tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103414362024-03-13T12:03:19.113+02:00"Memoirs For Kimya" by Shafinaaz HassimShafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.comBlogger487125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-80218387303638704192013-12-02T10:02:00.003+02:002013-12-02T10:02:35.560+02:00Hang on to every hopeHang on to every hope<br />
That doesnt diminish <br />
The Magic in your soul.<br />
<br />
Tie ribbons to that dream<br />
Where lighting strikes a chord<br />
And every jolt awakens your heart<br />
To new life.<br />
<br />
Make every wish work wonders<br />
Where wonder never worked,<br />
And reignite the spark of the creative spirit.<br />
<br />
It's the only way to save tomorrow from<br />
Today's encounter with dejection and dismay.<br />
The best way to show life that you're the musk on its every breath.<br />
The surest way to stretch your days to eternity.<br />
Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-84084524896271012982013-12-02T10:01:00.000+02:002013-12-02T10:01:07.473+02:00Drug of choiceConfess this precious delusion.<br />
Take a drug of choice<br />
And turn it into crystal meth<br />
Acid on my tongue or<br />
Something purely sinister that burns nasal passages,<br />
Makes my head spin on<br />
Many kaleidoscopes <br />
Beyond reason.<br />
<br />
The need to know <br />
And often to be known<br />
Is the only drug <br />
That ends it all<br />
When the time has come<br />
To say it like it is <br />
And play it like it's over<br />
And then to know<br />
That knowing is not<br />
Any sane knowledge.<br />
Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-43016523419526779662013-11-30T23:36:00.002+02:002013-11-30T23:36:26.588+02:00Huda Chronicles 1Henceforth I shall be edited by the eloquent two-year-old.<br />
'There's a fly around,' says an annoyed Huda.<br />
'Don't worry it's just floating overhead,' says I.<br />
'Floating? Like in a swimming pool?' she asks, incredulous.<br />
'Erm, well not floating more like flying, like a fly,' says I. Embarrassed. Grateful. Mixed metaphors sorted. Phew!Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-66100771734737842042013-11-30T23:22:00.004+02:002013-11-30T23:22:29.372+02:00No rocks of grandeurMixed emotions make for<br />
Powerful potions<br />
In the chase to create new time<br />
For lovers and warriors, the fighters for redeemed souls<br />
Wielding pens and precious stones.<br />
These are no rocks of grandeur, <br />
They're made to heal the deluded, cure the hopeless, and manifest rites of passage for the children of a future we have yet to dream of.<br />
<br />
Shafinaaz Hassim (C) 30 November 2013<br />
Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-16968074417848438762013-11-18T20:28:00.000+02:002013-11-18T20:28:06.858+02:00Faces, spaces, reflectionsBeing South African forces one to reflect and re-evaluate, sometimes daily, how to identify, in some general and particular ways with who we are. Sum of parts, or a sore thumb, the nearly two decades span of freedom is a precarious space for identity. Too black, too white, not quite right, we continue to grapple with the colour of skins, the link of ethnic histories frozen in time, while trying our utmost to shape a new reality free of overkill metaphors of dark and light.<br />
<br />
Everyday, we're brought face to face with disparity, the yawning gap between have and have not as we compete on a global stage. Slogans from the pathways scream: down with economic apartheid. The skin, faces blur, eyes tell stories of the real pain, frustration, hope dashed. Poverty knows no creed or colour. The mirror beckons.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, the face in the mirror is a little girl hearing the sound of an ice-cream truck as it approaches her home, wishing that she had enough coins to fill her dolls tea cup with the icy pleasure.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, the face looking back admonishes her for not making the team, not getting the highest test grades, not finding the courage to speak up to a petty bully.<br />
<br />
Some days, the face is pink, white, brown, the colour of pale disillusion at the rants of politicking and self-policing. Watch what you say and it wont come back to bite you. Big brother is watching you. The patriarchs roll the dice.<br />
<br />
Often, dreams are severed in the hopes of a happy family.<br />
Sacrifice accentuates self worth. It takes a lot of stepping away from the mirror, and then returning to face it square in the eye before a selfish decision can be made to live the life you're meant to live.<br />
<br />
These days, the face in the rearview mirror seems nervous, at all that is being left behind, perhaps filled with fear at what lies ahead. Sometimes it feels like every step forward, takes you further away from where you belong.<br />
<br />
Soon, we'll find that the face in the compact mirror is haggard. Not the same, filled with the memory of yesterday's hopes and dreams, the forgotten songs on the playground that echo to this day; the taste of candy still fresh on the tongue. Alas. They just don't make things quite like they used to.<br />
<br />
Faces in the mirror do just one thing: they only focus on what's right in front of them, and sometimes omit to see the full picture. This is the conundrum we're caught up in. We fixate on self reference. My identity, my race, my beliefs. We make value judgments and decisions based on this form of reference. We choose to imprison ourselves in these frozen boxes of history. And we do very little to bridge gaps.<br />
