Ramadhan dip

What's the Ramadan dip?

This is the low levels of energy you feel during the 12th - 18th nights of Ramadan, where you start losing the excitement and momentum that you had at the beginning of Ramadan and you feel so tired and lazy to keep up with night prayer, quran recitation and even fasting.

The good news: this dip is temporary (hopefully!) and most people recover before the last 10 nights where they gear up for the extra energy and effort needed in those last 10 nights. 

The bad news: If you're not careful with this energy dip during the next few days, you may not recover completely and find yourself chronically tired and lazy till the end of the month.

So, here are few tips to help you overcome the mid-Ramadan dip:

1. Mind over matter: use the power of your mind to push yourself and go for that extra bit of energy you have within you even when you don't feel like it. Push yourself to read one more page of Quran when you feel that you can't and then push yourself to read another one and continue until you finish what you normally read each day. Push yourself to pray those 2 rak'ahs of taraweeh, followed by another one, then another one... it's amazing what we can achieve when we put our mind into something.
2. Slow down if you have to : If you're utterly tired/exhausted and need a "break", then instead of giving up completely on your acts of worship or productivity, slow down a bit to regain your energy; perhaps read a little bit less Quran than usual, and/or pray taraweeh at home instead of masjid. (Note: make sure this is done for just 1 or 2 days, just enough for you to recover your energy, sleep better at night, then ready to go back to your full throttle mode. Do NOT make this a habit!)
3. Dua :  The Ramadan dip is an opportunity for us to realise our weakness as human beings, and our weakness as believers. It makes us realise how much we need Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) to worship Him. So ask Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) for help and support to aid you in these critical days and give you the energy and strength to face the last 10 days with full energy and productivity inshaAllah.

Hope this helps!

source : ProductiveMuslim.com

just do it!

Salam Ramadhan to muslims all over the world! :)

Here, I want to share a story.

Yesterday, in the morning, I just didn't feel like going to work. I was tired, bored, and totally not in the mood. But I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed for work, drove to work and within 30 minutes of being there, I was at my usual self and back "alive!".

We all face days when we "just don't feel like it" & that's fine and nothing wrong with that, but it's how we react to those days that matter: Do we curl up in a corner, spend our day in bed and hope to feel better? Or do we go through our daily rituals, get ready and go out to face the world regardless of how we feel?

You'll face Ramadan days when you just don't feel like going for Taraweeh, or you just don't feel like reciting Quran, or you just don't feel like waking up for suhoor; and that's natural.. but what you do next is what's important: when you get up and pray taraweeh, and get up to make wudhu and recite Quran, and you get up for suhoor, the fact that you started moving, you'll feel better and you'll just feel like it :).

All the best! ^____________^

Don't Judge Too Quickly

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. 

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. 

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. 

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Lessons: 

1. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. 
2. Don’t judge life by one difficult season. 
3. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

fazakkir

Last year, I prayed taraweeh next to a very old man. I noticed that he struggled to get up or stand on his 2 feet (he was shaking from weakness), but he stood up for the entire Isha and taraweeh prayers. Someone might have told him to sit down and relax, but you could tell from his determination at every rak’ah that he wants to stand up for Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) during Ramadan and didn't want to sit down.

The old man reminded me that sometimes the measure of how much you love someone is how much effort you're willing to put in for them. If we truly love Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala), shouldn't all of us put that extra  bit of effort for Him?

I want you today to think of one area or one activity where you show Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) that you're putting that extra bit of effort for Him. Perhaps it could be waking up for tahajjud or praying those extra sunnah prayers or going out to feed people. Try it and let me know how it feels.

p/s : What will be your ONE SPECIAL good deed this Ramadhan?

source : ProductiveMuslim

pencils

[when a picture tells everything]

pencil maker