Eid Mubarak

Ma'as-salama, ya Ramadan. Ahlan wa sahlan, ya Syawal. 

Dear everyone, I want to wish you a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. I'm sorry for all the things I've done that made you feel uncomfortable or uneasy. I'm just a human being that's bound to make mistakes and sometimes I didn't realize it. I'm sorry. Thanks for your precious moments to visit and read my mediocre blog. Thanks for your support in my writing. Thanks for your lovely comments and feedback. They meant a lot to me. It's such an honor to have readers like you guys. You are awesome and I love you. Eid Mubarak! :) 

It's Okay

The time I had to write a thesis for my Food Tech course in the campus is up there with some of the hardest things I've learned. It's tough and broke me to pieces once, I almost give up. Alhamdulillah, all the hard work, determination, tears, depression and sleepless nights paid off. I left the faculty with smile and feeling  proud. I agree with myself that in the end, it's worth it.

Well, in retrospect, I much prefer those lessons than those with no definite answers, no charts. I'm turning 23 this year. It's odd. It seems as though far too much has happened for it to only be 23 years of lessons. Another hard lesson, which I'm still in the mere introductory chapters of the book, is the concept of friendships mattering a lifetime, affecting your life forever, yet sometimes fleeting. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to my friends properly and most of them have gone back to their hometowns. I wish I can do that on convocation. 

It doesn't mean your friendship meant nothing just because you don't talk anymore, right? Or that you moved on or moved up. Not at all. In fact, sometimes, your past friendships grow dearer with time. We all are busy. We all are at different points in our lives. And sometimes, people drift. 

That's okay. That's what I'm learning: it's okay.

At the time you're close, you will remember being close at that time. We change everyday, our lives change everyday. But at that time, you and that person, your friendship served a purpose, taught a lesson, helped you both grow. 

My friends, you're always in my heart. Those times, those places, those moments..they're forever treasured in my heart. They made me who I am. Thank you, dear friends. And though we may not speak often, or perhaps ever, I guarantee you, you're always, always in my heart.

Then and now.

..and if we don't meet no more in this world,

then I'll meet you in the next one,

and don't be late, don't be late...

Raining with Mercy

Imagine for a moment that it’s raining and imagine that you're inside your house, watching as it falls. Well, it's pouring, in fact. But imagine that there's something very different about this rain. It's unlike any other you've ever seen. It's not raining water, it's raining something much more precious to you. Imagine that it's raining money. What would you do? What would happen in your neighborhood on that day? What would happen in the world? Would we not run outside, falling all over ourselves, competing to gain as much of the raining money as we can? Would we not stand outside all night to gather as much as possible? We would do this for money because money is precious. But imagine for a moment that it's raining something priceless. Not thousand money, not trillions, but the mercy of Allah, a currency that no human currency could even measure.

In this Ramadan, we're shielded from hell-fire, protected from the satan and cleansed from our sins. Within this month, there's a night that is greater than a thousand months (lailatul qadr). So, what greater loss can there be than to find ourselves standing in the middle of this massive downfall of blessings without collecting all we can of Allah's mercy? And while this mercy showers on us throughout the blessed month, the last 10 days are like no other. But how can we fully take advantage of this blessed month, especially in the last 10 days? Here's a few ways:

1. Reserve a private meeting with Allah.

Set a time before or after suhoor to be alone with Allah. Use this time to connect to Him by praying or reading Quran. There's no other time like it. 

2. Set a time for reflection.

In the midst of our busy schedule, we seldom find time to stop and relax, let alone reflect on the realities of life. Make time to do this. Take time to step outside of your daily routine and introspect about where you are and where you’re going. Reflect on the creation around you and on the  reality of this life, death, and our final meeting with our Creator. Choose a time, such as the last third of the night, when there are no distractions.

3. Take a trip to Allah.

We all need to get away sometimes. Use Ramadan as a chance to go away with Allah as your companion.

Source: Yasmin Mogahed

We're getting closer to the end of Ramadan. Let's make the best of the remaining days. 

Rise Like a Phoenix

Sometimes, we have to fall down and scrape our knees to remember that we're human, that we're alive. We're earthbound creatures yearning for the sky, so naturally the more we leap upward the further we have to fall. It's the law of the land, it's gravity. What we must remember in these trying times is that we're capable of rising again. We can rise up from the ashes as a beautiful phoenix when before we were merely a jailbird chained to a perch.

That's not to say that we'll never fall again. But with each dive, we transform into something brighter and better. We learn how to adapt to our surroundings, how to read the red flags and how to detour out of arm’s way. After climbing to reach the height of freedom and being slammed back into reality, we learn that life is not perfect, but life is beautiful even when it feels so ugly.

We remember who we are at our lowest, where we came from. We become one with the dirt, with the flowers, and with the trees and we take a lesson from nature and continue reaching for the sun. We come to terms with the fact that if we fall out of line, no one will be saving our spot for when we're able to return. We have to save ourselves. We have to believe in ourselves and when we do, well, that's when we achieve the impossible. That's where miracles are born and bred in abundance.

Sometimes, we have to fall down and scrape our knees to remember that we're human, that we're alive.

Remember that.

What Teachers Make