If I showed you my teardrops..

If I showed you my teardrops

would you collect them like rain?

Endure the tremors of my heart,

Soliciting no gain?

If I showed you the cracks of my heart

Would you glue them with hope?

Of a promise you’ll stick to

Tie it with a lovely tight rope?

If I showed you my teardrops would you make me a sea?

Be it of happiness OR melancholy, jointly float with me?

If I showed you my teardrops, would you make me a painting?

On a canvas of dreams and reality, love and empathy.

I never thought I’d admit this, but perhaps that’s what you’d do;

Make me do the things, I never thought I could too.

And then again, If I showed you my teardrops

Would you show me yours too?

I’d tone my waves to suit yours,

Promising the best of me, to you <3

Isn't it beautiful that Allah swt could grant love in the heart of your spouse for you? :')

Alhamdulillah..
I thank Allah for adding love in our lives, coz He said,

"And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.' " [Qur'an 14:7] ;) 

While he's been away...

My husbands been away for a while, to a place he's never been to alone, with people who speak languages he can slightly understand but not converse in, for a good cause though.
This has given me ample time with my self, to reflect on our marriage, on our lives individually; his and mine, and on our future. When he left, I argued with him. So it wasn't really a happy farewell. Yet, it was a much needed break from each other, for me to rejuvenate my love and think of ways this marriage could be saved. I don't mean it was dying. Its been a happy marriage, Alhamdulillah, but like most couples say, in the first year of marriage things were getting real and trials and stress began kicking in, hence slowly drying the affection between us. (or maybe that's what I wrongly thought). I knew something was missing, and I couldn't tell what...

We individually worked on our faith. Yes we woke each other up for Fajr, made sure each other never missed a prayer, did almost a lot of things that ensured we weren't swaying away from the Deen. However, we didnt help each other in our connection with Allah swt. It was dying in each of our hearts; he figured his heart, I didn't mine.
He often told me, when I asked him why he seemed so dull, that 'it is dead', pointing to his heart. I tried telling him things he could do or I'd recite the Qur'an or play Mishary when he's around in the room, but mostly never knew how to help (much because perhaps mine has been dead too).

What was missing in my marriage wasn't (to my surprise) any affection between us, but both of our connections with our Rabb. I could have told him to spend a day per week in the masjid doing Itikaf, making sure no matter what keeps him busy, he makes time to rejuvenate his soul and bring it to life. I could have sat and done the tafseer with him like he always wanted to. And there are many ways we could have in turn helped each other.

Now that he's gone, so close to Allah's house, and I'm here day by day bringing back the lost me, getting back to my connection with Him, since I have no choice but to rely on Allah the Almighty for the safety of my husband, I feel the change in our voices when we talk over phone, the increase in our concern (me for his safety, he for mine health), and we feel that 'honeymoon phase' back in our silent 'Love you's'.

Fear of living without him: An eternal wait

SubhanAllah I sit in my prayer mat after Isha and think about ALL those women of the past who sent their husbands in Allah's path, with nothing in their hearts but tawakal ala Allah (faith in Allah swt).
Not faith that their husbands are going to be back safe, but faith that their husbands are going in the path of Allah SWT and so whatever good OR BAD happens to them, it is in Allah's hands. How strong would they have been to let their affairs in Allah's hands no matter what the outcome could be; them raising children as single mothers, them living their lives in Allah's care ahead in case their husbands didn't return, or just them not ever knowing news of what their husbands might be going through and so waiting timelessly for news of their spouses...

Indeed, in their eternal waiting, they've set different standards of having 'faith' in Allah swt that I just cannot comprehend.

If he's been away only for a few days, with much advanced technology than those days so I know every place he is in, or what he has been doing etc, and yet my heart and mind keep wandering and fearing for his safety until he's back, I wonder where those women derived their strength from, subhanAllah.

'Every marriage is different'

This is one of the BEST lines I ever read on marriage and it is SO SO true.

No matter how many people come to give advices on marriage 'based on their experience', MY marriage is different. There is no harm in taking the good from their advises and applying it in our lives; but what's important is to be able to judge our spouses ON OUR OWN without comparing situations, without expecting similar outcomes like others and without just emulating other people's married lives.

