Battling for balance.

Recently, I've been feeling as though there just aren't enough hours in the day to sleep, study, work, eat, read, write, blog, stay up to date with current affairs, stay in touch with friends and family, and finally, relax.

My life at the moment seems to be a constant battle between fitting all of the above into a single 24 hours. 

Is it even possible?!

'Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.' - Thomas Merton

^ And that is what I seem to be lacking.

Condemnation.

To the numerous amounts of people on social media asking where the Muslims are when it comes to condemning the Charlie Hebdo massacre,

Of course I am disgusted and horrified by the atrocity in Paris. And yes, I condemn the horrific actions of those people. But not because of the fact that I'm a Muslim, but because I think we should all condemn this kind of violence. 

Regardless of faith.

Condemning because of my religion, would be to admit that these individuals acted in the name of my religion.

My Islam that teaches me to pray 5 times a day.

My Islam that teaches me to respect my parents.

My Islam that teaches me to give a percentage of my wealth to charity every year.

My Islam that teaches me peace, love, and compassion. 

#Notinmyname

Syria to Sydney.. Peshawar to Paris.

For days I've been reading around what's happened in Paris, trying to wrap my head around what's gone on, and trying to think of how to respond. 

Unfortunately, this seems to be becoming a common occurrence. From seeing and hearing about the terrible news in Syria, Pakistan, Australia and now Paris, the words 'Muslim extremists' seem to have been heard so often, that they've become almost arbitrary. 

Now in terms of Charlie Hebdo in particular, I want to start by saying I am ALL for freedom of expression. When you start limiting what can and can't be said, you're going down a very slippery slope! 

However, when some people in France are stopped from wearing what they want to (i.e. the hijab and/or the veil) then does freedom of expression no longer matter? Is it exclusive to certain groups? If so, how is that fair? 

Secondly, once again, the media coverage between these sorts of events is unbelievably disproportionate. It seems that they don't even attempt to be discreet or covert in their attitude that some lives (western lives in particular), are more valuable than others.

Penultimately, what baffles me each time these sorts of events occur, is why hardly anyone seems to be interested in uncovering why these keep re-occurring. 

I don't claim to have the answers, but if we pulled together and stopped creating situations in which terrorism thrives, maybe these events would become few and far between as opposed to increasingly frequent.

Finally, to those spreading hatred. And I mean on both sides, those who are approving of the Charlie Hedbo attack, and those who got the 'Kill all Muslims' Hashtag trending, you are part of the problem. When in fact we should be striving towards a solution.

14 things I know as of 2014

1. Almost everything tastes better with Nutella (Excuse the unintentional rhyme)
2. All relationships require effort from both sides
3. There are certain things that we have no control over
4. Happiness is an emotion that fluctuates. Not a permanent state of being
5. Being alone and being lonely are two completely different things
6. Change isn't necessarily a bad thing
7. Success and achievement take time, hard work, and dedication
8. Plans are subject to change, nothing is set in stone
9. Chocolate has the ability to fix almost everything
10. Faith can keep you going even when you're at breaking point
11. Where you are born determines the quality of your life
12. Although I love reading fiction, I can't write it to save my life
13. You can control/change who you associate and surround yourself with
14. Optimism shouldn't be mistaken for naivety 

:) x