October 5, 2012
Posted in Character, Epiphanies, Hikams, Social Commentary tagged contemplation, goals, Growth, Inner turmoil, Life, Metamorphosis, resolutions, self-esteem, self-image, thoughts, words at 10:35 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
One goal I had in Ramadan this year was to work on my self-esteem/self-confidence/sense of self-worth. For those of you who know me personally, I have a deep-rooted sense of insecurity. Part of it is fear of failure, part of it is environmental (actually trying stuff and failing at it, applying for 7 jobs and not getting any, etc.), and part of it… I always had inside of myself.
So I decided I am going to work on it. I won’t sell myself short; I will stand up for myself if I think I am wronged; I will work hard and respect others…. and I will now expect a certain level of respect from others. But I also warned myself not to error on the side of being arrogant or being selfish–I only want to have a healthy sense of self-esteem, not hubris.
So in that spirit, I decided to ask one of my professors a question that has been really itching me. This past summer, I asked to be part of a type of project, and he declined in a cryptic manner. When that happened, I resorted to my unhealthy sense of thinking–maybe I am incompetent, maybe I am disorganized, immature, clumsy, etc. But rather than letting those feelings and thoughts (which are all only possibilities, not actual truths) simmer inside of myself, I wanted to stand up for myself and learn the truth. I cannot have a healthy sense of self-worth if I cannot talk about my own shortcomings. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 8, 2012
Posted in Epiphanies, Faith786's Favorites, Islam, Poetry, Taqwa tagged God, Growth, Inner turmoil, Islam, Islamic Poetry, Life, Metamorphosis, moon, poems, poetry, Ramadan, Ramadan Reflections, symbolism, thoughts at 4:31 am by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Tonight was an interesting night. Had a lot to think about. Especially with the last ten nights of Ramadan coming, there is a lot on my mind. Wrote this outside while sitting on the grass. This one is dedicated to a friend who has a nickname that involves, “money.” XD
—
We are Illuminated
—
Embers flicker on melting paraffin,
The night glows and time begins to thin.
Stars move ever so silently.
Bright cosmic dust blows gently.
Read the rest of this entry »
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July 18, 2012
Posted in Character, Epiphanies, Faith786's Favorites, Islam, Knowledge, Literature, Quotes, Social Commentary, Sufism, Taqwa, Tazkiyah tagged Change, Islam, Metamorphosis, musings, Ramadan, social commentary, taqwa, tazkiyah, thoughts at 12:43 am by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
As the title suggests, I am experiencing a strong case of pre-Ramadan depression.
For those of you who don’t exactly know what that means, pre-Ramadan depression is a psychological and spiritual state when you begin to really reflect on your life and you realize you aren’t the person you want to be. Pre-Ramadan depression is realizing all the things you have done and said that you want to make amends for. It is realizing who exactly you really are before you make that resolve to be better. Pre-Ramadan depression is a way God invites you to turn back to Him. Read the rest of this entry »
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June 6, 2012
Posted in Aqidah, Chemistry, Epiphanies, Islam, Physics, Quotes, Quran at 12:22 am by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Today was the transit of Venus. Chances are, this will be the only one we will ever see in our life time. It was beautiful, but for me, personally, it was profound. It was a reminder of how we are so small, but we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves.
Life can be busy, relaxed, self-absorbed, selfless–but in the grand picture of the vast universe, our individual physical actions do not play much of an influence on the rest of the physical universe. At least, not on a single individual level. And then I realized– Read the rest of this entry »
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May 10, 2012
Posted in Epiphanies, Faith786's Favorites, Knowledge, Social Commentary at 10:39 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
It has been some time since I have posted something in my epiphanies series, no?
Well, last Saturday I attended a college graduation in which many of my college friends just graduated.
It was profound, happy, serious, silly and beautiful. But one of my friends gave the graduation speech and he said something that really hit me close to home. (And warranted this post.) Read the rest of this entry »
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January 8, 2012
Posted in Epiphanies, Islam, Knowledge, Social Commentary, Teaching/Education at 4:21 am by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
After a *VERY* long time, large number of requests and thinking, I decided I’m going to try this whole blogging thing again. =)
Today’s Random Rambling is about creativity. What really prompted me to write this were two things: I have been reading up lately how the American education system has been lacking the conditions and environment to help promote and foster creativity in children. The other are the recent criticisms I have been getting that I’m studying chemistry, which is so “left brained,” that it is so cut-dry, logical, monotonous and does not tap into the mind’s sense of imagination and creativity.
