The Nooby Book Writer

I am not sleepy. Feels like an old years night. So I decided to write. Originally I titled the blog post - The New Year - then I thought that leaf instead of year would be more interesting. Happy New Year! Happy New Leaf! I read that "turn over a new leaf" is an idiom that means to start over or change your attitude or act in a different way. The new year is a great time to turn over a new leaf. The end of the old year is a great time to reflect. This past year I did a lot of writing. I did a moderate amount of walking but not consistently. I started the devs.tt project and the Voice of SZ project. I got a new phone. I read a handful of books but not enough. I did make some photographs. Sometimes I forget how much I love photography and I should say that I am really good at it. I have an eye for photography. A unique perspective. I started a cooking blog and somewhat cookbook. I planted a guava tree. I kept myself useful and productive. I kept a positive attitude. I remained ...

It is after midnight and I decided to write. I love to write and there is no better time to write than now. Feels that way. Right after waking and feeling recharged. I noticed that my phone was at 50% charge and that is what I am going to write about. Is the phone battery half full or half empty? I am an optimist at heart. Most of the time I see the glass as half full. I am accustomed to making do with what I have. In many ways I am also lucky so it is easy to speak this way but it is what I know and I give my perspective. The percent (%) symbol looks like the yin and yang symbol. So much of life is a choice between one thing or the other. Life is a balance. That is really what it comes down to. There are also some interesting perspectives when we are thinking about the glass being half full or half empty as I discovered some in this reddit thread . One is that the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. Another is that the glass is half empty if you are emptying it and half full if y...

It is five in the morning. I already had my cup of tea. I reread what I wrote in my blog post yesterday and I thought to myself after contemplating for a short while that, "life is beautiful" and let me write about that. But what does that mean? Life is full of problems and strife and bad so then how could I say that life is beautiful? It is beautiful because we do not know the full of it and we wait for something better. It is like a magic trick. If you knew beforehand how the illusion was performed it takes away from the wonder. Once you learn how the illusion is performed then wonder turns into clarity. Islam teaches us that this life is just an illusion and the real life is in the hereafter. The beauty is in not knowing and depending on belief. I love Maths and equations and I am going to present two in this blog post. First is that the word belief contains the letters of the word life. Belief = be + life. The second comes from the title. The letters of the word life are...

There are approximately 89 days until the next Ramadan. I thought I would get a head start with this blog post. Many Muslims are looking forward to the next Ramadan. Hoping that we see another Ramadan. When I was younger I did not understand why some people would cry when Ramadan was done. In my logical mind I was thinking that why be sad when all the things you did during Ramadan, you can continue (and should continue) outside of Ramadan. It is like people say that mothers day should be every day and not that one day. Ramadan could be every month and not just that one month. We should be consistent with our obligations. But then I got older and really experienced the beauty of Ramadan and how different the month is and I felt the sadness myself when it was leaving and then I understood. They really say, who knows it feels it. The beauty of Ramadan and our Qadr being written (destiny) and the last ten nights and the extra blessings and so much more. For the last two Ramadans I devised ...

Last night my friend said to me I want to know what paradise is about I answered I think paradise can be imagined from this viewpoint [human existence] as everything you want The feeling [of having everything you want] that is and not the actual things ... [I imagine wants and things will be different in paradise] Contentment in this world can bring you closer to that [feeling] My friend said that was wisely said I woke up this morning and I decided to write and I remembered what I had said the night before. I decided to Google "paradise contentment hadith" and the first result that came up led me to this Al-Sarri ibn Hassan reported: Abdul Wahid ibn Zayd, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Contentment is one of the greatest doors to Allah, the Paradise of this world, and the repose of the worshipers." And that is exactly what I was trying to say. Contentment is the Paradise of this world. Another way of thinking about contentment is thinking about gratitude. I not...

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. I love self help books. Change begins with me. I love learning from others. I will review this list every morning and see how many I can accomplish and even add my own micro habits from time to time. Really has me thinking about how small steps can lead to big results. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/fzfRhjX Turning our life around takes time Small and manageable steps can help us avoid giving up early in the game Focus through minimising distractions and temptations Do some small exercise as soon as you wake up The effectiveness of working out in the morning is backed by several studies Morning workouts can help curb your appetite Try less sugar. Sugar masks the taste and flavour of the food. Try balancing on one leg at a time while doing a task like making a cup of tea - a great exercise for the brain apparently Have good posture when sitting Take regular breaks from staring at the screen D...

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. This is the best book I have read to date. I loved all of it and I will work to put what I learnt into practice. God bless the author Ahmad. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/4FW6x4L Faith is not theoretical, it must be lived by Focus on improvement Treat others as you would like to be treated Values-based vision guided by faith in God Aim to mitigate the daily struggles of others There is potential within us all Life comprises of faith as the inner dimension and practice as the outer dimension Believers must be exemplars The true value of the Quran is in its ability to change people's lives Islam is a religion of unity We must deal with differences of opinions in a civilised manner Do what you can and when you can because perfection is an attribute of God alone Believers are constant givers Success = the coming together of souls and ideas Humility is required for this type of work (dawah w...