Chapter 1 : Keep The Faith
PROLOGUE (Also Including Words of Caution)
Hi Everyone,
It's Been such a long time since I have written anything form my side, it feels like I have become stranger to many things. An empty mind is a devil's workshop, they say. So After about 4 months of absolutely nothing to do except appearing in sequels of Job Interviews, watching late night telly +movies, timeless slumbers, hangout/ dine out with mates, reluctant books reading, playing 'Pakistani X-Games' like Dabbu, Karem Board, Ludo, Re-learning of Bike & Car driving lessons to face the frantic Traffic of Karachi, and not to mention my new & favourite hobby i.e. "the instant handing over my CVs to acquainted and unacquainted ones, with the aim "k bus handover zaroor kerni hai chahey koi jhootey moo hi q na maang ley" etc etc.
So being unoccupied to any '9-5 job- oriented activity', my mind too started spinning up stuff I don't think a sane person would want to listen to. And probably that's the exact reason why I felt that GMAIL & my blog would be the perfect avenue for me to test it on harmless souls. Therefore I am sharing these texts with you. Each mail is labelled as "Chapter" with one main heading and of course with No Definite Conclusion or Sane Moral of The Story at the end.
My request to all recipient of this mail, please ignore these heap of texts for your own sake, it neither contains any wisdom in it nor having any precious pearls of knowledge. You have the liberty to treat these series of emails either as Spam or Junk. I wrote these for self pleasure and with no intentions to delight or amuse anyone. ~ ALSO Before I start, let me make a plea to everybody reading this: Even if you have nothing sensible to say regarding these mails, then please Do Not Say and for God sake Mean It. From these series of mails which I will be sending time to time in near future here is the Chapter 1.
Chapter 1
Keep The Faith
I think, most of you'd be wondering how many days have passed since I wrote or mailed any stuff after "22 days so far in Karachi and still counting" ( the mail I wrote right after 22 days after coming back from UK). Well I'm also not quite sure, but think it's been quite a long time. Also, it has been a long time since I am enjoying a label of "Being Jobless & UK Returned" here in Pakistan.
Well Folks, I had plenty of interviews since my arrival here in Pakistan and honestly speaking my faith has been tested throughout this unemployment run, and I'm sure there's more testing to come. Whenever I get an Interview Call, I feel anxious about the interview, but a voice at the back of my mind continues to assure me that "Oh Zeeshan even if this interview isn't successful, You are still firmly in the God's hands and like other Trillions of creatures in this planet You also haven't been abandoned". Therefore there cannot be any 2 nd opinion regarding in this matter that; God is for us, and if He's for us, what more can we ask of Him?
The impatience & irritation that I've felt, accompanied by heavy doses of frustration, aggravation, disappointment, nuisance and helplessness, just goes to show me how dependent I am on God. At this time I remember the beautiful saying of Kashif (a good friend of mine) who once said that "Zeeshan one of the most difficult time in one's life is when he starts to doubt his own abilities & skills because of circumstances he is making every effort but nothing is happening" I can't explain all of those moments when I've felt even having the 2 Best Degrees from best institutions, as though no one in the world would hire me, and as though my immediate future was in vertical descent. Yet, even if it were rapidly spiraling downwards, God would certainly be there, and sometimes I'd miscalculate how far I need to fall to comprehend His (GOD's) dominion & sovereignty over my life.
Well I am not alone and just like me there are thousands of peoples in the world with same questions and similar worries. I'm unemployed. Who am I now? What am I supposed to do now? How will I get a reasonable job? Where I am standing as compare to my friends? I worked so hard for all of this but where is the return? Where is the fruit of my Hardships? Where is God in all of this? Am I alone on this?
