Author: Bambi

Today is January 7th. Some Christians celebrate Christmas. May they have a Merry one. Yet some other Christians, like Orthodox Armenians, celebrated yesterday. Bambi is thinking of all them, especially her friend Diana. You will see why in the following paragraphs.

The above being said, Bambi is blessed to have wonderful friends. When she left Canada two weeks ago, to visit her dad et al. in Lebanon, two sweet friends (Jane/spouse) drove her to the airport.

When she left Beirut, Bambi said good-bye to couple of friends. Hala was one of them. The latter took yet another breathtaking picture of the sunset from her balcony in Kfar Hbab in Lebanon. She shared it with Bambi, kindly thinking of Claire in Montreal (Louis’ aunt) who appreciates beauty. Bambi asked if she could also share it with you all, as she has done in a recent post shown further below. Hala’s generosity goes hand in hand with her modesty. Indeed, when Bambi congratulated her about her talent in photography. He reply was: “I just like to capture beauty“.

The other friend, from both Canada and Lebanon, drove MILES to Beirut just to see her (despite the volatile situation there). Bambi and her had not seen each other for 7-8 years. Thanks again Majida and nice to meet your lovely cousin Fatmeh. Seeing you again, after all this time, was like a rainbow of warmth to the heart and joy to the soul.

To come back to Diana now, the latter took time off her Christmas long day/night to kindly give her a lift from the airport back home. Thanks to her and to Louis.

Of note, the friends’ generosity is not over yet. Just while writing these words, she and Louis received wonderful Christmas’ surprises from friends, like family, from New Zealand. Her heart is filled with love and gratitude now (bless you, Alastair and Fiona, et al.). Minutes earlier, she spent wonderful time chatting with her beloved friend Alexis. Thanks again for the call.

To conclude this post, long live friendship. Long live Canada, New Zealand, and Lebanon’s eternal beauty, which remains shining even without its sovereignty. May love and beauty replace the vicious cycle of revenge and the ugliness of war. May the light prevail on Lebanon, its sad neighbourhood, and on the entire world.

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Through the lens of Hala: time for Mediterranean sunset in Lebanon!

Bambi will start by thanking her childhood friend Hala for accepting to share her beautiful Mediterranean sunset picture with the readers of this blog. As usual, this short post will end in music with two songs, which are sub-titled in English. The first song is Lebanese-Arabic (the late Ms. Salwa el Katrib) and the second is French (Ms. Mireille Mathieu).

Happy 2024, again. How is the start of your year thus far? Bambi hopes you are having or you had good times. May you be well throughout the year, regardless of its ups and downs.

Since her last post, Bambi has been silent yet active working on a forthcoming post in which she will introduce you to a great book she enjoyed SO much. Stay tuned please!

For now, she is not much into talking or writing. She is more into singing (yes, even frogs enjoy this activity). From out of Beirut, where she happens to be right now, she will share two songs. Sadly, one remains timely in a country and region filled with violence and its endless absurdity. The other is a sweet Lebanese melody, which reminds her of her dear cousins, especially Zeina with her BEAUTIFUL voice. It is her hope that her blog will include forthcoming posts highlighting her talent [no pressure on her, just a public reminder that Bambi is a fan :)].

Have a good day everyone!

Are you ready to turn the page on the 2023 chapter to welcome 2024?

Whether you will make a resolution at the end of the year or not, may the forthcoming chapter of your life, called 2024, be one of inner peace.

May your inner peace shine around you and inspire you to be the best friend you can be to your circle of loved ones… just like the ABBA’s beautiful song where we “may all have a vision now and then of a world where every neighbour is a friend“.

Sadly, our troubled world is far from being kind and peaceful, including a doomed Middle East with a neighbourhood that is anything but friendly. Despite this, each one of us has a responsibility to use our inner peace, critical thinking, and an authentic will to accept, and even love, one another despite our conflicts or different tribes.

This post is a tribute to Southern Portugal- born French singer Ms. Linda De Suza who died a year ago, like today (https://shorturl.at/alV29). The latter has several BEAUTIFUL songs and even published books, including her autobiography which is entitled “La Valise en Carton” (“The Cardboard Suitcase“).

Among her songs is one that rocked Bambi’s childhood and youth during the Lebanese civil war. It is called “Rien n’arrête le bonheur” [Nothing stops Happiness]. Bambi will dedicate it to her dad, if he happens to be reading now 🙂 ❤️. It is sub-titled in English below (and a written translation follows the YouTube video). Of note, Robine, Bambi’s mom in heaven used to love this singer. May her memory as well as Ms. de Suza’s memory both be eternal.

