Some Maldivians say I still deserved to be killed because my past cannot be forgiven even though I came back to Sunni Islam.
Needless to say, I have met some Maldivian Conservatives who are actually delighted that both my friends Ahmed Rilwan the journalist and Yameen Rasheed the blogger were murdered.
Some friends opine that even if been a 9/11 child, it's no reason why I shouldn't celebrate my birthday although I haven't felt comfortable about it ever since 2001. So, all the past 2 decades have passed with me more or less receiving only calls or text messages of greetings but no cake and no birthday bashes.
Life goes on, of course, but I can still choose to grieve which parts of my life I want to grieve about, and celebrate which parts I want to celebrate.
Which part of your life you want to choose to grieve about is also ‘difficult’. Waking up & getting out of bed is also ‘difficult’. Reading a book is ‘difficult’. Writing this blogpost is difficult’. Saying hello to a friend is also ‘difficult. But we choose those ‘difficults’ beause those are the difficults that make us happy. Those are the ‘difficults’ through which we find meaning in an otherwise meaningless world. Wishing you are very happy birthday, my friend
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for those very insightful and encouraging sentiments. ☺️ I didn't think of it that way before. I mean, different people will have different "difficults", as you opined. For example, writing is not difficult for me but it's difficult for some others. As per your perspective on the existence of "difficults", I guess I need to identify my "difficults", and carefully choose which "difficults" I can bear in my life in the future. 😀
DeleteHappy birthday my friend. Wish you well in life. You are a kind human being. Everyone makes mistakes. I am sure you have done more kind and good deeds than bad! May god bless you and your family!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the kind and generous words. 🙂 I hope I did some good in life that benefited at least a few people both Maldivians and "foreigners". Now that only two years remain for me to hit the half century mark in my life, I need to set some priorities so that I can continue to do more good than bad. The problem may be that what is "good" and what is "bad" is a matter of perception.
DeleteFor example, I know that the Maldivian Conservatives will very much hate me for continuing to defend the character and personality of my Liberal friends such as Rilwan and Yameen because, being heavily brainwashed by extremist ideologies, the Conservatives may continue to support the forces that conspired to put an end to the lives of Rilwan and Yameen. Some of them may still come to their senses and realize murder is not the solution to silence dissent and divergent opinions.
I hope Allah instills a sense of logic, reason, and critical thinking in those, who at this time, maybe, because of twisted logic, still continue to celebrate the death-day of Rilwan and Yameen. 😔