When I look in the mirror, I want to see transformation. Not just growth, don't get me wrong, there is always growth, change, dimensions of newness. What I want to see is a shift in consciousness, and evolution of spirit. That's the only turn of face that will take this rainbow nation forward. And in order for that to happen, South Africans need active citizen participation. Face to face with a democracy that's very much alive.Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-26572884758809694652013-11-14T20:35:00.000+02:002013-11-18T20:36:01.948+02:00Poets a new sun, and fading moonlightThere's something incredibly elegant about the way poets string emotions into delicate strands of hope, tethered to the branches that spell out life purpose, even if just for the moment. How to test if life seeps from these leafy arms, down sturdy trunks and into far-reaching roots that will sip as much love as they need from Mother Earth, to keep this magic going? Or will they just pop pills via the vending machine and be done when a new Sun rises and the moonlight has faded to a memory?<br />
Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-59764307986275314402013-11-02T19:53:00.001+02:002013-11-02T19:53:57.701+02:00SABC interview with SoPhia 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AoQKno5gLCI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-49224626232628582102013-11-02T19:31:00.000+02:002013-11-02T19:34:20.286+02:00Cave of the Mind<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">The rock cave of Mind</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">echoes dangerous duets;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">swirling dark waters</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">threaten to drown out desire.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />She knows she doesn't belong here,<br />trapped by worldly mimicry.<br /><br />In the distance, Love beckons,<br />the stars come out to play<br />in folds of inky blue.<br />Moonlight sends armies of delight<br />to reason with misty shadows.<br />But Mind is the treacherous Ruler of this Kingdom,<br />mocking imagination and free spirit.<br /><br />Broken, heart sheds hope.<br />Soul seeps through her eyes<br />to be freed of precious delusion.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">S Hassim (C) 2013</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-72803122378178312962013-10-25T11:02:00.001+02:002013-10-25T11:02:04.829+02:00Jozi Book Fair 2013Fantastic energy at this years book fair with the schools programme kicking off to a great start.<br />
<br />
ShafinaazShafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-22511353418264912152013-10-01T13:00:00.000+02:002013-10-01T13:00:07.035+02:00One day at a time ...<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Sitting on the edge of life's pier,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">we're so busy living,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">a day at a time</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">while casting nets</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">into tomorrow's vast ocean,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />that we forget to make note<br />that we're also die-ing<br />one day at a time.<br /><br />The pier behind is shortening,<br />spiraling clouds overhead, and<br />swirling waters below<br />are closing in,<br />one day at a time.</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-80640749995819792382013-10-01T12:59:00.000+02:002013-10-01T12:59:12.323+02:00What have we done, my love?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I'm listening to the torments of birds,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">choking on early morning dew -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">and the bitter song of sadness, echoes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">What have we done, my love?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">To dreams and words and hopes ...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />How did we get to such madness?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-62593574529846066862013-09-30T13:17:00.002+02:002013-09-30T13:17:55.955+02:00sweet sisterhood<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The smell of burnt sugar holds a lovely childhood memory, that was sweetly evoked this morning when, while chatting to my sister in her kitchen, i reached over the stove to pour myself a cup of brewed tea and on opening the sugar dispenser, watched in dismay as a spoonful of sugar scattered all over the still hot stove plate. The caramel smell sent us into a fit of giggles as we both recalled a ti</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">me when we naughtily held a teaspoon of sugar over a hotplate until it melted so that we could lick the sweet substance, home-made sweet-lolly. And sugar always ended up on the plate, making a mess to clean up. I can't remember getting into trouble except for being shoo'ed away from the stove for fear of getting burnt ourselves! </span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-30437232436455050762013-09-27T13:32:00.000+02:002013-09-30T13:33:41.307+02:00How was your day?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The single most important question that I've been asked almost every day of my life, sitting around the dinner table, and more recently over whatsapp or a well placed voice chat with one of my parents, is 'how was your day?'</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">There is no measure for what that question conveys, how loaded it is with concern, care and the potential that it holds for sometimes mundane sharing and often some fantastic</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">self realization and gratitude to spill forth. The question holds promise for a safe sharing of your own stuff, but it's also accompanied by a few nuggets from the askers' day in the life. My dad usually has a range of quick bytes from work and development stuff, to a current read and some reflective philosophy on his mind. Mum will update me on a phone call from one of her aunts, or gran or my aunt, and the latest on the two grand kids scuttling around at her feet or in her lap. Everyday things that add to wholeness and being part of each others' lives. A world of love resides in that sentence of many things, many years, many ways of saying thanks.