Post Ramadan Reflections – still@C-times and an Ode to all Mothers

Ramadan is over, and subhanallah it was the loveliest month and Eid we ever had, alhamdulillah!
The best thing I did, was going totally offline during the last ten days: No influences from outside, no more thinking about worldly (dunya)-things.
Not being able to go to the mosque (as it is usually done every night during this month) made the family Iftaar and the evenings this year much more relaxed and Tarawieh (night prayer in Ramadan) done at home turned our house into a real place of worship.

Sometimes I was following the Imam of Makkah on the television, which was a very special thing, seeing the holy and sacred city nearly empty, only a few people around the Kaaba, where normally millions turn in circles, mashaallah.
To see three of our children fasting was also a real pleasure, and once again I was astonished by the strength of their will towards their (self-imposed) duty mashaallah.

But Allah makes so many things so much easier during this month (as for example: being able to function normally during the day despite the lack of sleep with only three to four hours of nap per night), and we have been feeling His many blessings and Allah’s mercy in everything. Allahu akbar!
The Eid-day, spent as a close family alone at home, just the seven of us, without the wider family, was a great, peaceful and strengthening experience, alhamdulillah.

Now we are back to “normal” – but what means “normal” during these C-times?!
More than twelve weeks of lockdown – three months I totally treasure – I consider myself very lucky not having to quit home and not having been out of our space all these past months – thanks to our huge garden and the permaculture research-site of the campus vivant’e, we have a lot of agriculture to work on, a lot of freedom to run, much space and the most beautiful nature around – in fact, we enjoy the peace and quiet of a well known tourist region that is normally full of visitors during this time of the year.
So, subhanallah, I can say “All is well in my little world!”

But I know, not everybody is that lucky.
When I talk to my friend, another reality hits me: she is sick of being on shutdown, not being able to travel, nor to visit friends or to fly the worlds as she usually does.
If I look over our fence, I see a man riding by on a donkey, wearing a face mask in the middle of nowhere and in this most clear of airs…no people around.
If I go online, I am flooded by many news that are difficult to digest:
the (health-)danger of the 5G-mobile net; Mr. Gates warning on a second Corona-wave or the danger of a possible Bioweapon-attack (which can be taken as a threat, just as his wish to vaccinate the whole world); the censoring of Youtube videos from respectful Medical professionals who just want to share their opinion; the poor quality journalism and the lousy reporting of well-known media in whom I really lost confidence; the requirement of face masks everywhere; the beginning of civil revolts in the U.S. and elsewhere…. Mashaallah.

And although I still feel lucky and am thankful that the re-start of schools in Morocco is pushed out until autumn, I can see that it is time for the world to end the lockdown.
I have to face and to acknowledge other truths – I call this my little “djihad” – because it is my struggling, my striving for inner balance, finding peace and keeping positivity and hope in the midst of so many confusing things that sometimes just blow my mind  (“Djihad” means the struggling for a praiseworthy aim for God’s sake).

I decided to continue staying offline most days of the week. The world keeps turning without my presence there…
I try to remind myself of the post I wrote several weeks ago (about “how to save the world”)
and I try to remember the most important thing:
I don’t have to do anything, except being a good mom!

Happy June dear friends – with my sincere and deep wishes of healing to the worlds –
and bless you all mothers out there – you / we are doing the most important job and work ever!

Keep on shining and be good to yourself!

Me-time, taking a walk, reading, educating and developing myself – and thus also my family… manager of the home – yeah and cheers to us mothers! 

 

Id’ moubarak – Shukr and Sadaqa @C-times

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha il Allah!

Id’ moubarak saïd to all the Ummah – Allahumma taqqabbal minna oua minkoum !
Salamu alaikoum oua rahmatullahi oua barakatuh !

Id’el fitr – The joy of giving and the joy of receiving. 

The Prophet (sas) said: “Every good deed is charity. Verily, it is a good deed to meet your brother with a cheerful face…!”

Happy, merry days to all of you!
Full of laughter and joy, full of thankfulness and the pleasure of giving charity – even by a simple smile or an act of service.
Let’s spread kindness around like confetti!

And may Allah accept our worship. Ameen.

With my best wishes of peace, health, abundance and happiness to all the people of the world!

Alhamdulillah! 

 

Black holes @C-times and the Plenty of Ramadan

back to basic, back to real life.

Yesterday I had one of these black days – feeling totally depressed and down, as if I could feel the sorrow and pain of the whole world, mashaallah.
Maybe it was one of these normal downs on the amplitude of life, part of a certain high-sensitivity, feeling-torned by the discrepancies of thought being German living in Morocco;
or maybe it was caused by a menstrual mood-swing,
or influenced by the unexpected news that this school-year is totally cancelled now and schools in Morocco will not re-start until September…
Allahu aalem – anyway, I cried many tears and sat in deep hole of sadness.

