You don’t need weapons, artillery and nuclear bombs to destroy a Nation, when you have shitty apps to addict Its youth to; indebt It with “helpful” loans; and when you own the majority parts of Its most strategic places…
Dear Pegs, War’s already won.
The way you interact with people, the words you use, and the grace you choose (or fail) to display, introduces them to your upbringing, your family and your background.
However cliche and offensive this may sound, it IS a fact.
And I’m not talking about money here. I’m talking about simple kindness, thoughtfulness and humility that comes from empathy, education, and more importantly, enlightenment.
Before you get worked up at someone who’s probably offended you, try to pause for a second, and think that may be…just may be…this person is
going through chaos in her/his life. As they say “those who are heartless, once cared too much.”
Each person is a whole story in her/him-self. We’re all travelers who owe kindness to one another. Your act of goodness, no matter how small, will return to you somehow, from somewhere, from someone.
A humble word of kindness, a little bit of consideration, basic etiquettes, forgiveness and help will reveal and accentuate your polished-self from the rest who are too busy making clowns out of themselves.
Humans are intelligent. They know how to decipher. And even though they may play political games, and never acknowledge the truth , they DO recognize a kind and genteel person’s family and social values and the refined way she/he has been brought up.
Yes, people do take kindness as “naivety,” and that kills…they ARE self-centred and they Will hurt and exploit you, and think they’re being clever… that IS a harsh reality…but when you lift yourself beyond the worldly meagreness, and do things for God, you get rewarded multifold and you’re at peace. It’s an unearthly deal.
So, try to prevent yourself from pouring more negativity in people’s already-messed-up lives. Choose happiness for yourself and for others. And let people respect your parents, family and background when you interact and talk with them.
It’s a blessing being around good people!
One day when She won’t be around…
You’d have to call upon someone else to help you
You’d have to seek someone else for sincere advice
You’d have to ask someone else to listen to you
You’d have to trust someone else with your important affairs
You’d have to rely on someone else to fix things
You’d have to ultimately understand the truths and realise Her worth…
…when She’s gone.
PS:
“She” is a metaphor. It can also be translated into anything, or anyone, whose real worth we understand only when it’s too late.
So, “She,” apart from being a loved one, can be a pet; time; a job/business opportunity; a relationship; a mentor; a lesson; or any blessing taken for granted.
We let our children rule over us, misbehave with us, and justify it under the camouflage of “pampering, mood swings, and freedom of speech.”
What we fail to understand is that children who disregard and disrespect the people who’ve given them birth, won’t give two hoots about anyone else.
Now you may be okay with getting battered by your blood, but others don’t owe you anything to tolerate that nonsense.
So, please, refrain from turning your kids into pain in the a****.
Thankyousomuch!
“Beep!” I curse, looking at my reflection in the mirror, noticing my dilating baldness. “This inflation will be the end of me!”
I am Mehrab (aka, Mehroo Miyaan,) a 40-year old manager at a restaurant, who endeavours to make ends meet for his family of five.
My wife, Noor, our three children, and I uncomfortably sleep in the same room – our 8 year old twin sons on the ground and 5 year old daughter in between us. You see, we can afford only one cooler, which runs only when the Karachi-heat becomes unbearable.
“Noor” I whisper to my wife, “remind me to sell the washing machine tomorrow. The rent is due…Don’t worry, I’ll help you wash the clothes.”
She just stares at me, a clump forming in her throat.
“I’ll restart my slush cart business next month, InShaa Allah”, I reluctantly add, before weeping myself to sleep.
Fortunately, I am an ethical Pakistani breadwinner, who has the mammoth responsibility of fending for his family with a paltry income of 40000 rupees, and that too without a complete loss of self-respect. My family plays a pivotal role in this scenario by strangling their aspirations; adjusting spending patterns; and killing their needs and wants to deal with the chronic financial burdens.
We use buses and rickshaws, thanks to the spiking fuel prices. We rarely go for picnics. Every rupee matters. Fruits and meat are a luxury, so Noor mostly cooks vegetables. We abide by strict no food-wastage and “do it yourself” policies.
If our children want new toys or clothing, they often just stay quiet. When they can’t help requesting, and it’s ‘beyond our budget,’ we tell them “there’s no need now” or “we’ll get it from another shop.” Or advise them to share each other’s books, clothes, shoes…sometimes even undergarments!
My family’s new clothes are bought on Eid or during sales. I don’t fancy that opulence for myself. Sometimes Noor skips events to save herself from embarrassment of wearing the same clothes.
There’s almost no room for saving after paying the school fees, rent, utility bills, taxes, grocery expenses, and medicines out of my unfair income. It is unfair in the face of the overtime I work, no work-life balance and the humiliation I face at the hands of my boss.
When my salary runs out on the 20th of the month, I get haunted by the frustration of trying to make sense of the constant spike in prices of the basic necessities and indirect taxes; the exasperation of not being rewarded fairly for my hard work; the injustice of nepotism; the helplessness and inability to get my children educated at well-reputed private schools, which I was debarred from, and to give Noor all the happiness in the world, and to set everything right for us.
Exhaustion leads to indignation.
“No! We cannot afford another child!” Noor cries when I try to get my frustration out through intimacy after another labouring day. “I’m sick and tired of everything, Mehroo! Let me work! We have three children to educate! We have to arrange dowry for our daughter! Where will we get the money from…?”
“You’re too precious for me…If only I had money and helpful contacts” I wonder.
“I’ll do two jobs…expand my slush business…or sell my belongings…I’ll get a loan…” I whimper…
“And pay interests on it? Where will you get the money for that?” Noor interrupts, giving me a reality check.
The air becomes heavy with silence and agony.
