In keeping with social distancing measures, and aiding our government in combating the Covid-19 crisis, many of us are celebrating Eid at home without family or friends for the first time in our lives.
The UAE government took significant measures to ensure the safety of everyone in the country but like other countries around the world, we still have some way to go before resuming a pre-pandemic “normal” routine.
Over the past few months, the pandemic disrupted economies and businesses, constrained social interaction and as a result also led to increased concerns about the mental well-being of people as a result of what the International Monetary Fund calls the Great Lockdown.
Yet amid all the doom and gloom there are some celebrations for small businesses. Celebrating small wins, whether on a professional or a personal level, is important now more than ever. It can help us become less anxious and maintain our mental well-being.
Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows people who incorporate a daily habit of practicing gratitude and some form of celebration, are less anxious and have overall better physical health.
When I looked back on the past three months, I noticed that in the middle of missing those dear to me and amid the uncertainty about the future, I achieved a number of goals that I didn’t stop to acknowledge or celebrate.
Prior to the pandemic, I broke down my ultimate goals into smaller mini-milestones and I always made time to celebrate achieving them. That helped me stay motivated, focused, and reminded me of the importance of my ultimate goals.
This Eid, with many of us stuck at home without family or friends, I urge you to take the time to reflect on your career or life and reviewing your achievements prior to the pandemic that you didn’t get a chance to celebrate, and do so now.
The moment for pause to celebrate can start with making it a habit to recognise small wins. Jotting down things, I am grateful about in my journal helped me personally. In some cultures, eating desserts are a popular way to mark celebrations. One can engage in everything from retail therapy to baking to mark a milestone - the idea is to do something that can help you mentally recognise this as a celebration.
Celebrating with others is also not something to overlook. We are fortunate to be living in an era where though our physical movements are restricted, we can connect virtually.
Schedule a video-call with your colleagues or friends. Reflect on the past, the challenges, on opportunities and the lessons learnt while also supporting one another by recognising each other’s accomplishments and the value of relationships.
Last but not least, try to maintain a positive outlook. Even though it’s hard and a human instinct to focus on the negative aspects during a crisis, dedicate this Eid to focus on the good things that happened to you lately and being grateful.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati journalist and entrepreneur, who manages her marketing and communications company in Abu Dhabi.
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year
2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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