For the sun of love to gather its golden shawl and depart
My melody still sings for life.
***
I still love the chatter of birds
And the childhood of the brook and the smile of the moon
Despite the pain, I still carry in my soul
Remnants of light
I will dance despite the oppression and dream of justice
I will carry in the darkness my sad guitar
And play from the depths of my heart
A warm, delicate tune
And sing for hope.
Between My Heart and Me
You ask me, my heart:
What is love?
What is the secret of a feeling that rages between my ribs
Igniting the veins of my soul with happiness?
I say:
Love is the spirit’s elevation over the body
Love is a ray of hope that shines in the darkness of life
Love is nightingales singing
Melodies pulsating with ecstasy
Morning breezes
The lily is freed from its mouth
Love is life and prayer
Love is existence and eternity
Love is a guarantee and a safety
Do you know, my heart, the meaning of love now?
Hanaan Abdelkader Ashour
Egyptian poet and novelist, editorial consultant at the Poets’ Pub website. She writes short stories, articles, and children’s literature. She is a visual artist who has participated in international exhibitions. She has published six poetry books, a short story book, and a novel. For children, she has published a poetry book, a collection of short stories, and a poetry play. She has a YouTube channel dedicated to children.
“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”
James Baldwin
In this issue, we explore how people are influenced by their times and cultures, and how they learn from and engage with the thoughts of their forebears. Also, we acknowledge the wealth of wisdom and life lessons carried within each person due to the events through which they have lived.
Amit Shankar Saha writes of then and now, memory and future, remembrance and forgetting, universal human questions. Duane Vorhees’ poetry evokes change, thought, aging, and the creative process.
Stephen Jarrell Williams speaks to memory and the human experience. Eva Lianou Petropoulou speaks to artists and authors’ learning from and being inspired by each other throughout the ages. Writer Rizal Tanjung offers up an existential analysis of Eva Petropoulou Lianou’s poetry.
Giorgos Pratzigos interviews Konstantinos Fais on his artwork and advocacy for rediscovering Hercules and ancient Greek virtues. Muxlisa Khaytbayeva records her grandfather Jumaboy Allaberganov’s memories of knowing famed Uzbek author Omonboy Matjonov as a young adult and discusses Matjonov’s contributions to culture. Shukurilloyeva Lazzatoy Shamsodovna relates her scholarly and personal journey to understanding and illuminating Russian writer Alexandr Faynberg’s poetic legacy and its influence on Uzbek culture.
Kuziyeva Shakhrizoda highlights the Uzbek government’s investment in the nation’s youth and the incredible potential of their young adults. Otaboyeva Khushniya outlines how the psychology of early childhood can inform education. Su Yun collects and translates the work of Chinese elementary school students.O’tkirava Sevinch outlines strategies for learning Mandarin Chinese as a second language and for teaching the language in Uzbek schools. Olimboyeva Dilaferuz outlines verb conjugation rules in the Uzbek language.
Mashhura Farhodovna Joraqulova’s short story encourages students from low-income families to persevere with their education. Sevara Kuchkarova outlines strategies to motivate students to complete work at school. Rashidova Shaxrizoda Zarshidovna honors the life and work of a woman who mentored many of the girls at her school. Dilbar Aminova advocates for a balanced approach to screentime in young children’s lives. Shahnoza Ochildiyeva reflects on the value of her journalism education at an Uzbek university. Xo’jamiyorova Gulmira Abdusalomovna highlights the role of emerging and young poets in Uzbekistan’s national destiny.
Duane Vorhees compares the poetry of Phillis Wheatley and Nikki Giovanni as part of a broader comment on changing Black consciousness in the United States.
Cherise Barasch writes with respect for the hardworking people she observes digging into the earth in the heat. Yongbo Ma brings a poetic and scientific perspective to fog. Sayani Mukherjee contemplates peaceful natural scenes in a reverie. Priyanka Neogi compares accepting life’s changes to living through different seasons and times of day. David Sapp reflects on the transcendent experience of seeing a peacock. Dilnoza Islamova looks to nature’s beauty as an invitation to spiritual faith and practice. Maki Starfield sends up elegant reflections on weather and fruits in Thailand as Maja Milojkovic meditates on sunflowers, existence, and perseverance.
