Ramadan Reflections

Ramadan… a time for purification, patience, reflection, learning, understanding, growth, and dates & milk

There is no better time of the year than Ramadan. I am not gonna lie, it is quite difficult to fast living in the west where people around you are eating and drinking all day long. However, at the same time, fasting around coworkers or classmates who are eating and drinking all day makes one realize how valuable fasting is to one’s soul and how much fasting allows one to appreciate the simplicity of being able to grab a cup of coffee in the morning or an apple to snack on during the afternoon.

This Ramadan, in particular, is quite difficult and challenging for me and my wife. We have been tested with having to relocate our home quite unexpectedly and in a very short period of time. Add to that the usual day to day hustle and bustle along with fasting 14 hour days and you can imagine where the struggle comes in.

Tis perhaps God’s plan that we be tried at this point in time. People plan and God plans, however God’s eternal plan always prevails.

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Life is like a box of chocolates

Indeed, life is like a box of chocolates…. You always end up with the damn coconut filled chocolate after everyone else has consumed all the good ones!

Ok, life ain’t really all that bad, but sometimes life is difficult, and sometimes we just end up with what we can take instead of what we wish we had. One thing I have learned in my years on earth is that life is not just about making the right decisions when you have all available options open to you, but life is also about having enough wisdom to choose the right decision when your options have been narrowed. The good news is that the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong decisions is attainable, the bad news is that sometimes, in order to gain enough wisdom to know the difference, we end up making bad decisions or oversee better ones.

And Allah knows best.

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The most BEAUTIFUL speech!

No matter how much music, poetry, speeches, etc. that you listen to in your life, nothing, absolutely nothing, comes even close to the beautiful speech of God Almighty in the Quran. Don’t believe me…. Listen to the below clip:

The simple joys of a complicated life

I always tell others when they ask me for advice that there is nothing more important in life than yourself. You come first, then your family, then your friends, then the community, well… you get the point. One major piece of advice I always like to offer up, and this is something I even told my wife before we got married, is that life is what you make it. Life is what you make it…. sounds simple enough, but complications can always ensue. I guess part of the problem is that we don’t know what the heck life is sometimes, and the silly little quirks that can potentially make life full of beauty and joy. Perhaps the problem however, is not that we don’t understand life, but that in order to understand life, we must first understand death. An understanding of the subject through its inverse. An interesting proposition some might assume, however quite difficult for most to approach, let alone acheive.

So what is one to do… What can one accomplish from a life full of complications, difficulties, problems, and stress. Life is what you make it, to the extent that you choose to start making and becoming an active participant in life. Don’t sit back and let life pass you by… Take every moment that life presents to you and run with it. Shoot for the moon, and at the very least… at the very least, you will land somewhere among the stars. Life is God’s greatest gift to us and the test lie’s in how we use this life… So don’t abuse it, don’t let life drag you down, and no matter what… don’t let anyone or anything stop you from making life what you wish for it to be.

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Positivity

Positivity and optimism are two of the most valuable emotional tools a human being has at his or her disposal. Instill positivty in your life today, maintain this positivity throughout life, and spread the concept to those who you love.

- peace
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Put a Smile on that Face

2009 is the year that we need to put a smile on our faces. Just smile, it makes a world of difference. Even if you feel like crap inside, smile on the outside, and see what a profound effect it can have on you. Smile and it will effect those around you, make you feel better, and change your day-to-day attitude.

My words of wisdom for the day.

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When Happiness Is All About Feeling Alive

What does it really mean to be happy? Does a person need to have loads of money, cars, fancy clothing, jewlery, etc. to be happy? Does a person have to have several degrees from distinguished universities to be happy? Does a person have to have it all in life to be happy?

What is happiness anyways? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, happiness is a state of well-being and contentment. From this definition, we can gather that, in order to be happy, a person only needs to be in a good state, and content with what they have in life. That simple!

In my life, I have been on a path persuing happiness as one of my overall goals. Looking at the dictionary definition of happiness, however, changes my perspective on what it really means to be happy.

In order to be happy, I don’t need to have everything or nothing at all. Instead, I must be content and satisfied with whatever I do have in life, and always adjust my perspective so that I can see my current relative state, as being in a state of well-being. If done properly, happiness can be acheived permanently.

Am I a happy person? Yes, I am and I will be, God-willingly, for the rest of my life.

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Winter Thoughts…

Winter time is here again, and as I like to periodically do, it is time for some reflection and introspection. Life is an amazing and beautiful thing, and even thought at time, life is hard to understand or may seem confusing, in the end, it is the journey that makes like worth living. With the coming of winter, we will also be met, soon, with the end of the 2008. 2008 has been the most memorable year of my life thus far, and I look forward to seeing what amazing events are going to come in 2009.

