Asking me where I’m from, chronic complainers and telling me that this city has no culture and artificial are pet peeves of mine. So when I met Marc this weekend, and he said that he has seen enough of Dubai and didn’t like it, I thought I’ll give him a weekend that might change his mind.

“Objective judgement, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.”

Marcus Aurelius

Lazy afternoon in Dubai

I took him for coffee at my favourite coffee shop in Dubai Mall (hint: lots of books). Went out for drinks at my favourite pub next to Dubai Creek. Dancing at my all-time favourite hip-hop club (I first went there 4 or 5 years ago. My favourite bartender, Ric, still works there, and while I haven’t been there for almost a year now, maybe more, he still remembered me last Friday). Since he loves fast food, I took him to the best burger place in the city, in my opinion, after and told him about all of his American fast-food favourites which are in the city too.

A Second Look

He loves the ocean, so we went to the beach for a dip in the afternoon the next day, the part of Kite beach I like, fewer people. The moment we parked at the beach, I asked him, “Do you still don’t like Dubai?”, he smiled and said, “I’m starting to understand what you’re trying to say, and I like it.”

P.S. Check out 21 Stoic Life Hacks For #Stoicweek. And remember, distinguish between the things you can control and the things you can’t, be grateful, strip things, focus on what’s in front of you and on something bigger than yourself, losing things is not bad, and detach yourself from the outcome and eliminate attachments.