Yes, I have these days as well.
And I know these moments are part of living – where there is light and joy, there is also shadow and sadness…
Since I acknowledge them instead of fighting’em or putting myself down because of my feelings, they pass much quicker, alhamdulillah.

So, yesterday I cried, a lot, and I mourned, and slowly I realized again that this extended slowdown and time-out, this forced deceleration, is what I wished for, deep inside. Alhamdulillah.
And I realized again, what great gift this is especially now during Ramadan.
How blessed are we!

The holy month is already two thirds over and we enter the ten most important days and most blessed nights of the whole year.
I decided to do now what is called Itikaaf in Islam: to withdraw.
I wanna withdraw from worldly news and try to totally detach and detox, spiritually and media-wise, for the next ten days, inchaallah, concentrating mainly on worship, prayer, gratitude, family and nature – back to the basics.

plenty of beauty everywhere, subhanallah!

 

But before I say good-bye for some days, I wanted to share some of the beautiful answers to our survey with you.
They show so beautifully what gifts C-times offer us all – so let’s practice gratitude for:

• The time you get for free;
• Back to the basics;
• Focus on the essential things of life;
• To really BE at home;
• Time for contemplation;
• Time for family;
• Freedom, serenity, prosperity despite limitation;
• Less stress;
• Being confronted with one’s own self;
• Realizing how less we need to be happy;
• The slowing down of the speed of society;
• Being much more relaxed;
• Society’s moving in a positive direction in some areas;
• That everything is quieter, slower and everyone tries to work together more solution-oriented;
• More understanding and tolerance between people and nations…

Allahu akbar, I hope you also can experience those gifts.
I’ll pray for all of us.
I wish you all blessed days and nights.

I wish you peace, confidence and hope.
And I wish you time for yourself, for the essential things and time with those most important to you!

I close with some wonderful words of Amanda:
“Mamas, set the pace back to where it needs to be by going there yourselves,
so: Please, please, please go easy on yourselves….
I really believe that the best thing we can give our children (and therefore ourselves) right now is a sense of peace and safety. Teach them how to cook. Let them linger in books. Embrace boredom.
Just be together.
Be gentle and kind with yourselves – That might be the most important thing our children can learn from us right now.” 
(Soulemama)

 

Ramadan moubarak! Peace, health and light to the worlds!

Allahumma taqqabbal. Ameen.

 

Beautifully skilled Women @C-times and beyond

Berber women

– These are the mothers of the Ait Bouguemez tribe, all the strong and beautiful queens of the High Atlas, the heroines of harsh-mountain-life – most of them do not know letters, cannot read and write, never touched a pen nor a book, never went to school …

but they master other things, they have an other, very wonderful deep knowledge, yes, they carry very ancient wisdom, they create beauty with their hands, everyday at home and around … mashaallah, before, now in C-times and beyond, tbarakallah.

Bless you and thank you for your courage, inspiration and braveness in the everyday, dear sisters, neighbors, fellow mothers and friends!

    

You can see more pictures and read more on the wonderful work, the beautiful skills
and the sometimes very hard tasks of Berber women here.

About their incredible waving / knotting knowledge here. And also here.

Or here about Berber women’s daily work 

and winter life here.

every household has its rug making utensils always on hand, in the kitchen or the living room, always displayed, always ready to sit down, to card, to spin and to wave a little…

Preparing for a return after C-times

Dear readers and friends,
dear followers of my blog,

Your comments made me think a lot and I thank you again for your deep thoughts and sharing.

There is not only one answer, not only one reality, there is not THE one solution or response, there is not either a black nor a white approach to the questions of our times
– We all experience this lockdown differently and have to find our individual ways.

But no matter if others seem to be ignorant, no matter what’s our personal situation and if we like to go back “to normal” or not, no matter whom we tend to accuse or how we actually feel, let me tell you one thing that is for sure:

We are blessed!

We are all blessed, mashaallah, because we can read and write.

We are blessed with an open spirit and mind, we have the possibility to think, to seek knowledge, to form our own opinion, to put into question things, to look for other information and to process our thoughts through reading and the written word – this is such a gift!! Subhanallah.

I see this gift clearly every day, as I live in an environment where more than 50% of the men and about 90% of the women are still illiterate.

We are truly blessed to have this opportunity
– but it pulls us also into responsibility, yes, it even becomes a duty to use this gift wisely.  Especially now.

When we are able to write, we are able to draw plans.
You have a thought, you imagine something, you write it down, you look and read it again and again, you act upon it, you feel it, your written word reminds you about it, and eventually it becomes reality.
There is magic in the written word! (for this, see also the Qur’an in surah 96)

So, one way to create your own positive reality and future, is to visualize and draw a plan about your dream.

Use this time now.
Find out what you really want.
What drives you, what motivates you?
What do you deeply wish for?
How do you wish your after-C-times-life to unfold?
Imagine, write lists, draw, affirm with pictures and words, connect the things, dream!