<br /><br />How was your day?</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-75437470867921949932013-09-25T13:35:00.000+02:002013-09-30T13:36:04.171+02:00a time for peace<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Life offers you many opportunities to re-establish peace in your heart, in your mind, and always where and with whom it matters most.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-36313759065904600552013-09-24T13:38:00.000+02:002013-09-30T13:38:18.761+02:00Heritage Day 2013<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">As we reflect on Heritage day, on how far we've come, and knowing there's yet much to be done, let's keep in mind and plan of action the kind of legacy we would like to leave for those to come.</span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-6110154119479460762013-09-23T12:54:00.000+02:002013-10-01T12:55:27.541+02:00For Kenya, and senseless murders<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Tis blood that's shed to shake our souls,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">This blood that's shed, is from my veins, my child, my mother, my sister, my friend,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Father shouts for us to go,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">He takes the bullet, sheds more of us.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">We're frozen, at first, and then we melt into rose red,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />Seeping into the rivers of sorrow.<br />Africa beats her chest in pain,<br />She stomps her feet, anklets betraying her fury.<br />Our children have returned to the Earth.<br />Life has lost this round to the firing squad in a material world.<br />The whirlwind is tormented souls crying havoc.<br />Tears fall into ocean and are buried there, forgotten.<br />Until a new day for blood and sweat and maybe victory.</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-82143976005585210262013-09-22T13:01:00.000+02:002013-10-01T13:02:00.668+02:00What have we done with today?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">What have we done with today?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I feel as though many words</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Have been spilt, lost milk</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">For the sake of debate,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />And none to make change<br />Where it matters most.<br /><br />I sense that as time flows,<br />Rivers will dry up, skins curl<br />And we will look back<br />On wastelands, wondering<br />What we achieved<br />In this word war.<br /><br />I'm worried that we will<br />Look into the innocent eyes<br />Of the future<br />And not have any answers-<br />What have we done with today?<br /><br />Shafinaaz Hassim (c) 2013</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-19711892185626577612013-09-21T13:07:00.000+02:002013-10-01T13:07:35.734+02:00a simple emotion<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I don't have to own you, in order to love you, just as I don't have to belong to you in order to be loved by you. All this rhetoric about possession being law was written by a heretic in matters of the art of being and loving and dying again and again and again.</span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-3444885184791282342013-09-19T22:06:00.003+02:002013-09-19T22:06:17.540+02:00An interview with reflection, some probing #celebratingwomen #sophia<br />
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Interview with Pearl Boshomane for Celebrating Women Mag,
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">-Who
is Shafinaaz Hassim? What defines your identity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">There
are many layers to who we are in the social, personal and professional spaces
that we occupy. I am a South African woman, and I was brought up in a Muslim family
during the 1980’s when the memories of being evicted from roadside picnic spots
and the wrong side of the beach, are vivid. But then I also spent my formative
university years in a time when we were making history and showing the world
our template for peace and reconciliation. I think that had a powerful bearing
on who we are, who I am. I am a creative artist, a thirsty scholar and a writer
of prose and poetry. </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.0pt;">I don't just see
myself as an author, just as are most writers and creatives a sum of parts,
wearing various caps in ways that make sense to their particular circumstance. </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Could you please tell me about your upbringing. How did you grow up, where,
what your family was like...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
grew up in a town formerly called Pietersburg, now the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Polokwane</st1:place></st1:city>; the eldest of three, I have a
sister and a brother. I’ve always had a particular fascination for numbers and
books. In our home family time centred around dinner table discussions about
how everyone’s day had gone. My mother came from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:city>, but my father was born in
Pietersburg; his was a large family of humble stature, but his strong work
ethic made him an unequivocal success. Both of my parents love reading, and
education was always a big priority. We travelled widely, saw famed cities of
the world and traipsed through places that we were told tourists don’t always
get to see, and developed between us, libraries of books collected from our