Nobody else is my husband's wife :D

And Alhamdulillah for that :D

And so nobody else is a judge of his potential, nobody else can dictate to me how I should feel about him or what I should tell him, etc. No matter how close anyone else is, I love my husband and I am happy with him; and what other's think or feel about him is their problem.
I've promised to respond to his Zammilooni when he needs it; and that doesn't mean I need to wait for him to shiver in fear and run to me saying 'Zammilooni' coz an angel just pressed over him; His 'zammilooni' is in me standing by his side whenever I can. Be it in the small things he stands for in life, that his or my own parents would be against. Or the big decisions he makes in life, with no one but me as his spouse to discuss with and consider. His 'zammilooni' is NOT in me standing beside him showing anyone-  'yes my husbands like this and well I'm dealing with it'. But me standing beside him showing 'YES! My husband's like this, and I'm proud of him for this'.

Not just that, but it is also important to place each of our loved ones in their specific pedestals, independant of each other. My parents are in a high pedestal in my love for them, and so is my husband. And so are his parents. But what problems my parents have with him are not mine and should not affect how my relationship and feelings for him is and vice verse. This is how we separate the pedestals, and learn to prioritize. And THAT is when we know, noone can come between our sacred relationship. which means-

It is never too late to amend issues

The beauty about marriage is that everything happens for the first time. And everything isn't meant to be perfect.
The key is to embrace all the first times be it in good or bad ways, and have a heart that's constantly reflecting on the state of the marriage, and it's path towards Allah's pleasure. Everything else is just fixed or beautified more, by Him. Alhamdulillah.

'But I'm not happy anymore'

A most common phrase many say at one or the other points of time in their lives. But, every time we be in such a situation, ( and i read this somewhere as well) asking ourselves if there was ONE thing left to fight for in our spouses, will help us get past the pain. My answer has always been yes, and not for one but for many MANY MANY things I love him for EVEN if I woudn't admit it AT THAT exact point of time. Be it in the littlest of things like his smile at some of my childish naiveness or the biggest of things like the days he made me grow in my dreams. Or simply his chuckle without a reply when I say 'I love you'.

If there is even one small thing worth to fight for in him, then it's worth holding on with patience during hard times.

Importance of 'me time' in our lives

All this excitement to renew my married life with him (like as if we are 15 years married! ) has been the result of me taking my time off him while he's been away. And this me-time has been so healthy and helpful in bringing back the old feelings and dreams of walking together, aging together for 60 or 80 years ahead, and further till Jannah and beyond inshaAllah. And so i guess we need to do this more often ;)

Alhamdulillah, for the blessings in the little harsh days as well :P

Waiting for you, soulmate. <3  For you to see this newer, kinder, more empathetic me, inshaAllah. And hopefully, receiving the same from your me-time there.

The love? Just like it was day one, and it will always be. iA :) 

Of looking back, looking around and looking ahead…

For years, I’ve been yearning.

To feel a sense of closeness to Him. For being tested, just to know I’m loved.

To know, if I’m loved by the One I adore so much.

I’ve been drowning in the grief of realising the unworthiness of this life and this Dunya, and the increasing desire for Jannah…the real deal. Been wondering, will I ever be an extra-ordinary slave of Him, or just simply be.

Except until a few days ago, while sitting alone near His blessed house and contemplating over His countless blessings over me right from my birth to this very breath that I take… Unfathomable and Uncountable blessings from the Almighty; Humility overpowers me and I’m overwhelmed with the feeling to make more supplications, yet I can’t ask for more, before thanking Him enough.

And then I wonder in awe, ‘why me?’  

Amidst the young orphans, the homes that were wrecked, the bodies that were born paralyzed, the school children whose schools were bombed, the underprivileged with meager sustenance, the healthy new borns with a brain damage, the unintelligent, the children whose parents worked in the streets day and night, those whose new clothes were only the discarded ones of the rich, youth who slept hungry, fasted with no food to break their fasts, and amidst those who didn’t know Islam- the truth, the ones who slept and woke up living a systematic life with no purpose, those who were blessed with the Dunya and not the Deen, those who had the Qur’an but only in their shelves and amidst….this unjust world; He raised me. Not deprived like the ones above, but differently and beautifully. Deprived (or rather ‘tested’) in some things, but given most; Unlike the ones above. He granted me so much I never asked for. And most of all, if He granted me the desire to see Him and yearn for His love, wasn’t it the greatest of blessings to be thankful for already?

And that…. Was sufficient. To look back at what I’ve been yearning for.  I AM extraordinary in the simplest of ways He’s given me or deprived of me. AND SO ARE WE ALL. and so are those in the above mentioned, too...Alhamdulillah..