“Baba…Ammi?” Imaan, our daughter, whispers, peeking from behind the door, “I’m tired…want to sleep.”
The lingering tragedy instantly gets replaced by hope brought in by Imaan who is sick and whose proper, but extortionate, medical treatment can’t be afforded currently. I take my little angel into my arms and Noor helps me put her to sleep.
“I’m sorry,” cries Noor weakly, holding my hand.
“These struggles will soon end, remember Allah has said “Verily, with every hardship, there is ease,” I reassure her…and myself – that’s the only thing I have undoubtedly: “faith in Allah.”
“Apni mehroomiyaan chupaatey hain, hum ghareebon ki aan baan mein kya” ~ Jon Elia.
Whether you plan to start a business, maintain or expand one, you need funds. And for that you must have a financial strategy in place. There are various sources of finance that you can opt for depending on:
i) The stage at which your business is
ii) The amount of money required
iii) The scale of required expansion
iv) Personal savings versus external borrowing
v) Your and your business’s credibility
vi) The rate of return of investment
vii) Profits for the investors
Once the aforementioned factors are determined, you can go for the following five effective ways to finance your business.
1. Personal Savings/“bootstrapping”
2. Family and Friends
If you are starting a business or need a relatively small amount of finance easily, you can use your personal savings, or borrow from family and friends.
3. Crowdfunding
For a bigger pool of funds, you can go for crowdfunding using sites like Fundable, IndieGoGo and/or Kickstarter.
4. Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists
Once your business is steadily generating revenue, you can consider Angel Investors and Venturer Capitalists like Yusuf Jan, Mian Ali, DotZero Ventures, Angel Investment Network Pakistan, IJARA Group, Lakson Group, 47 Ventures, National ICTRD, SEED, etc, in Pakistan.
You can search for angel investors and venture capitalists in your region/country.
5. Bank Loans
When your business is established, in later stages, you will have to go for bank loans to finance innovation and expansion. Be ready with financial information and collateral to get the help of Venture Capitalists and Bank Loans.
Apart from the five financing ways mentioned above, you can also:
• Take a partner, and utilise the money that comes that way
• Go for factoring, selling your receivables to generate finance or
• Have pre-product sales
Utilising any of these financing methods, you can effectively generate a considerable amount of money to start, maintain or expand your business.
We seldom realize the power of sincere intentions and of God’s concern for us, and underestimate the reality of miracles. But sometimes, God shows us what His mercy and generosity is all about.
In the year of 2005, my mother, brother, grandfather and I went to Saudi Arabia for our minor holy pilgrimage, called “Umrah.”
It was the last day of our trip, and it was my mother’s and my last hour in Madina (Saudi Arabia). We went to our Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Mosque (“Masjid-e-Nabvi”) to offer our night (“Isha”) prayers. Offering prayers inside the mosque in congregation is considered a great blessing. And since this was our last visit to the Mosque during that trip, and our last chance to offer prayers there in congregation, it was important for both of us to offer our prayers inside the Mosque. But this was not possible anymore – or so it seemed…
My mother was carrying a bottle of pickles, our passports, and other valuable items in her bag. We had forgotten that food items were not allowed inside the Mosque, and hence, when the gate-guard stopped my mother from taking her bag inside, we were left with only one way out. My mother told me to go inside and offer my prayer in congregation, while she stayed outside with the bag – she could not leave the bag outside since there were valuable things in it, and there is always a fear of losing them no matter where one is.
She was making that sacrifice for me.
I reluctantly went inside (I had never been alone in the Mosque) and upon entering it, I fell on the freshly mopped floor. No one bothered to help me get up, and I felt that if my mother were there, she would have supported me…every woman passing by, just looked at me and walked off. Sad, isn’t it? A lack of empathy in such a holy place! A lack of kindness near the tomb of the most kind man that ever lived! Charateristics completely opposite of him (p.b.u.h.) You pray to your Lord, you send blessings on the Prophet (p.b.u.h) but you are so far away from his Sunnah (acts)!
Anyway, so, I got up, gathered myself, and moved towards an empty space to get myself ready for the prayers. Feeling lonely, I quietly sat down, and waited for the congregational prayer to begin. Then, God instilled my mind with an idea: I thought of offering my prayers early (not in congregation), then going out and sending my mother in so that she could offer her prayers in congregation. You know, a win-win solution.
So, I offered my prayers early and quickly ran out to find my mother. But to my dread, she was nowhere in sight! I frantically searched for her everywhere I could…I would have continued searching for her, but then I heard the congregational prayers start, so sadly and disheartened, I went back inside – I felt scared of the being lost among strangers from the same Faith.
With a heavy heart, just as I was about to take my stand for the prayers, I spotted someone like my mother standing some distance away from where I was. I went up to her, and to my delightful surprise, it was my mother! I cannot express the joy and peace I felt upon seeing her!
Before I could ask her anything, the congregational prayer started. Throughout the prayers, I kept crying. I was overwhelmed by the miracle I just witnessed! I could not stop acknowledging how God gave both of us the opportunity to offer our last prayers in the Mosque in congregation!
After the prayers were over, I asked her how she managed to come inside the Mosque before the prayers started. She informed me that the gate-guard had been understanding and kind enough to keep the pickle-bottle with her, while my mother went inside the Mosque to offer her prayers.
Miraculously, God had given both of us an opportunity to offer our prayers inside the Mosque, in congregation! While both of us were ready to make sacrifices for each other, God blessed us both.! That’s the power of having good intentions!
From that day onward, I strongly believe that when you wish for something with a true heart; when your intentions are right; when you are ready to sacrifice for your loved ones; and when you are grateful, God blesses you beyond your imagination!
Happy Faith! 🙂
Amna Rayhon 