thinking | 7aki Fadi

Little 7aki: A Philosophical Question

Posted on June 20, 2011 by 7aki Fadi

There are under water statues in cancoon! Google it, so amazing.

I took the girls swimming this weekend. Little 7aki was drying herself after we got out of the water.

Little 7aki: Mama?

7aki: Yes.

Little 7aki: Are we wet when we are underwater?

7aki: haaaaa?

Little 7aki: I mean, when we come out of the water we are wet; but are we wet under water? I don’t think we are wet underwater.

7aki: Hmmmmm.

Little 7aki: Yeah, we are not wet because we are (while motioning all around her body with her hands) surrounded by water but are not wet. But when you get out of the water you get wet!

7aki: Ah.. um … hmmmmm, that’s really interesting!

________________________________________

If a tree falls and no one hears it; did the tree really fall?

I am amazed that little 7aki was even thinking of this question and I had no clue what the answer was! So I went to my best friend google and googled it and you would not believe how many ADULT people are asking this question.

The funniest answers I read:

holy shizzzcake i never thought of it that way.
dudeee!!
your like a genius O_o

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. That one really made me laugh out loud!

Yes you are wet…*bangs head on wall*…what drugs are you on? Can I have some?

Can I have some too?

WTF? are you stupid or something?

But IS the poster stupid?

Philosophically I would say , depends, the answer could be a yes or a no I quote one of the answers:

Wetness is only felt when there is an outer state of dryness to distinguish the presence of liquid on oneself.
…
You can’t distinguish dryness from wetness underwater not because the state of wetness does not exist but because the state of dryness does not exist. Take an analogy of the state of dreaming, when you are in a deep dream you sometimes can’t distinguish it from reality. That does not mean you are not dreaming. Similarly just because when you are underwater and the sensation is not the same when you get out of the water does not mean you were not wet underwater.

But scientifically I have no clue!

What do YOU think?

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, life changing, Little 7aki, Philosophy, thinking, Thought Provoking | Leave a Comment »

The Well-dressed Ape: A Natural History Of Myself

Posted on May 26, 2010 by 7aki Fadi

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT.

I have not read a non fiction kinda scientific book (biology) in a while that was sooooo much fun, the author, Hannah Holmes, is hilariuos. At one point in the book she stood in the front of the mirror naked and used herself as a study specimen and OMG I couldn’t stop laughing.

She manages to use self deprecating humor in such a great balance that I giggled throughout the whole book but still got SO much information out of it.

The book is VERY informative but NEVER boring. It’s like the books : A short history of nearly everything and a short history of progress.

Well as the title suggest the book talks about humans and studies them as if they were animals, talks about the food they eat, their habitat , mating rituals, their brains , even why they have hair and many many things.

I urge you to read it, not a lot of times do you find books that educate you AND entertain you at the same time.

I am going to bookmark all her books.

3 thumbs up! Maybe in 10000 years after humans evolve another thumb.

Respect for Women

Posted on March 13, 2010 by 7aki Fadi

The first time I tasted total and complete independence I found it liberating.

This happened during my University years, in one of the summer terms to be specific. I had gotten a job that required me to stay away from home for a month. It was the first time I have ever lived , worked and was on my own and it was the most liberating experience I have ever had.

I was away from home, working, making my own decisions albeit it was temporary but it gave me the drive to succeed in my studies, get a job and become my own boss (in terms of money) You make your own money and you spend it however you see fit.

I was lucky to have had a supporting family , and I so do hate using the word lucky because such things are a right not a privilege, but I do say lucky because I do realize how so many other women in Jordan in particular and in the Middle East in general do not have the opportunity to experience independence.

I am not saying only teenage girls but fully grown women even in their 30′s or 40′s who still have some difficulties being the decider in their lives. It’s funny, in a sad way, that even women who were old enough to get married and raise a family and after losing their husbands either ot death or divorce are not allowed to live on their own, yes you can raise kids and shape their lives but you can’t live on you own and decide what to do with your life.

And I sit there and contemplate ways to change the status quo and with all my heart I think our hope for change lies in the future.

Lets raise kids who will grow up to respect women.

It’s a chain and it starts with us women, raise your girls and boys with that goal in mind, raise your boys to respect women and raise your girls to value themselves and their strength who in turn will carry these values on to their kids.

