Oriana

09/06/2023

If you are an animal lover with a little money to spare please consider supporting War Paws. The work they do in Iraq is unique and desperately needed. People think that the issues surrounding stray dogs are unrelated to the health and safety of the human population but they could not be more wrong. And humane solutions are not easy or cheap.

25/10/2019

The old adage "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" to me means that we often do things hoping for a good outcome and when there is a negative result we will be responsible for it. That the impact of our actions matters. Even if we never intended to harm someone else. An example. If someone is driving their car at a high speed to get to the hospital to see their sick mother and they cause a motor vehicle collision that kills someone else. They are still responsible for the deaths of the people involved. While they had no malicious intent, the impact of their behavior was negative. They will likely be charged with a crime and go to prison. It is my opinion that as a society we focus too much on the intentions and not enough on the impact. Results matter.

02/06/2019

Well, I've come close to one year in Iraq. My time here was not as expected. Every plan I've made has been changed to accommodate a more harsh environment than I came from. But some wonderful and beautiful things happened. I have had the opportunity to volunteer my time to help many sick and displaced animals throughout the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
I have tasted a cacophony of new to me foods.
I am learning Arabic and Kurdish (at a slow pace).
I have gained a whole new perspective on what the struggle of the Iraqi people looks like. And everyone I have met since arriving in Iraq treated me with courtesy and respect. Thank you, Iraq for a great year. I look forward to another wonderful year here.

حسنًا ، لقد اقتربت من عام واحد في العراق. وقتي هنا لم يكن كما هو متوقع. تم تغيير كل خطة قمت بها لاستيعاب بيئة أكثر قسوة مما أتيت منه. ولكن حدثت بعض الأشياء الرائعة والجميلة. تطوعت بوقتي لمساعدة العديد من الحيوانات المريضة والمشردة في جميع أنحاء إقليم كردستان العراق. أنا أتعلم اللغة العربية والكردية (بوتيرة بطيئة). لديّ منظور جديد تمامًا حول ما يبدو عليه كفاح الشعب العراقي. والجميع الذين قابلتهم منذ وصولي إلى العراق عاملوني بلطف واحترام. شكراً لك يا عراق لسنة عظيمة. وإنني أتطلع إلى سنة رائعة أخرى هنا.

🙏 💗 🌏 ☮️

13/02/2019

الفرق بين الحب والشهوة يكمن في الصداقة.

The difference between love and lust lies in friendship.

-drugs and coloring books

03/02/2019

نحن جميعًا من السكان الأصليين للأرض ، نحتاج إلى البدء في التصرف مثلها.

We are all indigenous to earth, we need to start behaving like it.

29/01/2019

27/01/2019

"I wanted revenge" his response to my question was straightforward and not particularly surprising to me. When contemplating why anyone would choose to stay in Iraq, the only answers I expected to hear were "I didn't want to leave my family, I didn't have the resources to leave or I had unfinished business". Revenge qualifies as business that needs attending.

"أردت الثأر" كان رده على سؤالي واضحًا وليس مفاجئًا لي بشكل خاص. عندما نتأمل لماذا يختار أي شخص الإقامة في العراق ، كانت الإجابات الوحيدة التي كنت أتوقع سماعها هي "لم أكن أرغب في مغادرة عائلتي ، ولم يكن لدي الموارد اللازمة لمغادرتي أو كان لدي عمل للقيام به".

excerpt from an upcoming book.

13/11/2018

Why does death make us sad?
Are our emotions the product of our environment or a reaction to the facts?
What is the difference between emotional state and reality?
What are the realities of death?
Is loss just an illusion?
We have no way of knowing what death is until it happens to us. Perhaps it is the best part of life.
I feel uncomfortable when I question my beliefs. But I feel more uncomfortable to follow an idea without questioning its origin.
What is a belief, if not a set of ideas, that we decide is true?

لماذا الموت يحزننا؟
هل عواطفنا هي نتاج بيئتنا أم ردة فعل على الحقائق؟
ما الفرق بين الحالة العاطفية والواقع؟
ما هي حقائق الموت؟
هل الخسارة مجرد وهم؟
ليس لدينا طريقة لمعرفة ما هو الموت حتى يحدث لنا. ربما هو أفضل جزء من الحياة.
أشعر بعدم الارتياح عندما أشكك في معتقداتي. لكني أشعر بعدم الارتياح أكثر لاتباع فكرة دون التشكيك في أصلها.
ما هو الاعتقاد ، إن لم يكن مجموعة من الأفكار ، التي نقرر أنها صحيحة؟

04/08/2018

Beautiful day in Rania Sulaymaniyah Kurdistan.

27/05/2018

Good morning ☀️

22/05/2018