True Treasure
November 25, 2009
Whatever you may be doing on the outside, there is a way to express the purpose that lives on the inside. The more you discover, explore and stay connected to that purpose, the more rich and fulfilling your life will be.
You can make real and lasting meaning out of the smallest, most seemingly insignificant moment. In this day there are countless chances to do so.
Remember often the wondrous miracle that is your life. Let your thoughts, words and actions flow freely from the valuable, authentic person you are, and great things will surely happen.
There is an essential part of you that longs to make a difference. Underneath all the superficial comings and goings of daily life, there is a driving purpose that is your life. This is a day to be filled with meaning and positive purpose. Now is your chance to make it a true treasure.
Taken: Back from Kach Gali, behind Lake Saif Ul Maluk, Naran, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.
Expanse of Nothingness (Dedicated to IMRAN)
November 24, 2009
In an unimaginably vast expanse of nothingness, I stand beside a heavenly body thinking of how small I am. The hotness of world ends here with a chill breeze blowing, hitting my body as it wants me to fly.
Nature abhors a vacuum — and so do we. The idea of a void — of emptiness, nothingness, spacelessness, placelessness, all such ‘lessness’ — is at once abhorrent and inconceivable, and yet it haunts us in the strangest, most paradoxical way: ‘Nothing is more real than nothing.’
With view of the All mighty before me I was like a patient who is given a spinal anesthetic that brings to a halt neural traffic in the lower half of the body, I cannot feel merely that this is paralyzed and senseless; I feel that it is wholly, impossibly, non-existent, that I have been cut in half and the part of me is absolutely missing, not in the familiar sense of being somewhere, elsewhere, but in the uncanny sense of not-being, or being nowhere.
How can one describe nothingness, not-being, nonentity, when there is, literally, nothing to describe?
Dedicated to: I M R A N – www.PoznFlik.com
View Large on White (A Must Experience)
Taken: Mountain beside Lake Saif Ul Maluk, on the way to Kach Gali, Naran, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.
Getting Lost in Gojal
November 19, 2009
Lost in the land, where there is only what’s needed, not more, not less. I did not know where I was, but in my mind there was a place, which I have been thinking and manifesting for a long time. I have crossed glaciers, walked beside the snow-capped mountains, sat at the bank of a lake, but my desire for more just kept me walking and talking to myself. I need to see what I have been dreaming for, and I can feel it all around me. It has about to reveal itself.
After crossing the road which I traveled all the way to this remoteness, elements of nature were blending just for me. Gojal seems to become a part of me. This part is considered to be a part of Hunza, but actually their language, and culture is different. There were gusts of wind, pushing my body from the known world to unknown. Huge set of triangular mountain tops were covered in clouds at a far distance. Around me was the fields, like steps they was descending with me, glacial waters irrigating the land.
Welcome to the village of Hussaini, Gojal Area, Near Pasu, Gilgit Baltistan, Northern Areas of Pakistan. This seems to be the end of the world. On the other-side was the great unknown and the Suspension Bridge of Hussaini.
Taken: Hitch Hiking in Hussaini Village, Pasu, Gojal, Pakistan.
Feast with View
November 18, 2009
Let me tell you more about Hunza. Apart from all those high mountain peaks, arid zones, high altitude lakes, and large glaciers, with sense of tranquility and peace, there is much more to cherish by the hospitable people of the Northern Frontiers of Pakistan. One of it is, the rich cuisine that the area offers in a perfect harmony with the natural world with views of wide stretches of their irrigated land with so such growth of fruits it makes the tree bow itself to the ground.
Those who divert from the norm and try to enjoy the real Hunza Experience should look for local food rather than eating the same which is widely available. And those who have searched for it must know a special cook Lutfi Ali of the Hidden Paradise Restaurant in Karimabad. Along with the family serving apricot pan cakes in Pasu.
Either its Chhap Shuro: Whole wheat chapatti wrapped around meat, vegetables and spices cooked in the fire. Often referred to as a Hunza Pizza. or it is Haneetza Berikutz: A mix of crushed apricot kernels with onions, mint and coriander, filled between two chapattis then cooked. You would not forget the rich, mild and energetic taste of these dishes for a long time.
Start your meal with a A slightly sour soup made from the local dried cheese, believed to be a stimulant, called Qurutze Dawdo. I am sure you will sense the real Hunza experience running through your blood for a while. Enjoy your feast with the view.
Taken: Hidden Paradise Restaurant, Karimabad, Central Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan, Northern Areas of Pakistan.
