Saturday, August 28, 2010

Ramadan Rituals

I love how unconventional is our ramadan sefra.

My usual duty during the holy month is making salad and lots of salad every day.

This year I shifted my focus in learning the deal of baking lol. I always considered my self a failed dessert maker, that is because I don't have a sweet tooth.

However, I made a huge success in making sticky date cake twice and a coffee/toffee cake. I'm so proud of the outcome. A slice of my cakes are now a hit especially when we gather around the TV, sipping green tea with fresh mint leaves.

Today, I'm spending literally "30" hours with my granny in KSA before I come back home. Words can't describe the amount of love and happiness I feel right now "al 7amdella" seeing my family, my love, all in good health.

Yesterday my aunt whom I consider my life mentor offered to take me for a lecture where phrases from Quran were translated. Luckily, moses story was the focus of the lecture. I was choking in my own tears the whole time. Especially the part in soorat Taha where Allah was asking Mosa to "Listen". The lecturer was talking about how the art of listening really is.

The moral behind the story is that we always keep our mind processing when we are in the middle of a conversation! We tend to bring all our life concerns, fears, future imaginations into our mind at that particular moment. That blocks our ability to listen to something of a real value.

In order to live a meaningful life, we need to learn how to concentrate, how to think before we speak.

Thank you auntie Amal for the wake up call *hugs* it came in the perfect timing.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Time Traveler

Sunday August 3rd:

I woke up feeling extremely different. It felt like I was back in time when I used to be a student. Or the time right after graduation, or the time me and those involved in my daily life were in good terms.

I didn’t know how I could describe the feeling but I surely loved it. I went back to loving photography and reading blogs, to calling my friends and remembering old incidents that back then were hilariously funny. To feeling lucky having you in my life. The list go on and on but I felt reconnected to my core self.

Yesterday, after we all finished fu6oor (Happy Ramadan everyone!), I sat across the table from my mother, I asked her: Mama ma t7seen we’re back like old days?

Her face gradually formed a smile that secretly said: How did you know! Then she murmured to herself: el7amdellah.

I really don’t know what that was! But I felt my soul had abandoned me for while, leaving me dealing with my own life struggling between so many things.

I’m so happy now.

Today’s morning, out of the blue my colleague told me: Layla, yesterday the whole world was looking for you. Glad you are back.