Brian Barbeito lets his mind wander to cosmological and existential places while walking near birds by a lake. Orinbayeva Dilfuza rejoices in the beauty of nature at springtime as Dilobar Maxmarejabova shares the emotional significance of tulips in her life. Don Bormon revels in the fun of rain at school. Mark Young renders up more of his fanciful “geographical” maps of Australian regions. Mathematics is a language we use to describe nature, and Timothee Bordenave discusses how his geometric studies inform his artwork. Mesfakus Salahin speaks to drought in Bangladesh in a meditation on accepting life and nature’s cycles.
Bruce Mundhenke urges humanity to turn away from hate towards love and acceptance. Vo Thi Nhu Mai illuminates the beauty and communicative power of the craft of poetry.
Leslie Lisbona sends up a childhood memory of having fun dancing to and figuring out rap lyrics. Marjona Baxtiyorovna Jorayeva celebrates sports and their fandoms and their power to bring enjoyment and bring people together.
Kholmurodova outlines strategies to bring digital access and economic opportunities to the world’s rural women. Rakhimov Rakhmatullo outlines challenges and solutions for logistics technologies. Sa’dia Alisher outlines some benefits, problems, and challenges from modern digital technologies. Gulnora Rakhimjonovna Khomidova explores the educational potential of artificial intelligence.
Dr. Jernail S. Anand relates how, regardless of the tools we use to craft our work, restraint and discipline can serve as a creative force. Dr. Debabrata Maji highlights the power of perseverance and devotion. Azemina Krehic compares the care she has for her poetic works to the process of washing her clothes on a line. Hassan Mistura speaks to the journey of developing a healthy self concept. Surayyo Nosirova reminds us to let go of the illusion of more control than we have and to stay open to change.
Grant Guy offers up stage directions for absurdist theater, an artistic reaction to periods of rapid social change. Ahmed Miqdad speaks to the absurd persistence of normal life amid wartime. Mykyta Ryzhykh, in a similar vein, evokes the quest for queer love and sensuality among bombs and bullets.
Pat Doyne laments violent immigration enforcement overreach in Los Angeles. Otabayeva Khusniya reveals the deeply humane vision of Erkin Vahidov’s work Rebellion of Souls, a tribute to the memory of Nasrul Islam and other artists who died as a result of unjust persecution. Chimezie Ihekuna shares some of life’s paradoxes and urges nations and groups of people to move away from war as a solution to issues. Mahbub Alam also puts out a call for peace, remembering the many people lost to war. Boboqulova Durdona laments the many civilian deaths in Gaza as Stephen House highlights war’s effects on ordinary people, especially children.
Muslima Olimova reflects on surviving an unhappy marriage and urges families to welcome young brides and for women to carefully consider before marrying. J.J. Campbell speaks to the lingering effects of trauma on people and the tension between hope and disillusionment. Dr. Bindu Madhavi speaks to the inner battles many of us fight as Mirta Liliana Ramirez evokes the pain of loneliness.
Doug Hawley’s short story presents several characters representing a mix of lawful and roguish motives and actions. Taylor Dibbert’s poem lampoons the worldliness of a priest and the devotion it still inspires. Sarvinoz Sobirjonova Abdusharifova depicts the dual nature of humanity: kindness and cruelty.
Kelly Moyer uses vegetable humor to convey and navigate the experience of chronic illness. Alan Catlin frames evocative images with words, plumbing the imagined photos for meaning.
Mark Blickley, a combat veteran who finished education later in life, reflects on what he gained as a person and an artist from popular literature and reminds the “literary” crowd not to so easily dismiss popular writers.
