Happy Birthday to Piia & Nina!

Today is the US presidential election, but for Bambi what matters the most about this day is that it the birthday of two of her dear friends abroad. Before its end, this day ended up also bringing an expected good time with another friend at home. So long live friendship and genuine relationships whether on election days or not.

To begin with, with much love, happy birthday wishes dearest Nina and Piia ❤️! May this year be rewarding to both of you!

This being said, best wishes to our dear neighbours, regardless of the election outcome, which will soon be known worldwide (whether tonight, tomorrow… or maybe even later).

At the end of the democratic process, the United States will have a president that the countries of the world will soon congratulate.

One thing is sure, presidents come and go (when they are not prevented from coming like in Lebanon), but countries remain. Thankfully, countries or nations remain. Yes, life moves on post-election.

Likely like you dear readers, Bambi does not know who will win. She may be wrong, but she doubts that any new American president will change anything in the current fiasco of the Middle East, at least in the short term. She is saying so while hoping that the winning president would be tougher with Iran to put a final end to proxy wars in Lebanon and in the neighbourhood. Perhaps Mr. Trump is better known for his tougher approach with the Iranian regime, but an efficient negotiation strategy can be eventually learned by others, including Ms. Harris, if elected. Why not?

Anyhow, all the best to the United States. May peace and more prosperity prevail in this country, here in Canada, and everywhere on our beautiful planet.

Mr. Elie Berberyan: Re-visiting a four-year-old Armenian song of hope and love for Lebanon

An image taken from the internet previously used on this blog

Bambi has been silent since October 31st. Of course she has been busy with work and with life, but this is not why she is speechless. Words are still escaping her while she awaits the end of the nightmare, especially that the Lebanese people are tired of undergoing crisis after crisis, war after war.

Speechless or not, Bambi refuses to lose faith in humanity and hope for brighter days, not just for Lebanon but also for the entire Middle East (and the whole world). Sadly, the ongoing machine of war is too advanced to stop right now. Thus, peaceful days are extremely hard to envision even in a near future. Yet, one must always remember that there is light at the end of any tunnels, including those of senseless and unwanted wars.

This being said, this post will end now with Mr. Berberyan’s beautiful Armenian song, entitled “Lipanan Im Yergir”. In 2020, this Lebanese artist wrote the following moving words on YouTube: “My new song specially dedicated to Lebanon. We all know what this beautiful country had to indure during the last years.. the message of this song is one of hope and love. I was born in Lebanon , lived three major wars during my childhood , loved the country I was born in with all my heart and found my Armenian identity in the streets and schools of Burj Hammoud. Yes , Lebanon is the home of a large Armenian community who didn’t spare any effort in building schools , cultural institutions and countless churches in order to protect our most treasured Armenian values. Lebanon is and will always remain a piece of heaven and a motherland outside our precious motherland Armenia. Elie Berberyan“.

Thank you, Mr. Berberyan. All the best to your/our beloved country, “Lipanan” [Lebanon]. Same best wishes to your “motherland Armenia“, which Bambi dreams to visit one day, as her parents did.

With Halloween best wishes to all, Bambi shares the song of the “Lebanese National Tourism Campaign 2024 for the Ministry of Tourism”: what a sad contrast with reality!

Day after day, war is destroying Lebanon. As a change from the sad news in the media, Bambi shares a song in a promotional video she just found. May the suffering of the Lebanese people end once and for all. May tourists who will return to the Land of the Cedars be charmed with its beauty again, just like in Mr. Omar Rahbany’s joyful song.

Did you know that Iran amputed four fingers to two brothers convicted of theft without having had the right to communicate with the outside world or receive visits since 2019?

Early morning Bambi briefly read in L’Orient Le Jour the shocking story of two Iranian brothers of Kurdish origins (https://tinyurl.com/e6hx92tu). This evening she took the time to re-read the details of this awful story in Le Matin (https://tinyurl.com/yckfkdd8).

The tragedy reported above stems from Iran’s HARSH version of the Sharia law. The latter derives from the Koran and the Sunnah (words/actions of the Prophet Muhammad). It includes a set of individual as well as collective rights, duties, rules, and sanctions for Muslims. The latter are derived from tradition and jurisprudence (https://tinyurl.com/2dt5unc7).

Since we are in 2024, why is the Iranian regime still using a guillotine to physically punish its citizens, whether wrongfully or accurately convicted of theft? Instead of reforming its legal system, Iran is busy using other countries, including tiny Lebanon, as a battle ground to fight Israel, via its Islamist proxies. How can we trust it then to have nuclear weapons?

Of note, the barbaric story featured in this post followed another tragedy: Iran executed a German-American-Iranian dissident, Mr. Jamshid Sharmahd. Heartfelt condolences to his daughter Ms. Gazelle Sharmahd who, according to the Deutshe Welle, expressed her disappointment by both the American and German governments’ insufficient efforts to try to save her dad (https://tinyurl.com/muae82c7). May his memory be eternal.

L’Orient Le Jour tells us about Beirut: “Lebanon, like a Racine tragedy” & MTV interviewed Mr. Donald Trump who seemed to be more optimistic

Thank you L’Orient Le Jour for your 6 minute podcast, which consists of a moving testimony of a 77-year-old Lebanese woman from Beirut. A podcast worth watching.