One of the most reassuring, comforting and heartening observations (or revelations you can say) I've made throughout this period of unemployment has been this: I am not alone & I am not abandoned. First and foremost, like everyone else God's always with me. Because He has promised to be with me at all times. He never leaves His man. He's omnipresent, ubiquitous and all-pervading. Secondly, as a human, I am not the only single sole in this whole universe that is in a unique position of unemployment. It may feel like it sometimes, and self-pity scrapes the walls of my mind, but truly speaking, I am not alone in all this. There are plenty of other peoples who are more qualified, more experienced more skilled, more talented, more capable and more gifted than me but they are also unemployed. Just like me they also wait for 'Sunday's DAWN Newspapers' to search for jobs in Careers Pages, and just like me, handover their CVs to their acquainted ones with a request to pass it to the concern authorities. Yes this is a reality ……Just go, look around and see very clearly that there are many, many others who are unemployed, on disability, or are unable to work due to any reason.
Well folks From my experiences, I have learned (and still learning) that sometimes the voice that lay blame on you of "Being the only person in the world with an unemployment dilemma" is the same voice that tells you all of the other lies: Zeeshan "You're unemployable," "You haven't accomplished anything in your life," "You have no achievement" "You'll never get a job," "No one would hire a guy like you" "Look at yours friends they are Managers now" And that devilish voice could go on and on and on until you start believing it to be true.
I am writing because may be these inner voices which are coming somewhere from my inside, and which are turning themselves into words right now, could draw out that devilish voice. I realized that There is a definite purpose, a job, a role or some kind of work, that God wants us to do. And He's got it there for us but at one specific time. The Job, The role, The post, The designation, The occupation or The work may not be glamorous, may not be high profile or high status, and it may even seem ordinary, mundane or useless. But knowing that God gives us all the things, He is Most Merciful, Most Compassionate, and bestows His infinite Blessing on us round the clock , therefore being His creature ,we can rest assured that our working lives or the things we do each day, each moment can bring glory to God. We should keep our faith only and only in HIM.
In the end I must share you two most beautiful quotes of great Khalil Jibran which will summarize of whatever I have written above, Jibran says;
"Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking."
"Faith is knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof."
Sunday, 12 April 2009
22 DAYS so Far in Karachi ( and Still Counting)
(A mail written to my friends after 22 days of my return from UK)
Asalam-o-Aalaikum Warah- matuAllah-e- Wabarakatahu
Hope and pray that all of you will be doing well; by the blessing of Almighty God I am also doing very good, having and enjoying the best time with my family and friends
Well, it's almost three weeks now since my journey to Britain ended, and my feet are again on the same soil / ground which I left three years ago…. Well truly speaking, Returning to yours own homeland, itself is an unbelievable experience which words cannot describe, I believe that those who have never left their home can never ever have even a slight idea of this experience I m talking about. My friends, this is also an ultimate reality that departing yourself from your loved ones, from yours family, those streets, localities, and neighbourhood where you spend yours childhood and youth is not an easy thing to do, it demands loads of courage, audacity and patience, but as you all know that big dreams ask for bigger sacrifices, so same is the case for the people who leave their homeland for their dreams, goals, and objectives.
Comparing to UK, Life here in Karachi seems to me a little bit sluggish, the reason is, there are plenty of daily routine works which I have to skip here deliberately while in old days I was so vulnerable to perform those daily activities as 'MUST DO' there in Britain. Cooking, shopping, washing clothes, cleaning are to name few of them. I also do not indulge myself with anyone in the futile debate of "comparison" between UK and Pakistan, i.e. which is good and which is better, and I often escape in such situations by saying that 'one cannot compare his shoes with Taj Mahal in anyway' and frankly speaking, to me the comparison doesn't make any sense between those two worlds who are in stark contrast of each other in most of the aspects, where one country's issue is Hunger / Poverty ( Pakistan) and the other one's Obesity (UK)
The day I have arrived here I have been facing with these three burning questions from most people…. most prominent of them is 'why did you come back to Pakistan while millions of people are so desperate to go there ' my reply is 'I have my own reasons and circumstances' the other two prominent questions are 'how is the life of Muslims over there in Britain, are they facing troubles living there' I responds to them as ' they are enjoying a far more better life than the people in Pakistan' and the third one is too personal so I better quit it and should not discuss it here …actually one cannot explain his circumstances and reasons to every passer-by for leaving and coming back and same is with my case If I don't feel comfortable answering to their 'burning' questions, I don't answer them, that's all, and don't bother about their resentment too in their response.
