Deep Dive Prompt: What do you prefer?- Subhi

Several months ago, I started to post every now and then a prompt called “ Deep Dive” to create bridges with other fellow writers, open discussions, exchange experiences, and a safe place to safely share writings, minutes, and parts of the heart.

I posted the last prompt yesterday:

Here are my answers to the questions in the prompt.

1. Day or night, and why?

I was born on a spring day at dawn. Hence, my mother gave me the name “ Subhi” which means the man of the morning in Arabic. This kid with the “ man of the morning name” kept asking his mother for long nights, months, and years, “Why does night exist?” and the poor mother needed to deal every night with an endless rebellion of that kid who refused all the rules of going to bed at 20. I continued sleeping short but deep hours for long years until the bloodletting war happened in Syria in 2011 to rub salt into the wound, enlarge my insomnia, and shorten the time and depth of sleeping at Morphus`s kingdom. I have become a person with even longer days and shorter nights.

2. Summer or winter, and why?

As a kid who liked the light, and hated the night, I was naturally ( and still) someone who preferred summer. When I was a kid, I read somewhere that time flies and the whole life could be only a midsummer night's dream ( the name of a play by Schecksper). It seems that this expression leaked through the pores of my subconscious to strengthen my relationship with summer, its stars, its sky, and its silence.

Despite this intimate relationship with summer, I can not deny that I appreciate the warm house, the many cups of tea, and the chestnuts in the wintertime.

3. Tea or coffee? and why?

Once, a spiritual old woman said I was, in a previous life, a tea farmer in the green fields of Sri Lanka. I guess my partner (who also likes tea so much) agrees with what the lady said, with only the comment that my hands cannot be the hands of a farmer but rather of a writer.

I have never tested coffee in my life. I even have a funny story about coffee.

4. Guitar, piano, or maybe another instrument, and why?

When I think about the guitar, I remember Nicolo Paganini, the greatest violinist of all time (and the one who was rumored to have made a pact with the devil), and what he said about the guitar: “ The violin is my mistress, but the guitar is my master.” I tried at the beginning of my twenties to learn how to play the guitar, but despite all my efforts, I was basically not made for playing music.

The piano reminds me of Chopin, who was called “ the poet of the piano” and it also reminds me of a great friend of mine who passed away during the war

When I was a kid, I dreamed of an instrument that had the wildness of the guitar and the elegance of the piano. I drew a “ horrible picture” of a piano where the cords of a guitar replaced the piano keys. So, if I have to choose between guitar and piano, I will go for my hybrid imaginary instrument

5. Still or sparkling water, and why?

I don't know if I am quite old-fashioned, but sparkling water, for me, does not fit properly under the water's name. Water is, for me, only still water, the component that makes up 75 % of our bodies and the same percentage of our planet Earth.

6. A time off in the mountains or near the seaside, and why?

I like the seaside alot and I always feel close to the deep sea, but a time off in the mountains is a retreat for ourselves with the rich oxygen that mother nature can offer us as breakfast. A one-hour yoga class in the morning in the mountains is proof of what I am saying.

7. The city or the countryside, and why?

I am a city person. I can not imagine my life without museums, libraries, streets, and a lot of buildings. People may ask, “What about the pollution in the cities?” My answer would be that I am lucky to live in the Netherlands, where the pollution level is quite low in the cities because of all the environmental policies that the governments have been implementing for years.

8. Venus or Mars? and why?

The famous title of the book by John Gray was “ Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” The classification seems clear, apparently, but I don't see it as black and white. I am a citizen of Mars who was lucky to be impacted so positively by those who live on Venus. I was raised by a great mother, grow up with wonderful sisters, and have an amazing partner. I can not underestimate the impact of the beautiful Venus on me. So, I say Venus and Mars

9. Reading or writing, and why?

I see writing as a yoga center of creativity, while reading is the air we need to continue living. I love writing, and it is my dream career, but reading is certainly my choice.

10. Love or being loved, and why?

One of the biggest lucks in life, besides finding Alaadin`s lamp and winning the biggest prizes in a lottery, is to fall in love and be loved by the same person. Loving without being loved is a recipe for frustration. Being loved without the ability to offer love is a recipe for concern and feeling responsible for hurting someone without really hurting them.

How to participate

1. Copy and paste this list of questions into an article entitled something starts with Deep Dive into …..
2. Answer all the questions. If you struggle to find only one answer, don’t worry, you can add more.
3. Please tag me — Subhi Najar, the @ symbol then “my name”
4. Publish your article.
5. If you are curious about the answers of a fellow writer who is not on the list, then please tag them.
6. If you found this article by chance and would like to answer the question, please feel free to do so. It will be great to write your article before August 6 ( within 10 days from now).

I am so grateful to all those who consider joining the prompt and those who read, interact with me, or provide me with any feedback.

If you are interested in joining such “deep dives,” please add a comment, and I am more than happy to add you.

Here is the first prompt we had:

Here is the second prompt:

Here is the third Prompt

and the fourth one

Deep Dives Highlight Articles

There will be a highlights article soon about the third prompt (writing on Medium). I postponed writing it as quite a lot of you (thanks) joined.

Below, you can find the highlights of the article about Writing!

and the highlights article about writing on Medium!

and the highlights about definitions

and the fourth one

Subhi Najar is an Alchemist of words, Little Prince, Public Speaker, storyteller, content Creator, and war survivor.

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