TOTD - Have Faith

Something I have always believed in; it only grows stronger with time. Have faith. Believe it.

The Other Side of Things

It often happens that we keep going in one direction, without looking around us. it is then that we are faced with a dead end; that makes us feel miserable and worthless. It's on that exact moment that we must not give up. This is the exact time when you need to pull yourself up, look at the positive side, and start looking around. Look around because there's always something good awaiting for you. Look around because there's always light at the end of the tunnel. What may seem a dead end, may just be a really narrow turning to a wide valley; it's only a matter of perspective. Look up and look forward, so you can grow from the miseries and smile up to the world, to face the worst, and be determined to reach your destination. 

Try a new approach,  a different way to get through to your goal. May be there's something better on the other side. For sure there will be... there always is. 

Here's a beautiful short story that I came across; it's worth a read.

  A Father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him. To keep her busy, he tore one page on which was printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again.
He was sure she would take the whole day to get it done. But the little one came back within minutes with perfect map……When he asked how she could do it so quickly, she said, “Oh…. Dad, there is a man’s face on the other side of the paper….. I made the face perfect to get the map right." She ran outside to play leaving the father surprised.

MORAL OF THE STORY

There is always the other side to whatever you experience in this world. Whenever we come across a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other side…. You will be surprised to see an easy way to tackle the problem.

A Chocolate Lover’s Heaven - Oh-so-YUM!

Check out this amazing recipe for delicious chocolate lava cake!

here's the Link:

http://www.tropicalfoods.com/6837/a-chocolate-lovers-heaven/

This decadent chocolate dessert is a personal favorite. It's simply irresistable!

Watch this space for some more delicious dessert recipes!

Enjoy

xx

Peace of Mind

it's surprising how one day you are content with what you have and are very close to a point where you find everything going your way.. and then, there's another, when everything goes against what you think, want, plan, expect... sometimes the latter can turn out to be fantastic, while most times it just makes you feel all blue and gloomy. What do you do then?

What do you do on that day? I would love to hear your input, since every person is very versatile, each peson reacts to any given situation differently. Do you scream? Do you become rebellious? shut off? become silent? escape the place, have tea, sleep or anything else?

No matter what you choose, I know for the fact that, we as humans are very resiliant. It doesn't take too long to come back to your normal state of mind, where you can rationally think and respond to stimuli. it only takes a laughter from a little one, a smile from your loved one, or just a word or two from a dear one that can lift your mood. The most that works for me is sleeping off the anxiety. 

Here's a great story I got off a website, about how to get back into your peaceful state of mind, happy reading!

The Story

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water... Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having 'peace of mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.


I hope you had a good read! :)

Learning from the Highs and (mostly) Lows of Life

Often times we feel absolutely hopeless and tired of our surroundings. It feels as if all the negativity and bad luck left in the universe is directed towards us while the rest of the world, is blessed and hugged by every positive things possible. 

There’s a famous saying in Urdu, “ye waqt bhi guzar jaye ga”, which is great motivation for times like these when you feel all blue. Time is ever changing, good and bad – that’s how life is. Just imagine a perfect, peaceful life without any ups and downs – doesn't that sound too monotonous? Wouldn't it be too boring to not to have something to fight for, to argue for, to raise your voice and prove that you actually deserve something you really want?

I believe, it may be fun for a while, since everyone loves to be pampered and feel like a prince(ss) for a change – but for how long? Life is a wave, it has its highs and lows, and that’s the beauty of life. These highs and lows make use value: things, experiences, relationships, our surroundings – each and everything.

As humans, we are quick to judge and come up with our own conclusion about other people, which is one of the top most things that can more often bring us down than lift us up. When you see people around you who achieve everything on the right time – who seem to have perfect personal and professional lives – you do feel a little low when you know you’re not in the same line and feel like a fish out of water.

That’s the problem – We’re too quick to form a conclusion. What do you know about a certain person? We don’t actually know what’s going on in people’s lives until and unless we literally live their lives. We all have our own set of problems, health, financial, unemployment, family, friends, and the list goes on. We can not say that so and so person is free from stress, anxiety, depression these days – nobody is free from these no matter they have achieved their goals in the right time. Everyone faces obstacles, but what makes each person different is how they fight with it and move forward to fulfill their dreams.

The key to success is to believe in yourself, stay focused, make the same negativity (thoughts, feelings and experiences)  your strength to move forward and reach your dream, your goal, your aim, your decided point of destination. It may take you more time, but you’ll definitely be there, when the time is right. You will, because you are unique and you can. So cheer up and be happy with what you have now and do your best to reach your goal. After all, a dessert only tastes great after you’ve had something really hot and spicy! :D

Have a nice day! J

Cheers!

xxx

Pacifying the Rage - Anger Management Tips to Your Rescue!

You wake up in the morning only to find that you’re late for work. You jump out of the bed and get ready like a superperson and head out to work. Half way through you realize you forgot your mobile phone at home. You go back home to collect it only to get stuck in traffic. Wow – that’s a great start of the day! Naah… just kidding!

