Lesson I

By a series of improbable events and a lot of hard work I now find myself living in Abu Dhabi for school. There are so many differences I could list off comparing Toronto to Abu Dhabi but in doing so would not be expressing the beauty of either.

I will be posting a series of short staggered blogs in no particular order about specific observations or lessons I have learned that have truly inspired me…living halfway around the world from my home in a new country and in a new culture.

LESSON: Reflection

4:54 6:11 12:16 3:42 6:20 7:50

Fajr Shorook Zuhr Asr Maghrib Isha

I wake up almost every morning at 4:54 to the first sounds of the mosque right outside my building. The calls to prayer continue throughout the day – during class, during meals, at the mall and at the beach. When the proclamation of faith and reflection rings across the whole city I am feeling the sensation of unity, community and spirituality present.

Although I am not religious I find myself taking this time to relax, not as procrastination, but as a time for quick meditation. I remind myself five times a day where I am, what my goals are, and who is important to me. My workload here doesn’t give me much time to feel creative but these brief breaks give me enough time to gather my thoughts.

If you make time for yourself (even just a few minutes) to pause and reflect on your day, your week, your year, or your life, you will open yourself to remember happiness and reflect on pain. Both happiness and pain are common emotions we too often suppress in our busy lives. Aside from the emotional reflection, you might find time to let your suppressed creativity come forward. I am finding that creativity when given just a small amount of time, can work rather quickly. In a few minutes you can compose movies in your mind or symphonies in your soul.

LESSON LEARNED: Life is too short to rush through.