It's All Justin's Fault

No it really isn't, but I wish the root of Britney's problems could be reduced to that-for the sake of simplicity. So I'm not exactly a fan, but there have been worse music criminals before her, and will be many more after her. I don't read much about Brit except for what is shoved in my face when I open up the front page of many, varied internet news sources or as I'm waiting in line at Ukrop's or CVS...and so ok, I encounter her almost every day. So I can't help but think about ol' Brit sometimes. The news seems to be getting worse and worse :( It seems like it all began once her relationship with homeboy Justin started to spiral down, down, downward. How did she go from cute, bubbly girl-next-door to potentially losing custody of her children and having her bodyguard accuse her of using drugs, etc.etc.etc.etccccccc?

Life can snowball out of control sometimes...and then the avalanche comes if we don't pay attention. Her career was all about selling an image. It is about genius marketing, not music, in my opinion. She was the brand that a large portion of the population were drawn to, whether they hated or loved her. They bought her...just by paying so much attention. They are still buying her, watching the self-destruction in horror and awe.

So would things have been better if she turned around and saw the ice slowly but steadily crumbing? If she was content with her wealth and gave up the potential for more fame and fortune and attention...would things be better for her right now? Is it impossible to walk away from the magnetic draw of that kind of a lifestyle? I'm not sure, because I've never been close :) If I were to say, "She's stupid, why doesn't she just change!!?" that would be a shallow judgment on my part unless I could put myself in the shoes of a celeb of such stature. But what I do believe is that it takes tremendous strength to kick the habit of taking that drug, go through the withdrawl, and maintain hope that the doors to happiness in life are many. It just takes a leap of faith to open a new one sometimes.
Nope, most of the time.

Or maybe we should just blame stupid Justin!

Kidding.

xoxo

Oh and I know there's someone out there who probably thinks the drug metaphor is indicative of my past drug experimentation. Don't get excited; I have never done it before, even though I've resided in Richmond for so long and have been friends with various artsy up in the clouders. My drugs of choice are good food and music, preferably together.

On the First Pillar

Great quote from Samina Abdullah, Richmond, VA :
La ilaha illallah is a very powerful formula. It gives you individual empowerment, individual responsibility and individual accountability.
The Almighty saw fit to spend 13 years on getting those early gents to master it. It was by way of “formatting the hard drive”. Shed all the puppet strings of culture, family, DNA, fear, wealth and ego etc that control us all.
Stand free stand tall and stand true to your primal nature.
We (humans) are Allah’s noblest creation, His masterpiece! He calls us His Khalifa.
Once we reconnect with our primal nature, we are ready for great things and there’s no stopping us from being all that we can be.
If the Laws of Islam are from the same source as the laws that control the Universe, then it is the most natural thing for us to obey those laws. All the dos and don’ts should feel right, should feel satisfactory in the deepest recesses of our being.
But the condition is that I will seek them out and I will impose them upon myself.
Living life under imposition, is living life without integrity.

Is it 7:16 yet?

I was speaking with someone during a recent iftaar and he kept complaining about how pissed off he was that the Ramadan days were so long, lol. He wasn't just hungry...he was straight up angry. Obviously, I understood his hunger and whatnot, but I brought up how he now knows how the hungry population feels...except that they may break their fast with half a dorito and be quite thankful. (Not: fruit chaat, pakoras, mango shake, samosas, and dates galore of course. And then get all angry about it.) Pretty simple, commonly heard, non-rocket sciency stuff right? Well, he responded with "Is that why we fast?" And he wasn't 5...or 15...or 28...he was older.

And he was serious.

That brought to my attention that more adults than I wish probably fast thinking that God just wants them to starve for Him. You know, just because. No further reflection.

I think it gets scary when religious practices (especially the basic ones) just become automatic, robotic motions and we fail to wonder what the reasoning or beneficial effects are. Or to consider those effects while we are engaging in the actions. We're all guilty of it sometimes.

Of course there's multiple reasons for fasting-physical, mental, and spiritual. And there's the interaction of physical-mental-spiritual effects of fasting too. This year, there's one area in particular I've been focusing on: sabr (patience.) I'm too tired right now to finish this post so you're gonna have to wait until tomorrow to read it. (haha, get it get it) winkwink :P
But anyway, just wanted to post some thoughts on fasting and sabr a lil later. salamssss.

xoxo

This is the story of a girl

I wanted to start a blog for the longest time but had some major commitment issues. I think I'm ready now though :) This is kind of a selfish endeavor - I like writing for no damn reason. Ok, well, I like writing mainly because it helps me think in a more structured fashion and it's always a catharsis. It's fun too.

But I also wanted to keep a blog to connect.

To connect with those who want to hear stories of someone who might have thoughts, dreams, and experiences similar to theirs...or totally different. To pose questions and to strive to answer. To communicate beautiful experiences and to complain about stupid, unavoidable ironies. I guess these are confessions of a hopeless romantic-optimist who pretends she's not. Life is endless fascination; let's see if I can put some of it into words and photos.

And if you like chocolate brownie ice cream, I love you.

xoxo