Good Evening Oman!
“من فاتته الضيافة، فاته الشرف”
He who misses the chance to show or accept hospitality, misses honour.
Omani proverb
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“من فاتته الضيافة، فاته الشرف”
He who misses the chance to show or accept hospitality, misses honour.
Despite the bitter wind coming off the sea, at 7pm last night, I stepped on to the the beach for a long walk. I was feeling fed up and I said a short prayer that I might meet someone to have a conversation with after being locked in all day.
As I circumnavigated the long, lonely beach, I saw a lone figure in the distance; alone but contented. As I closed in, I met a young man from Oman, present and peaceful amid the storm. He offered me coffee from a flask. I declined, out of habit, not meaning anything by it. We shared a few thoughts—simple, human ones—and I moved on.
But something in that brief encounter stayed with me, warming my thoughts even as the wind bit harder. Later at home, I looked up Omani customs and learned that one should never refuse hospitality.
Too late, I understood. The owl of Minerva flies at dusk, they say—wisdom always a few steps behind the moment.
Now I carry that missed coffee like a lesson embedded eternally in my head: sometimes, what we need is not shelter from the cold, but connection within it.
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