"Oh no, Abu Dhabi? Are you joking? I will never travel there!"
a friend of mine who was so flabbergasted even at the thought of a barren region. His contemplation on it is more of an arid and desolate place. He travelled most of the time to Europe so I told him to pay a visit for at least a week in the Middle East and see how vast the world is. As we were having our video calls a week after I arrived in Seychelles and had to chit-chat about his upcoming plan of venturing out to Canada, I was so thrilled to inform him about my recent adventure in the desert.
Shocked was an understatement when he found out that I travelled there TWICE last year and intentionally spent my NEW YEAR of 2022 in the dune!
What in the world, why the desert Pat? “
he asked in disbelief when I also mentioned I was ALONE! He told me he won’t dare step down in the desert because he’s petrified even pondering the Middle East. According to him, there’s no vibe apart from the desert Safari and the customs of the country however when the pandemic hits the world, I told him there are so many things to appreciate in the enigma of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Melting Pot of Al Qua!
“Oh wow! So Serene!
I never thought that the natural colour of the dunes can be very enchanting. As I looked at it intently and couldn’t wait to immerse my feet into it, I was quite astounded as I had the notion it was only those camera tricks from the movies where the arid region was lifeless yet mysterious. It reminded me of the movie the Prince of Persia where it always has a cryptic power as if you will be transported into another dimension of your life's quest!
It never occurred to me that the desert can offer the authenticity of a peaceful milieu. The simplicity it possesses is very far from the city life with those artificial lights as what I always experienced every time I visited the Middle East surprised me to the hilt. I may have worked in Qatar for three years but being able to experience a real dune on my feet, the distinctive and diverse emotions were blatantly telling me to LIVE MY LIFE TO THE FULLEST. Why hang on to solitary when I AM SO BLESSED beyond measure?
I was still mourning the death of my father and at that moment as if the heavens were opened, welcoming my new year with a new angle on how I should deal with life’s adversities. LIFE IS SO PRECIOUS to be wasted in agony!
Venturing out into the unknown desert brought so much joy to my well-being. I remembered reading one of Paulo Coelho’s novels entitled The Alchemist where he described it as our friend or our enemy. By simply contemplating its message, we will learn how to be more vulnerable to our environment and from there we can attain Self-Growth and self-actualization.
We have to live daily with a meaningful purpose of our existence and by then we would be able to gain a NEW PERSPECTIVE.
On the hind side, as I was lying down on the dune, looking at the clouds, an almost sunset so it’s time to go back, there was a Maina Bird and at once the message it conveyed to me was “FOOD!” unfortunately I did not have anything with me apart from my tea and my water bottle in case of necessity so I was only looking at it trying to reply “I am sorry I can’t feed you for now!”
Weird as it may sound, after some time, it flew away and never came back. There was so much CLARITY despite unspoken words but INTUITION and Natural feeling were employed.
Had I just communicated through silence to that bird?
Was that how vigorous the desert could be?
As I was pondering on the real essence of life, WORDS are crucial but when you are in a situation wherein you need not utter words at all because instead of connecting the dot, you are either misunderstood or criticised, the best defence is to FEEL the moment, to USE your GUT, your INSTINCT. Taking a leap in the desert gave me the CLARITY I needed!
The Camels on the Road
On the way back to the main city as we were heading to the other route, those three camels caught my attention as well. They were on the side of the road waiting for tourists or anybody else to feed them. The very first thing that came to my mind, was their “SURVIVAL nature in the roasting heat of the desert. Despite the scarcity of food and mostly WATER, I knew in my heart they will make it until their last straw knowing people were visiting them there.
Such a relief to know that someone was taking care of them. How naïve of me to have thought they were in dire isolation although a real definition of “QUARANTINE” was clearly shown by those camels. Hence, if you happen to travel to the Middle East, feeding them would be a true gesture of generosity and thoughtfulness. Set aside extra food and water. They would surely love it.
I was planning to go back a day before my departure yet it was not feasible anymore due to time constraints. In my heart, I knew I would be coming back to feed them!!! Inshallah!
and the Sun Set to Love the Most!
*The title of the poem "The Sunset Lover" which I have originally written from a GIF of the video and while I was looking into it, the sunset gave me an impression of so many mixed emotions but one thing was sure, I am a lover when the sun is about to set! It literally gave me a NEW HOPE! NEW BEGINNING! Here’s why!