travels, a habit that continues to the present day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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How did your upbringing and background, as well as the society you were raised
in, influence the woman you are now?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I’ve
been a keen observer of what happens around me and so ending up as a social
scientist makes perfect sense. Having had the chance to travel from around the
age of seven also opened my worldview to new experiences and different ways of
seeing people, lifestyles and customs. Books have also contributed in a big way
to opening new worlds to me. I grew up in a small town, and only moved to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:place></st1:city> after high
school. I think that a close sense of family and the ghetto of community
allowed for initial (perhaps false) sense of belonging to be forged (although
this was originally an imperative of the previous regime). Life offers many
opportunities for this to expand as we grow. I’m influenced by the human
qualities of compassion and resilience that I see in people who are brought
through challenges and are able to display their best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What has been easy or not very challenging in life for you? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">My
route through education has been relatively easy. I first attended the
University of the <st1:place w:st="on">Witwatersrand</st1:place> to study a
degree in Architecture, as the medical sciences for which I had been also
accepted, did not appeal to me. After the three years of undergrad, I was so
profoundly influenced by the arts courses that I had encountered in passing and
through friends, that I registered for an BA degree. I felt like a kid in a
candy store; I took Psychology, Sociology, English Literature, African
Literature, Philosophy and a range of electives along the way, and my writings
and publications are a spin off of my dissertation work on gender and
sociology. The fiction is a new foray into narrative writing of the research
data around social issues and violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What are your challenges both as an individual and as a woman?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
grapple with the superficial conditions that society presents as options for
the way women are expected to live. I come from a background that construes a
tradition of the Prophet Mohammed saying that marriage is a major part of
faith. I don’t dispute this. But I look at the data around me in the
contemporary social sphere and I’m convinced that its more commonly a bartering
or trade of domestic labour and the body for a life that many don’t bargain
for. And until men and women are able to socially accept their responsibility
to each other as equals, I think that society will degenerate, more and more
people will feel resentful of their position. Not enough people are fully aware
of the decisions that they take and the life that they lead, serving first the
self –gratification needs above the higher goals of reaching their full
potential and self-growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What are your aspirations personally and professionally -- are you who you want
to be? What are/were your dreams? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">My
life makes perfect sense to me. </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.0pt;">I love writing. Full
stop. There can never be a finished product. The story evolves, even when I'm
doing a reading at a launch, I often find myself trying something new in the
text, in a way that doesn't change the story, but challenges my presentation
for the moment. And so I intend to write for as long as the muse lives. I also
have much to be grateful for in my personal life, a formidable family and
partial motherhood through my three nieces and one nephew. This arrangement
works well for a travelling artist. For the moment. I love painting, and I wish
I had more time to explore that side of my life, and perhaps I will do so in
the future.</span></span><span style="color: #555544; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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What is most important to you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Family
and books. And political stability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What drives you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">A
new story or project, with an intention to create a shift in thinking. Its one
thing to present data for a research project, and for analysis, but a
completely satisfying journey to insert that data into a story and watch it
take on a life of its own as readers take ownership, identify with the story
and expand its scope in that way. My novel on domestic violence has done that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What scares you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Human
indifference!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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What is your perception of the society/country that you lived in when you were
a teenager compared to now?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Growing
up in apartheid <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>
embedded a strange consciousness of isolation in me while growing up, and these
questions broke down when we travelled to other countries, and noted often
glaring differences, a freedom of association emerged. While I was still too
young to vote in the 1994 elections – by one year – information was still
guarded and we felt a mixture of caution and elation even during that
transitory period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I
think that my views have changed in various ways over the past twenty years.
