Freedom is the Choice of a New Life

Friday, 15th of July, 2010 Oxford, on the last day of TED, Just around sunset I told my friend: "I want to do something WILD".
"What kind of thing? Go to a bar?"
"NOOOO" I said.. "I have this energy!! Don't know what I want!! I just have this feeling of wanting "TO GO WILD"
Well I didn't go wild on that trip.. Because I didn't know what my wild things were!!!
At a time when I thought I had "ME" all figured out, there was still a part of "ME" that I haven't discovered yet..
So I decided to start a list of "Wild things to do.."
I turned on my iPad and started thinking... Mmmmm.. Maybe thinking is not the right way to do it..!!
"OK" I told my self, "I'll just start the note page and then I can add to it.."
And I did..
Thursday, 2nd of November, the Fall of 2011, Spain, Barcelona..
"Congrats" he said, "You just started a new life"..
We celebrarted our new life by eating toasted cheese sandwiches on "air balloon" flame, YES, AIR-BALLOON, and a cup of orange juice.
That sandwich was one of two whom I"ll never forget.
The first was a Hallomee that I ate during a walk in the forests of Cyprus. And the second, is this; on a hill-top just a couple of hours away from Barcelona.
"Celebrating a New Life" that was the tradition after being in an air-balloon for more than an hour.
My day started at 5:30 am. I left the hotel with the kids; it was so dark the concierge thought we were leaving to the airport. He said: "Signora! Do you need someone to pick up your luggage?? When I asked him for a five passenger Taxi at that time. I replied surprisingly: "NO!! There are no luggage!!"
And just before getting in to the Taxi he said again: "Excuse me singnora, but you need to check-out first!!". So then I understood and replied with a smile on my face: " I am not leaving the hotel yet, we are just leaving for a day trip!!".
The taxi dropped us off in front of Hard Rock Cafe just across La Rambla St., where the trip gathering was expected.
Still dark, with no signs of the new day, my kids kept asking with sleepy eyes and yawning voices.. "Mommmyyyy!!! Are you sure we are in the RIGHT place and RIGHT time?? This is a very weird trip!! It is still night!!
A couple of nimutes lated the real excitment started..
After an hour and a half in a safari jeep, with the kids staked in the back seat facing each other "half asleep", and me sitting next to a couple from "Israel" "Palestine"!! we stopped at a small coffee shop for some energy boosters. The kids had tea, and I had an espresso to waken-up. We took-off to our take-off area: a hill on the Spanish French boarder, and saw the birth of an "Air-balloon", yes a BIRTH..
It started with an original bamboo basket and a huge blue poach, and ended up with an amaizing traveling vehicle that kept us up in the air for ore than an hour. Something very similar to what was used in the famous classic novel "Around the World in 80 Days". 

 



We touched the fog, or tried touching it.. We waved "Hi" and "Bye" to all the earthlings we passed by or over. 

I sang "I believe I can fly" and I was flying..

I enjoyed the amazing bird-view scenery and remembered God in every and each second of that trip..

I wished you were there to witness me while crossing one of my "Wild things to do" off my list.

This might not seem SO WILD to a lot people, but the sense of physical and mental freedom is a pleasure that I will always seek.. renewing my life in each step towards that freedom..

"You are a free pearson as long as you can dream"

إنجاز .. اليوم الذي وجدت فيه وطنيتي

وجدت وطنيتي على بعد ساعات بالطائرة من مملكتي..

وجدت وطنيتي في اعين فتيات لم يتجاوزن الثامنة عشرعاما..

وجدت وطنيتي بين 12 دولة عربية..

وجدت وطنيتي و أنا لا ارتدي عباءتي السوداء..

وجدتك يا وطنيتي بعد بحث دام 30 عاما..

وجدت وطنيتي في معاني "إنجاز" واجه الكثير من التحدي..

وجدت وطنيتي بين لحظات ترقب و أمل، فخر و فوز..

وجدت وطنيتي في طريقي لإعمارهذه الأرض..

و أخيرا وجدتك يا وطنيتي..

هذه وطنيتي.. قد تكون لغة "وطنيتي" مختلفة، لكن حتى المختلف له أتباع..

إنجاز العرب، الأردن، أكتوبر 2011.



فلسفة التدافع..

دخلت على والدي اليوم في مكتبه.. و أنا أعلم أن وجهي يقول "لدي حديث،، بل أحاديث.. "

فسألني: هاتي ما عندك..

أجبته بكلمة واحدة: تدافع..

فابتسم ابتسامته التي تنم عن حكمة وقال: سنة الله..

فأجبته: و لكني لا أحب التدافع، أريد أن نقف جميعا في خطوط مستقيمة متوازية و نسير معا في اتجاه واحد و بانتظام .. أشعر أنني أقوم بدفع عجلة كبيرة و ثقيله بكل ما لدي من قوة و لكنها تأبى أن تتحرك بسرعة مع أنها عجلة..

حكى لي قصة .. و بنهاية القصة سألني مستحثا: مازال لديك حديث!!

فأجبته: أحاول أن أحلل ما سمعت.. أن أجد له منطقا..

فأجابني: فلسفته؟؟

نعم فلسفة التدافع..

نتدافع مع من نحب و من لا نحب،، نتدافع من أجل إثبات ذاتنا و الدفاع عن قضيتنا.. نتدافع حتى يكون لوجودنا معنى..

تتكون ذرات الأجسام من أيونات "تتدافع" تدافعها هذا هو ما يجعل لها وجودا

نتدافع حتى نقوم بإعمار الأرض..

"ولولا دفع الله الناس بعضهم ببعض لفسدت الأرض و لكن الله ذو فضل على العالمين" البقرة 251

إلهي.. مدني بقوة التدافع التي تمكنني من أن أتحرك و أحرك غيري دون أن يؤذي أحدنا الآخر..



Embrace.. Embracing Who??

I was resting in the afternoon when my BB informed me that I have received an email,, Couldn’t resist checking it.. I tapped with my fingers on the touch screen..

"Re: Park Photo" was the title of the email, and a HUGE smile was placed on my face..

That was not the beginning of the story, that email reply was chapter # 2..

The story started in…

Scotland, Edinburgh, TED.. July, 2011, Yes, not too long ago..

Greenery as far as your eyes can reach,, the sweet wind dancing in circles around and between TED attendees.. Intellectual people from all around the globe.. chatting,, laughing eating and drinking, saying their good bye(s) before heading back to their realities..

Holding my cup of coffee in my hand,, discussing with a nice intellectual lady "Health "Issues, my eyes wandered around the amazing scenery, trying to hold on to all what was around me till the last minute..

He turned around, holding a silver tray serving scones filled with fresh cream and jam, he offered us some,,,,,, and,,,, with "Much more.."

I said "Thank you", while my partner was still talking..

My eyes kept gazing at this "Much more",,, his smile..

All that happening while my head was arguing with my head.. "Ask him".. "Don’t ask him" .. "Ask him!!" "Don’t ask him!!"

So, I decided to ask him..

However, as he was leaving us heading to serve other people, me trying to be polite and not interrupt the lady next to me.. my head was screaming "YOU WILL LOSE HIM WITHOUT ASKING HIM!!!!   AND THEN YOU WOUN'T BE ABLE TO FIND HIM IN THIS CROWED!!"

Excuse me!! Excuse me!!

He turned around and looked towards me, "Excuse me" I said, "You have a very nice smile.." the man was shocked, but still wanted to react in a polite way..

So, I interrupted his confusion with "more of me" asking:

"Do you mind if I took a picture of you?"

Now he was really surprised but immediately answered, "No I dont, of course you can".

He posed, I clicked, the moment was captured.. "Nice" I said, "Thank you".

Miss "Lady" was still standing next to me watching what I was doing, and I could hear her repeating.. Interesting.. Interesting .. Interesting!!!

Through that crowed of TEDsters, the cameras did not stop clicking, attendees wanted to go back home with printed memories of all the people they met.. However, taking a photo of the "unknown" waiter seemed "INTERESTING"!!!

The Eritrean gentlemen who suddenly was in our circle of action suggested an idea,

 "Why don’t you send him the picture?..

 "Yes", I said, "do you have an email address??" And I gave him my business card to write his address on it..

Nnamdi, was his name, the waiter with the nice smile, my email to him started with:

"Dear … sorry I don’t know your name"

All what I knew later about the unknown waiter was that his name is Nnamdi. A native name from an eastern tribe in Nigeria that means "My God lives" or "is alive". Nnamdi has just completed his postgraduate studies in Construction Project Management ,, he has dreams and wishes for his future..  and was generous enough to read my blog..

Nnamdi Eze "half shocked"

He was also so thoughtful to teach me that the beginning of my name "Sola" " happens to be the short pronunciation of a native name from the western tribe (known as Yoruba) in his home country Nigeria. And that It is an unisex name popularly called

"Oluwasola" meaning  "God Creates/Makes Wealth" or

"Monisola" meaning "I have you in wealth or you were born in Wealth".

Nnamdi is one of hundreds,, thousands or even millions of people who we walk by every day without seeing, not because there is a problem with our sight, but because we have numbed hearts.. our hearts stopped seeing those who live in the shadows of our life..  

People who live in those shadows come in different names, statuses, backgrounds, colors, and importance..

Surprisingly, those people sometimes are the closest to us..

I have started narrating my funeral 20 years ago, a couple of months ago I decided to update the story of that day.. to make it more worth working for..

On that day I want my house to be filled with people who I have pulled out of the shadow of my life.. If not with their existence then at least with their souls..

On that day my spirit will be looking for colored tears, for prayers in different languages, for young bodies just as much as older ones.. for those who remember me as the lady who cared, who shared a smile..

A friend once stood in front of me with opened arms and told me.. embrace me..

Dear friend, I wish I did..

I wish if I can go back in time and embrace that request.

Thank you Nnamdi for smiling in my face,, for spicing my life with Nigerian meanings..

I have added a new objective to my existence..

My shadow will become smaller and smaller till one day it will dissolve..

On that day when my spirit will reach its eternity all those who I have pulled out of my shrinking shadow will be existing in my funeral..

Only then I will rest my case..

To Be Continued…

A Bitter Taste in my Raspberry Pie

I have always looked at my heart as if it was a raspberry pie. My heart is divided in to triangles; different people share different parts of this delicious pastry. My children however hold the piece with the most filling, may be even the part that has wiping cream on top of it..

Two nights ago, a piece of my pie didn’t taste as sweet as it always does, there was bitterness in it,, the bitterness of a mother who had to let go of her baby to allow her to grow and discover herself and the world..

I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she was standing in line waiting for her turn to get her passport stamped by the officer. I was sure of herself confident, her excitement, and her eagerness to fully live the four coming weeks.   

Seeing her picking up her strolling bag off the belt at the checking point, turning around, and waiving good bye with a big smile, a wide eye that is full of brightness, I confessed to myself; So this is why we put all this effort in raising our beloved kids!!!

I remember 13 years ago, she was only two and half years old, both of us standing in front of her classroom door at her Montessori Kindergarten..

Her friend Gabi waiving to her "come on Bakeel"..

Me, kneeling and talking to her as if she was a mature grownup trying to convince her to enter the classroom with her friend..

She, refusing and looking at me with an eye that says; don’t even try, I am staying with you..

Our smooth adult discussion only took a couple of minutes, then simply she gave me a securing hug, waved good bye, and with a convinced tone she said; see you later Mum.

The other teachers asked me, what did you bribe her with to convince her to join the rest of the kids? I simply replied, of course I didn’t bribe her, I just told her that we both have work to do, go enjoy your time and we will meet at the end of the day, then we can both share with each other the excitement of our day, that simply made her excited enough to let go of me..

My eyes fallowed her as she disappeared, walking towards her plane gate, her flight leaves in an hour heading to Switzerland.

Yes, dear ME, we raise our kids to be able to balance between their fear of leaving their secured nest, and between their excitements to discover the world,,

To say NO when being challenged in their values, and say "yes" to
the road that leads to their future dreams.We raise them to become strong individuals whome can balance between their freedom and the right of others..To love us, even more when they are physically far away, knowing that our love and spirit will always protect them..A couple of hours later I received a sms from her "am in Switzerland" with a big smiley face. My reply was "Discover the world, enjoy, and stay safe"

29 June, 2011

Do You Think You are a MAN???

Twenty five years ago, at 5:45am, my father looked me in the eye and asked me: Do you think you are a MAN??

I never answer back to my father, but I didn’t either reply, because he was not waiting for one. Deep inside me I did not think I was "acting like a man", I was just being myself.

This same father has raised me to think, decide, and be responsible of my decisions.

To work hard and talk less.

To speak out loud of what I believe in, but to choose wisely what to believe in.

To dream, be creative, and work hard to accomplish these dreams.

To respect all, treat people equally, and look at myself as a representative of my country and my religion.

To stand up for the right of others even if it didn’t concern me.

To be shy as a woman, but have the courage of a man.

To enforce the respect of others, those who think "I don’t deserve it", and show respect to those who think "they can never own it".

Do you think you are a MAN"?

This question popped into my head, as I was heading to one of my meetings. I opened the auditorium door and saw the international Arab male crowd comfortably sitting and chatting, waiting for my arrival.

At that moment a sound inside me answered my father after 25 years, Yes Baba, you have raised a man inside me..

I still can't resist feeling shy when someone asks me to introduce myself, as one of my friends once told me "You don’t know how to market yourself!!"

But I know that I leave my shyness at the bottom stares when I go up the stage and stand in front of hundreds of people to lecture or give a training.

I was at a meeting today where a reporter and a photographer from the "TIMES" Magazine were attending. They were working on an article about woman driving in Saudi Arabia. unfortunately I didn’t participate in the discussion.. it was one of the few times when I had nothing to say. Not because I don’t care, but simply because the international world sees the issue of Saudi woman driving as the unlocking key to all our concerns, while in reality it is not.

I personally believe that eventually this will happen, but because "Saudi woman driving" does not touch the essential needs of humanity, then it is not, and might not ever be a BOOM for change.

Change booms are the issues that drive people to JUMP out of their comfort zones to fight for it.

A boom blasts when people sense fear in their jobs, because a low educated government representative have the authority to harm their source of income.

It's when the people cannot afford decent medical treatment

It's when we are willing to pay everything we have to well educate our kids, and then discover that they are still illiterate compared to the world.

It's when we don’t find justice in courts.

It's when corruption IS THE LAW..

I believe that one day Saudi females will drive when the society and culture is ready. "Female Driving" in Saudi Arabia will be one of the results of change, and not change itself. The international world keeps on chewing on this old tasteless gum, thinking that by doing this they can fuel an aged light of flame.

The day the internal MAN inside every Saudi woman comes out, will be the day when our humanity is "endangered" ..

سكينة طواف المكفوفين

باسم الله ،، الله أكبر.. بدأت طوافي.. كانت حركة عقلي تفوق حركة جسدي.. المنارات المضاءة... الساعة الضخمة.. رائحة المعتمرين.. أصوات الدعاء..  الحرارة.. الشعور بالأجساد المتقاربة.. التعب الذي كنت أشعر به.. أولادي.. العمل.. اليوم.. الغد..

ماهذا الطواف؟؟ أين الروحانية التي أبحث عنها.. "ركز يا عقلي.."

من جديد، باسم الله،، الله أكبر.. و يبدأ عقلي من جديد.. إلى أن..!!

كانت تقف أمامي ممسكة بيدي أبيها.. طفلة معاقة تبدو و كأنها في الثالثة عشر من عمرها.. على فيها ابتسامة عريضة.. و يبدوا على وجهها أنها لا تعي روحانية المكان الذي نحن فيه.. مثلي تماما!!!

نعم، في ذلك طواف كنت تماما مثل تلك الطفلة المعاقة.. سعيدة بوجودي في ذلك المكان المقدس و لكني لا أستشعر روحانية و جلال ذلك المكان.. إلى أن..!!

همست إلى صديقتي، أختي بل ملاكي.. أخبرتها أنني سأغمض عيناي أثناء الطواف، لذا عليها أن تمسكني جيدا..

و من جديد، باسم الله،، الله أكبر..

انتقل التركيز من ما حولي إلى ما بداخلي.. اختفى جميع من كان يطوف بالبيت العتيق، و أصبحت ساحة الطواف لي وحدي.. تماما فارغة..

لم يعد أنفي يستشعر الروائح المختلفة من حولي.. لم أعد أنتظر خط النهاية أن يظهر،، لم أعد أسمع الصراخ و الدعاء باللهجات المختلفة.. احاطت بي تلك الكرة الشفافة التي طالما انتظرتها.. روحانية استشعار القرب من الله..

كنت أطوف وحدي في الساحة الواسعة البيضاء، أنا و نفسي في بيت ربي..

احساس لم أستشعره من قبل أثناء الطواف، و كأنني أطوف بالبيت العظيم لأول مرة..

بعد أول بضع دقائق، حاولت عيناي أن تصارع احساس السكينة الذي بدأ يتسلل إلى نفسي، و أرادت أن تختلط مرة أخرى بكل ما كان يحيط بها و بي، و لكني منعتها.. ويحا لك يا عيني..

شعرت بانشداد عضلات فكي، فأرخيتها..

شعرت بقوة قبضتي على حقيبتي، فأطلقت سراحها..

شعرت بتردد قدماي خوفا من الاصطدام بمن أمامي، فطمأنتها

باسم الله،، الله أكبر،، و لم يعد للوقت قيمة و لا لخطواتي نهاية..

في تلك اللحظة غبضط المكفوفين على نعمة السكينة التي قد يشعرون بها لأنهم حرموا أقوى حاسة للاتصال و التواصل بما حولهم..

في تلك الليلة، و قبيل أذان العشاء، قررت أن أكون مكفوفة في كل مرة أزور فيها بيت ربي و أطوف وحدي مع نفس و ربي..

عجبا لك يا موت!!!

عجبا لك يا موت،،

عجبا لك!!!

شعرت بالغثيان ليس جزعا منك و لكن جزعا من بشريتي!! من ذلك الإنسان بداخلي الذي يحب الحياة، استحقرته، استحقرت تلك الطاقة التي تظن أنها قادرة على التغير!!

عجبا لك يا موت!!!

لديك تلك القوة السحرية على نبش الذكريات!!

على تفريق الأحباب و تجميعهم في نفس اللحظة..

عجبا لك يا موت!!!

تكمن قوتك في قدرتك على استثارة أقوة المشاعر الحية في النفس الإنسانية، الخوف!!

الخوف من هذه القوة الإلهيه التي تحول "العادة" ،،، "الحياة" إلى،بكل بساطة "لا شيء" ،، لا حراك!!

من قال أن عهد المعجزات قد انتهى؟ مازلت أقف أمام الموت و لا أجد له تفسيرا غير أنه... معجزة إلهية..

قد تكون يا موت المعجزة اإلهية الوحيدة المتبقية على الأرض حتى يتعظ البشر.. و لا يمكننى أن أستشهد بقوله تعالى "أفلا يعقلون" لأنك يا موت أكثر تعقيدا من قدرة العقل على تفسير أو تحليل ما تقوم به..

عجبا لك يا موت!!

تجعل كل معاني الحياة بلا ألوان، بلا خطوط.. صفحة بيضاء أو سوداء، عالم مظلم تماما كما يراه من حرم نعمة البصر..

عالم مجهول لا يستطيع أن يصفه الأعمى لأنه لا يدرك غيره، و لايدركه المبصر لأنه خارج نطاق خبرته..

عجبا لك يا موت!!

جميع الأسئلة المتعلقة بك بلا إجابات، و عندما نلقاك و نحصل على الإجابة نفقد القدرة على نقلها إلى عالم الأحياء..

عجبا لك يا موت!!!

لك القدرة أن تضع ذلك القناع على وجهي، بل قلبي و روحي، بحيث يصبح كل ما حولي أخرق!!

يحتار عقلي، يصرخ بأعلى صوت لديه، كيف يمكن للحياة أن تنزع؟

كيف يمكن للقوة أن تسكن؟ سكنة أبدية!!

كيف يمكن للتواصل أن ينقطع؟ انقطاعا خالدا في عالم يتنافس فيه البشر على التواصل بكل أشكاله..

يا موت.. يا موت..

أنت كنت و ستكون حتى تذكر البشر "ويبقى وجه رب ذو الجلال و الإكرام"

أعتذر منك يا موت، فليس لدي صورة أرفقها بك،،،

فأنت  الموت...

"خدمكم خولكم"

رحمك الله يا نورفضيلة و أسكنك أعلى جنانه

Leadership Starts from the Darkrooms

I am a NON professional photographer, yes, A NON professional..

Its a hobby that I have inherited from the man who I admire the most in my life, my Father..

I have learned to use photography as a way of expressing how I see things, my own inner interpretation of my surroundings..

My camera is also an object that I hide behind sometimes when I want to pretend that I am transparent and I don't want anyone to see me or talk to me, when I am in my inner darkroom trying to understand myself..

So, through this NON professional journey with photography I have learned the secret of "The Darkrooms".                 Technically, before digital photography people used darkrooms to transfer.. reflect how they saw things in to images that others can understand.. Personally, and after 30 years of holding a camera, I have learned the secret of the EXPRESSION "Darkrooms"..        As humans, there is a darkroom inside each one of us..               

This darkroom is where we treasure our"Me"..                                                                                           The Me that holds our feelings, behavior patterns, secret thoughts, life questions, personal values, and what motivates our reactions..  The Me that hold the source of our optimism, encourages inner empathy, and guides the drives behind our decisions.. The Me that knows the reason behind our existence in this world.. What makes us happy, what fills us with energy, what enables us to give ourselves to fulfill the reasons of our creation.. Now some of us are more capable of entering their personal darkrooms than others, those who do, are the ones who will have the opportunity to understand themselves..

I have to be honest with you, entering those internal darkrooms could be somehow adventurer but painful at the same time. As entering, one will have to remove all masks that we use as individuals to be able to harmonize in our society to fulfill the different roles that we play in this life.

Removing those masks will allow us to face different feelings, ideas, or believes that we might have been avoiding.

It is as simple as playing "Truth or Dare" with yourself..

My first entry to my darkroom was in my early years, just around the same time when I received my first "Polaroid Camera", and my younger sister was my continuous and only model.

During those same years, I used to pretend that this same sister is also my regular and only student.

We used to come back from school to pretend play that we are at school. And I have made sure that I was always the teacher. I would organize my crayons, coloring books, glue, scissor, and markers to teach her the alphabets,, I used to feel that I was responsible of her future... The "immature" teacher inside me already had a clear vision and goal for my future.

I still enjoy putting my markers, papers, and tools together while believing that I have a responsibility towards the education of the young generation of my country..

The day I wrote my life mission, my noble goal, I took a red marker and wrote on a big white piece of paper a beautiful saying by my profit Mohammad may peace be upon him, That teaching others whether they applied the knowledge or not is worth a thousand prayer.. On that day I chose the roade of education as my road to heaven.. Being inspired by the first order that God had given Mohammad may peace be upon him when he asked him to READ..

I have once stood in front of hundreds of parents confessing.. That if I had a magic wand where I can turn all children of my country, of the world, in to readers then I would be the happiest person on the Glob... But unfortunately I don't have that wand..

What I have is my strong believe in my life vision and mission..

It takes the dreaming of more than one person to create this kind of change. It takes energy, time, persistence, effort, organizing, faith, and a lot more.. It takes leaders to create this kind of change..

Those leaders who have the courage to enter their darkrooms and communicate with the outside world at the same time..

Leaders who are able to reflect the treasure of "Me" on images that can be understood by the world.. Leaders who are able to communicate with the world, to nurture and to transform..

Leaders who use the wisdom of their feelings, thought, values, and experience, to find purpose and change the direction of the world..

And I want to be one of those leaders..

As getting older my visits to my darkroom still exist. Where negative sheets of my life, experiences, believes, values, thoughts, and feelings are kept.. The place where I run to, to create clear nice images of the future I dream of.. Of what I can accomplish on the roade of change to fulfill the reason behind my creation..            My journey as a non-professional photographer is still to be continued.. In my future years I want to learn more about myself through the eyes of people around me, through my surroundings... To be more able to communicate and to give..                                 I want to travel the world, I want to become a teacher and a student at the same time, where the world is my classroom.. I want to graduate from my darkroom in to the world of digital photography..

أوراق من دفتر مذكراتي..القراءة في رواق الطفولة

أعود دائما لهذه الصفحة من دفتر مذكراتي لأجدد يقيني بأن عظام الأمور تبدأ بفكرة بسيطة يدعمها الكثير من الإيمان و العزيمة والدعم و المجهود و لا شك التوفيق الإلهي..

تبدأ قصة هذه الصفحات عندما استيقظت ذات يوم و شعرت أنني في حاجة إلى أن ألتجئ إلى إحدى مصادر التفاؤل الخاصة بي.. ففي علم الذكاء العاطفي.. و عند علماء النفس، لكل فرد منا مصدرا للتفاؤل... مكانا أو شخصا، أو شيئا نلجأ إليه ليدْعمنا في مواجه كبد هذه الدنيا..

فقررت في ذلك اليوم أن أذهب مع نفسي في زيارة طويلة إلى مكتبة جرير الواقعة في شارع صاري.. و بينما أنا وحدي بين الكتب إذ ألمح مدير فرع مكتبة جرير الكائنة في جرير مول, فحاولت أن أتفاداه كوني في زيارة شخصية للمكتبة و أسعى إلى الانفراد بنفسي..و لكني فوجئت به في طريقي و على وجهه ابتسامة عريضة جدا سائلا، ألست أ. سلافه بترجي من رواق الطفولة؟ فأجبت بالموافقة.. و سألته عما يقوم به هنا في فرع صاري؟ فأخبرني و كله حماس أنه قد عين مديرا للفرع..ثم تابع على الفور.. كنت على وشك التواصل معك لترتيب رحلة الصيف, و لكني شعرت أن الوقت مازال مبكرا.. ننتظر رواق الطفولة هذا الصيف في جرير "شارع صاري" إن شاء الله..

قد لا يكون رواق الطفولة قد أضاف أكثر من بضع عشرات الآلاف إلى حساب مكتبة جرير..و لكنه لاشك قد ترك أكثر من ذلك في قلوب من تعامل معه و مع أطفاله.. فلقد رسم رواق الطفولة سمات التعجب المصاحبة بالإعجاب على وجه مدير الفرع و العاملين به.. ذهلوا من المئتي زائر والطوابيرالتي شغلت جميع منافذ الدفع و التي دامت أكثر من نصف ساعة..

لا شك أن رواق الطفولة قد ترك بصمة في نفوس العاملين في جرير مما دفع مدير الفرع أن يتبعني ليأكد علي زيارة الصيف..

هذا هو رواق الطفولة..أينما ذهب ترك بصمة "تأثير" في القلوب.

في رواق الطفولة نحن لا نقرأ من أجل القراءة..و لكن نقرأ لنتعلم كيف نتواصل مع أنفسنا و العالم المفتوح من حولنا..كيف نفكر لا بعقولنا فقط ولكن بقلوبنا ايضا..

نحن نقرأ لنصبح نقادا قادرين على التعايش مع عصر العولمة..نقرأ من أجل تربية شخصيات قائدة قادرة على إعمار الأرض و إحداث التغيير.. نقرأ  لنكون نموذجا لما يتوقعه منا رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم حين سمانا..أمة اقرأ..

في رواق الطفولة تتحول الدمى و مغامرات جحا و إبداعات الكاتب عبد الحميد اللباد إلى استراتيجيات تفكير معقدة تهيئ أطفال الرواق إلى قيادة العالم إن شاء الله

يؤمن رواق الطفولة..أن مسؤولية تنشئة أجيال قارئة هي مسؤولية اجتماعية تبدأ بالوالدين في المنزل و تتدرج "صعود" إلى أن تصل إلى أعلى توجيه تربوي و تعليمي في الدولة.

إن القراءة هي فكر و ثقافة مجتمع..كم يتمنى رواق الطفولة لو أنه يملك عصى سحرية تحول أجيال الأمة الإسلامية إلى قراء مفكرين و مطبقين،، و لكن مشروعا بهذا الحجم يحتاج إلى آداة أكثر فاعلية من العصى السحرية ..ألا و هي عزيمة القادة...

هذه العزية التي تؤمن أن القراءة و التعليم هي القدرة الهائلة على العطاء،،حتى نبني الفكر..

 

قال صلى الله عليه و سلم.. يا ابا ذر..

"لأن تغدو فتعلم آية من كتاب الله خير لك من أن تصلي مائة ركعة..

و لأن تغدو فتعلم بعضا من العلم عمل به أم لم يعمل به خير من أن تصلي ألف ركعة

2009

كم أشتاق إليك يا رواق الطفولة..

سلافه بترجي 4/2011