Reverie
A perfectly new morning
The hidden hydrangeas hide in the blush
A soulful symphonic trodden path
For full of nectar the heaven drank
The river runs deep ahead
Porcelain touches lose my vision
Yet the morning is beaten against
The sweeping currents of adversity
Proclivity for the blissful hippocrane
I hear a Byzantine reverie
Enter the summer breeze breeding of beads
For the first touch of dropped waterfall.
Moss
Dewdrops around my clock table
A newly refurbished watch
The steel clean peel the orangy desk
The rumination stales around
A heavy buzzkeep silence
The opulence of tall heavy strain
Straight out of the hillsides
The air mists a blue hour
My peonies are hung around
The bonnets are wet dried
My nestled dropped homeskill
To myriad ways the honey touch smile
And kill the open ended questions
Before they end before the red postbox
It stays around
Whatever we try to ponder on
As the river slithers around
My new desked moss.
The Paradox of Expectation: When Letting Go Brings the Best Results
We are all dreamers, aren’t we? We set goals, envision our future, make plans, and wait. We wait for love, for success, for recognition. We wait for things to fall into place. But what if I told you that waiting too much—or expecting too little—can both lead to unexpected, life-altering outcomes? What if the very act of letting go is the secret to finding exactly what we’ve been searching for?
This article is not based on abstract theories or philosophical ideas written in books. It’s personal. These are thoughts born from my own life experiences—moments of deep disappointment, surprising joy, and the realization that expectation can be both a guiding light and a heavy burden.
Two Extremes of Expectation
Over the years, I’ve found myself swinging between two emotional extremes when it comes to expectation.
First, there are times I wait and wait. I put all my heart into something—a project, a person, a dream. I imagine it fully. I dress it in hope, decorate it with possibilities, and rehearse the joy I will feel when it finally comes true. But life often walks in wearing a different face. The results don’t match my script. It feels like I’ve been holding a beautifully wrapped box, only to open it and find it empty. Disappointment whispers, “This isn’t what you hoped for.”
Second, after experiencing repeated heartbreak or failures, I reach a point where I expect nothing. I say things like, “Let it all fall apart. I don’t care anymore.” I adopt an attitude of emotional self-defense, a wall to protect myself from being hurt again. And then, quite unexpectedly, life knocks on my door with a smile. It offers me something better than what I had hoped for. I whisper a quiet “Alhamdulillah” in awe. It’s as if the moment I stop chasing, life starts giving.
The Burden of Waiting
There is a danger in waiting too long. Waiting can slowly become a form of passive suffering. We wait for things to happen, but forget to move. We hold on so tightly to our expectations that we paralyze ourselves. We stop taking risks. We stop exploring new paths. We stop living in the moment.
I’ve seen people—myself included—who waited for someone to recognize their efforts, for a “perfect” opportunity to arrive, or for happiness to knock on the door. But while we wait, life keeps moving. Time keeps ticking. The world keeps spinning. And often, the doors we were staring at remain closed, while other doors pass by unnoticed.
It’s important to remember that hope is not the same as waiting, and faith is not the same as clinging. Hope says, “I believe something good can happen,” but waiting sometimes says, “I won’t move until it happens.”
The Overachievement Trap
On the other side of the coin, some people pour their entire energy into achieving their dreams. They work tirelessly, sacrifice rest, push through failure after failure. They don’t wait—they run. And yet, even after all this, they sometimes find that the outcome still doesn’t satisfy them. Why?
Because even though the effort was there, their hearts were deeply attached to a very specific result. And when the result didn’t match their inner picture, they felt like they failed. They were so focused on the destination that they forgot to enjoy the journey.
This has happened to me more than once. I worked hard, did everything “right,” and still felt unfulfilled. But then—when I least expected it—something completely different arrived. Something I never even asked for. A surprise. A blessing in disguise. A “BOOM” moment that made me say, “This is what I needed all along.”
