A Cure For All Ailments
Living a healthy life doesn't just stop at eating well, or at seeking medical attention when one is ill.
How many a people have all the food they can get on their tables, and can afford the best of medical facilities but are not healthy?
Overall health entails our bodies, minds and souls. Is the mind and soul the same? That's a question you should try answering.
If the body is fine but the mind isn't, there's an imbalance. Same as if the mind is fine but the body isn't.
To live a life filled with cheerfulness, these two attributes almost always have to be together.
But the health of the mind is a stronger determinant of our happiness. You could find some sick men, women, or children who are happier than other physically healthy men, women or children. What could be the possible cause of this?
Contentment
If the president of one country would be content with his rule over his own country, and leave off looking at what other countries have that his doesn't have, there would have been more peace than there currently is around the globe. Is there even peace around the globe?
Wait... Do you even know that sometimes you may see someone having something "you think is better than everything you have" but when you look closely at that person, you'll find out that they probably don't have something which you've been given.
Take for instance, some people have all the luxury rides, comfy houses, and power, but they might not have a peaceful home. Then if you, who has a peaceful home but are poor, compares yourself with them, wouldn't you think you've never been offered a bounty your entire life?
Those people who are physically sick, but you still find them in a state of calmness and happiness are content with the situation in which they have found themselves, hence they've attained inner peace which cannot be compared to anything else.
This kind of peace that contentment brings about is what gives life to those citizens in countries where wars have turned dust, cities that once stood tall. Contentment is what keeps the poor man (who's got nothing to feed his family with) going.
The Way Out?
Most happenings in our lives are not under our control and failure to understand this is an ailment which doesn't only leave the mind in an unhealthy state, it also makes the body dwell in decay of pain. And yes, there are those who even go to the extent of committing suicide because they have failed to understand that certain things are not in their control and that some things are better left the way they are.
When we become ignorant of or turn a blind eye towards this simple fact, we seek to force life happenings to be subservient and we end up with nothing but frustration.
I'm sure you agree with me that frustration is an unhealthy state of the mind, and it could lead to destruction if not countered.
The one mutual thing that can bring peace to most, if not all parts of the world is understanding that there is a Supreme Being who is in control of all affairs and that whatever He destines is for the best of everyone of us. Understanding this grants the body, mind and soul true health and happiness.
Understanding that we have little power and appreciating that little power we have without misusing it is a form of contentment – a cure for all ailments.
Calligraphy
Have you ever seen some writing that made you look twice, Or one that made you feel nostalgic or gave you goosebumps, Or just some writing that made you go 'wow'?
*Calligraphy is the art of forming beautiful symbols by hand and arranging them well.*
*It’s a set of skills and techniques for positioning and inscribing words so they show integrity, harmony, some sort of ancestry, rhythm and creative fire.*
Calligraphy isn't just about writing beautifully, it's about beautifying writing. The way in which symbols, letters and alphabets are whined and twisted in order to make a different look of them. It's the language spoken by a stylish pen to a worthy viewer.
Calligraphy is a rhythm played by calligraphers, to which their tools sway. It could be western, eastern, or Arabic. Sometimes a combination of two or more of these.
Have you ever tried out calligraphy?
Some people think they need to have beautiful handwriting before they can be good at calligraphy. Though, a nice handwriting helps, but not all those who can write good can be good calligraphers.
It's an art you can learn. Some have rules, while others just leave you to explore your talent.
A very good way to start is by developing love and passion for it. You know, whatever you're doing in which you want success, you'll have to grow love for it. Same thing with calligraphy. If the passion isn't there, You'll end up starting in a day and giving up the next day, especially if you've never had prior experience with it.
After love, what next?
Consistency. This is a word we hear so often. Just as growth, change and every other element in the universe is consistent (in its own way), so should your enthusiasm and practice of calligraphy be. Don't write today and then forget about it until another month(s). You'll get bored with it, and you might end up leaving it too soon.
You need to do it at a constant rate, often. Maybe when you see a beach, you immediately write a calligraphic art for its name, and maybe add some little drawings of palm trees to further refine its beauty.
Or you see a pretty baby that reminds you of childhood, and then you write something that looks memorable. If you're a poet like me, you could use calligraphy in a very good way to design your themes, then poem your thoughts and emotions.
What else?
A mentor. Definitely! Even life itself is a mentor we often call "experience" right? I might be wrong, let me know.
But you see, for every field in which you want to excel, you'll need a guide. It could be YouTube videos, or your teacher at school, just anyone. Why do you need a mentor? To motivate you, show you where you're wrong (so you may correct it) and show you that which needs more improvement.
I hope these tips will be helpful enough to help you step up with the wonderful journey of calligraphy.
Reference (Italicized portion): www.calligraphy–skills.com
A New Dawn - Still The Old Me
Hey there! I'm Umm Fudayl. It's a lovely, cold morning here and the best I can possibly do is cover myself up in blankets and think about what was, and what has been of me.
A little about myself
Some years ago, I was a lonely little girl always sitting by the window to watch the kids play in the streets. I couldn't possibly follow them, because I have always been out of place - a boring girl, with no air of fun in her.
Maybe it was partly because I grew up in a family with a strict dad. A father who didn't want his daughter to be a part of the vices going on in the society. A father who cared so much about his daughter's future. Parents do know more than we (their kids) do. They've learnt from experience, and all they aim at is to save us from those nasty things which they might have probably fallen into before.
At some point, even those whom I thought were my friends from school stopped paying visits to my house, and we only met at school.
So I got married to books and in them I found serenity. They helped me explore worlds I had never thought existed. And books have ever since become family and friends to me.
It wasn't as if I had never had a "friend" before. I always thought, and I still think that those with whom I mingled only talked to me out of pity for me. Because after high school, they all went their ways - no phone calls, no WhatsApp messages, no Facebook messages, just blank.
Life happens right? I thought university would be different. I thought I would be able to meet those with whom I shared the same vibes, but it seems the air of "friendlessness" that had been following me still followed me up until the university.
I have been trying hard to blend and feel Among, but man... Books I think will be the only thing I can confide in, then the poems with which I explain my emotions.
Should I keep on being the old me?
Years have passed by, and I still feel the same. Morning books, afternoon books and nighttime books + dreams books. But I want a change - I want to explore, I want to fall in love with anything other than books, I want to feel human. How can I achieve this?
I've seen girls go out to have fun, mind you... I don't want crazy fun that'll end me up in seas of regret. I want to be free to lay on soft grasses and gaze upon the sky on warm nights. Or maybe travel to places and capture nature in the camera of my head, as memories.
Whatever may be, however it turns out, I know this year shouldn't be spent by me being the old boring girl. It's a new year resolution - explore.
@UmmuFudhayl