My multiple lives as a cartoon survivalist

In my first blog I am going to share a thought, a thought that giggles us all: death. If you think about it, it is supposed to be inevitable, but is it? I am sure that all of you had had your sufficient share of the Carpe diem ideology, you must be wondering whether it is the ideal strategy or not.

I try to plan most of my days, but circumstances cannot be planned; and from personal experiences, adventures can be planned BUT they are unpredictable (as to say they rarely go according to plan). Before you continue to read I want you to pause for a second, remember the last time you did something crazy, now count how many times you had a near death experience.

I personally had a good share of those “near” death experiences. I will narrate few following a timeline, starting from 2013 through 1994.

My most recent experience was on my lastcaving trip, I was dangling 70 meters mid-air when my devices almost failed and sent me flying down and thus, fulfilling my dream of imitating batman (one of the many comic books characters I imitated in my life). This experience tested my critical thinking and motivated me to document my journeys and start blogging.

(the above picture is me descending to a cave, this wasnt the time when the incident happened but it was on the same trip)

August, 2012 I wasn’t sure whether I was depicting Road Runner or Sonic, however the joy ride ended when I crashed my car, flipping James Bond style (Casino Royale scene). While crawling out of the car I realized how precious life is, and it taught me that fear is illusion.

I’ll fast forward to 1996-1997, when I was incarnated as Casper walking through walls and jumping through slabs. However, Casper’s Kryptonite turned out to be wood-fuelled heaters. I’ll help you by painting the image: picture breath-taking grilled cotton topped by mouth-watering melted white nylon diapers. YES, a king must sit his throne despite the uncomfortable worries it might carry, and mine was the Iron Throne Heater. Although I would not usually regard this as life threatening, however it wouldn’t have been fun for me if the heater got the chance to bite into my flesh (but look onto the “bright” side, if it did, I wouldn’t have been able to sit in that car and drive it, nor would I have been able to sit in a harness dangled on a rope). -FYI, my story with heaters doesn’t end here- The moral of this story is humor. Humor is what makes you get through a bad day, it is an almighty power that has astonishing possibilities. It teaches you to see the pros out of the cons.

(this picture is not mine and i do not own it)

1995, baby Omar is one year old and my parents are overfilled with joy and happiness, so my dad –a very generous and proud man- decided to throw a party, nothing fancy, around half a hundred people. My mom was busy preparing food for the guests, so I was being tossed around from one hand to another, until I decided to nap. From here on my memory fails me so I’ll narrate things as I was told. We all wonder how Sponge Bob breathes underwater (he is a sponge duh! But for the sake of the story hang on with me), but what my parents couldn’t crack is how I managed to breathe under a pile of a pure F.A.T. bottom. No bones were broken or deformities reported, The Thing (rock man from fantastic four) was formed/forged when he was pulled out from under a 120 kg woman (WHO FREAKIN’ SAT ON ME). This taught me a very valuable lesson in life: never take a nap on a couch in a party –a lesson that I forgot over the years until I made the same mistake… shoot!-

So yes… Carpe diem… In my perspective it is widely misunderstood and it is being misinterpreted by many. It is to seize the day and live it. But does that mean not to plan ahead? Also, planning does not mean worrying. I say that to say this: it all depends on your attitude towards situations and circumstances, I urge you to stay positive. Call it Carpe diem, call it Hakuna Matata, the fact is death is but a fear, and fear is illusion. Embrace this illusion and consider it as a race… a race against death, time, materialism, a race against yourself and your own negativity.