ILLUMINATION Editor Introduction

G’day mates, I’m Salam from Straya (Australia)

an imperfect human roaming around the world with love in his heart

G’day, hola, assalam o alakum, shalom, zdravstvuyte, bonjour, Nǐn hǎo, namaskar, and merhaba from the land downunder.

I’m Salam Khan, also known as “a harmless, humorous, humble human” in my circle of friends. Being a polyglot, English is my fourth language. I have lived in 5 countries — Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Pakistan (where I was born). Happily married for the last eight years, I’m the father of a cheeky little boy, and currently, call Australia home.

With love in my heart, I roam the world until I depart. I offer a shoulder to cry on, Though I have some sorrows in my own cart.

I’m an imperfect human with two superpowers: I’m highly self-aware AND connect with other humans easily. Coming from nowhere to now here has taught me many priceless lessons, which I always try to share with others so that we collectively learn from each other’s experiences. I firmly believe that every human agnostic of their background, culture, race, or nationality, has similar needs, and can love others.

My father was a poet, and I reckon I’ve inherited poetry and creative writing from him. I write in Saraiki (my mother tongue), Punjabi, Urdu, and English. When it comes to English writing, even though I have many ideas to write about, and emotions flow smoothly, sometimes, however, I struggle with vocabulary and language. But I know there is no magical answer to solving this problem; hence I practice writing every day.

For the first 31 years of my life, I couldn’t see well at night due to my congenital cataracts. Read about that and how I overcame the fear of surgery in the article below.

Because of the Medium platform and all the writers here, I have overcome my fear of not being good enough.

By profession, I am an Agile Coach, IT Trainer, and Delivery Manager. Some of the companies I have worked for include Emirates Airlines (Dubai, UAE), National Australia Bank, Myer, and ANZ (Australia).

I am a firm believer of continuous improvement/learning hence very open to constructive feedback. Please do not hesitate to contact me for providing feedback.

Most of my poetry is around Love, Spirituality, Heartache, Pain, Joy, and Life. Few of my poems have been published on a Few Words, Be Yourself, Written Tales, Spiritual Tree, and ILLUMINATION, of course.

Wander around my multiverse and meet me verse by verse.

Coronavirus

Spirituality

Pain and Heartache

Joy and Happiness

Special thanks to Dr Mehmet Yildiz for not only providing me with this opportunity to be an editor for our excellent publication but also for coming up with this great idea of us — the writers and editors of ILLUMINATION — introducing ourselves. It creates a sense of belonging and promotes trust, which helps form a Community of Practice (CoP).

Connect with me on LinkedIn or reach out to me directly at: salamkhanauATgmail.com

With love and <insert your favourite drink here>, Salam