Just sayin' it like it is, folks!
I think this is so cool and fascinating - and it makes me feel nostalgic for some old TV! (Click to enlarge the image~)
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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The story of his birth.
One suggestion of what someone could do to celebrate: gather up a few bags of groceries from your pantry/freezer/fridge, and post on your local Freecycle.org - feed someone in your neighborhood in need!
Here in Colorado Springs, fireworks are a big deal twice a year.
Here's someone's video of the "other" date:
My tomato plants are doing well so far this year. There are three together in the middle pot - that other pot is just supporting one of the plants so it doesn't drag on the ground. Just thought I'd share that. :)
Yesterday and today I was at North Middle School working on Understanding by Design aspects of the curriculum writing work for 10th grade mathematics for the district. In the bathroom in the school's library, a little sign hung on the wall that said,
"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."
I really liked that idea. I don't think I'd say it is universally true; for example, an evil person's ultimate fate might not be 'okay' in some sense. But I think it is more true than not and a good perspective on our daily pains, disappointments, and losses.
It is a virtue to be content. Sometimes it is harder than others - sometimes our needs are really not being met and we struggle with illness, loneliness, financial troubles, injustice, or whatever. No matter how great someone's life appears to be, all of us know pain - wealth, health, talents, fame, etc., notwithstanding. I have come to believe that no matter our circumstances, it is not so hard to be content unless we feel helpless/powerless/hopeless.
Hopelessness alone is, I think, the eater of peace in one's heart.
“...and despair not of Allah's Mercy; surely none despairs of Allah's Mercy except the unbelievers” (Yusuf, 87)
True hopelessness occurs if we no longer believe in the possibility of Allah's Mercy. If we, for example, convince ourselves that we will never find a mate, or that we will never get a good job, we are precluding the possibility of something beyond our expectation from Allah swt. At the same time, we struggle to put ourselves in balance with whatever the will of Allah swt may be - maybe it is not our fate to have a child or to get a promotion like we wanted to. But maybe something else, something ultimately better for us, is in store. Shouldn't we then always be living in a state of expectation for the mercy of Allah swt, that next surprise twist that ends up being wonderful? May Allah swt help us to attain and maintain that state.
Do people think they will be left alone saying: We believe, and not be tried? And certainly we tried those before them so Allah will certainly know who are true and He will certainly know the liars. (al-Ankabut, 2 & 3)
What would the point of our living be if we are not tried? If we are never tried, then we never grow. The disappointment I feel now makes me more compassionate to others facing similar situations in the future. It makes me better, insha'allah. And that is far better than getting everything I think I need or want.
What defines a person is how he handles disappointment. Great scientists, inventors, and so on generally experienced many severe failures before ever achieving a success. But that success only came because the disappointment of failure didn't destroy them - it didn't make them quit, wither away, or define themselves as failures or victims. So perhaps we can take a lesson - a disappointment or failure is opportunity. It is opportunity that hurts, sometimes a great deal, but probably a bigger opportunity with bigger potential benefit than something that comes easily.
So basically June is almost over, schools been out nearly a month, and I've been working almost every day (tutoring, curriculum writing). Doesn't feel much like summer. But days when I don't work I don't know what to do with myself and end up usually wasting the day sitting at home by myself, wandering around the house between computer, books, TV, looking at undone chores, and napping. I've never much liked summer. I do like the time off, but sometimes it never seems enough, other times it seems like a great void. I'm sure there's some psychology in that somewhere. I'm missing internal peace right now, feeling out of balance. Glad Rajab is here, there's an opportunity for spiritual growth and a potential path to peace.
This one is funny - poem actually starts at about 1:50. The Litany by Billy Collins
This one is cute about mothers. The Lanyard by Billy Collins
Hilarious poem about proof-reading, not PG. The the impotence of proofreading by Taylor Mali
Sweet, funny poem about his dad's "security system". Labeling Keys by Taylor Mali
My friend posted this on Facebook, thought it was worth sharing (from the movie Dodgeball):
"Well I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life."
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