Story of Cocoon
November 17, 2009
Let me share a story with you:
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
Taken: Somewhere near Balakot, NWFP, Pakistan
My Very Own Wedding
November 16, 2009
How many have you seen that the Groom himself taking charge and covering most of his own wedding. Meet Me…
It may be because I just want to capture what I feel and saw on my very own wedding. It was a tough decision and soon I learned that easily said than done. This one was taken at the Beauty Saloon right after the all that make over was done.
Taken: My Walima Ceremony at 28th October 2007.
Drift Away
November 11, 2009
Some of the dearest moments ever spent are those on the road I didn’t want to travel. And some of the most magnificent doors I’ve ever passed through are where before there was no way.
Tears I have wanted to shed have turned to happiness because for a moment I could see beyond them. And hope has saved everything when I wanted most to give up in despair.
Many people have known the wisdom of safeguarding their health and security by taking time to analyze, not in the role of fact sifting, but by allowing the mind to amble, to drift openly from thought to thought. This sitting idly on the sidelines and fishing quietly in the mind can catch many a solution that casting would never hook.
When there isn’t time to go fishing, remember the words of American author William Mathews: "Knowledge is acquired by study and observation, but wisdom cometh by opportunity of leisure. The ripest thoughts come from a mind which is not always on the stretch, but fed, at times, by a wise passiveness."
Take a time out. Drift away to far away land, fish, meditate, enjoy.
Taken: Khania, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan
Break Free
November 10, 2009
Let me start with the notion here:
“Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot. Seek the path that demands your whole being” – Rumi
There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.
Each of us has a purpose in life whether we’re aware of what that purpose is or not. Once you begin to make clear decisions about discovering and understanding your mission and purpose and fulfilling that purpose, and then follow through on your decisions by taking appropriate and consistent action, your subconscious mind will start to “freak out”. Forms of fear, doubt and worry will arise to hold you back and keep you where you are, where there is "the known", the familiar, your comfort zone. This “freak out” is a mechanism of your subconscious mind to keep you “safe”; it’s completely normal and par for the course, but these thoughts and beliefs do not serve you and your purpose or the world because they often keep you from moving forward.
If you are feeling any resistance to moving forward, your limiting beliefs are attempting to hold you back from stepping into the power and glory of Who you really are and what you’re here to do. Until you can break free from these beliefs, you will be using much of your energy to counteract those beliefs and you’ll never be completely open to allow Spirit to work through you. As a result, life and work will always take hard work to succeed. Yet, when we uncover and disarm these beliefs, the horizon opens up and the wind is at our back making the road ahead much easier.
Taken: Driving through Upper Kaghan Valley, Between Burawai & Jalkhad, Pakistan.
Mystery Remains
November 6, 2009
Early morning, when sun was about to rise, there is something mysterious in the air. Mists & clouds are just waking up off their mountain beds. A small amount of rain kept me under the shade. There was so much happening around me. Step by step concealed things are being revealed to my very own eyes. Light and visibility playing the dance of life before me. The rhythm of blowing air was like the sweet melody I never heard or felt before. And then from nowhere, there was a glow of light, I was unable to understand the source of light but things start to glow up.
Above the centuries old Baltit Fort, there was a monument called Victoria Monument. It was just revealed and the background Peaks are playing hide and seek. The clouds started their journey to some other lands… And the Scenery took me into the trance. I stared into the view, trying to reveal something more but the mystery remains for the time.
There was much to enjoy about the trip to the Far Away Kingdom of Hunza. But what impressed me most was how valley welcomes its guests with the stunning view of some of the most amazing and out of the world gorgeous mountain ranges.
Taken: Karimabad, Hunza Valley, Gilgit Baltistan, Northern Areas of Pakistan.
The Mountain Soul
November 5, 2009
It seems that no matter how much climbing we do, it always seems there’s more climbing to do to get to the top.
As I trek around a large curve on the trail, with my head down, there was a sense of something magnetic before me. A cold chill in the air, as sun was on its way to set in an hour of so. I was nowhere, companions were lost on the way. May be I have been struggling to get to the height, and all other thoughts just slipped away.
The mountain before me seems to have a soul of it own. The view taking me back to those daring ones, who would have done that climb which seems to be impossible to me. My charismatic imaginative sense of being on the top mesmerized me. I lay down over a rock, opening up my backpack to get something to energize myself, and to wait for clouds to disappear. But time seems to be stuck for that Giant Soul, for half an hour wait, this was the best I got.
Taken: Trekking in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan
