Category Archives: Blog

Take it from me — every day with a chihuahua is special. Happy National Puppy Day!

Desert bloom! My friends and I encountered a sea of green while hiking in the wake of heavy rains in Oman…

A very merry International Day of Happiness to the whirling world! Seeing the concept of “happiness” erupt today on Twitter, I was reminded of my trip this past fall to the Kingdom of Bhutan — where I spoke at the Royal Palace about disability and spirituality for an international conference on Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index. It was a true honor to witness scholars, Buddhist monks, activists, and comedians gather high in the Himalayas to assert that happiness requires a holistic approach and mindfulness is more than just a modern-day gimmick to sell merchandise (to divorce it from ethics and virtuous action is problematic). I was also very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak privately with His Majesty, the Dragon King of Bhutan — whose enlightened views on happiness greatly impressed, humbled, and inspired me.

Today, while celebrating Nowruz in Oman, I’m finding myself flooded with memories of my trip to Afghanistan during the festive Persian New Year season. When my driver and I pulled into the city of Mazar-i Sharif, I noticed the legendary turquoise shrine in the distance decorated with festive holiday lights for Nowruz. Since it had taken us hours to reach the city (through numerous checkpoints and countless machine guns shoved in our faces), my driver and I were frustrated to find ourselves stuck at a checkpoint in an endless traffic jam that just wouldn’t budge. Peering out the window with eyes half-open (exhausted from our long journey), I noticed some faces and poetic Persian verses etched into the wall on the side of the road.

Anxious to stretch my legs, I stepped out of the car to get a closer look. To my delight and surprise, I found that one of the visages on the wall belonged to the beloved Sufi poet Rumi. If we hadn’t been stopped at that checkpoint, I never would have noticed it (Mevlana, the perfect guide to greet us and usher us into the city!). I later learned that the traffic was backed up for miles because the Afghan police had uncovered a plot to blow up the shrine for Nowruz (every car had to be checked). Unfortunately, even today, this widely-celebrated spring festival remains in jeopardy in Afghanistan. So today I’m thinking of all my friends celebrating Nowruz in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and beyond — and wishing them all a peaceful and blessed holiday (with many more to come)!

This week’s NYTimes article, “Not Happy With the Candidates? Try Out a New Country,” looks at the motivations of expatriates to move abroad. What it doesn’t mention is the ongoing brain drain already at work — anecdotally, I’ve been quite astounded these past few years to watch many of my closest friends in the U.S. (with incredible talent and education) move abroad in search of a better life (they’re all much happier). Deeply humbled and grateful to have had the unique opportunity to educate the future of the Middle East (despite the regional dangers) in Egypt, Lebanon, and now Oman, I’m loving the expat life and highly recommend it.

After a long day of hiking in and around an isolated mountain village in Oman, my friends and I explored the towers and artifacts of Nakhal Fort on our way back to Muscat…

I’ve been to the Afghan-Tajik border twice, and walking across it into Afghanistan — a war zone — is an experience unlike any other. This week, Russia and Tajikistan have been conducting “large-scale military drills” near the Tajik-Afghan border involving 50,000 Tajik troops and 2,000 Russian troops. As someone who has lived in Tajikistan for extended periods of time and traveled through Afghanistan, I’m hoping that Tajikistan doesn’t get pulled into the never-ending conflict next door. While Tina Fey’s new movie, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF), takes Afghanistan as its comedic centerpiece, experiencing the harsh realities of life in a war zone is no laughing matter — the compounded suffering that I witnessed in Afghanistan from three decades of war was truly heartbreaking and horrifying…

I am currently on retreat and taking an indefinite break from blogging. I hope to return in the near future with news of my latest adventures…

Here’s a video of Dan Bates, Read Macadam and Philippe Ribière bouldering and climbing in the so-called Valley of the Giants in a remote canyon high in the Eastern Hajar mountain range in Oman. Whether you experience the mountains in Oman from hanging off a cliff or lounging in luxury, you’ll be sure to find yourself humbled and rejuvenated by the Sultanate’s natural splendor.

An American friend surprised me yesterday with Pure Ohio Maple syrup, while we were enjoying brunch at D’Arcy’s Kitchen in Oman. I was shocked when she pulled the tiny bottle out of her purse (was so random, thoughtful, and just right!)…

I was a happy Slav last night, after feasting on homemade borscht and speaking Russian for five hours with Ukrainian and Kazakh friends in the Sultanate of Oman…

I had a great Javanese gamelan jam session this week-end in Oman — was such fun to make music with players of all ages in Muscat. Before I even moved from Lebanon to the Sultanate of Oman, I had this crazy idea of starting the first Javanese gamelan ensemble in Oman (and the Gulf?). In fact, I even discussed the idea with Indonesian Embassy officials in Lebanon (their Embassy in Beirut has a Javanese gamelan of its own). Though we didn’t cook up any immediate plans to help make my “gamelan in the Gulf” dream come true, all of the pieces (quite literally) fell into place last month through a bizarre set of circumstances — that led me straight to a full gamelan set and fellow gamelan expert just down the street from my new home. Now we’ve teamed up to teach gamelan in Oman.

It feels wonderful to be reunited with my favorite instruments and playing Javanese melodies in Muscat​ ​– a lovely way for people with diverse backgrounds to come together and make meditative music. What can I say? I’m totally gaga for gamelan, and it’s a true honor and joy to be sharing it with others in the Gulf.

Today, on the 51st anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination (2/21/1965), I’m giving thanks for the amazing opportunity I had to (quite literally) follow in his footsteps in the Levant and Sudan for my article in a Special Issue of the Journal of Africana Religions: “The Meaning of Malcolm X for Africana Religions: Fifty Years On.” Meeting Malcolm’s mentors and admirers in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia was truly a life-changing experience. Last year, when I gave a talk on Malcolm X’s connections to Africa and the Middle East at the American University of Beirut, I was overjoyed to see Lebanese, Syrian, Sudanese, Indonesian, German, and American students, professors, diplomats, and migrant workers gather together in his memory. I often find myself wondering how Malcolm would respond to current events in America and around the world — and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to ask his old mentors and friends. One thing we all agree on — there is still so much more work to be done…

Many of us like to run to a happy place in our imaginations when we need a break from the pressures of reality — and these days, my happy place is definitely Alila Jabal Akhdar — my favorite hotel in the Sultanate of Oman…