ON THE MEND

Photo taken during my recent trip to Ubud, Bali Indonesia - September 2018 F orgiveness.  We’ve all heard the word before, but what does it mean?  Sometimes the simplest things in life are the hardest.  Forgiveness is a hard task especially when extremely hurt, but if you want to be happy and move on peacefully, then you must work at it. Some feel that it isn’t worth it, perhaps the individual doesn’t mean much to them.  Maybe they are not worth much to you but they are worth something in Allah swt eyes. As much as people will try to help us move forward, and as much as we try to let go of the past, truly, it’s easier said than done.  Yes, we are all humans and we all make mistakes, but somehow it's easier to forgive others  than it is to forgive ourselves, simply because we hold ourselves to higher standards. Other people do not live inside our heads the way we do.  We can’t help but listen to that creepy voice in our minds that relent...

Photo taken during my trip to  San Francisco, California - June 2014   Allah swt says in Holy Qur'an: “ Allah is the Protector of those who have faith He will lead them from the depths of darkness into light. As for those who disbelieve, their patrons are the devils: from the light, they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (forever).”   (Qur'an, 2:257) I still suffer from severe anxiety and depression to this day.   When I am well, which is most of the time, I am happy, empathetic, curious, motivated, open and friendly. When depression takes over I turn into the opposite, I enter the negative state of mind.  It’s like falling into a deep dark hole and having no ladder to climb to help you get out of it. You get trapped in the darkness feeling cold and numb. I turn into an evil person and sometimes I say or do things to hurt others, the dark ugly side of me takes ove...

Photo taken @Merese Hill during my recent trip to Lombok - August 2018 The Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Whoever relieves a believer of a hardship from the hardships of this world, then Allah will relieve him of a hardship from the hardships of the Day of Resurrection… Allah is helping the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother,” ( Hadith Tirmidhi/ Muslim) Changing the world starts with every person doing one small thing. And in the process, you help your own soul, and you bring happiness to your own heart, and you get the blessings and barakah of Allah. What a deal! I have just returned from Lombok. It's a place I have visited many times before and very dear to me. I first travelled there in my late twenties, an experience that shaped my future. The people I met touched my heart, they were kind, proud, hardworking people.  I had tried to prepare myself beforehand for what I might see but the enormity of the devastation wa...