Winter time is a cold time of the year… days are short, people spend most their times indoors, and there is more rain, ice, and snow than any other time of the year. No doubt, most of us would rather spend our winter day hibernating in our beds, however life continues in winter, whether we like it or not. I remember I used to despise winter, and couldn’t wait until it was over. I used to see winter as a gloomy time, when trees and plants would die, animals would hide away, and life would slow down. Winter used to symbolize death to me, and I used to suffer from a slight depression everytime winter would come around. Until winter passed, and spring came around, my depression would stay with me. Now, however, I don’t really mind the winter. I kind of enjoy the cold weather, as it is a change from the usually warm weather we have in Oklahoma. Winter is also a time of the year when I seem to get to spend more time with family, so my perspective has changed.

That being said, this winter is a sad winter for me because I am missing the most special person in my life right now. Until you fall in love with someone special, you will never realize how hard it is to be away from them. I have traveled before, and had to be away from my family for prolonged periods of time, so I am not unaware of what it is like to miss someone. However, when that person is a person you have fallen in love with, there exists a void in your life when they are not around. Two individuals existing with two hearts, but one soul. Love is a beautiful thing, and even though I am sad because I am missing an amazingly beautiful woman, I am thankful that I have her in my life, and I have the opportunity to miss her. God has truly blessed us to be together, and I should cherish every moment that we have together in life, whether we are sitting right next to each other, or we have thousands of miles between us. The only good thing about missing someone you love so much, is that you will enjoy their company that much more when you are reunited with them.

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Wonderful Tonight….

It had been a long day for the both of them. The reality of working a full-time job, and balancing out the duties of life was beginning to set in. Sometimes they both wished for the days when they had nothing to do but talk on the phone all day and night, and spend their time exploring each others thoughts and opinions. The days of sitting together in the park and cherishing their afternoon together were gone for the time being. Now the time came to start building a life together, and they both knew that it would be worth it once the day came that they would become husband and wife.

As he pulled up to the driveway to pick up the love of his life for the evening, he was full of joy. No matter how long and stressful the days were, nothing could put him more at ease than seeing the woman he loved with all his heart. When he was with her, all the worries, problems, and troubles of the world seemed insignificant. With just a simple hug and kiss, this amazing woman could turn this man’s worries into hope, and his stress into relaxation. As he stepped out of the car and waited for his love to come out, he turned his eyes up to the sky and said a prayer of thanks. At that moment, he remembered, as he always had known, that there was nothing in life more precious to him than this woman, and he should always be thankful to God for blessing them to be together, now and forever.

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Driving her home from an enjoyable evening out on the town, she held his hand so tenderly in hers and they talked about the future that they were both looking forward to spending together. As they were approaching her home, the words died down, and in the silence, he began to think. At that very moment, he wished to be no where in the world than where he was. This man had traveled the world before, had the opportunity to do many amazing things in his short lifetime, however no feeling in the world was as beautiful as sitting next to the love of his life, and feeling the warmth of love between them as she held his hand. He wished the evening would never end, and he never had to say goodbye and leave his better half. The only thought that kept him feeling content was knowing that one day, soon, they would never have to be apart again, and that would be the happiest day of his life.

Pulling in front of her house, he put the car into park, and turned to face his beautiful bride. They stared in each other’s eyes, and the feeling that was felt at that moment was so surreal, that they both felt as if they were in heaven. Peace was not easy to find on this earth, however at that very moment, they experienced a beautiful sense of peace which they found only in each other. As he gave her a hug, he told her that he loved her, and she responded with the same. As they embraced, they both had the same thought, although it was not necessary for either of them to speak it, because words were not needed between these two. As they held each other so gently, they both knew that this love was true, and everlasting. As she stepped out of the car, he turned towards her again, and he said, “hey… I know I don’t need to say it, but… as always, you were wonderful tonight….” A big smile crossed her face, and she knew, just as he knew, that they were meant to be together for the rest of their lives. She closed the door, and walked towards her house, and as he was pulling out of the driveway, she turned back, and she said to him, “you know what…. as always, you were wonderful too…”

As he drove home, this once lonely man, thought of how blessed he was to have someone so special in his life. Nothing has brought him more joy, happiness, hope, and enjoyment in his life than being with this woman he has fallen so deeply in love with. Her presence in his life has made him complete and given him a reason to live. As he rolled down the car window and felt the wind across his face and through his hair, he looked up at the stars as they shined brightly down across the face of the earth. He pulled into his driveway, and as he approached his front door, he turned his face to the sky once again, his eyes began to well up with tears of joy, and he couldn’t help but think, that the most wonderful thing about tonight, and every night thereafter, was that he was given the opportunity to realize how much he truly does love this woman, and in his heart she would always and forever be…

The Moment When You Know…

There is always a moment in life when you know… A friend asked me a few weeks ago, how do you know when you have found the one? Not a difficult question to answer, because there is a feeling inside all of us that lets us know that we have found the one. The feeling is hard to describe, but when you are sitting next to that person, staring in their eyes, holding their hand, the feeling that you get at that moment is like no other. That is when you know you have found the one. And knowing that you have found the one is a comforting feeling, and the love and happiness that follows are worth the search for that one person in life that you were meant to spend each and every day with.