Zekrayaat (ذكرايات / Memories)

"We are our dreams", someone said that to me 25 years ago.... As the years passed, and I grew older, I understood how true that phrase is. Today I was once again reminded of that by the life of two of my favorite women in the whole wide world; my wife Mary, and my sister Mona. Today, my sister got her results from college, and she is now one year away from graduating. This was a dream she put off for 25 years, and finally is about to see it come to reality.  Today, FaceBook reminded Mary that she started graduate school (Master of Social Work), another great woman with great dream that eluded her for decades, but never gave up on it; She graduated couple of years ago with honors. She went further and obtained an advanced degree in Adduction Treatment. I could not be more proud to be called Mary's Husband and Mona's brother, two great dreamers.

"Our past never passes", it never ends, it is always here, lurking in the background waiting to reappear. I remember the first time I came to realize that and articulate it... it was terrifying yet reassuring at the same time. We are our past, stretched beyond certain moments… all the way to Eternity. I can go on and on (and probably will), but the past 48 hrs I experienced yet another profound realization (at least felt profound to me)… I found myself remembering my father, the root of all my past. All of a sudden, a flooding wave of memories, thoughts and feelings. I could see it, smell it, hear it, touch it... Don’t worry I am not hallucinating or suffering from a sudden manic attack (as you know the therapist in the clinical social worker keeps me honest and keenly aware)…  It was just that sort of remembrance, the one that you never forget. Of course  soon enough, I started "rationalizing" that as a side effect  to an overdose of the subliminal...