The Prophet s.a.w. said, 'I am a tree, Fatima is its branch, Ali is its flower, Hasan and Husayn are its fruit and the lovers of the people of the house are its leaves. All of them will be in Paradise. This is the truth, this is the truth.'

~ Narrated by Al-Daylami and cited by Al-Sakhawi

journeying

You have to take delight in the trail. You have to be so happy about the journey that you're not upset that you haven't completed the destination, because you will never complete the destination. 

...

Life is dynamic. It will never stand still.

~ Abraham Hicks

I am often reassured by the Prophet s.a.w. saying, "Wisdom is the lost treasure of the believer." 💚 I find gems in the varied things I stumble onto whilst reading or listening or watching something. I am glad I have been able to collect and accumulate them, such that they start to progressively fit like little jigsaw puzzles that provide glimpses of truth and reality. 

Sometimes people feel like they have to censor themselves, you know? Like, oh, this person subscribes to an ideology I am against therefore I shall remove him entirely from my mind space. Having been from a minority existence, I found that if I were to listen at all, I often had to listen with discernment. This has enabled me to practise open-mindedness, I feel, without hopefully sacrificing the integrity of my personal values and beliefs. The diversity of knowledge and information out there fascinates me. And to connect the dots between things feels almost cathartic. When people go, "You're reading what???" or "Such and such person is _____, you know." or when they give the ever-threatening look that implied I had crossed some sacred holy line and was about to slip into damnation, I feel like saying, "I'm just reading guys, chiiiiillllll." Of course, not that long ago, it would have involved me blowing up in anger. I'm much older now and instead of being appalled or triggered, I find myself internally going, hmmmmm, neatening up my pile of mental notes anyway, aaaaand moving on.

 Datin S has returned (albeit briefly), and I feel like I've been hit by an incidental bout of nostalgia.

Having a really good friend in the same profession is a precious thing.

It's a Monday, and I haven't had any blues today, and truth be told, 

I don't really have Monday blues anymore, do I? Not for a long while.

It is often that I reflect on this, because I'd feel surprisingly good despite the start of a work week. I'd think, wow, and recall the dreadful mornings dragging my feet to the hospital and fervently wishing or ranting how a work week should be only 3 or 4 days long, or how our lives should be more balanced. Or not have me zombified from a lack of sleep or burnt out from exhaustion. It's nice how I've somehow managed to live the way I want to, mostly, and I hope to keep carving out my life this way, insyallah. I'm big on so many other things besides my work (like my reading and my book clubs for example, that I'd hate not being able to exert adequate energy to them). People like to think, oh you don't have kids or a family surely you must be bored and have nothing better to do apparently -- I typically feel stunned by people who say such things (and previously more incensed), because what narrow lives they must live. Children would certainly take up a lot of my time when or if I have them, but my god, my life is currently rich with a lot of events and activity and creative dreams. I don't need official work to keep me occupied.

Anyway, I digress, because I just wanted to report a happy day revisiting some happy things,

like this song! which came on as I journeyed home

(although it isn't exactly a happy one)

this is just a stunningly emotional song and performance; love this.

happy cafe food from recent days; 

part of the nostalgia with my ever-favourite sticky toffee date

and dalkomm! a cafe I often wish I had more easy access to:

And just now, as I was having my usual ball of a Monday night watching Runningman,

I also stumbled on BTS's performance of Permission To Dance at the UN.

I am so proud and thrilled, oh my heart.

It's another project and another year at the UN.

I haven't been partial to this song at all...

(I am secretly resentful of BTS's repeated English song releases, because it appears to me to be company or corporate demand or something, especially since they joined these big Western conglomerates; and it all seems to chip away at BTS's authenticity and true artistry.)

But! This performance lights up my fangirl fire.

This emoji truly sums up how I feel when I watch these boys, hehe.

😍

"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." -- Epictetus

After ruminating tonight about what to post here and then trashing a draft that just didn't feel right, I watched some tv, and this quote popped up. It's weird, but this one, I decided, felt right.

oyasumi.