Letting Go Is Not Giving Up
Many people mistake letting go for giving up. They think if they stop expecting, they’re admitting defeat. But that’s not true. Letting go is not the same as losing hope. It’s about trusting that the universe, or God, or life itself, knows better than we do.
Letting go means this:
You still work hard.
You still love deeply.
You still dream boldly.
But you release the idea that things must happen in a certain way or at a certain time. You stop trying to control the outcome. You stop tying your self-worth to the result.
In fact, letting go is an act of courage. It says, “I am doing my part, and I trust the rest to unfold as it should.”
Why the Best Things Happen When We Least Expect Them
Psychologists call this the “expectancy paradox.” When we expect something too much, we put pressure on it. We become emotionally dependent on its success. This anxiety can actually block the flow of creativity, joy, and spontaneous opportunity.
But when we are relaxed, open, and detached from the result, we are more likely to notice the quiet, unexpected doors opening. We are more receptive to surprise. We become magnetically attractive to good things—not because we chase them, but because we are not chained to them.
Think about it: How many times have people found love when they stopped looking? Or discovered a new path when they gave up on an old dream?
That’s because sometimes, the best gifts come when your hands are not clenched in desperation—but open in surrender.
Action Without Attachment
So what do we do? Should we stop dreaming? Should we stop making plans?
Absolutely not.
Dream. Plan. Act. Push forward.
But don’t attach your peace to the result. Don’t say, “I’ll only be happy if this happens.” Instead, say, “I’ll do my best, and whatever happens, I will grow from it.”
That shift in mindset changes everything.
You can still apply to that scholarship, write that book, pursue that relationship, or fight for your goals—with full heart. But know that life may have better plans. It may reroute you. And when it does, don’t resist. Follow it. You might just find something far greater than you imagined.
A Real-Life Example
Let me share a real example.
There was a competition I deeply wanted to win. I prepared, practiced, visualized the victory. I imagined the applause, the recognition, the pride I’d feel. I gave everything.
The day arrived. I didn’t win.
I felt crushed. Not because I wasn’t proud of my work, but because I had expected the outcome so vividly that I couldn’t separate my effort from the result.
But weeks later, something strange happened. A different opportunity—completely unrelated—came into my life. It turned out to be a doorway to a bigger stage, better connections, and deeper fulfillment. It was a bigger blessing than the one I had hoped for. I wouldn’t have found it if I hadn’t lost the first one.
That’s when I learned: sometimes, your loss is a diversion, not a defeat.
Final Thoughts: Let Results Find You
The truth is: life is full of surprises, some painful and some breathtakingly beautiful. We are not meant to control everything. We are meant to participate, contribute, love, grow—and then trust.
Don’t stop dreaming. Don’t stop trying. But release the pressure to know how everything will unfold.
Let go of the timelines.
Let go of the fixed outcomes.
Let go of the fear that if it doesn’t happen your way, it won’t happen at all.
Sometimes, the very thing you’re chasing is just waiting for you to stop running—so it can find you where you are.
So here’s my final advice, drawn from experience:
Do your part. Work hard, give your best.
Stay open. Be flexible to life’s surprises.
Detach from the outcome. Trust that what’s meant for you will come.
Celebrate every step. Even the failures lead somewhere.
Let life surprise you.
Because when you stop waiting so desperately, life may just show up at your door with a gift you never expected—but always needed.
Surayyo Nosirova Elyor qizi was born on May 13, 2006, in the Narpay district of the Samarkand region, Uzbekistan. From an early age, she showed a deep interest in literature, languages, and creative expression. Her passion for learning and writing became evident during her school years, where she actively participated in various academic, literary, and cultural activities.
Currently, Surayyo is a first-year student at the Uzbekistan State University World Languages university, specializing in English Philology and Teaching. She is known for her strong academic performance and her dedication to mastering the English language. Her commitment to education extends beyond the classroom—she is the author of three published books: Heartfelt Thoughts, Voices in Writing, and Beyond Words: Mastering English. Each of these works reflects her insights into language learning, writing skills, and the emotional depth of student life.
