can't stop smelling them! I am deeply touched, honoured and overcome with joy with your heartfelt gesture and appreciation for my writing. It couldn't have come at a better time, especially since I've been feeling so low all week. I feel so, so blessed and I hope we meet someday. I wish you all the very best; may God bless you with every happiness!

Nikhil, thanks a bunch for delivering the package and keeping the surprise!

Sighhhh. I'm sooo happy.

Tedx Safat, Kuwait: Ideas Worth Spreading.. indeed!

I wasn't supposed to be attending Wednesday night's Tedx Safat Conference. But I did and it was awesome.
I'd received no reply when I emailed to ask if the event was going to be held in English. My friend Sahar (who blogs about her experiences in Kuwait on Eternal Joie de Vivre, go check her out!) found out that it was. Problem solved.

Thank God I emailed, because apparently you had to pre-register. An event organizer asked for our names to tick off a list and I thought with a sinking feeling that I wouldn't be able to sit for it. But it was there!! *fist in the air* (awful rhyming was unintentional, my apologies)

And what did I think? Read on for a succinct account on what each speaker communicated. Words in italics are their words (or close), not mine.

We walked in and found seats just in time to see the first speaker, Dr. Saad Hamad Al Barrak take the stage and start his speech on 'Leading Change', the essence of which was that the purpose of leadership is to impact change. He explained this concept through John P. Kotter's change model below.

I loved his definition on delegation, 'it is nothing but a loan of a power of authority'. An illusion of power if you will.

Dr. Ghanim Alnajjar was the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Somalia, appointed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan. He specified that without equality there was no stability and that might and right are never too often on the same side. Seeing the destitution and war-torn lands one wonders, do we live in the same world? The UN did not allow its people to travel by cars in parts of Somalia; the areas were so dangerous and riddled with land mines that workers actually had to use small planes! Tragically the situation in Somalia is far from light, with 300,000 Somalians internally displaced and living in camps.

Sulayman Al-Bassam blew me over. A world-renowned playwright, he tries to foster open-mindedness through his plays. He brought to light the fact that people prefer to express in English, fearing to do so in their native tongue. In 2003, when Iraq was invaded, there were mixed feelings of joy and trepidation in the region - joy at the attempt to overthrow a dictator and trepidation because, well, war is a terrible thing.
He wrote and directed a play in Kuwait at that time, casting Kuwaiti, Iraqi, British and American actors, in an attempt to promote kindred feelings amongst people and put the torrid past behind them. A terrible thing happened on opening night - one of the Kuwaiti actors suddenly died of natural causes backstage while the performance was going on. A member of the audience somehow got wind of the death and announced on stage that the Iraqi actors had 'killed our compatriot'. A ripple of shock went through the audience (the TEDx one) as Sulayman made his point, that in less than a minute, the man had poisoned the idea that we were trying to promote. It was a lesson on how difficult it was to change a society. Questions we ask through our art should help support an open society.

Hussaa Al Humaidhi was a ball of energy! Her fantastic slide show was perfectly synchronized and well coordinated with her speech and the message she wanted to deliver. Her presentation was titled From Frustration to Collaboration to Inspiration (Connecting the Dots). The 'dots' were represented by four creative individuals (in her speech as well as on the slide) frustrated (frustration occurring 'when things are out of your control') with the lack of inspiration in Kuwait, travelled to different countries to find it. They then decided to take matters into their own hands and here's where the collaboration comes in. They founded Nuqat, meaning dots in Arabic, an organization that offers individuals the chance to bring out creativity within the region, taking care of the inspiration factor. They realized too many young designers in the Middle East were uninspired and just mimicking the West. With Nuqat, these entrepreneurs want to encourage designers and other creative individuals remain to true to their Arab identity and find that spark here. She signed off with the well-known and extremely apt quote: Never wait for inspiration, hunt it down with a stick!

Sheikha Intisar Salem Al Ali Al Sabah founded and runs a publishing house. At a bookstore in a neighbouring Gulf country, she noticed the store had books on most countries of the Middle East... except Kuwait. So, she set out to write one! She interviewed Kuwaitis that had made a real difference in the country and through their passion, found her inspiration. She described their contribution in a slideshow while quoting each of them.

I liked the way Mrs. Maha Al-Ghunaim (founder and MD of Global Investment House) began her speech, by stating quite frankly that she moved to the States for Bachelors in Engineering, because it seemed right, as her siblings were engineers. A year later she switched her major to mathematics because she loved it and hated engineering. Move where your passion is. After completing her degree, she moved back to Kuwait in August to look for work. An HR manager of an elite investment firm told her to go on vacation to Switzerland with her parents and that they didn't hire women (scumbag company). Twelve years later, I became the boss of his boss. YEAH!! *round of applause*
She ended saying something simple and profound that I've pondered on a lot in the past two days, and I hope I never forget it. At the end of each day, think, 'did I give it my all?' Give the best you can be at that point to everything and do it regularly. She ended with the quote: Giving it your all, is not too far from victory.

We left then, her words echoing in my head.
Actually, they still are.

I hope someone uploads the videos on youtube, I'd love to hear Sulayman Al Bassam's speech again as well as the last two we missed by Dr. Ahmad BouShehri and Khaled Al-Kulaib. Kudos to Dana Al-Hilal and her team for a wonderful event and the fantastic choice of speakers. I was completely unaware as to the brilliance of these people. The message each one of them gave, especially the latter ones has touched me differently. Why do we need to look to world famous, far removed personalities for motivation when we have very worthy ones right here?


Note: I tried to get their words down verbatim but it wasn't possible for all. If any of the above mentioned ever read this (hey it could happen) and feel I got the wrong idea, I am profusely sorry, I was lost in your awesomeness : (

(If you'd like to see pictures, check out the ones by The Dusty Co. here)