There is a very small village in the heart of Thatta where old Amma Zainab lives, in her little wooden house and mud floored veranda, no one leaves without a treat. When someone goes to visit Amma, the first thing they receive is her hug. I remember Amma's hug, her frail arms around me with a full and confident embrace, that warmth of her heart transmitting from her whole being and that moment when she held me for at least a few seconds... That is where I learnt about LOVE.

A lot of times in our experiences as entrepreneurs, activists, executives and any other leadership positions we surround ourselves with big words like struggle, hardwork, less sleep, effort, failure and success but among all those we miss on this one single word which is the core ingredient of service to any community and any nation, and that is love.

The impact of our actions in the communities we work with or people we serve highly depends on the relationships we develop with these people based on empathy, understanding and compassion for them. I really wish love should have been a part of the MDGs, and should be ensured in each of our actions.

Today on international women's day, I want to give the message we at Sughar continuously follow:

"Before providing any service, any support, any empowerment, ANY KIND of empowerment, learn to love and give love in huge chunks. And based on that love relationship, make people not your beneficiaries but your partners in action, specially women because when they are loved, they know they are worth loving and when women realize their worth, there is nothing that can keep them from changing the shape of the society they live in"!

As Mother Teresa says, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”

A few months ago in Boulder, Colorado I planned to get a photo frame for a friend of mine for his birthday and so went to the nearest Art shop.

As I asked the lady at the counter if they had those certain kind of frames, she looked up from jotting something down on her notebook and said, "no I am sorry we don't, perhaps the next shop has it".

I thanked her and started walking towards the door but then it hit me, something about her eyes was not right. I went back to her and said, "excuse me... I am so sorry but you look kind of sad, can I give you a hug"? After a startled expression on her face she walked out of the counter and we hugged for a few seconds until her whole body trembled and tears rolled off her face. "I have just had a few weeks of tough time at home", she said honestly... "today was the worst but I thank you for this, it makes a really big difference". There was an awkward pause in each of her word as she was definitely feeling weird for hugging a random traditionally-dressed girl. But the feeling of loss that I had seen in her eyes at first seem to have fad a bit and that smile was enough to make that moment more beautiful and powerful.

After saying our goodbyes, as I walked out of the door I felt a million years of warmth and peace in my heart. That melting feeling of joy that passed from my heart and veins to all corners of my body told me to celebrate a human connection which does not ask for rationality, reasoning, and answers. It just loves and finds joy in it.

Wanted to share this with you friends to remind you that there are people around us everywhere who are in desperate need of that attention or a simple hug. Some you may know. Go give them a hug today, believe me its a feeling worth dozen rewards~

Three years ago a mentor of mine suggested I meet Oprah Winfrey before I get killed, I smiled. A year later, another good friend recommended the very same thing but when the same suggestion came the third time recently I knew something seriously important lay behind this.

Although it was still hard for me to understand the point behind a celebrity meeting a struggling village girl. With my naive knowledge about world's famous people, I only knew that this woman had power and success at her feet. The distance between her and myself is enormous, with her fame and personality she has much important things to do then speak to me, and about what?

But then I met Oprah this past April 2013. Luck brought us together as speakers in the same conference in New York. There I was, a young little girl with layers of traditional clothing, while Oprah a strong woman whom I had seen on TV now standing right there in front of me in elegant expensive cloths.

As I spoke to her in an embarrassing trembling voice, my habit forced me to gaze into her eyes and there I saw something that eased me... something that took away the anxiety within me and made the air in the room much lighter. I saw Authenticity.Oprah Winfrey was not a celebrity. She was one true woman and all that she had become was because she chose to stay her true self and prove to everyone that a young girl from Mississippi can shake the world.

At that moment I slowly looked around us, people surrounded us with camera's, hopes and smiles. Through their eyes I saw, "The Oprah Winfrey", the worlds most known woman and  "An Ambitious Girl" from the mountains, I didn't see much difference between us.

In the end when she hugged me, I realized I didn't have to find reasons for why I should meet her. I only knew one thing very clearly: The future and past were facing each other right at that time, my heart strongly gestured a future where I would stand just like that as a strong woman leader hugging a young girl who has struggled, and right there in that moment of connection I would also whisper in her ear: "I am proud of you my dear". 

Thank you Oprah <3 p="">

Heard the Pakistani National Anthem being sung by little kids inside a school today while coming back from my morning walk, Stood there to listen, each word echoed with great power, shaking my whole body, Goosebumps made me shiver from head to toe until my tears couldn't stop. Every word, every praise was a lie.

How much of it we really meant? How many of these kids knew what it meant to praise our country every morning? They would sing the anthem like robots and go back to their lives forgetting the promise, we all do, we are all traitors... how much have we given back to this land?

It hurts to face the truth, but more importantly it hurts to face ourselves, we find it easier to deny because denial does not expose us, does not make us vulnerable. But please, for God's sake, face your fears; face yourself because right there within you is a human, a heart and inside it is God. Let God work through you and start giving back to this land and its people, little by little, piece by piece, the smallest contribution (not the easiest) would count, start today, start now. Let’s start by saying we are sorry – I AM SORRY PAKISTAN, I am sorry people of Abbas town and every other innocent person that lost their life in the recent incidents, may your sacrifice let this country and its people rise again. Amen.

Photo Credit: [https://www.facebook.com/mevlana]

I have seen him through the depth of my thoughts

This is beautiful, I just felt like sharing it here~ 


A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Peace falls like the leaves of autumn
bright, beautiful but weak...

Peace trickles down like the last drop of water
and the thirsty eyes only see
the trace of wetness
on the dried land

Are we talking peace?
How long will it go
Because my wait tells me
My knees cant hold
My faith might change its mind
and my willpower then might wander in the dark nights
of a lonely desert
following a caravan which only leaves behind dust.. memories and nothing

Peace once flourished on this land
I can see traces here and there
Some tell me bits of it remained
in the hearts
yours and mine

But its been long
long since I listened truly to my heart
and each time the wind blew upon the barren land
dirt covered the traces of peace in my heart
Until one day
there was only piles
of nothingness

My eyes when search around the corners of this world
to find
peace
they never know, that it was
once buried deep down
in the once alive rivers of my heart
and the only way out now
is the way in
.....and to begin
peace within ~

Just yesterday I was saying to a friend,
Where do I find the peace
that I find from the existence of God
As there is noise
Clatter
People talking
shouting and
traffic around me
Its hard I had said
To seek God and talk to him directly
in a city like this
Today while commuting to work
I saw people smiling
I saw some thinking
The wind blew around trees
shaking leaves hard and cool
The soothing wind when touched my face
I could not deny,
I was wrong
There I was, face to face with the existence of God

If we only knew that happiness of Allah is in happiness of its people, we would surely go around making everyone joyful and the true meaning of Islam would flourish around us like that of a majestic fragrance soothing and soothing our minds until it becomes a part of our soul and the beating of our heart.

(inspired from a recent talk with a dear friend)

And yes we fear death
We run from it
far away
in our distant secure place
we still feel uneasy
because there it stands
waiting
and waiting
while we fight back
we fight with all our might
forgetting death
never talking death
ignoring death
in our own minds heart
we at time are victorious
we smile the evil smile
but have we ever
looked above us
above the earth
above the sky
above this  unvierse
Where God is smiling
because none of the people from death
ever came back and told us
that they have been partying up there,
having fun with no fear
they have been laughing all the while
how much we run
run away
but yet still
we later
do join the party:)