Nothing stops happiness

(https://shorturl.at/ioFGK)

“Nothing stops happiness.

it will always be the winner.

it plays tricks on the misfortune.

it is strong as a giant.

Nothing stops happiness .

it is crazy and invisible

but those who have it the heart,

we always see them smiling.

You, I bet

That you’ll soon get it by you.

It will change everything, will give you

wings and you’ll fly away.

Nothing stops happiness

and when we see it leaving,

if he goes elsewhere,

it is for a better come back.

Nothing stops happiness.

no nothing will prevent it

to get to your heart

but you have to believe in it.

You, I bet

That you’ll soon get it by you.

It will change everything,

will give you wings

and you’ll fly away.

Nothing stops happiness.

it will always be the winner.

it plays tricks on the misfortune.

it is strong as a giant.

Nothing stops happiness.

it is crazy and invisible

but those who have it the heart,

we always see them smiling.

It brings sunshine

one morning on our tears.

It is he, who chooses

a man, a woman.

Nothing stops happiness.

it will always be the winner.

It plays tricks on the misfortune.

it is strong as a giant.

La la la la…”

Bambi echoes the sun’s gratitude by thanking Joëlle for sharing, with you and her, three pretty pictures taken in Florida (i.e., sunrise, sunset, and nighttime). She hopes you will enjoy them as much as she did. Long live our world’s beauty. Long live the old friendship between Joëlle and Bambi. As you can guess, this post will end in music. Jojo, the last two songs are dedicated to you with much love ❤️. Have a good one everyone!

Bravo, Mr. Amine Hachem, and thank you.

Please keep singing in the new year… and forever!

Merry Christmas! Milad Majid! Joyeux Noël!

Frohe Weihnachten! Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale!

Yes, all the above expressions happily refer to the birth of Jesus.

May the readers of this blog who celebrate this day, spiritually (if they are Christian believers) and/or traditionally (family, friends, exchange of gifts, meals, etc.) enjoy it.

May we all enjoy the beautiful decoration, the cheerful spirit, and even the cheesy Christmas movies (if we like them year-round, like Bambi this year :)).

Christmas will always be Christmas, even when we are grieving or in physical pain. Christmas is about the birth of baby of hope and of potential for limitless love.

Sadly, Christmas may be lost between a West, which seems increasingly embarrassed by its judeo-Christian heritage (e.g., too politically correct for simple wishes of “Merry Christmas“, not just “Happy Holidays“), and an Orient where some say they may be reluctant to celebrate given the state of war. Some, much more extreme, even indulged in burning a Christmas tree somewhere in Bambi’s birth country. Luckily, common sense prevailed. The decoration was replaced fast and the story is history now.

Of course, over the years, Christmas became too commercial. Despite this, why can’t we reconcile an exchange of gifts among loved ones with our care for others or with the respect (or appreciation, if we wish) of the true meaning of Christmas?

Regardless of Bambi’s thoughts this morning, may you all have a peacefully wonderful day, whether you celebrate Christmas or not!

For many readers of this blog, including Bambi, Christmas is a magical time of the year. This is why this musical post will be an opportunity for her to offer the first song, sub-titled in English, to all the young and old children. This means to those who are still truly young and to those with an inner little kid, regardless of their chronological age!

As for the second French song, which is featured below, she will dedicate it to all the children of the world, especially those who find themselves caught in the middle of the fighting of older ones.

Finally, the third Arabic Christmas carol is about how war, hate, and revenge would vanish on Christmas eve. The earth would bloom and love would prevail. As the song goes, all this would happen on Christmas eve. Over a 17 year-period,of time, Bambi used to sing this deep song, with her schoolmates or on her own, hoping it will bring everyone a break from civil war. If she may, she will offer it now, along with the following spiritual one, to Achim if he happens to be reading this post (since he is the one who introduced her to the latter in a comment about an older post).

To conclude this post, may music keep making us dream of a better world. May only love have the final word, not just on Christmas eve but also at all times and for all.

Bambi took two pictures yesterday evening before her third airplane landed in Beirut.

The Beirut of her youth and of her loved ones, those on earth and those in heaven.

The Beirut she worries about from very far away is still there, as always, eternal somewhere under the beautiful clouds.

Yes, the same Beirut she will always cherish even through darker moments of love-hate.

May the clouds of instability finally move away to let a sustainable sunshine of healing, love, and prosperity shine on everyone in Beirut and beyond across the entire world.