This technique is called” treasure-map” or “vision board”-making
(the pictures show my treasure-map-process – google on it or look at these books or my former posts for more information and ideas).

I suggest to first find out your core values and beliefs and to consider in your thoughts and plans all the different areas of your life, such as body/health, work, family/relationships, spirituality, world/your service, finances/material things,…
And if you are a visual person, you can collect and cut out inspiration and add photos, color and drawings to your written words.
Add a big “Bismillah” (in the name of God) on the top and start imaging and feeling your future, inchaallah (because in the end, all is up to HIM)

This is such a beautiful, inspiring and positive way, to get to know yourself and to take charge of your future. Just try.
The process can take several hours to several weeks. But it is so encouraging, it helps create hope, and you can do it even with kids and spread out good energy all around the house!
I hope you enjoy!

inspiration on some values.

My wishes to you and the world:

Clarity and deep understanding of each individual’s proper values, goals, wishes and needs.

The discovery of new ways and chances.

The understanding that “seeking the guilty” and “taking him as the enemy” will not help heal the world.

The strength to look for the good and to focus on the positive.

The courage to let the old go.

The courage for change and optimistic action towards it.

That everybody might get the best out of these C-times and make positive conclusions for oneself.

That we all might see and acknowledge this as a huge gift from God, even if our limited human brain does not really grasp it.

Allahu akbar! God is the greatest!
Salam aleikoum, until next time, inchaallah.

 

 

 

Be the change @C-times

”Be the change you wanna see in the world!” (Ghandi)

Dear readers and friends,

Thank you so much for your reading and your comments on my last post!
It is so very interesting to read about other people’s experiences and opinions in these surreal times. It is so extremely helpful to hear real voices instead of media views.  I really appreciate your words!

In my last post I asked if the world is already ready for a stop of the lockdown.
Please, don’t get me wrong, I mean, I am happy to see that more and more respected and well-known persons raise their voices, and that the decision-takers of many countries finally begin to wake up and admit, that Covid-19 is not as dangerous as so-called experts wanted to make us all believe, and that they want to begin loosen the restrictions… I would be really happy for those who suffer of the breakdown and for those who long for a stop of the confinement and a life back to normal…

– but I really wonder if this cut was already long enough to really wake us up, to really shake us and make us change what needs to be changed?

I have the feeling that some more time in this extraordinary situation would do good, not only to the planet and to nature…
Economy is already destroyed in many areas, businesses already crashed and (maybe) a lot of people suffer from the social distancing and the stopping of normal life.

But is the crash already strong enough to really cause a deep rethinking and realigning, a revision and renewal of our way of living?

Was this time-out already long enough for a much-needed shift of our human consciousness? 

I feel so sure that humanity needed this breakdown and a certain sort of chaos and insecurity.
We need times of such suffering and hardship to grow out of it.
And we need such wake-up-calls to change and rethink our behavior and to rise to higher levels, inchaallah.
Just like the phoenix from the ashes.
After hardship comes ease.

Many of us long for a change.
Many do not want to return to what was before (me included).

But:
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.“ (Qur’an 13:11)

So, I ask again:
Was the shaking long enough?
Have we already changed enough to face a better world?
Do we know what we want to change?
What kind of person do we want to be / become?
What sort of every-day life do we wish to lead?
What vocation do we want to follow?
What kind of better world do we imagine?
Do we really know what we want???

Thought provoking thoughts @C-times

I take my morning walk upon the hill behind our house and ponder upon the past and present.
Corona lockdown since more than 7 weeks – no appointments, no running around, no rushing or hurrying after timetables,
the peace and quiet aspects of C-times become even more calm with the rhythm and atmosphere of Ramadan – subhanallah.

Clouds lie over the valley.
A heart-shaped little stone lies on the path in front of me. And there another one…

As I climb the mountain, many questions arise.
But as the fog lifts and the sky opens in front of me, also my thoughts lift,
from doubt and fear to understanding and new hope.
And there, another heart-shaped pebble…. Blessing!

How could it be that the leaders of all countries totally stopped all social and economic life and interaction and made their whole people stay home and hold still?

How can it be that a few international institutions, some individual opinions, a handful of people, their advice and a simple virus can rule the whole world? – Without force, without preparation or agreement in advance?
How could it happen that even armed war is stopped and ceasefire took place?
The first time in human history!!!??
How was and still is all of this possible??
What power, what intentions, what realities are behind it all?
Mashaallah!
How has this surreal shutdown and abrupt standstill of everything been possible?

Despite all the ambiguity I feel, there is one big question coming up in me:

What could have been better for the world than this lockdown???

Should it not persist a little longer, and go on some more weeks or months…
Are we already ready for a return – and back to future??? 

I leave you with these thought-provoking questions,
I’m very interested in your thoughts
and I let you wait with my personal opinion until next time….inchaallah.

Peace and blessings, salaamu alaikoum!

 

heart shaped pebbles from the mountains – hope and beauty everywhere…