Leader of the squad, amaze the world!!
Never forget: Shine on, beautiful, the world needs your light!
While doing laundry, I found some inspiration on a (Decathlon) T-shirt of my son:
Things to Make and Do @C-Times
life gives you lemons? – make lemonade…. and pictures of everyday beauty at home.
A random list of ideas and links on what to do at home … alone, with kids, as a family … during C-times
- Spending a valuable amount of time offline and unplugged – to feel, to connect and to concentrate on the real
- Gardening and growing your own greens (even at the window /terrace/balcony/roof…) – have you ever tried to plant the seeds of the tomatoes, pumpkin and other vegetables you just ate?
- Cooking, baking and trying out new or long forgotten recipes – taking this chance to make fresh homemade meals from scratch (instead of ready-made and fast-food ones) and fun menu-planning in advance (some recipe links here)
- Reading, reading, reading… (see my book-list and post on inspiring books)
- Photography, taking pictures and videos – to capture the beauty of the ordinary and the every-day-life: focus on the amazing little details and the bliss at home: sunshine falling into a window, the structure of wooden furniture, a color scheme of some decoration… even kids can do this with a digital camera or smartphone – you can also announce themes on what to focus every day to challenge yourself and make it even more fun: “the color blue” / “doors”/ “microcosmos view”…
- Spring clean the house, wardrobe, etc… and re-decorate or re-purpose here and here
- Preparing for Ramadan – Link here and here
- If you have no chance to leave the house: window-watching and dreaming
- Creating a visionboard / treasure map (Link here) – and how about imagining a new and better world after Corona, and how you would wish it to be, what role and what lifestyle you would love to lead??!
- Change for a greener more self-sufficient lifestyle (Links here)
- Playing boardgames or other group plays
- Get creative with drawing, painting, handcrafts, sewing, any DIY-work (Link to tutorials)
- Writing a gratitude list and a family manifesto (Link here)
- Watching movies – cinema at home – with homemade popcorn (recipes link)
we recently watched and love: “Paddington”, “Wonder”, “The secret life of Walter Mitty” , “Lord of the Rings”, “Mowgli”, “Marley and me”, “Blind Side”, “Kingdom of heaven”, “Exodus”, “Mohammed”, “Heidi”, “Sams”, swedish-german children movies from Astrid Lindgren’s books…
do you have any feel-good-movies to recommend??
Many of these activities can be done alone or with children, adapted to different ages of kids and even be turned into homeschool activities, as there is so much to write about, to plan, to report, to count, to draw, to type on the computer and to journal afterwards – and then to translate in whichever other language you want… a great learning opportunity!
and some thoughts on learning, schooling, mothering in between and unschooling in general…
…reading “The power” from Rhonda Byrne
wishing you happy home-days – stay blessed and healthy inchaallah!
No need for guilt and some positive inspiration @C-Times
my “workplace” during C-times – in between homeschooling, kitchen and chores
Do I have the right to say:
I really totally enjoy this break from normal life, alhamdulillah!
Thanks God! – I soooooo much enjoy these C-times!
I really enjoy having a reason to pause from our usual work and school life.
I enjoy to be the whole day at home with my children and husband, to have (more or less) time to reflect, time to read, time to cook, to take care of my home and garden and to be more centered than normally.
I really enjoy not to have to run after deadlines, to keep up with meetings, classroom-hours and a long to-do-list, I just really enjoy these homeschooling days with all the ups and downs, the fun, the annoying, the noise, the laughter, the yelling, even the boredom – yes, real family life at its best, subhanallah!
But this morning I had a moment of doubt, whilst in the midst of these wonderful days, mashaallah, when I was checking whatsapp and some news, some disturbing thoughts crossed my mind:
Do I have to feel guilty because of my happiness?
Do I have to feel bad because others feel bad?
Do I have to feel guilty because I enjoy life and this new situation despite the Corona-pandemic and all the bad things that might actually happen in the world?
What right do I have to talk about optimism and an easy wonderful life, if I never experienced real deep suffer, pain, struggle, loneliness, death and other life challenging problems like so many others do now?
I don‘t want to talk down the problems and the suffering of others – but does it help if I feel miserable as well?
I have empathy and I can imagine that there are people, situations and cases that are really difficult – but whom do I help or serve, if I let myself be dragged off and become depressive as well?
Would I really help the world, if I would keep calm and feel guilty because of my health, happiness, joy and the blessings in my life?
I am responsible for my own mental health; and I am also responsible for the health of five children.
I have to stay strong in my own power and keep my balance to radiate good energy.
As my coach told me: with optimism and my personal perception of a good world, I make life much easier for myself as well as for all the others around me.
I should try to stay optimistic and feel well. Mental health is very important to maintain also physical health.
I have to empower myself and remember: whom would I help feeling miserable?
If I allow myself a joyful, good and prosperous life, I am in good mood, I am a better mom and I can become a role model for others, at least for my children, and maybe even for more people – I can use my happiness and my blessings to help others and to do good, God willingly.
So, I think my worst enemy at the moment is maybe not Covid-19, but it’s the pessimistic opinions and views of others and it’s especially my own self and the guilt I sometimes feel… mashaallah.
All these self-made-feelings and the negative effects some virtual information and communication have on me, showed me that I have to be very vigilant and stay very very conscious about whom and what I let enter my mind and soul, audhu’billahi.