First things first:
There is nothing so powerful, so mysterious and so moving like a human thought. Read the rest of this entry »
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July 31, 2010
Posted in Epiphanies, Social Commentary at 12:35 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Recently I went to tutor someone in chemistry because she plans on taking it fall and she feels that she isn’t very strong in science and wanted to get a head start. I brough some of my general chemistry stuff to see what might be important for her to focus on.
She eventually saw one of my formal lab reports (which had couple graphs and calculations typed) and she freaked out. She thought it looked really complicated and didn’t know what half the symbols I typed meant. I told her that it seems a little overwhelming and then she saw my calculus II notebook and really flipped out. (Note to self: do not carry general chemistry packets in your calculus II notebook when going to tutor someone.) Read the rest of this entry »
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May 11, 2010
Posted in Chemistry, Epiphanies, Humor, Quotes at 11:44 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
This deserved its own post because I don’t know if it is funny, profound, both or neither but something to think about:
I was reading chemistry one night at 3 AM for about two hours (until 5 AM) and then it hit me and I wrote it on a poster–
After reading chemistry for two hours at 3 AM, I learned only one thing: It is never too late to tell the people who you love how much you care about them.
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Posted in Character, Epiphanies, Taqwa at 11:34 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Looking back at my ‘My Epiphanies’ series, I noticed I do repeat some of my epiphanies but I think that in itself reveals something–we are in the process of learning, relearning, retaining and mastering. So I guess these posts have more meaning for me than for you.
Today’s (this week’s, really) epiphany:
Read the rest of this entry »
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April 6, 2010
Posted in Chemistry, Epiphanies, Islam, Sufism at 11:10 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Note: Originally written March 15th, but I finally finished it today.
I can’t sleep and I haven’t been eating much, so this maybe written with more insanity than usual. I can’t focus on my school work, chores, reading–anything. In the past few weeks, I have been in a sort of ‘spiritual isolation’.
So you all know what that means! A Divine Invitation was going to come to my door and I received it earlier today–in my chemistry class.
(spiderman: no surprise!)
I was learning about acid-base chemistry and I was learning in class how paper deteriorates and the chemical process of preserving paper (specifically for precious rare manuscripts). I immediately beamed at every equation written on the board and I smiled at all the different weird aluminum complex ion structures. But then a chord snapped in me and I slowly sunk even deeper into my mental madness–
There is a meaning in every relationship we have. Read the rest of this entry »
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Faith786 
October 5, 2012
Post Ramadan Reflections: Goals and Reflections II
Posted in Character, Epiphanies, Hikams, Social Commentary tagged contemplation, goals, Growth, Inner turmoil, Life, Metamorphosis, resolutions, self-esteem, self-image, thoughts, words at 10:35 pm by faith786
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
One goal I had in Ramadan this year was to work on my self-esteem/self-confidence/sense of self-worth. For those of you who know me personally, I have a deep-rooted sense of insecurity. Part of it is fear of failure, part of it is environmental (actually trying stuff and failing at it, applying for 7 jobs and not getting any, etc.), and part of it… I always had inside of myself.
So I decided I am going to work on it. I won’t sell myself short; I will stand up for myself if I think I am wronged; I will work hard and respect others…. and I will now expect a certain level of respect from others. But I also warned myself not to error on the side of being arrogant or being selfish–I only want to have a healthy sense of self-esteem, not hubris.
So in that spirit, I decided to ask one of my professors a question that has been really itching me. This past summer, I asked to be part of a type of project, and he declined in a cryptic manner. When that happened, I resorted to my unhealthy sense of thinking–maybe I am incompetent, maybe I am disorganized, immature, clumsy, etc. But rather than letting those feelings and thoughts (which are all only possibilities, not actual truths) simmer inside of myself, I wanted to stand up for myself and learn the truth. I cannot have a healthy sense of self-worth if I cannot talk about my own shortcomings. Read the rest of this entry »
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