I always thought Maryam AS said this for herself when she replied to Zachariah that the fruits she had were from Allah swt. Indeed they were. But her statement was so general- “She said, ‘It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.’" [Qur’an 3:37]  " إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ "

:’) 

Need I say more?

Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account… Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without measure..[Qur'an 3:37]

[May Allah make us of them]

2nd Ramadan 1436,Alhamdulillah

The pigeon knocked my window this morning....Again.

That little bird has seriously taught me too many lessons. :D

Nobody will believe me, but these pigeons actually sit on my window sill and chirp loudly or knock on the window UNTIL I open and give it some food.. And me being the forgetful person I am, have to be reminded a million times. Either by my mother or by the knocks of these hungry little ones. 

The moment I put their food and close the windows, they fly back to my window sill and eat so quietly and hungrily!

I cannot believe that it’s a different bird everyday. How would they know this exaaaact window! I know they're my birds.

There’s that little one teaching me-

To knock on His door,continuously, consistently, humbly and without ever giving up. No matter what. I need to knock with the faith that I’ll be given and fly away, only to come back to see I’m given.

Every event in our lives has a reason behind its happening. And while we ‘fly further’, we will look back and know it was what ‘made’ us and ‘sustained’ us.  :)

Little did I know I’d derive so many lessons from these pigeons in my life! Even that is in itself a lesson- to be of any benefit to this world and all of His creation in any possible way, be it even teaching it a lesson just by being the best of ourselves.

Dua- Ya Mujeeb, use me to add value to this Ummah. Ameen :')

The middle one is a fighter :D

This too shall pass...

What have you lost if a test only got you closer to Allah swt even if it’s hard and heartbreakingly shattering to bear in this Dunya? If all that matters is your connection with Allah, nothing will break you.

'O you who are patient! Bear a little more, just a little more remains.' [Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah)]

.....And yet..."with every hardship there is ease. With every hardship there is ease." :') [Quran: 94:5-6] That's His promise. Derive your strength from Him...:')

Say Alhamdulillah. Coz Allah says ''If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; ' [14:7]

Haven't Allah's plans always been better for you? 

Haven't you seen so much love this year subhanAllah and hasn't He given you so many blessings. EVEN in this test, haven't you seen how Allah has softened everyone's (especially those that matter to you the most) hearts towards you?  This is just a small thing He's taken compared to all that..Don't despair. Infact it's nothing compared to the real mansions you want in the akhirah..

'Smile and tell Him thanks and look ahead' :)

Weren't you the one who asked for His love. Now that you're tested, you don't want it? Tell Allah with that fragile heart of yours, 'Yes, I still believe YOU are ArRahman. You are AlWudood. I am not giving up on You ya Rabb' 

This is what life is. To walk forth and build new dreams upon the rubble of the previous ones. And you can't go ahead half-heartedly. Life's events will keep breaking you, but it will make you a 1000 times stronger. Walk on, as you have walked on previously. From tough battles. You won't let this stop you. Because that isn't you. You will figure a way. He will guide you out. Fall, falter, cry, but you will pass this bridge with strength inshaAllah. I will never escape the lessons HE wants me to learn but it will only take me to Him. inshaAllah.  Life is all about Him testing us...and about our hearts going back to Him when its heading elsewhere.  Such that it cries out to Him feeling helpless knowing that only He can get us through.  And for us to see Allah's compassion and mercy fixing our affairs till we would say "THIS is Allah." ...

O Allah, I accept your test. Just don't let me disappoint those around me :'(

لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا  :')  That means you can bear this. Alhamdulillah. Its really nothing! :D

#ThisTooShallPass

My final 'single' departure from Malaysia iA

24th May 2014 6:45pm [I'm typing this on air]

Ya rabb...this is between you and me..and I truly know i don't deserve all this love. I cannot understand how people would love someone like me n make time for me. Not just make time for me but also make it special for me in every possible way. I know my reality.  N it doesn't deserve even a speck of this. I haven't earned anything.  But it is you ya Allah who put love in the hearts of those i love. It is You, ya alwudood...enveloping me with it. And i bow down in humility to You,  and thank You and beg of Your forgiveness for granting me without me asking,
and amidst all the love i received today, I seek the love of You ya AlWadood, the giver of All love that's sufficient.

Dedicated To You..

"The day you sat by me
And the Stars witnessed,
The tremors of my heart;
The whispers of my soul,
And your eyes,
Soft and Tender
Held a promise
Of love that would never go...."