Earlier euphoria has given way to concern over our individual responsibilities
and how we might harness them to bring out the best in this wonderful country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-31010680583385934792013-09-18T13:42:00.000+02:002013-09-30T13:43:10.311+02:00Beyond Resentment and Judgment<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Resentment is the ugly by-product of perceived or imagined expectations which are rarely communicated between people, friends, lovers. Beyond attachment, desire to possess and self-judgment, there's renewed hope for pure joy and love.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e5665; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span data-reactid=".r[4z8xe].[1][4][1]{comment10153277669930370_43372152}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><b>Beyond judgment: the judgment of the next person by what you perceive as their incapacity to deliver on your expectations of them/the relationship</b></span><b><br data-reactid=".r[4z8xe].[1][4][1]{comment10153277669930370_43372152}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[1]" /></b><span data-reactid=".r[4z8xe].[1][4][1]{comment10153277669930370_43372152}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[2]"><b>Beyond self-judgment: your perceptions of not being worthy of being in the relationship based on how superior you think your partner or friend is...</b></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e5665; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span data-reactid=".r[4z8xe].[1][4][1]{comment10153277669930370_43372152}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[2]"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e5665; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span data-reactid=".r[4z8xe].[1][4][1]{comment10153277669930370_43372152}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[2]"><br /></span></span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-2959977683773273002013-09-11T13:45:00.000+02:002013-09-30T13:46:26.342+02:00Be kind<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Be kind. </b></div>
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<b>Anything else </b></div>
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<b>takes too much time, </b></div>
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<b>and life is short.</b></div>
Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-50195917491301129322013-09-04T12:28:00.000+02:002013-10-01T12:29:23.421+02:00Free spirit ...<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Free spirit of life,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">You choose to be mist breath</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Tethered to the train of consumerism,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">A strain of mud makes these wheels struggle</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">To escape their burden.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />Spit out the material reality<br />And inhale Life.<br />In another time, wings and words of wisdom will have the same effect:<br />Take flight!</span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-41362845597145645322013-09-03T14:08:00.000+02:002013-09-30T14:14:45.346+02:00Stop Struggling<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Stop struggling. Go with it. Keep you heart and head and senses open to renewal. All the time. Make notes. Keep learning. Again. Stop struggling. Surrender. But not like a inanimate, flat object floating in water. Engaged surrender. Know why you're doing it. Because in that moment where you find stillness, and the mind stops chattering non-stop about how things happen to you and its all so tough and rough, find stillness and listen. Life is always waiting to tell you something unique, a message that’s meant just for you.</span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-76222013790264949152013-09-02T13:18:00.000+02:002013-10-01T13:19:51.145+02:00a veil between me, and You<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Someday, dusky sky will be more than a veil between me yearning to understand all things, and truly knowing You. Someday, the crystal surface will break, and Light will be the only nourishment. Someday, beyond and now and then will be One, and I will be You.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10341436.post-74638692258482244682013-08-15T13:08:00.000+02:002013-10-01T13:08:35.010+02:00this heart, filled<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">This heart, filled, with sweet ocean water;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">hands cupped in prayer receive</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">more than they're able to make sense of.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Fate decrees a handful and an ocean springs forth.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Knees that cave in on sandy ground give rise to lush forests.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />My hope is restored in the magic of spirit love, belief, faith.<br />Joy replenished, living resumes;<br />this heart, filled.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span>Shafinaaz Hassimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639184569752140877noreply@blogger.com0