Respect that will lead to many other positive changes.

I know I am a bit late posting for international womens day but I couldn’t let it pass without mention.

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, Freedom, human rights, random, thinking, Thought Provoking | 13 Comments »

Not a Happy Ending in Sight: A Fine Balance

Posted on January 8, 2010 by 7aki Fadi

I have never in my life read a book so full of despair, every time you think there is hope and your spirits lift you turn the page and you get crushed by the reality of life.

And yet I could not stop reading “A Fine Balance “ or stop turning the pages so fast.

The book tells the story of four different people who struggle through life in India during the 1947 Emergency called by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash and Maneck .

Dina comes from a well to do family, her struggle is for independence so she does not have to rely on her brother to live

Ishvar and Omprakash struggle , and I have to say the most, to overcome their Chamar — Caste and the status of being untouchables . Their story is heart breaking and haunting and just plain WRONG, makes me angry to think some people have to go through what they went through.

And Maneck who never had to go through a hard day in his life struggles with his identity, his relationship with his father and the feeling that he can’t measure up to his father’s expectations.

Each of these characters have a different struggle and I often wanted to smack some sense in Dina , Maneck and Ishvar because I felt some of the struggles they went through could have been avoided and are unnecessary but none the less felt for them and wanted them to succeed .

Not a lot of books leave me thinking beyond a week after reading and this book did. The characters came to life and I felt their pain beyond the pages and I felt they were real people and I wanted them to be happy . It’s been 3 weeks since I read it and the story still haunts me.

This book is cruel and depressing and AMAZING, a life-changing read, and one that I would be truly sorry to see anyone miss out on.

You have to, HAVE TO, read this book, all 624 pages of it.

Currently reading: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

His Dark Materials

Posted on November 15, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

I watched the movie “The golden compass” when it first came out, although I haven’t had read the book at the time, and was very disappointed in it. I thought it could have been much more. So I was hesitant to read the books.

A year ago as I was browsing in one of those cheap books stores I found the whole trilogy for a very good price and I could not resist buying it. Forward one year , I was low on reading material so I grabbed it and I was pleasantly surprised! I was kicking myself for not reading them sooner.

I just have finished reading His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass).

The trilogy is geared towards children but I have to say that it needs a level of maturity to be read. I belive that maybe the kids should be at least 11- 13 to read it since it does contain some information that could be hard to process.

In the books we get to know the 11 year old brave girl Lyra Belacqua and her daemon Pantalaimon who live in a parallel world to ours in Oxford. Lyra takes us with her on her adventure were we get to meet many interesting beings who become her closest friends and allies.

What I found surprising (and I truly did not expect in the books) was the religious (or anti religious as some people would say) aspect of it. It talks about how religion corrupts and how it could turn people into evil beings. It talks about angles and death. It talks about how the soul occupies not only us, but the whole world. It talks about God and the idea of God .

All of these things existence and purpose are questioned and searched.

Truly a thought-provoking trilogy, surprisingly philosophical. The author is truly talented when it comes to creating all these fantasy parallel worlds to ours.

Wether you are a person of faith or not I encourage you to read it. The trilogy is very well written and very thought-provoking.

Next review: The Blind Assassin by Margarete Atwood

Click here for more reviews.

Filed under: Book, Book Review, Books, fiction, Good read, Philosophy, thinking, Thought Provoking | 4 Comments »

To vaccinate or not To Vaccinate That is the Question – The Swine Flu Edition

Posted on October 23, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

The H1N1 vaccine is finally ready in Canada and it’s getting shipped out to all clinics and I have to make the decision whether to give it to my Girls or not. So I am beyond confused and here is what I got:

- Our family Doctor said, don’t do it, too risky since it was not tested enough
- Every Doctor on TV says, do it , it’s safe, the benefit outweighs the risks by a million
- Most importantly, Dr Hareega says to do it.
- My coworkers sisters brother in law – who is a doctor – says don’t do it.

My question is, are the doctors basing their recommendations on pure science or are they using their personal judgment? Because it seems every doctor is saying something different. Usually doctors agree but it seems they are split right in the middle.

I decided that I am certainly getting it for myself since I get the regular flu shot every year and this shot is no different. Maybe give it to my 5 year old since last year she took the regular flu shot for the first time. But should I give it to the baby? My Husband says he does not want to take it, so if he gets sick he will get the baby sick.

