What is true love?
At some point everyone finds themselves wondering, what is true love? What does it really mean?
As the Valentines season is back, I found myself wondering the same. Love, of course, has to be defined individually for every person. Key factors such as family, social environment, religion, ethnic and local customs are parameters that have to be considered in our quest to reach the right answer to the question. Over centuries, writers and poets have contributed timeless diamonds in the name of love. Sacrifice, passion, devotion, loyalty, honesty are definitely elements of true love but is there anything more important than all these? Yes there is… acceptance, forgiveness and encouragement. Without these three elements we cannot realise the value and meaning of love. When people speak about love they have to understand that it means accepting the other person as they are. Nobody is perfect. Love accepts the flaws of our social or life time partner just because love is stronger than anything. True love is beyond feelings like jealousy, egoism and domination. Let’s accept, forgive and encourage the ones we love and guide them to become better rather than judging them and struggling with ourselves.
From Mr Ioannis Saplamidis
Dubai
Thank you for your help
This morning when I was driving to work, my car started to slow down while I was in the middle of Al Khail road. I was accelerating but it wasn’t helping. I realised that I had run out of fuel and quickly tried to get to the side, but my car stopped at the second right lane. There was heavy traffic and usually cars drive at a high speed on Al Khail. I was scared as I was surrounded by trucks. In my head, I thought any moment and a car will hit my car from behind. I was embarrassed to call the police as I knew that the fault was mine, I should have filled fuel in my car. However, I called 999 and they got right at it to help me. They told me to keep sitting in the car and try taking it to the side and that they were on their way. After a few minutes I started my car and manage to move to the side. While I waiting sitting inside feeling scared, someone stopped their car and asked me if they could help. I told them that I needed fuel and police was on its way. He asked me for money so that he could get me fuel because the petrol station was only a few minutes away. I gave him the money. As he drove off I noted his number plate because in my head I wasn’t sure if he was coming back. By the time the police called me again and I told them about the man, they told me it should be ok and asked me to keep waiting. However, the man came back in less than ten minutes. He gave me the bill for petrol and the petrol container returned my change. I got out my car to help him fill my fuel tank, but he asked me to go back in. He filed the fuel in my car and gave me the empty petrol container too. I thanked him and out of curiosity asked him who he was, as he was in casual clothes and a regular car. He showed me his ID card. His name was Atif Mohammad and he was from Dubai Municipality. I then called 999 to cancel my complaint and told them that Municipality helped me out. The police spokesperson on the phone said that the municipality is always there to help people and that I should make sure that my I have enough fuel in my car all the time. I was very impressed by the service of the police and the municipality. Living in this fast based city we don’t expect such personal services. It felt like the city has a heart and people are working together to keep up the spirit. Sometimes, I too speed and drive clumsy, but after this incident it felt I should respect the rules and laws stated by these hardworking people at the police and municipality.
From Ms Sanya Kuvathi Lakshman
Dubai
Traffic organisation
As a doctor in Dubai, I faced a great deal of difficulty when driving to work during the Dubai Tour. I was stuck in traffic for half an hour on Jumeirah Beach Road, when usually; it is barely a 10-minute drive. What I found intolerable was that the cyclists were not passing through at the time and the road was completely empty. Yet we were made to wait. Why block both sides of the road when the bicyclists were clearly only using one side? I was waiting on the congested side for ages, thinking about how my patients were waiting for me and I couldn’t get to them in time. In these situations, I think emergency service personnel such as doctors should be allowed to pass through. I’m just providing a service to the public, and was delayed unnecessarily.
From Mr Kassem Shunnar
Dubai
Hotline call
(TO GO WITH A PICTURE)
Learn a lesson
During my recent visit to Bangalore, I happened to watch a group of monkeys drinking water from taps set up in a small village temple near Bangalore. They were very clever and cautious as they operated the taps and drank water. They very sensibly closed the taps as they left. I was amazed by the way they solved their thirst without wasting even single drop of water. I think we all have a lesson here to learn.
From Mr Ramesh Menon
Abu Dhabi
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