According to the video-interview from October 19th that Bambi found only today (https://tinyurl.com/27n5wu8h), Mr. Trump (et al.) want not just “peace” for the Middle East, but also “happiness“, to use his own words. According to him, the people of Lebanon will be happy in the end despite their unbearable suffering.

Of note, the video also mentions some stats about the estimated very high number of Americans of Lebanese descent as well as Americans of Arab heritage (i.e., including those of the Muslim faith) who are planning to vote for Mr. Trump.

In contrast to Mr. Trump’s optimism, in the the video mentioned above and shared below, the interviewed Lebanese lady seems to be more pessimistic than the former (and maybe future?) American president.

What are some of the little things you appreciated today?

Today Bambi woke up thirty minutes earlier than usual. This made her have at least 10-15 minutes more to devote to her latest puzzle before going to work.

At the end of her day, while walking to her car, she had the joy of appreciating the incredible beauty of a lovely tree in the middle of the Canadian fall. She took a picture for you (shared below).

Minutes before this pleasurable moment of encounter with the tree, she took the time to inquire about a cute infant born abroad a couple of months ago. His aunt kindly showed her recent pictures stored in her phone. The baby made her day, just like the puzzle and the tree!

Then, she got home and enjoyed a hot coffee with French-vanilla and hazelnut flavour, telling herself that after work she can re-visit her puzzle again before going to sleep :).

Even if you might not care about Bambi’s day, she described it still to encourage you to think about the little details of your own day. You may keep your thought for yourself or, if you wish, you are invited to share your insights on this blog or privately. It is always a pleasure to hear from you.

Do the pleasant moments of Bambi’s current day change the fact that there is still an UGLY ongoing war in her birth country and/or in the neighbourhood? Sadly, of course not. Does it remove her worries about her loved ones, along with concerns or sadness for the displaced, injured, or killed innocent population of tiny Lebanon, and about the fate of the latter? Of course not. However, if only for moments , she “forgot” about war (which is days and nights on her mind) by focusing on the beauty around her and on inner states of calmness as well as flow moments.

For sure, she will later have an urge to read the news and to search the media and YouTube for live coverage on this or that channel, from this or that country, to try to understand or make sense of a senseless ongoing war.

However, for now, she tried to manage the extra heavy stress of life to the best of her capacity. She chose to do so by focusing on the present moment. Perhaps the joy we encounter in the little things help us in keeping our sanity, despite the insane world, and to preserve our baseline levels of contentment.

Perhaps the practice shared in this post is made easier when we live a simple life in a magical region of the wide and beautiful Canada? Regardless of (external) nature or of our own (inner) nature or character, finding meaning in daily life may give us a double sense of purpose and perspective. It might serve to allow us to manage our energy, which is key when dealing with chronic stress.

To conclude this post, Bambi wishes you all peace of mind. May your inner beauty shine on the outside world while you appreciate the charm of the little things of life. Have a good one everyone!

A picture taken by Bambi in the municipal parking of
Sackville (NB, Atlantic Canada).

Isn’t it sad that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry seems to care about the sovereignty of Iran apparently more than that of its own country?

Bambi just read in the French media that the caretaker Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli strikes of Iran, calling them a “violation of Iran’s sovereignty and a serious threat to regional security” (https://tinyurl.com/cy5uww9e).

It is one thing to condemn the escalation of violence that could have threatened the entire region. Bravo to him for doing that.

However, it is totally another thing to appear to show concern for the sovereignty of the country that is unscrupulously using Lebanon as its battleground to fight Israel.

The current senseless war comes after decades of colonization by Iran of the minds of some, with an ideology that sadly pretends to speak in the name of the beautiful religion of Islam, imposing its death cult on an entire country.

If you are doubting Iran’s evil intention for the Middle East and for humanity, just check the new mural in Tehran about the innocent Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023

According to a publication by Iran Wire on October 23, 2024 (https://tinyurl.com/3hcmwjce), “the mural, showing blood-soaked images of Israeli hostages, carries the message, “No hostage will be released”. This mural is anything but compassionate toward the heart-broken families of the hostages.

A picture taken from Iran Wire (also reported in Tehran Times & the Jerusalem Post).
A picture taken from Iran Wire (also reported in Tehran Times & the Jerusalem Post).

From Bambi to Lebanon with love

Our words become senseless with the suffering of your people, oh Lebanon.

This is when music comes to our rescue, thankfully.

This moving patriotic song by Mr. Joseph Attieh, subtitled in English, is dedicated to Lebanon, and its innocent people, who once again find themselves caught in the crossfire of the wars of others on their beautiful land.

Sadly, history keeps repeating itself in the land of the Cedars.

However, Bambi will keep praying for her birth country. May the CRUEL unfolding tragedy eventually serve as an internal wake-up call for overdue changes: Committing/re-committing to putting Lebanon FIRST, that is before any foreign country AND any ideology, electing a President of the Republic ASAP, honouring the country’s constitution, institutions, and international laws, eventually finding ways to cure corruption, and re-building Lebanon (or what is left of it!). Without the latter, ceasefires and/or re-constructions would be meaningless. Indeed, they would only serve the interests of those who do not care about the land the Cedars.

May Lebanon survive its unfolding nightmare. May it rise and flourish once and for all.