Eat less Meat

Many of my compatriots are complaining about the recent increase in the prices of meat, due to shortage of supply compared to the rise in demand or may be due to many monopolies that control the market. Meat has been one of the main tenets of Egyptian culture. Eating it is a sign of wealth and it is supposed to bring you health and happiness. It is an integral part of our religion Islam, Muslim celebrate their feast by eating meat to commemorate Prophet Abrahams sacrifice of his son Ishmael and God ordering Abraham to slaughter a lamb instead . In addition, Meat is a rich source of important proteins that are called essential amino acids that crucial in formation of muscles.

However, Egyptians consume too much meat which undermines to their health. Over consumption of meat is really harmful because meat has an abundant amount of Cholesterol, a chemical that is linked to cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Cooking red meat produces cancer causing compounds that causes colon and breast, also high Iron content and nitrosamines encourage cancer cells to grow faster. Large amounts of proteins put an extra load on the liver for processing them and on the kidneys.

Overconsumption of meat also is a waste of resources, because it takes 4.8 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. This grain wasted in feeding cattle could have been used to feed three times more people than the number fed by the cattle. Our country is a desert with a projected water shortage; it would be wiser to plant wheat and crops to feed more people. It would be also cheaper to import more grain and vegetables than livestock.

Over consumption of meat destroys the environment, cattle waste is a significant polluter to our water streams. The energy needed to produce one pound of beef is enough to drive for 20 miles, there is energy wasted on growing grain for cattle, energy wasted in breeding cattle and energy wasted on getting rid of cattle waste.

Finally, remember that an increase in meat prices may not be a curse. Take it as a chance to improve your health by adding variety to your diet, save the environment and also some money.

Easter Sunday

Today is Easter Sunday, a holiday for forgiveness. Today Jesus Christ has forgiven his enemies after all the pain and anguish they caused him. Prophet Mohamed has also forgiven the Arabs of Mecca in the public after all the wars between them, he declared “what do you think I will do with you, you are all free”. God has forgiven the Children of Israel every time they have repented for their sins. In Buddhism, the feelings of hatred and ill-will leave a lasting effect on our mind karma and the teachings of Buddha have encouraged the wise to forgive others. In Hinduism, Vidra has said that people misunderstand the forgiver as being weak and Lord Krishna has said in the Gita that forgiveness is one of the characteristic of the Devine state. Even until today, God has not given up on humanity with all their sins and greed.

Forgiveness not only means letting go of the grudges that one has against others, but also learning to pardon him/herself for the shortcomings. Forgiveness helps to free oneself from the prison of the past by letting go of bad feeling of haltered envy, thus letting one live in the present. We all have our disappointments at others and our selves. By realizing that no one is perfect including me, I became a more accepting human being and I can let go of the bad feelings. Forgiveness frees the forgiver to live on and heal his wounds.

Revenge never helps anyone, It never moves time back to undo the damage and it never heals the wounds. As Gandhi said “eye for an eye makes someone blind”. I advise, to avoid living in the darkness as a monster waiting for revenge or like Shylock waiting for his pound of flesh. I want you to live and enjoy life.
However, it is also important to learn from the lessons of the past, thus it is important to forgive your enemies, but keep your guard so that you are not hurt again. It is also important to uphold justice in the society by punishing criminals, thus deterring future crime. This means that one has to still be careful and learn from the past mistakes, a fool always repeats his/her mistakes. However, one cannot be a prisoner of the past and making it a hurdle towards one progress.

I realize that this is much easier in theory than practice; one cannot take a forgiveness pill. It takes will power to forgive and it takes courage to defeat the ghosts of the past. Start now by writing on a piece of paper all the situations that people have wronged you with or when you were disappointed by yourself , say out loud that you pledge to forgive everyone including yourself and then set it on fire, you will feel great trust me.