Well I'll never be a stranger and I'll never be alone, whenever we're together, that's my home (Billy Joel)

This posting will be the final Jalal bin Thaneya update as he reached the end of his mammoth walk from Al Ruwais to Makkah on Sunday.

He's certainly one inspirational character.

Here are some quotes from the last news story in the Gulf News (http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/experience-has-changed-me-bin-thaneya-says-1.974181).

"This experience has given me a different understanding of myself. When I set off on the walk, I thought I was capable but now I am confident," he said. Self-confidence and the belief in one's ability to make a difference in this world, he says, are crucial. Not just for him but for everyone.

As life has it, transient circumstances can deflect your focus along the journey. Look what happened to him: Only a few hours before this, as he neared Makkah, the 50 days of walking were culminating in a disorienting feeling like he had just left an "operation theatre".

Physical fatigue and mental alertness on permanent auto-pilot had taken their toll on him. He couldn't wear sunglasses, he was walking in Ihram and the distance was playing tricks. "It was extremely painful, the last stretch."

His body was running on minimal instinct and his mind was taut with anticipation. But the moment he began his Umrah, the chimera of circumstance vanished like mist on a sunny morning. Such, says Bin Thaneya, is the power of belief.

Now that's writing you don't see everyday. When was the last time you read an article that included the phrase 'chimera of circumstance'?

Jalal at journey's end in Makkah.

Anyway - asant Jalal and enjoy your well earned rest.

Love and peace - Wozza

Jacky came, she went away, deep in the valley I kissed her that day (Exponents)

Jalal is now 700Kms from Makkah (as at the 14th of January). He has about a week of walking to go.
For the full Gulf News story on his progress - http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/bin-thaneya-weathers-odds-to-reach-destination-on-time-1.965514

One of his comments particularly interested me:

"When you live in cities, you realise people don't walk any more. In fact, walking today has become almost an unnatural activity." The more he walks alone in places where no one walks, the more he realises that this is a limited period privilege. 

Having just returned from a shortish walk to my local mall to grab some phone credit and a morning tea, I'd have to agree.
The walk takes about 30 minutes there, 30 minutes back. It's a pleasant waste of time via lots of trees and a good footpath. The temperature is a pleasant sunny 29 degrees. Certainly not a deterrent.

I saw no one else walking apart from a couple of workers with wheelie bins picking up rubbish. I got strange looks from drivers and the taxis all slowed down to check out if I wanted a ride but I saw no other walkers.

Jalal continues to be a real source of inspiration to me. He was held up for two days recently when his walk was stopped by Saudi officials. Luckily sense prevailed and he was allowed to continue his charity walk after two days of wrangles.

Think about this for a while - on a 2,000 Km walk he is stopped 750 Km short of his goal and told he can't continue. Imagine you are him - what would you be feeling? How would you react?

The mind boggles but Jalal, I'm sure, took this in his stride (sorry 'bout that)!

Love and peace - Wozza
                  

Woke up this morning, feel 'round for my shoes, you know 'bout that babe, had them old walkin' blues (Robert Johnson)

Jalal  has been continuing his epic walk from Abu Dhabi to Makkah while I've been enjoying Christmas and New Year celebrations in Nu Zild. I did wonder from time to time how he was getting on.
Here, then, is an update for those of you who have been following his progress via my blog.

As the photo shows, on Saturday he was only 840 kms short of his goal, having reached Riyadh.

The update on his story can be found on the following link. It's a great story.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/journey-of-self-discovery-1.962424

Love and peace - Wozza

I have all I want, is that simple enough? (Crowded House)

Jalal is still going strong on his charity walk. You can read all about it in the link. He is such an inspirational guy! He has no fear.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/heritage-culture/walk-to-makkah-an-endeavour-guided-by-faith-1.952317

SWMBO and I will be in Nu Zild for our Christmas holidays, catching up with friends and whanau.

I will attempt to keep the posts coming but there may be a few gaps in transmission.

Love and peace - Wozza

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear (Mark Twain)

I became impatient waiting for the Gulf News to do an update on Jalal's progress (see previous post), so I emailed the man himself to see if he could update his website for those of us who are keen to learn how he's getting on.

His website is a good place to go for summaries of his achievements to date:

http://www.binthaneya.com/

I find his courageous outlook and unselfish motivation to be really inspirational in a week when I have to get on a plane to return to NZ.

To my surprise he emailed me back.

I had some battery and thought I'd respond.

InshAllah my heart doesn't deceive me,in the end Allah knows the true intention of man.

I don't know how my ancestors did all this,they were tough. I'm sure most of this was due to their faith and humble lifestyle.

I'm near the boarder now ill probably cross tomorrow into saudi arabia.

Isn't modern technology wonderful! By the way - tomorrow for Jalal will be Wednesday 14 December.

I'm sure he is right - in the past faith, humility and courage meant people could walk huge distances through the Empty Quarter to Makkah and conquer all obstacles along the way. We've gotten soft, no doubt. That's understandable. The choice between walking 20,000 km and driving there in an air conditioned Landcruiser is a no brainer. When I told some of the Emirati teachers about what Jalal was doing they said, "He's crazy!!"

Jalal told me in another email that he has sent some pictures to the Gulf News so I'll check for those and include them on the blog, inshallah.

Love and peace - Wozza

The time is right, I feel it strong (Dream Evil)

SWMBO and I spent the weekend in Dubai and Sharjah. It's SWMBO's last real weekend in the Middle East for a while so we wanted to knock off a couple of things from her 'things to do that we really didn't get around to' list.

After the Christmas break, I'll come back to Al Ain without the LOML for awhile (I'm continuing to work at Ali bin Abi Taleb School while she's organising Zen's new property for him as per the previous post).

The Karama souq in Dubai and the Central (a.k.a. Blue) souq in Sharjah joined the regular Dubai Mall visit on our schedule for the weekend.



While we there I read an amazing article in the Gulf News about a young Emirati guy called Jalal bin Thaneya.

Jalal is only 25 but he's already embarked on four lengthy walks to collect funds for various worthy causes (autism and a paediatric centre are two).

This time he's setting off on a walk from Abu Dhabi to Makkah. A huge walk of 2,000km which he aims to complete in 35 days.

I love the fact that he's packing light - 2 shirts, 2 coats, 1 jacket and 2 trousers but he also has a camel pack with medical stuff, a SAT phone, GPS navigator, camera and laptop. He's a 21st century boy!


The heroic Jalal bin Thaneya is in there somewhere.

All 'n' all he sounds like a completely brilliant young man. Here's the full story for you to read. I found it really inspirational. http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/crossing-the-desert-for-a-noble-cause-1.948087
I'm going to follow his progress over the next 35 days and let you know how he gets on.

Love and peace - Wozza

P.S. PJ's going to have conniptions over that post title!