Life Lessons
An Unforgettable Year | 2019
First of all, I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. I’m (still) living abroad with a man I met three times in person. Yes, three. I made the quickest and most significant decision of my life in a matter of a week. I jumped into the unknown, and it made for an unforgettable year. The decision rewarded me with rich adventures. I experienced several different cultures, cuisines, currencies, and climates. Meanwhile, making some spectacular memories. Valuable life and relationship lessons were learned. Being newly married to a foreigner in a foreign country is life and relationship training on steroids. I had a crash course on myself…
Visa Run Fun
My last article was about 4 ways to renew a UAE Visa. I didn’t mention how I made the Oman border visa run fun. I didn’t do so bad for a not so young gal. Even in my twenties when I tried to hang at the club, my friends had to rescue me from embarrassing myself by falling asleep. What can I say, a girl needs her beauty rest. Honestly, I was delving back into a lackadaisical state, being a homebody instead of living life. It is all too common for me. Living in Atlanta, (GA) the majority of the time I telecommuted. I often got caught up in not…
4 Ways To Renew A UAE Visa
I’ve been in and out of the United Arab Emirates several times this year. Visa renewals have been challenging for me. I’ve renewed my tourist visa several times and different most times. Twice incurring huge overstay penalties. Mostly due to part negligence and part unclear rules. I would like to share 4 ways to renew a UAE visa. Hopefully, my experience can help you to avoid overstay fines and penalties. #1 – 3 MONTH VISA For the first of the 4 ways to renew a UAE visa, we used a company referred by a friend of Daniels. We were under the impression that the three-month visa was in process before…
Find Your Life’s Purpose
I heard somewhere your life’s purpose is to find your life’s purpose, …….Your Why. Why were you put on earth? Why do you exist? Sarah Jakes, daughter of Bishop TD Jakes, said in a sermon of hers, ……..Why Was Your Spirit Chosen To Be Wrapped in Flesh? That’s deep. We are not here by mere accident. Similar to projects assigned in school, we have life assignments to complete. A purpose not only in our living but in our dying. Our death does not stop our purpose. Our legacy lives long after us. The Reverend Dr. MLK, Jr comes to mind for me. He has been dead for years but the…
4 Lessons About Diligence
Vipassana has given me new ways of thinking, living, and working. It’s apparent. The fact of the matter, I’m writing my third post about lessons learned from my experience. Diligence is a character trait I’m intentionally trying to improve. After reflecting on my experience, below are 4 lessons learned about diligence from Vipassana. Time is the Most Valuable Commodity More than money, I’ve always known that time is the most valuable commodity. Think about it, the punishment for a crime is a person’s time. A person can never get the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years back. Never. Once it has happened, a moment in time is gone forever.…
6 Life-Changing Vipassana Practices
Adhering to a simple but strict schedule. Day in and day out. 10-days of behavioral conditioning. Not the primary purpose. I don’t think. I consider it a welcomed after-effect. Nevertheless, my life has improved. How? I incorporated 6 life-changing Vipassana practices. 1. Practice Noble Silence. My husband and I are opposites. I prefer silence. In contrast, he likes noise. Something has to be ON. Television, radio app on his phone, Instagram stories, Whatsapp status. I experimented with noble silence before leaving for Vipassana. I did not talk between 10 AM and 4 PM. It worked wonders. I was super productive. I work more diligently. Last week, I completed 90% of…
Meditation Mindset Shift
Let’s say the Vipassana Meditation Course was an experience. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I imagined spotless living quarters. I dreamt of a botanical garden-type setting similar to Kirstenbosch Gardens in Capetown, South Africa. Of course, on a smaller scale. I envisioned participants dressed in yoga attire. Students and teachers walking around in a euphoric state. My imagination couldn’t be farther from reality. From the onset, I was miserable because the experience did not live up to my expectations. Hours upon hours of meditation gradually changed how I viewed the facility. I experienced a meditation mindset shift. In The Beginning Irshad, the driver I attached myself to once landing…
Unplugging For 10 Days
I’m unplugging for 10 days in Rajkot, India at a Vipassana (vi·puh·saa·nuh) Meditation Center. For 240 hours, 14,400 minutes and 864,000 seconds of my life, there will be… No television, music, mail, phone calls, visitors, social media, exercising, reading, writing or talking. Wait a minute. What? No talking …to absolute strangers. You-got-to-be-kidding-me. Those are the most fascinating conversations. The art of conversation is my favorite pastime. It’s like receiving a surprise gift. I get goosebumps hearing the conversationalist’s story. The exchange of words which consists of stories about childhood, experiences, and ideologies. Personally, it provokes further thought even after the conversation ends. Oh, how I admire the art of conversation.…
7 Little Life Lessons a footballer can teach You about FOCUS
Lesson #1 | Focus on one thing until you see it through to completion. Daniel’s (my husband’s) life is immersed in football. For over ten years, he has focused on football and nothing else. For example, his schedule is to personal train at 4 AM for half an hour to an hour. Between rest and nutrition, he reviews football matches (the majority of the time the same matches), highlights on Instagram, and listens to football commentary on his radio app. Normally, team training takes place in the evening from 5 PM to 7 PM. Then he’s back home to look at more matches until bedtime. I envy his focus. Lesson…
Addicted to Sidetracking
I hate to admit it…… but I’m addicted to sidetracking. I have grandiose ideas. Brainstorming, strategizing, and setting goals is my thing, meticulously developing elaborate plans to accomplish my visions. I plan. The problem is I prolong the completion unless there is a hard and fast deadline. For example, in December 2018, I planned to read four specific “purpose” books in January of this year. It’s September, and I’m only on book number three. I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in July. Began reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl in August. I’m currently on the third book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s a 12-week workbook.…
