Share
By Abdellatif Sharaa
society has its own unique traditions, customs, behaviors and a certain ways of communicating. What may be alright in one place may not be in another, especially when it comes to local dialects and so on. When I travelled to Morocco, a North African Arab country, for example, I was cautioned not to say certain phrases that we are used to here in the eastern part of the Arab world, because if I say them, I will get in trouble although they are supposed to be complimentary!
Now, the internet and social media are making things easier, although it is still human nature to do what one is used to. Many are the means through which we can learn about other people’s customs and traditions, including the internet, documentaries and movies, and we can pick what is beneficial and what we need to know. Still, it is much better for the enrichment of our knowledge to read about other societies and their history.
Of course I am not asking we should become anthropologists, but common knowledge, and knowledge itself, is a wealth like no other. There may be some people out there who believe that I am promoting and pushing for picking up the habit of reading, and I am, because this is what will take us to new horizons and add to the civilization of mankind, and let us not forget that early civilizations were born out of the book.
There are sayings that mean a lot and need to be understood so that their logic and wisdom can be well digested. I chose few lines to share with our dear readers, such as:
• Illness is a destiny, but treatment is a decision.
• Marriage is a destiny, and divorce is a decision.
• Having people in your life is a destiny, keeping them is a decision.
• If you do not own destiny, you have decision.
• If there are any faults in the body, they can be concealed with two yards of fabric, but faults of the thought can be exposed during the first discussion.
• Illness is not in the body alone, but in manners and morals also, so if you meet someone with bad manners, pray that he be cured, and thank God for being free from what he is suffering from.
• We are created from a spermatozoon, so do not judge people by their looks; rather judge them by what is in their hearts.
• We originated from mud and the best of our clothes come from a worm, and the tastiest of our foods comes from a bee, and our resting place underground is a hole.
• It is amazing how one can find an excuse for everything, and does not excuse people for anything.
• The butterfly, despite its beauty, is an insect.
• A cactus despite its harshness is a flower.
• Be whatever you want to be because today you are walking, and tomorrow you may be buried.
• Do good regardless of how small it may be, as you do not know what deed may take you to heaven!