These are normal instances and most of us go through this once in a while…. However, it sometimes gets really out of hands and instead of keeping our cool, we lose it. The temper goes- BOOM!!!  And the next person in “the line of fire”, as I say it, becomes the victim of your anger. You don’t think, you don’t realise and you probably are least bothered about the person you fire at. You also fail to realise that the person you’re venting your anger at, just like you, can react aggressively.

Anger can be dangerous. It can be cutting. It can hurt. It’s like a burning match stick that has the power to spread far across and ruin whatever becomes in its way. So how do you prevent anger? The truth is, that you can’t get rid of it. It’s a very natural feeling for anyone. However, the way you deal with anger is what’s important. It can be either be productive, or destructive.

Perhaps, we all want to know how to manage this utterly notorious emotion. It can’t be eradicated, but yes, you can always learn to overcome it – in a good way- positively. Yeah yeah, keep reading :P Check these tips that may help you retain your calm in a jiffy!

Relax and Imagine

Okay, it’s not as easy as it sounds. We all know that! Listen to your favourite music, shut out the lights in your room, lye down and close your eyes. Think – think about what caused the anger so you can prevent a serious situation next time you get enraged. More importantly, think about positive things  Utopia –It definitely helps – tried and tested! Make your imagination go wild. Beautiful mountains, lush green lawns, crystal clear beaches…. Just pure natural beauty… such thoughts are extremely soothing and can relax your brain.

Count Count Count

I just am not very good at math. I am not good at numbers. Perhaps, most of us find it horrid. Right, aren’t I? :D Well, even though it has followed us like a witch through entire school years (yeah, just like the dementors follow Harry Potter), basic counting can work as a magic wand to bid farewell to anger, or at least, make it less intense. Just count from 1 to 10 – slowly, with every deep breath – and you’ll notice a significant decrease in your anger level.  This happens because as you count, you deep down gauge the cause of anger. So the next time you are about to burst out at someone, use this trick before your utter a single word.

Drink lots of Water

Water is a natural healer. It’s great for both the mind and body. It flushes away toxins, purifies your body. It also pacifies your anger. It just has an over all calming effect on the body.  So when they say 8 to 12 glasses of water every day are a must, they obviously say it for a reason – and the reason is that its good for your health! Oh and for all those weight consciious people, water makes you feel fuller and helps burn those unwanted calories. Do I see a happy face? :D Say yes! :P

Just Let Go

Yeah, that’s easier said than done for many of us! You must learn to get go of things. You don’t want to hold on to grudges. What good are grudges? The only person that a grudge can bother and irritate is yourself. If you think the person you are angry at- too bad because you’ve got that wrong, buddy! So basically, let go of it. You’ll feel better, lighter, and happier! J

All these tips can help pacify your anger, but you remember that you need to be patient too. It's difficult, but not impossible. I've got a few more anger management tips in line which I will share with you soon. For now, this much should suffice. I am sure you can't use all of them at once. Just keep trying. You can overcome your anger. You have power over you. You can control you. Do not let anyone or anything ruin your day. 

stay happy always and keep smiling! :)

Have a good day,

much love!

P.S: If nothing works, go punch someone in the face. Naaaah! Just kidding! :D 


P.P.S: like and share the post! :) 

 

Rolling Back to the 90's

Just a little while ago, I was looking around for some stuff and found an old phone; you know those handsets with cords – that are now almost extinct. I just couldn’t help but get a flashback of the most amazing time, when life was simple, there was less communication, thanks to the lack of mobile phones, and hence, less tussles. Whereas now, when we have the internet which is easily accessible anywhere and everywhere – whether it’s your laptop, tiny mobile phone, or your little tablet that makes sure you have internet – or I’d rather say, Facebook -right next to you, in your pocket!

So here are some of the most memorable things (ermm... that should be the right word, yeah? : P) that I can recall – and here goes!

 Ainak Wala Jin – there is not a single person who has grown up in the 90’s (well, it’s okay to be jealous if you weren’t part of the 90’s fever) who wasn’t crazy for this programme. All of us remember Bil Batori (my fav, lol )

Captain Planet – okay! That was my favourite cartoon. He was quite a hunk :P and there was Mother Earth who I used to find pretty scary for some reason because of her long silver hair. (-!-)

 TV – Yeah, the television sets were so HUGE and heavy and it used to be one heck of a task to switch between channels since there were no remote controls back then. Wow, the children nowadays sure have some luxuries! :/

They played movies in the afternoon as far as I can remember, every other day. (I can recall a bit as my daado used to watch them with great interest, and I often used to get a scolding too if I disturbed her in between, lol. Miss her :( )

Everyone in the family used to sit together and watch the same program, whether its a boring 9pm news bulletin that started off with “ sadar ne kaha, wazeer e aala ne kaha..” and so on or whether it was some drama serial.

Oh and yes – the dramas were absolutely amazing! – Tanhaiyan, Ankahi, Sitara Mehrunnisa, Dhuaan, Alpha Bravo Charlie, Dhoop Kinaray and others.

AND last but not the least -there was no iPhone, Blackberry, Xbox, AND there was no Facebook – life was just a better place!

I am pretty sure you have  hundreds of other things popping up in your mind right now and you have a BIG smile on your face recalling those times like this --- > :-D 

I just thought I’d share up some stuff, been a while since I posted

Happy reading! :D

Xoxo

Amna