:)

Be The Woman You Need To Be.

Every girls dream dies. In this cruel world.

Pondering, and learning about the contribution of women to knowledge, to the society, to the collection of dozen billion books that we have today, which if not for them, we wouldn’t have had them…..Been wondering what happened to our current society. We’ve certainly gone wrong somewhere. Somewhere a woman’s dreams die behind a closed door, beneath a crimson veil, below a culture’s coat. Lost in the pool of responsibilities shoved on her, she not only forgets the woman she once was, but also forgets who she wanted to be… Lets stop blaming anything. And go back to phase zero. And treat women like the RasoolAllah SAW did. Treat OURSELVES like he did, and just grow. There is nothing stopping us from growing, but ourselves.

“There are few needs greater right now in the Muslim community, than the training, education, and encouragement for women to become fully-trained Islamic scholars. Not complainers who write articles about why men suck, getting fame from it and rallying others on the “men are terrible” bandwagon to build their fan-base. Not people who are only doing it because of a deep seated resentment towards men and their supposed power.

But Scholars. Educated leaders who became trained because of their love for the knowledge that Rasulullah (s) brought to us and their desire to be part of that inheritance for the sake of God.

Women who command authority with ijaazah from a chain that connects them to Rasulullah’s (s) inheritance. Women who can give fatwa. Women who young sisters can call at anytime to receive advice. Women who can speak not only about women’s issues, but are both educated in the tradition, and aware of the world – such that they can tackle issues concerning multiple spheres at once.

As the father of two daughters, I cannot imagine a need more great. I am blessed to know dozens of qualified people I can call, text, email, or whatsapp at the drop of a hat if I have a faith crisis (God protect me). Do our sisters? Our daughters? I want my daughters to have the same level of comfort with teachers in the Deen that I have. There are so few. The ones I know of that are driven by Islamic values and not bitterly rooted gender or race bias, are game-changing figures on the scene of the community and are doing amazing work.” [Abdul Sattar]

It is so sad that something that was so natural during the time of the Prophet SAW, is now not only ‘fought for’ but also conveniently shoved under the umbrella of ‘feminism’.
#EnoughSaid

Coming Up- Let me grow Part 2: ‘Stories of women no one tells you about.’

Starting from me.

One day will come when we will realize that while we remained sitting in the train, everyone walked ahead of us. We thought we were learning, but we really didn't. We thought we were teaching, but what did we gain?

One day will come when we finally will realize that all this time we pointed fingers without realizing and forgot to look at the mirror ourselves.

One day will come, when everyone except us would have benefited .

One day will come come, when we will think of starting over again. When we'll realize that all those lessons were for us and not for them anyway. 

In  the end the battle was ours. And while everyone fought their way and shone, we were still sitting in the borderline waiting for something that wasn't going to happen. 

We didn't know but one day will come when we will.

What I mean is, most often we forget, what we do is for us. what we say, is for us to follow first. It has become easy for us to share statuses n qoutes and sayings for the world to benefit. Question is, how much are we paying heed.

We learn so much. Isn't it time to think and act differently? ;)

Don't Be Sad.

Beautifully compiled video for anyone who is going through trials upon trials.

The simplest and most straightforward explanation of a believer's life: Perception of how one looks at things. Every trial is only a means to get closer to Allah SWT, to be purified to go to the most purest of places (Jannah), and expiation of sins. Thats it. Nothing else matters.

Alhamdulillah for every trial and for every ease in this worthless Dunya. :')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SplxgG6rx5o

Some transcription from the video:

Pain and suffering only becomes negative if it creates a barrier between you and Allah SWT

But it becomes positive, a motivation for you when it brings you back to Allah SWT.

And this is when every individual who is going through pain and suffering needs to realize that this point of pain is not that Allah SWT wants to punish you but rather this is a call form Allah SWT, “O MY SLAVE, COME BACK TO YOUR LORD!” O my Slave, this is a reminder for you that I want to bring you back to Me.

And this is one of the wisdoms of trials and tribulations that while we call each other on the phone, while we text message each other, the calling of Allah SWT comes through trials and tribulations.

And you can react in one of two ways: Either you can deal with the pain at that moment and decide to get closer to Allah SWT. Or you can decide to just restrict that pain to yourself, not do anything about it, and then you will see, what it does to your deen. And this is the last stage of the cycle of isolation. That once you are isolated, you will see that eventually your deen starts to disappear. The content of your salah, the khushu in it, it disappears. Your ability to recite Quran is no longer there. Your ability to fast during the day, it gets taken away. What did you do differently? What you did was, you gave yourself into shaitan. And shaitan's promise is that he will lead you astray. He will lead you away from the path of Allah SWT.

