One of the most grand reasons why I ponder is because of the religion that I practice, Islam. For many years, I would practice the daily prayers, I did it because I had to do it purely out of an obligation. I did it without being mindful on what the practice actually means, unaware of the positive impacts the practice have on each different level of my well-being. For some who were born into the faith like myself, we can take the privilege for granted and I know I am not alone in this. It is so normal to have doubts and questions when we are in search for truth and purpose. At the end of the day, our faith and belief are discovered by ourselves and we are the ones responsible to decide how receptive we are to be able to nurture it. It has been almost a month since the last day of Ramadan and it surely feels bittersweet. This year has especially been memorable to me; marriage, being together with family and meeting new people. All is experienced in a new place; new surrounding, new atmosphere. I feel blessed to be in comfort knowing a few familiar faces.
I also finished AA Consistency Course hosted by Aida Azlin in the first week of Ramadan. It was one of the most rewarding courses ever, a safe and comfortable space to voice, fuel and support growth of one woman to the other. To be consistent is to regularly partake in doing something specific until it becomes a habit. Is it once a day? a few times a week? What could an act like flossing my teeth every night to writing a journal every week do to me? I joined the course because I have been in the position where I lack the drive even though I badly want to move forward. Could it be because I begin with pessimistic opinion, calculating things that could be wrong instead of things that could be right? or because I am simply overwhelmed by starting from a blank page that I won't be able to fill?
The course took me by the hand to start the month of Ramadan positively so that we can build our consistency muscle. Consistency will have a domino-like effect in aspects of our lives because one act always follows the other. It consists of many hours of doing the same thing over and over again until it becomes so habitual. One of my design mentors told me to draw a straight line without a ruler for a month and he told me to notice how the arm will adjust to its position to draw an imperfectly perfect straight line. It sounds like an excruciating task to do, but that's what it takes to reap the fruit from being consistent.
Within this post, I made a recap of two things on how my consistency journey intertwined with this year's Ramadan.
Learning and Practicing Mindful Habits
The month of Ramadan has its magnetic quality about it. On a cultural level if you live in a muslim country, you would find many food stalls on the street selling sweet cold beverage and desserts, your family and friends inviting you to break the fast together later in the evening. Despite the fact that you do not eat and drink from dawn until dusk, there is this enlightening energy about it. On a spiritual level, some would wake up an hour or two before dawn and gather their energy to use their time wisely in ways they know how to remember God and please God. Some would go to work, recite the Quran or listen to a lecture instead of their lunch break or some would study the interpretation of verses of Quran to understand its context and learn its wisdom as they come home. After dusk when it is time to break the fast, we have approximately one hour until we make teraweeh at the mosque (teraweeh = additional prayer after Isha during Ramadan). During Ramadan, we are more likely to be constantly surrounded by things and activities that reminds us of our goal and purpose because it is a short month that comes by only once a year.
Besides practicing to apply wiser consumption choices and no-shaming mindset, I made it my mission to feel what I utter in my heart when I make salah and prioritize them above everything else when the prayer is called (salah = prayers; consists of continuous movement from standing to prostration while reciting prayers). It can be my tendency to rush through salah and delay the prayer when I'm in the midst of an activity. Muslims do salah to remember God, like hitting a re-focus button to remind ourselves that everything happens out of His mercy and we should do everything for the sake of Him.
Gaining focus during salah is a constant inner battle because our mind can easily wander elsewhere if we let it. However, I could make things easier for myself to refrain my mind from wandering and not excuse myself to delay the prayer. Inspired by Aida and the sisters in the course, the first solution is to plan my time according to the five daily prayer while I have the flexibility to do that. It is similar to the typical scheduling, say, 7-8AM to write, 9-12AM to work and etc. The only difference is I allow each timeframe from one prayer to the next be my clockwork. Second solution is to have a dedicated place to pray. I place my prayer matt in the same spot and I choose the very best spot! Occasionally, I would turn on my essential oil vaporizer. This motivates me to be in peace and reflect. Third solution is to always slip some free time for learning. I subscribed to a couple of platform and podcasts that offers insightful lecture about the interpretation of Quran. The more I understand the prayer's context, the more I can connect. I listen to them when I take a break from the screen, when I cook or when I am in the car.
The biggest take-away if you would like to plant any new habit, is to create incentives and rewards. Additionally, find ways to make the habit easier for you to do by setting the props in visible places. For example, I always want to make the habit of using my own containers when I eat outside because food portions can be huge! Food leftover can go straight into my own containers instead of styrofoam and plastic, so I literally always leave my container in the car. If it happens that I forget, I guess I am going to try my hardest to finish one whole plate!
