Badawiya's Guide to Life

• You can never learn from your mistakes. The magnitude of the mistake lies in the reason behind it. And that is so very subjective.

• You can never play according to the rules. The rules depend on the game. Master a few games and you can get away with almost anything. Including murder.

• Don’t look inside yourself for the answers.. that’s bullshit. The answer is outside of you, if you knew the answers you wouldn’t be looking for them in the first place! It’s not about you. It’s about the others. The world around you. In sociology I learned that a person is a sum of all his experiences and acquaintances. His spirituality, norms and obligations are dictated by the people around him. Therefore, the inside is governed by the outside right? Look for the world you want to be part of, go to it and there you will find the answers.
  Life is so full of different games and playgrounds. Stick to one game, one playground and then your justifications I will accept. Don’t justify polygamy to me using Islam, when you are not a Muslim.

• If what is clear and simple to you is vague and complicated to me. Don’t be disappointed. It has nothing to do with intellect. It may be the curse of being brilliant. Einstein had a hard time counting his change , so do I.

• Mature. This word shouldn’t be a word. A person has to mature in a lot of things and it doesn’t happen at the same time. Physically, intellectually and socially are to name a few.
  Well rounded- I thought of it as maturity but now I know that it is even more. To be have a well rounded personality is actually NOT POSSIBLE. Nobody is perfect. Intellectuals have minimum social skills, the religious have no clue about what’s really going on. Politicians are bound to get their hands dirty, mothers are biased when it comes to their kids, the under privileged have no etiquette, provincial people don’t have a sense of fashion….

• Tolerance- It all boils down to this. You want to be mature, you want to be well rounded ? Be Tolerant. Be Human. Be sensitive to others around you, their circumstances, their backgrounds. Judge the whole picture not the moment. Understand that there are reasons behind how people act and why they’ve become what they are. Realize that beneath it all we are fundamentally the same, ruled by the same basic needs and emotions. She is a mother too, he is a brother too, We all strive for a better quality of life … Be tolerant. Don’t spoil the few moments you’ve been blessed with when all of you different people come together for one purpose, be tactful even if the person offending you is not. Don’t stoop to a lower level just to communicate your thoughts. If that’s the only way to get your point across let it be, walk away, you don’t need people like that in your life anyway! In the end, after the joys and tears, after all the years they will let you down. The longer it takes… the more disappointing it is. So spare yourself.