So in times of trials and tribulations, you need to seek out the believers. You need to seek out the righteous. And let them be your guide and help to Allah SWT.

There is actually a blessing inside trials that we don’t perceive. The simplest trial that an individual will go through is that he is walking on the road, and he gets pricked by a thorn, and cause him to say ‘ouch!’ but its only for a split second. The Prophet SAW said, ‘That no individual is pricked by a thorn, except that Allah SWT purifies him with a sin for it”

Trials and tribulations are a means of purification. They are a means of purifying you so you can go to the purest of places.

The punishment of Allah is not out of anger or wrath, but rather is a means of cleansing you of your sins. It’s a preparation so that you can go to the noblest and purest places- Al firdaus al ala.

And this is why Allah swt sends trials and tribulations.

So don’t sit there and wonder why Allah put you in the situation you are in. There is no way you gonna figure it out. But Allah says in the Quran that Allah will make it absolutely clear. Why certain things happened to you in this world. If He tells you now, the test wouldn’t be the test.

Allah azza wa jal is choosing the most closest to Him because Allah SWT not only wants to give them the high darajah, and not only wants to give him that high station, and high rank in front of Him, but Allah SWT wants to also make him an example for other people, and he wants to make them people who actually produce and show that they have got a reason to go to jannah.

The Prophet SAW said, “ A believers affair is strange, when Allah blesses him with something good, and he thanks Allah, He enjoys the goodness Allah has given him. And allah rewards him. By thanking Allah he is getting more reward from Allah. And then when Allah takes something away, and replaces it with hardship, he makes sabr, and is getting so much reward from Allah. The reward Allah will give the people who make sabr, will have no limits and no bounds. (bi ghairi hisaab)

Allah sends hardship to get you in track. You haven’t made dua in a long time. Rush back to Allah. 

Sometimes, we only come the hardway. We have to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, to remember Allah SWT. And He opens the way for that. He sends us hardships to perfect us.

Tonnes of benefits in these hardships. The hardshop comes and its good for you. Because its pain. But pain is weakness leaving the body they say. If it doesn’t break you it makes you stronger. 

Don’t we know the stories of the Anbiya AS. They were the ones that were tested the most. Yet they never turned away from Allah SWT.

A little bit of difficulty comes, and we straight away ask ‘What have I done wrong? I prayed my 5 prayers. I give charity. I do this. I do that. Why has Allah picked on me? ‘

Why not us?

If allah SWT tested the anbiya, why cant He test us?

Allah swt says in surah baqarah 156, “Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return."

In every tribulation you have in life, you can either turn back t Allah swt or you can turn away.

Allah gives difficulty to purify the muslims. And just like a diamond comes out of a coal, after heat and pressure, thus the believer comes out of his trials and tribulation. Purified and beautiful and invaluable. This is the state of the believer.

So number 1: Allah tests the believers to purify them

Number 2: Allah SWT purifies the sins of the muslim in the time of tribulation if he is patient.

Number 3: Allah SWT wants to bring his slaves closer to Him. Through trials and tribulations. Allah wants you to be close to Him. He wants you to increase in the Ibadah. He wants you to remember him more.

In that state of trial and tribulation, you feel weak, you feel helpless. And thus you turn back to Allah SWT. 

And this is what He wants. He tests you not to  punish you. But He tests you to strengthen that relationship in your life that you need the most. The relationship with Allah SWT.

These are just three benefits of trials and tribulations and this is the first step in changing our perception with how we deal with the trials and tribulations. These trials and tribultions in this world are limited. And nothing. When an individual understands this, he will be able to surpass and succumb everything. You just have to change your perception. On how you view those trials and tribulations.

Allah never takes away anything from his slave except that he replaces it with something better either in this life or the hereafter...

Who are you? Who will you be?

Question: what would you do if you weren't afraid?

Me: I'd love.

I wanted to tell you how it felt to feel infinity wen I floated in the sea.
Thought i would hold your hands and we'd feel it together
I would tell you of the diving against the tide
Of the sky n sea ahead
Of the sunset above the horizon
Of the pink shade above the clouds..
Of peace in being able to hear nothing but my breathing while i floated and looked up at the blue..
I would tell you about the dreams I saw of gardens and flowers in them..and of waves and beautiful fishes in them and of palaces and my repeated dreams of them.
And then I would tell you of those dreams that came true.
I would think of you in my roadtrips and hoped you loved them too.
I wanted to sing to you sometimes. And sometimes I wished you were there to sing to me.
I would walk by the shore..leaving trails of my footsteps and wished they were accompanied by yours soon.