Everybody I know who got the H1N1 Flu got really sick, thankfully did not have to be hospitalized but still suffered a lot.

What should I do?

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, 7aki peanut, baby, family, Little 7aki, Mothering, thinking | 10 Comments »

On Being Busy

Posted on April 7, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

The eternal argument between women who stay at home and women who work is who’s busier and who does more work the woman that balances family and career or the woman who chose her family as a career.

To be honest, now that I am staying at home for a year it feels I am much busier now than when I was working. Granted my house work is the same, I mean I had to cook then and now I do too, the laundry had to be done and the house needed to be cleaned but now instead of dedicating 10+ hours a day to go to work and work and come back I dedicate those 10 hours to my family and home.

While I was working I was updating my blog more, I was visiting more blogs and I was commenting on those blogs and chatting with friends. Now it seems that I do check some blogs but the list is getting smaller and smaller. I hardly comment on any blogs including mine because I am so busy.

How in the heck was I working and beinga Mom? I think one had to suffer and unfortunately it was the family. I feel that we are a much happier family that I am home. Little 7aki is happier, I am happier, baba 7aki is happier. It feels less stressful now that I am home and everybody is taken care of.

I have to go back to work in September and for the first time in my life I don’t want to. I always thought I wanted the career and the both family and work but not anymore. I would love to stay at home for a real balanced life and not having to take orders from stupid people or hang around people I hated just because I share the same workspace with them.

2 years ago I said if I won the lottery I would not quit my job but now, I would quit in a heartbeat.

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, family, life, Mothering, thinking, work | 9 Comments »

Will Goodness Win?

Posted on March 9, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

Goodness [good-nis] : integrity, honesty, uprightness, probity. Goodness, morality, virtue refer to qualities of character or conduct that entitle the possessor to approval and esteem. Goodness is the simple word for the general quality recognized in character or conduct

I was reading “The lion, the witch and the wardrobe” to little 7aki the other day. We got to the part when the white witch was chaining Aslan to the stone table. It was midway through the book and it appeared as if the white witch was defeating Aslan.

After a thoughful moment little 7aki asked me: ” Do good people always win?” .

I said: ” Yes sweety, good people always win”.

Little 7aki said: ” But Aslan didn’t win, the white witch won”

I told her: ” Aslan did not win now, but he will win at the end, good people ALWAYS win.”

But in my heart I was sad because I told a lie. Good people don’t always win and bad people win many times.

Will little 7aki grow up and try to be good only to get hurt? Will it break her heart? Should I prepare her or should I let the world teach her?

She will know, pretty fast, that no, good people don’t always win. Badness wins most of the time.

I guess for now I like her to live in her little beautiful perfect world where being good is rewarded and good people always win and bad people lose.

Filed under: Book, fa3es, family, life, Little 7aki, Mothering, Philosophy, thinking, Thought Provoking | 11 Comments »

Why? Some Pointless Questions

Posted on February 26, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

1) When we store eggs why do we have to put the pointy side down?

2) How are diapers made? And what’s that super absorbent gel?

3) Why does baby breath smell soooo good? I swear it smells like vanilla or like sweetness and yummyness. I think we should bottle that smell, it could make any woman swoon. I think it’s the baby’s gums that add to the OMGodness, OMG the gums are soooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome!!!!!! I love the gums, I can’t say enough about how much I LOVE THE TOOTHLESS GUMS. So help me God.

4) Why do I torture myself and stay up late after the kids go to sleep at night and suffer in the morning? I HATE ME …. sometimes.

5) Why are you reading this post?

6) Why is the sky blue? I always forget this piece of information, no matter how many times I look it up, I forget.

7) Why do bloggers say goodbye and say I am done with blogging forever and blah blah and then they come back? These people bore me, I mean, if you want to stop blogging you just do that, you stop. Like Hani, he just stopped, Hani, we miss you come back

8 ) Will I ever be able to live in an Arab country again? Especially Jordan?

9) Seriously. Why are you reading this post?

10) Why do I want to have another baby when my baby is only five months old? Peoples, I have the “I want to have a baby” fever and I HAVE A BABY already!!!! Maybe I’m a quintuplet Mom in the making?
But peanut is sooooooooo good peoples, and did I tell you her breath smells sweet and delicious?

