Coming back from watching the match at m’s took longer than we thought. Not because we had to drop khizzy, not even because we were enjoying a lesiurely midnight drive, but because of the dancing in the streets. Isn’t that an amazing reason for a traffic jam? And as I peered into the cars of the fellow stuck in traffic people to see the levels of annoyance, all I could see were smiles, some tired, some tolerant but mostly genuine heartfelt smiles; some had even pulled their cell phones out and were videoing the celebrating boys with flags in their hands raised high up in the air, shouting Pkaistan Zindabad. A few were patiently gritting their teeth, wanting to get home, but realizing how important this outpouring of unadulterated joy is for us today.

Its been so long since we danced in the streets, holding the green aloft. Today it wasn’t about a polticial party, or a specific group- today was all about Pakistan the way it should be, whether you were in the stadium or on the streets, it was that feeling of finally having everyone on the same platform, feeling th same way. I wish this feeling could be bottled up and given to people to use when the next bomb goes off or to spread over the land as far as the eye can see, so that everyone, whatever their agenda, thinks about the country first- and realizes how far we can go with this ability to feel positive if harnessed properly. So many prayers tumbling off  the tip of my tongue and so many dreams in my heart right now for Pakistan, and everything seems possible, just because of a simple cup.

*inshallah lots more of the good stuff to come*