Newsletter

We had a full week between hosting people almost everyday, diving into vast oceans of knowledge, and launching new projects. Updates @Community This week we felt amplitudes of Baraka (i.e. blessings). Our hearts and our home was illuminated by the beautiful people who visited us. I leave you with 2 short videos to give you a sense of what it was like. Habibis from the last 29 day challenge trip visited us and brought us house plants and a humidifier....

In this issue, I ask for your help on a decision I need to make. Please share your opinion with me on the question in the @Me section. Updates @Community Murtadha ran a hackathon called HurryApp Hackathon at Hub200. Simultaneously, Mina has been running her ceramics classes. It’s fun to see the wide difference between the two activities in this video. And I have been playing a supporting role at both....

This week was about celebrating the new year with friends and family, cold water exposure, and dealing with big open questions. Updates @Community We hosted a celebration at our new home on New Year’s Eve. Everybody gathered for our potluck dinner Over the past 4 years, the new year’s celebration has been a special event for us, we go out of the city into the mountains or on somebody’s farm, we hold a reunion with our loved ones, disconnect, reflect over the passing year, and do a polar bear plunge/Wim Hof cold exposure....

This week was about prioritizing what matters most: being with family, connecting with friends, and spending time in nature. Updates @Community I went on a trip to Akra in the north of Iraq with Guru Camp. On the bus ride back, we exchanged each others’ eyes to view the trip from new perspectives. I saw nature that is undisturbed, serene, and gorgeous. We arrived in Shosh village, located about 20 minutes from the town of Akra....

The theme of the last week and a half is working on house projects. It’s been a lot of fun building furniture with wood and bricks. I made this video to show you what we’ve been building. Updates @Community Motaz is free! 🥳 Abubakr, Muntadhar, and I visited Motaz in Mosul the day of his release from jail. The participants of the last 29 day challenge trip came together and we had a lovely reunion at the park....

Last Tuesday morning, at around 7am, Bazooni died after catching an illness, which we failed to identify, and enduring it for one and half day. Bazooni was our playful, adorable, and loving cat. She lived for three and half years, from which we got to be part of the last three. Bazooni brought out a new kind of love within us that we did not know we had. She gave us many laughs with her intricate poses, her sudden sprints, and her love for chirping at birds out of the window....

Bazooni got sick this Monday, taking all my attention away from publishing the newsletter to caring for her. It’s been heart-wrenching seeing her like this. I’ve been wrapping her in blankets to keep her warm The main theme from last week was renovating the Safe House, so it can welcome its first guests; Murtadha and Mayce. Updates @Community We built a table top out of wood that we saved from going to the trash!...

The main theme from last week was untangling a legal mess that my friend got into jail for due to having a name matching that of an ISIS member. Updates @Community I did not partake in any community engagements this week, due to being preoccupied with my new interim job as my friend’s lawyer. @Family Mina got her kiln working! We’ll get the first batch of fired ceramics next week. Stay tuned....

The main theme from last week was setting up our new home in Baghdad and reconnecting with good friends. Updates @Community I’m working with 2 lovely high schoolers, Bilal and Maryam, to start a book club for young people in Baghdad. We had our third meeting on flow state at the life-long learner’s club. I learned what it feels like to be in flow and the conditions for flow. Now I’m spending my learning time to redesign my environment and my mindset to be fertile grounds for getting into flow everyday....

Since this week was my first in Baghdad, the main theme is around settling in and getting a new home established. Updates @Community We started writing a playbook for our beloved organization, Journey. We don’t have much to show for it yet, but this is a foundational element that will unlock lots of cool projects to come. I’m so excited for what will come out of this! We had our second call on The Spirited Man at the Learners Club....