11) Who is the MOFO who said women have to remove the hair on their bodies? Who started this MOFO trend? Well, if you find that person AKA MOFO tell them I said EF YOU, MOFO!!!!

12) Why do people, when they travel to a different country, go shopping although the place they live has the exact same stuff? It’s like vacation makes the money you have seem like monopoly money. So, why?

13) Why are we on this earth?
I think we are on this earth to smell babies sweet breath. Cos peoples, I tell you, it’s worth it. I am going to start a new religion. I’ll call it BSB HAHAHAHA

14) Is funk dead?

15) What is funk?

16) How do they sell liquid milk that is not refrigerated? How is it made? Does is scare you that it does not spoil outside of the fridge? Is it made of alien milk?

17) Why is cabin fever called cabin fever?

18) Why?

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, baby, fa3es, less-than-nothing, life, Mindless Crap, Philosophy, ramble, random, Rant, thinking, Thought Provoking | 12 Comments »

The Waiting Place

Posted on February 4, 2009 by 7aki Fadi

You can get so confused

that you’ll start in to race

down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace

and going on for miles across weirdish wild space,

headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The waiting place…

… for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or waiting around for a Yes or No

or waiting around for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite

or waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a Better Break

or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants

or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

By Dr. Suess

Filed under: fiction, Good read, life, Poem, Poetry, thinking, Thought Provoking | 1 Comment »

A Dose of Philosophy: Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy

Posted on June 19, 2008 by 7aki Fadi

I just finished reading Sophie’s World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder.

This book is sooooo insightful and so amazing it will blow your mind away.

It’s like Philosophy for dummies, gives you the ideas behind each school of thought and explains it quite well.

It’s starts with the Garden of Eden, the natural philosophers, Fate, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and keeps going until it reaches Marx , Darwin, Freud and finally ending with the big bang.

What I loved about the book is that it tells philosophy in novel format, mixing the story of a 14 year old, Sophie, who starts receiving mysterious letters in the mail asking her very hard questions like: What is Philosophy? Who are you? And Where does the world come from?

The sender of these letters is an old man called Alberto Knox. With his letters Alberto and Sophie start exploring the intriguing world of Philosophy.

This Novel is fantasy colliding with reality where you are forced to think about Religion, Science the Universe , God and way more important things than what you usually think about, unless of course, you are a philosopher.

A page turner, didn’t want to put it down. Might be difficult in some spots but definitely an extraordinary book to read.

I rarely read a book twice but I will definitely read this one again because its going on the list of my favorite books of all time. It even might be number one.

Go read it. Especially you Observer, you would really love it.

Currently Reading: Notes From the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Next in line: The Lucifer Effect: Understanding how good people turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo.

For more reviews click here

Filed under: Book, Book Review, Books, fiction, Good read, non fiction, Philosophy, religion, thinking, Thought Provoking | 10 Comments »

About Coming Out of The Closet

Posted on April 10, 2008 by 7aki Fadi

Being Gay anywhere in the world is not easy but it is extra difficult in the middle east and other conservative/religious countries.

I always wonder, is it harder to be a Gay man than a Gay woman? Is it easier for the women because in some way it’s kind of a bit more acceptable and is actually a fantasy for some men?

But what I want to talk about is that every human being has maternal/paternal instincts that are really strong. In countries where homosexuality is not accepted and in some cases is illegal and punishable by law you find a lot of gay people who get married just to satisfy that instinct and also to appear “normal” in the eyes of the society and chose to live a secret double life where they get to have the happy family life and have a gay partner on the side.

There are a lot of Gay men who do it because it’s easier than facing society and it’s not only restricted to the countries mentioned above ; the latest case that was all over the media was the Governor of New York who was married and had kids and just recently came out of the closet and admitted that he was Gay which put an end to his political career.

I think it is hurtfuland damaging to the kids and spouse when they find out the truth. The spouse who thinks they have a perfect marriage just to find out their partner is gay, the kids who, depending on their age, might have trouble understanding the situation.

The issue though is that Gay people are doomed if they do and doomed if they don’t.

