Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost...

These days, I am going through a very difficult phase in my life. A recent incident just showed me how vulnerable I am. During the past few weeks, I have put everything at stake... My life... my career... my relationship... my family. I just can’t believe in myself that I have been so stupid and foolish. In going through everything, I hurt the person who is closest to me, even though that person doesn’t have to do anything with it. I feel very guilty about myself. In my heart, I regret a lot of decisions I made in my life. I can’t turn back all those decisions... I am too far from that now... But from now on, I can only make it work better. Even though I feel I don’t have the courage to make things better, I know I must do so... as it will be good for me, my wife, my son, and my family. May Allah help me during this phase of my life.

There are moments in life when all you just need are a few words of affection; a slight assertion of hope; and a little appreciation, even though they are not meant and are coated with layers of lies. These small things can help you to move forward in life and give you courage to fight against the odds that you face in life. Sometimes all that you need is just one person who stands beside you, who believes in you and assures you that, in the end, everything will be fine; that person’s assurance that " All the obstacles and problems are transitory. If good times are not there, then surely bad times won’t last that long. A little hard work and patience are all that is needed. And in the end, it will make everything fine ". This small piece of hope can do wonders in your life and help you achieve things you might not have even thought about. That small stone of hope transforms into a mountain of strength. Patience and believe that everything happens for a reason and it's onl

I earlier thought that I would be voting for Imran Khan in the coming elections. But now I have decided I won’t be voting for anyone. It’s not like that I am in favour or against any particular political party or personality. It’s just that I do not support the idea of democrazy (democracy) anymore. I am very much against the idea of men ruling over men, whether in the form of aristocracy or democracy. Democracy is more suitable for welfare states where government officials have high moral values and have strict accountability. But in third world countries like Pakistan, where governments are corrupt and ruthless and people are divided into different sects, races, and castes, and where more than half of the population is illiterate, their minds are always occupied with earning enough to buy bread for their family at the end of the day. In such societies, democracy is greatly abused by powerful people. Meritocracy can be a good alternative, meanwhile, for such states.

At the beginning of every year, I am in the habit of writing a post in which I highlight the important events of the previous year and the changes they made in my life. I couldn't do so for 2011. Since the beginning of this year, I have been very busy. Now, after more than 6 months, I have found an opportunity and I don’t want to stop this tradition. Let me start with my memories of 2011. The year started with me and my wife shifting to Islamabad. I rented the ground portion of the house in the G10/4 sector. Its area was 5 marla (or may be less than that), and I was paying Rs. 18000 as rent, which was way less than the rent of other houses in the same area (as told to me). The house was definitely not worth it, but I didn’t have any other option and I didn’t want to live in guest houses anymore. We lived in that house for almost two and a half months, and then I went to Norway for one month. I had a skiing accident over there and got a brief concussion. Meanwhile, my sister from t