Fiercely Guard Our Time
I have written before how in Ramadan some may use their time to recite Quran, go to a mosque or listen to a lecture to fill in their lunch break. It does not matter if it is as short as 15 minutes. I find this to be a challenge especially when I used to work at the office when I would say I am too busy to make ibadah (= act of worship). But when we really love something or someone, won't we make time for it? What I have found the most helpful to face the work dilemma is to see the act of worship not only in the form of making salah, praying, and reciting. If I could make the intention to work at the office not only because of personal reasons, but because I know my work would benefit the community of my client, and thus it would provide them with a working environment that is more engaging and uplifting, acknowledging that alone gives me a strong reason to be a good example of how a committed muslim should be. Working can be an act of worship because in a good service of others for the sake of Him, we please Him. When we are used to thinking this way, to make God the center of our life, we will strive even more.
Each moment in our life is sacred for it is a blessing to be given another moment to live. These days, we find ourselves to always ask how time flies so quickly and we nod to a lot of things without really thinking long-term. Have you ever seen space images that NASA took of the universe? I always imagine seeing myself on a macro plane to remind me that I am a mere speckle of dust. But even a speckle of dust and each smaller atom that makes up the universe, even the most little thing has a purpose.
During the course, Aida told us to record how we spend our day so I traced how I went about my day. I have to say I am appalled by how easily I can spend 4 hours of my day on leisure browsing. Yes, I have been there, intending to watch just one youtube video and it just happens that I click next and next. I guess it is okay if we have a good intention to do that but it is that easy to let time slip by if we do not protect it fiercely. I always say this when I complete a task within the last minute, "I could have managed it better". Yes, I definitely could! If we remember that we do things to reach a better version of ourselves, to do good for Him, we will surely waste time less.
This is a note to myself that we can always be afraid and have things to fear but the beauty is when there is courage to face the discomfort and put in the effort. The journey to faith has been a winding road for me but it is always about moving forward. For each time I fail, I discover and learn a number of things, new and old, about myself. Consistency is the heart of Islam. Like the daily prayer, it is obligatory not at all to burden us. On a personal level, it has helped me to place myself in a pathway where I want to be, with His blessing. Practicing a habit should never be an all-or-nothing mindset which I think can be a breaking point. God acknowledges that our faith can fluctuate when we are faced with internal and external obstacles. At least, lets acknowledge the person who we aspire to be, a person who is consistent, a creative who dares to tirelessly realize their dreams, a writer on self-care. We will experience the incremental benefit overtime for every effort even if it feels awfully dragging at some point.
I also finished AA Consistency Course hosted by Aida Azlin in the first week of Ramadan. It was one of the most rewarding courses ever, a safe and comfortable space to voice, fuel and support growth of one woman to the other. To be consistent is to regularly partake in doing something specific until it becomes a habit. Is it once a day? a few times a week? What could an act like flossing my teeth every night to writing a journal every week do to me? I joined the course because I have been in the position where I lack the drive even though I badly want to move forward. Could it be because I begin with pessimistic opinion, calculating things that could be wrong instead of things that could be right? or because I am simply overwhelmed by starting from a blank page that I won't be able to fill?
The course took me by the hand to start the month of Ramadan positively so that we can build our consistency muscle. Consistency will have a domino-like effect in aspects of our lives because one act always follows the other. It consists of many hours of doing the same thing over and over again until it becomes so habitual. One of my design mentors told me to draw a straight line without a ruler for a month and he told me to notice how the arm will adjust to its position to draw an imperfectly perfect straight line. It sounds like an excruciating task to do, but that's what it takes to reap the fruit from being consistent.
Within this post, I made a recap of two things on how my consistency journey intertwined with this year's Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan has its magnetic quality about it. On a cultural level if you live in a muslim country, you would find many food stalls on the street selling sweet cold beverage and desserts, your family and friends inviting you to break the fast together later in the evening. Despite the fact that you do not eat and drink from dawn until dusk, there is this enlightening energy about it. On a spiritual level, some would wake up an hour or two before dawn and gather their energy to use their time wisely in ways they know how to remember God and please God. Some would go to work, recite the Quran or listen to a lecture instead of their lunch break or some would study the interpretation of verses of Quran to understand its context and learn its wisdom as they come home. After dusk when it is time to break the fast, we have approximately one hour until we make teraweeh at the mosque (teraweeh = additional prayer after Isha during Ramadan). During Ramadan, we are more likely to be constantly surrounded by things and activities that reminds us of our goal and purpose because it is a short month that comes by only once a year.