I would race with you and know I'd win. ;)
I sat by the rocks and drew a picture of you and me but the waves washed it away.i wished to tell you a million things more while you are sitting by my side.

I hoped you would hold my hands and  promise to take me forever. I simply wish I could talk to you of the simplest of things in life. I simply hoped to find a companion in you.

I wish I knew who you were. And then again I wonder if you ever wished the same too.

They will learn. Differently.

One thing is for sure. I will teach my children differently.

They will be happy for real. They will find joy in their own way. They will have the freedom to choose. They will travel the world with me. Or maybe on their own too. They will explore. They will not be given ipods and ipads until they know they have grown up. They will feel the sand in the beach; the shore and the sea. They will play in the playgrounds. They will have quality time with family. They will speak openly anything and everything to me. They will have a mutual best friend in their family. They will know to fight for their sister. They will paint their walls if they want to. They will make sandcastles. They will fly kites. They will go cycling and skating. They will learn to say 'i love you' and 'Sorry' a lot more. They will know that actions speak more than those words. They will learn to cuddle, to hug and to feel love for real. They will learn that Quran is their guide. They will have to turn to it at all times. They will see to stand up to the Sunnah even if it meant to stand alone. I will learn to realize they can grow up to make decisions. They can be on their own as long as they are trusted. They can fall in love as long as they are honest and committed. They will see the ups in life. They will also see the downs. They will learn to give wholeheartedly. They will learn to receive humbly. They will learn to buy gifts. They will learn to make their own hobbies. They will learn to bake. They will learn to gain knowledge and not just educational degrees. They will choose their own struggles. They will fight their own battles. They will know about writing letters. Messages in a bottle will be their own. They will visit their grandparents often. They will learn to sew if they’d like their own dresses. They will learn to write if they’d want to read more. They will make their own library at home. They will learn to lead prayers. They will learn to teach. They will learn to make mistakes. They will learn to learn. They will learn to get scared. They will learn to be strong. They will learn to complain. They will learn to forgive. Most of all, they will learn the insignificance of this life. Yet they will learn to be concerned when they need to be.They will learn to connect to Allah alone. They will learn to ask from Him. They will learn to let go.

They will learn to live life to the fullest. They will perhaps live a part of my life. And perhaps they will live a lot more!

Hussaina and Me: Jubail beach. [My fav pic]

The same souls. The same laughter.

The little things that make the big things, bigger..:)

I learnt a lot of new different things in this trip to India...

I learnt patience from khala and didi watching them handle their impossibly pesty little kids...

I saw respect when my jeeju sat for two hours straight just listening to his really old aged mother speak and speak without a pause in their first re-union after five years...

I recognized the blessing of youth and being fully alive by looking at grandma and the age on her face and walk...

I learnt that any place is a place to play and be happy as long as its in my mind, from my nieces who would make anything an item of play and any place a playground...

I learnt that the moon will always be visible under the palm tree in my balcony if I keep watching it from the same spot. The view changes only if I change my perspective of looking at things...

I learnt to slow down..and take life as it comes...and be calm with everything from all the elderly people there :)

Mom and dad will never ask for help but will be delighted if I am at service to them...and a warm smile and some massage for their feet goes a long way into their hearts..

I learnt that calling my five year old niece a princess, makes her day! :)

I learnt that building sand castles with the kids are the most beautiful memories I can make out of sand in my backyard...

I learnt that because I will never know who reads and who will read my posts, I will keep writing..

I learnt that every day i thought of my parents...but whenever i went back home,they looked much different than the last time i saw them when I left them- more lines on their face, their limbs getting weaker, their memory not so sharp..n they talk much less n listen even less... On the same note, they seem much more content..n a bit more happy for the little things in life hamdulillah..

I cherished my dads smile. He has the best smile in the whole world!

I loved having three brothers(in-laws) and all my sisters and my parents at home. I learnt that family time is the BEST of blessings one can have.

I learnt that kids will love me if I pay attention to them and play and giggle with them...

I learnt that happiness multiplies...when I share love.

I learnt a lot more that's in my heart and I learnt that I still want to learn more... ;)