Karachi is having, probably the worst Load-shading these days, one can witness my body with lots of kisses by mosquitoes when I wake up the other day, after struggling, crusading with the army of these stubborn and mulish flying creatures, in an electricity-absence night……. but I need not to worry about these tiny flying irritators whenever there is Coil, or Mat in my room …... The rise of consumer banking has a prominently affected on Karachiites' life. People can afford a car or at least a bike very easily, as there are plenty of domestic and imported brands available both for four wheels and two wheelers, now. Three years back, when I left Karachi, having a cellular phone was considered a luxury to some extent….. but now I often hear the ringing of my colony's sweeper's mobile when he comes and ring my door bell for Trash …hehehehehe
Well, my Job Searching is still going on, though I have no luck so far, but I hope I will get a good one soon and I need yours pray as well in this regard.
In most part of Karachi I find construction works, plenty of fly-over, Underpasses and other relevant development works are going on. The way the new Karachi city government built flyovers and underpasses especially at Lalu Khet and Liquatabad and reduced the traffic load miraculously ... there is non stop traffic from Civic Centre till Nazimabad. Law and order situation in Karachi is commendable and consequently the Pathan hotels, restaurants, shops and bazaar opens till late night. Char Pai, Takhat or Café Pyala type hotels are growing like mushrooms and now, they are not only confined to men only but families also enjoying, eating and spending their time there. I also enjoy my time with my buddies in such hotels having tea, cold drink and *&^% (you know what I mean…. hehehehe). Also our Mamoos I mean policewalas are also not a problem for Karachiites any more, because they are under surveillance of those people who are bigger crooks than these policewalas I mean MQM ( hehehehe)……..
Well, I still have plenty of things to share which I am avoiding due to fear of getting my mail More Lengthy and More Boring so I think I must stop here but don't worry I will continue to bore you with my mails in future too…hehehehe.
OK friends, I end this mail by sharing my thoughts (and especially addressing to my all those friends who are away from their homeland for any reason) that, to some people, success might mean wealth. To others, it is recognition, good health, good family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind, hobby, higher education etc, success can mean different things to different people so just narrow down your priorities in order to declare yourself successful, my understanding is that, one should not measure his success his position, designation, salary, income, bank balance or social status in life but by the obstacles he overcame to get there…..therefore do not determine your Success in life by how you are doing compared with others in terms of salary, income etc , but by how you are doing compared with what you are capable of doing …I hope you get my point.
Any way time to leave. Keep remember me in yours prayers.
Was'Salaam and Regards
Rao Zeeshan Ali
(A mail written to my friends after 22 days of my return from UK)
Asalam-o-Aalaikum Warah- matuAllah-e- Wabarakatahu
Hope and pray that all of you will be doing well; by the blessing of Almighty God I am also doing very good, having and enjoying the best time with my family and friends
Well, it's almost three weeks now since my journey to Britain ended, and my feet are again on the same soil / ground which I left three years ago…. Well truly speaking, Returning to yours own homeland, itself is an unbelievable experience which words cannot describe, I believe that those who have never left their home can never ever have even a slight idea of this experience I m talking about. My friends, this is also an ultimate reality that departing yourself from your loved ones, from yours family, those streets, localities, and neighbourhood where you spend yours childhood and youth is not an easy thing to do, it demands loads of courage, audacity and patience, but as you all know that big dreams ask for bigger sacrifices, so same is the case for the people who leave their homeland for their dreams, goals, and objectives.
