simply ordinary.

I could tell right away that you were once a people pleaser. The remnants of it still remain, and probably always will to some extent. What’s changed is not that you don’t like to please people. What’s changed is that you’ve recognized the value of your pleasing people, causing you to put a price on it. Now, it must be earned, and will not be handed out or even made available to just anybody. There are some that will always hold your heart and for whom you will always be willing to do anything to please. but you will also put barriers up against them, not because you don’t trust them, but because you are afraid of one day being trampled by those closest to you, and that is your greatest fear. It is your greatest fear of all because you recognize how real that possibility truly is, perhaps due to your own experience or the experiences of those close to you. Regardless, this armour you have built as an external extension of you is good for you because now, a person must be willing to take arms with your armour to even stand a chance at getting a place in your life.

People think of education as something they can finish.

I firmly believe in small gestures: pay for their coffee, hold the door for strangers, over tip, smile or try to be kind even when you don’t feel like it, pay compliments, chase the kid’s runaway ball down the sidewalk and throw it back to him, try to be larger than you are— particularly when it’s difficult. People do notice, people appreciate. I appreciate it when it’s done to (for) me. Small gestures can be an effort, or actually go against our grain (“I’m not a big one for paying compliments…”), but the irony is that almost every time you make them, you feel better about yourself. For a moment life suddenly feels lighter, a bit more Gene Kelly dancing in the rain.

When you love anyone or anything, give it your all with sincerity, generosity, and selflessness. In true love, there are no games, no tricks, no subtle hints, or anything like that. Everything is true, honest, and clear. Those subtle hints refuse to be subtle in their sheer existence, as something as simple as a catching of glimpses speaks louder than a stare. And when that happens, the truest sound of love can only be heard by one’s heart. Artists throughout history, including myself, have tried to put it into words, painting, or other forms of art, but nothing could ever truly describe Love. So, go out there, live and love wholeheartedly and trust in God and yourself that everything will come together when the time is right, and that all that comes before it was meant to prepare you for when your Love arrives. When it finally does, hold on to it, dedicate your life to it, and smile because you’ve found the treasure every person has sought to find. Love God. Love you. Love life. Love love.

You chase the dunya and its pleasures when the dunya was the punishment for Adam (alayhi salaam)

All night a man called “Allah” until his lips were bleeding. Then the devil sad, “How come you’ve been calling Allah all night, and never heard Allah say “Here, I am!”? The man suddenly felt abandoned. Depressed he fell asleep. In a dream, he met Abraham who asked him, “Why are you regretting praying to Allah?” The man said, “I called and called, but Allah never replied.” Abraham then explained,

Allah has said: “your calling my name is My reply. Your longing for Me is My message to you. All my attempts to reach you are reflected in your attempts to reach me.”

In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”, waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”