Besides practicing to apply wiser consumption choices and no-shaming mindset, I made it my mission to feel what I utter in my heart when I make salah and prioritize them above everything else when the prayer is called (salah = prayers; consists of continuous movement from standing to prostration while reciting prayers). It can be my tendency to rush through salah and delay the prayer when I'm in the midst of an activity. Muslims do salah to remember God, like hitting a re-focus button to remind ourselves that everything happens out of His mercy and we should do everything for the sake of Him.
Gaining focus during salah is a constant inner battle because our mind can easily wander elsewhere if we let it. However, I could make things easier for myself to refrain my mind from wandering and not excuse myself to delay the prayer. Inspired by Aida and the sisters in the course, the first solution is to plan my time according to the five daily prayer while I have the flexibility to do that. It is similar to the typical scheduling, say, 7-8AM to write, 9-12AM to work and etc. The only difference is I allow each timeframe from one prayer to the next be my clockwork. Second solution is to have a dedicated place to pray. I place my prayer matt in the same spot and I choose the very best spot! Occasionally, I would turn on my essential oil vaporizer. This motivates me to be in peace and reflect. Third solution is to always slip some free time for learning. I subscribed to a couple of platform and podcasts that offers insightful lecture about the interpretation of Quran. The more I understand the prayer's context, the more I can connect. I listen to them when I take a break from the screen, when I cook or when I am in the car.
The biggest take-away if you would like to plant any new habit, is to create incentives and rewards. Additionally, find ways to make the habit easier for you to do by setting the props in visible places. For example, I always want to make the habit of using my own containers when I eat outside because food portions can be huge! Food leftover can go straight into my own containers instead of styrofoam and plastic, so I literally always leave my container in the car. If it happens that I forget, I guess I am going to try my hardest to finish one whole plate!
Fiercely Guard Our Time
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| San Antonio, Tx |
I have written before how in Ramadan some may use their time to recite Quran, go to a mosque or listen to a lecture to fill in their lunch break. It does not matter if it is as short as 15 minutes. I find this to be a challenge especially when I used to work at the office when I would say I am too busy to make ibadah (= act of worship). But when we really love something or someone, won't we make time for it? What I have found the most helpful to face the work dilemma is to see the act of worship not only in the form of making salah, praying, and reciting. If I could make the intention to work at the office not only because of personal reasons, but because I know my work would benefit the community of my client, and thus it would provide them with a working environment that is more engaging and uplifting, acknowledging that alone gives me a strong reason to be a good example of how a committed muslim should be. Working can be an act of worship because in a good service of others for the sake of Him, we please Him. When we are used to thinking this way, to make God the center of our life, we will strive even more.
Each moment in our life is sacred for it is a blessing to be given another moment to live. These days, we find ourselves to always ask how time flies so quickly and we nod to a lot of things without really thinking long-term. Have you ever seen space images that NASA took of the universe? I always imagine seeing myself on a macro plane to remind me that I am a mere speckle of dust. But even a speckle of dust and each smaller atom that makes up the universe, even the most little thing has a purpose.
During the course, Aida told us to record how we spend our day so I traced how I went about my day. I have to say I am appalled by how easily I can spend 4 hours of my day on leisure browsing. Yes, I have been there, intending to watch just one youtube video and it just happens that I click next and next. I guess it is okay if we have a good intention to do that but it is that easy to let time slip by if we do not protect it fiercely. I always say this when I complete a task within the last minute, "I could have managed it better". Yes, I definitely could! If we remember that we do things to reach a better version of ourselves, to do good for Him, we will surely waste time less.
"Best deeds are consistent, even if small" Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him).
This is a note to myself that we can always be afraid and have things to fear but the beauty is when there is courage to face the discomfort and put in the effort. The journey to faith has been a winding road for me but it is always about moving forward. For each time I fail, I discover and learn a number of things, new and old, about myself. Consistency is the heart of Islam. Like the daily prayer, it is obligatory not at all to burden us. On a personal level, it has helped me to place myself in a pathway where I want to be, with His blessing. Practicing a habit should never be an all-or-nothing mindset which I think can be a breaking point. God acknowledges that our faith can fluctuate when we are faced with internal and external obstacles. At least, lets acknowledge the person who we aspire to be, a person who is consistent, a creative who dares to tirelessly realize their dreams, a writer on self-care. We will experience the incremental benefit overtime for every effort even if it feels awfully dragging at some point.
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