Comparing to UK, Life here in Karachi seems to me a little bit sluggish, the reason is, there are plenty of daily routine works which I have to skip here deliberately while in old days I was so vulnerable to perform those daily activities as 'MUST DO' there in Britain. Cooking, shopping, washing clothes, cleaning are to name few of them. I also do not indulge myself with anyone in the futile debate of "comparison" between UK and Pakistan, i.e. which is good and which is better, and I often escape in such situations by saying that 'one cannot compare his shoes with Taj Mahal in anyway' and frankly speaking, to me the comparison doesn't make any sense between those two worlds who are in stark contrast of each other in most of the aspects, where one country's issue is Hunger / Poverty ( Pakistan) and the other one's Obesity (UK)
The day I have arrived here I have been facing with these three burning questions from most people…. most prominent of them is 'why did you come back to Pakistan while millions of people are so desperate to go there ' my reply is 'I have my own reasons and circumstances' the other two prominent questions are 'how is the life of Muslims over there in Britain, are they facing troubles living there' I responds to them as ' they are enjoying a far more better life than the people in Pakistan' and the third one is too personal so I better quit it and should not discuss it here …actually one cannot explain his circumstances and reasons to every passer-by for leaving and coming back and same is with my case If I don't feel comfortable answering to their 'burning' questions, I don't answer them, that's all, and don't bother about their resentment too in their response.
Karachi is having, probably the worst Load-shading these days, one can witness my body with lots of kisses by mosquitoes when I wake up the other day, after struggling, crusading with the army of these stubborn and mulish flying creatures, in an electricity-absence night……. but I need not to worry about these tiny flying irritators whenever there is Coil, or Mat in my room …... The rise of consumer banking has a prominently affected on Karachiites' life. People can afford a car or at least a bike very easily, as there are plenty of domestic and imported brands available both for four wheels and two wheelers, now. Three years back, when I left Karachi, having a cellular phone was considered a luxury to some extent….. but now I often hear the ringing of my colony's sweeper's mobile when he comes and ring my door bell for Trash …hehehehehe
Well, my Job Searching is still going on, though I have no luck so far, but I hope I will get a good one soon and I need yours pray as well in this regard.
In most part of Karachi I find construction works, plenty of fly-over, Underpasses and other relevant development works are going on. The way the new Karachi city government built flyovers and underpasses especially at Lalu Khet and Liquatabad and reduced the traffic load miraculously ... there is non stop traffic from Civic Centre till Nazimabad. Law and order situation in Karachi is commendable and consequently the Pathan hotels, restaurants, shops and bazaar opens till late night. Char Pai, Takhat or Café Pyala type hotels are growing like mushrooms and now, they are not only confined to men only but families also enjoying, eating and spending their time there. I also enjoy my time with my buddies in such hotels having tea, cold drink and *&^% (you know what I mean…. hehehehe). Also our Mamoos I mean policewalas are also not a problem for Karachiites any more, because they are under surveillance of those people who are bigger crooks than these policewalas I mean MQM ( hehehehe)……..
Well, I still have plenty of things to share which I am avoiding due to fear of getting my mail More Lengthy and More Boring so I think I must stop here but don't worry I will continue to bore you with my mails in future too…hehehehe.
OK friends, I end this mail by sharing my thoughts (and especially addressing to my all those friends who are away from their homeland for any reason) that, to some people, success might mean wealth. To others, it is recognition, good health, good family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind, hobby, higher education etc, success can mean different things to different people so just narrow down your priorities in order to declare yourself successful, my understanding is that, one should not measure his success his position, designation, salary, income, bank balance or social status in life but by the obstacles he overcame to get there…..therefore do not determine your Success in life by how you are doing compared with others in terms of salary, income etc , but by how you are doing compared with what you are capable of doing …I hope you get my point.
Any way time to leave. Keep remember me in yours prayers.
Was'Salaam and Regards
Rao Zeeshan Ali
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