Once, when Maulana Mubarak Nazeer Sahib was speaking, a Christian woman donning a beautiful headdress, turned to me and - tears streaming down her face - exclaimed “God has touched this man! God has touched this man!”

How right she was.

Once, while speaking to a mixed audience An audience of scholars and children alike, he started his speech:

“I am no scholar. I am not knowledgeable like all of you. But I have drank the water of 30 countries. So please, lend me your ear a brief moment. You may find something that quenches your thirst.”

The End of the World No One is Talking About.

A Thread.

When we think of all life ending, a lot of things come to mind. Cataclysmic meteors, the sun’s expansion burning earth to a crisp, massive flooding by melted ice caps, the greenhouse effect.

But the most imminent one.. Has very little to do with 100 million years from now, and everything to do with yesterday.

Since the beginning of this year (3 days ago) we’ve lost almost 25,000 sq. Km’s of land to “desertification.”In the last week, almost 80,000.

We are literally “deserting” the earth.

THREAD #WorldSuicidePreventionDay

FACT: If a person who expresses a particular plan to take their own life(which they can also carry out) he/she is far more likely to do it.

Suicide prevention isn’t just about stopping the physical attempt.

It’s about looking for the signs: #WorldSuicidePreventionDay
#Suicide is a storm which was forecasted by certain signs which we missed.

•Suicide rates are highest in teens, young adults, & elderly.

• People over 65 have highest rate of suicide.

Our best tool against suicide is in showing them we care.

THREAD: “A FLIGHT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE.”

#sundayvibes #ItsOkayToNotBeOkay

I remember it like it was yesterday.

I sat sandwhiched between entitlement and poverty on an international flight.

Only I didn’t know it yet.

A white blond woman was seated next a Pakistani man. She was perhaps in her forties and looked well-to-do.

The man next to her was wearing traditional Pakistani attire and was thin as they come.

I could tell from his face that he had been through the ringer. Life had not been easy for him. He looked famished but resilient.

THREAD:

How #Canada Saved My Life: A #CanadaDay2020 Story

When a country gives you a chance at life, you become willing to give your life for it.

Those of us whose parents migrated to Canada opened our eyes in a paradise and silver spoons in our mouths. We would never know the horrors that they escaped, the harrowing sacrifices they made, the unspeakable corruption they endured, the invisible injuries that still haunt them.

My parents were coveted government criminals in Pakistan. Their persecution was state-sanctioned.

THREAD: The Disgusting Culture of Self-Racism in our Own Homes.

“Don’t drink tea - you’ll turn black.”

“Don’t go in the sun. You’ll darken and no one will marry you.”

“Wash your face with milk to become whiter.”

A True Story.

Pic Credit: Adam Jones.

#GeorgeFloydMemorial An acquaintance once told me a story:

She says, “I once walked in on a friend crying in the bathroom. She had cream all over her face, hands and neck. Different products. She was about 10 years old. She was trying to wash the color of her skin away.”

Pic: Pixabay