If they choose to come out of the closet then they are shunned by society in countries that have no legal rights for gay partners , no gay marriage or any adoption laws which means they will never even dream of having a child On the other hand if they do get married and have children they are living a lie and deceiving everybody around them ; their kids, their spouse , but most importantly themselves.

I think that both decisions are hard but being true to oneself and to the people around you is the most important thing no matter at what cost.

Filed under: 7aki mish fadi, human rights, life, people, ramble, random, thinking | 16 Comments »

Topless Babies, Cute or a NO NO?

Posted on March 4, 2008 by 7aki Fadi

I was reading this post which made me remember my last visit to Amman almost 3.5 years ago

Little 7aki was only 4 months old at the time. A month prior to that I had some professional photos taken of her and one of them was her dressed up like a fairy, so she was topless in it with fairy wings, the photo was soooo cute.

I brought my Mom a copy of the picture because I was sure she is going to love it, and she did, right away she framed it and hung it up on the wall.

Some family friends came over to visit to see little 7aki , I knew these people since I can remember, since I was sooo little so I was super excited and was showing them little 7aki’s photo album and some photos I took in Amman and in a couple of them little 7aki was topless . The guy told me flat out that I shouldn’t be taking any topless pictures of my daughter and if I did I shouldn’t be showing them to people and that my mom should not put this picture up on the wall.

I had heard this comment in Canada before from 2 different men (who happened to be single with no kids of their own), one was pure Canadian born and raised and another one was Arab, at how I shouldn’t be showing this picture to people and how it made them uncomfortable.

Until this day I really don’t get it, how can a topless baby picture make people uncomfortable, IT’S A BABY that’s only 3 months old!

And if the photo was of a boy you’d be OK with it? I mean all babies look the same be it boys or girls! It’s not like the baby was naked or anything and I was showing any private parts!

It got me to thinking, do the men who feel uncomfortable have something wrong with them? Is it because they don’t have kids of their own that they feel weird about it? Culture in this case was not the factor since Canadians and Arabs alike said it made them uncomfortable.

I also remembered a statistic I’ve read somewhere that showed that men who fathered children especially men who fathered girls were very less likely to become pedophiles or to look at children as sex objects than men who never fathered children. I know that this statistic of course does not include all men, but it was done on the pedophiles and a huge percentage of them had never had a child or if they did have one they were never involved in taking care of them like changing the diaper or bathing them, etc etc (sorry I tried to find the source but I had read it in the newspaper)

Makes you think.

So I need your opinion readers:

Topless baby girl pictures, cute or a no no ?

Filed under: family, life, Mothering, people, ramble, random, thinking, Thought Provoking | 31 Comments »

Stand well back of the yellow line

Posted on December 19, 2007 by 7aki Fadi

The yellow line stops me from quiting

The yellow line stops me from leaving everything behind

The yellow line stands between me and betrayal

The yellow line wants me to conform

The yellow line wants me to cry, to scream

The yellow line makes me want to rebel

But I stand well back of the yellow line

I am 2 feet behind the yellow line

I don’t cross the yellow line

I don’t know what awaits me if I cross the yellow line

I don’t know. I just don’t know

I want to know

Why do you tell me to stay behind the yellow line?

I want to wipe it out, change it, erase it, repaint it

I want to experiment with it and test it and cross it and come back if I want to

I never want to see it again

But they say, just stand well back of the yellow line or ….

The yellow line stands between me and happiness

But is it happier across the yellow line?

Filed under: Philosophy, Poem, Poetry, thinking, Thought Provoking | 9 Comments »

Your most worthy opponent is you

Posted on June 13, 2007 by 7aki Fadi

I was riding on the subway today and the guy sitting next to me was wearing a T-Shirt that said:

“Your most worthy opponent is you”

It got me thinking to how true this statement is!

How many times we don’t do something because we think we can’t?

How many times a woman gets abused by her husband and chooses to stay because she thinks she can’t make it on her own and decides to leave after it’s too late?

How many times do people dream of doing great things and when the first obstacle comes they just quit?

How many times a mother stands and does nothing knowing that her child is being abused by someone close for fear of losing her partner?

How many times ……..

It makes me sick how humans are so weak sometimes.

For me, I let my opponent win when I don’t speak up when I know I need to. I hate myselfs guts afterwards. But I am working on it and getting much better .

Do you remember a time when your opponent won?

Filed under: life, people, thinking | 11 Comments »

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