I try to strengthen and encourage myself with less (or only very positive-focused) online-time and less exchange with others and the world outside.
I want to concentrate more on my inner self, on my family, on the nearest surroundings and on prayer, journaling, back to basics and good enlightening books.
I really feel that this is such a special and precious time of a possible awakening and change, I do want to fully embrace it. I wanna continue to enjoy this time-out! – unmixed and unadulterated.
And we also just entered the holy month of Shaabaan, only one month until Ramadan… a sacred time and a perfect moment to root myself back into faith and worship…ya Rabb, Al-khair, alhamdulillah.
I wish you a very blessed week, stay happy, strong and healthy, inchaallah! Xxx salaam aleikoum.
“You cannot help heal the world by concentrating on the bad things.
If you focus on the negative, you will not only encourage its existence, but you will also draw it into your own life […]
even when confronting difficult global situations, you are not powerless…change the energy and the vibrations that you radiate into the world and you can help heal the world”
After an excerpt from another book from Rhonda Byrne called “the Magic” – again, I felt some repulsion because of the title, but I really became a fan of her books now and I think this one might be even more beneficial than “the Secret”. It’s about thankfulness, alhamdulillah, and it guides the reader through 28 wonderful exercises on to how to learn and practice deep gratefulness. A really great and inspiring (and also Muslim-appropriate) read!
Greener living @C-times
Dear friends,
thank you so much for your comments and personal thoughts on my last posts, it is so good to hear from you and to feel connected this way, alhamdulillah.
Please continue sharing your inspiration with us, we need it! – the comment section will always remain open to your further ideas on each post and topic.
We passed now a little more than one week in C-times, and if the information is right, we have at least one month more to go until “normal life” can begin again, inchaallah.
My mother told me, that in Germany the supermarkets get more and more empty and especially the shelve with the toilet paper is sold out.
This idea was kind of strange to me, because since many many years we never buy toilet paper… I realized that our life-style changed a lot over the last years and went really green and self-sufficient in some areas.
So, I thought about sharing some green-living inspiration with you, which might be helpful in these special times, where supply can become scarce and a certain level of creativity and independence might be asked from all of us.
As I said, we never buy toilet paper – we use cloth instead.
I already wrote about this ten years ago here and I still recommend this so much!
Cloth is absolutely more comfortable than tissue paper and surely one of the best ways to re-use and recycle old fabric things – we cut everything : old socks, towels, shirts etc… cotton is perfect, but other materials serve as well.
And the really beautiful old worn-out pieces I cut bigger (about 15x15cm) and use as handkerchiefs.
When a pile of dirty cloth added up and became big enough to fill the washing machine, I put it in and wash it very hot at 90°C (!!) to kill all the germs and bacteria,
and then we just have to put it flat or fold it, when still a bit wet (great meditative work, even for little hands, on the terrace in the sunshine or while watching TV) and then it’s ready for use.
A note on our toilet:
beside a normal one, we also have compost toilets at home and in our schools (I once wrote about it here), which is very practical because we sometimes run out of water here and then the normal one gets really messy, whereas the compost toilet stays as clean and good as before. I can assure, approve and really recommend this now after ten years of experience…
…yes, green living and all that comes with it – here you can find an article about the whole topic, which I wrote in 2011 and which I find now more actual than ever before, mashaallah.
I’ve put there green-ideas together and I linked to other interesting posts and general eco-experiences: https://ittosjournal.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/islam-is-green/
So, I wish you joy, I wish you creativity and the blessings of these times at home to re-animate a greener lifestyle and a more conscious life-mode.
Happy recycling!! Peace, love and health to all of you!
Morning hours and great Books @C-times
Salam aleikoum world,
This morning, I sat with my coffee in front the chimney and pondered about the actualities in our world: Corona and the prohibition to leave the house…
– during these times at home, maybe with a bunch of kids and a lot of noise during the day, it is especially important to center ourselves, to positively fill up our own batteries and to consciously prepare for a good day, every day anew.
The best time for this are the early morning hours – I already wrote several times about the importance and blessings of the morning hours (here, here and here).
Today I wanna talk again about this peaceful time, perfect to adjust our whole being, to gain energy and to tune into “positive”.
It is so easy to be taken away by fear and negative thoughts, mashaallah, and just by switching on our mobile phones or the television, one gets already a dozen of pessimistic news. So, if we don’t take care, the frequency and our vibration gets immediately low.
I think it is very important to first feed our thoughts with useful things, instead of directly caring for the kids, doing homework, checking news, messages and mails.
Prayer, meditation, visualization, journaling and reading enlightening books are great things for these first moments of the day.
It asks for a lot of awareness and control of our minds to stay immune against the negativity everywhere. But I think, it is exactly this, we need to practice now in C-times: “Mind-control” and the art of positive thinking.
The early morning hours, spent alone before all the others awake, help me a lot to stay positive. Currently I mostly read during this precious Me-time.
Many years before, I already heard about a book called “the Secret”, but something always held me back from reading it. Maybe it was the layout, I didn’t like – it looked so cheap and brainwashing-like…. or maybe it was the hype attached to it, or because the book was so cut down and even demonized by some Muslims and others.
Anyway, other books were brought crossed my way, and little by little I discovered the “New age thoughts” and this “secret” through other, much older sources.
Just this week, I came again across Rhonda Byrne’s book, and this time I felt the urge to buy it (which was possible thanks to my kindle – what a blessing in such times, alhamdulillah!).
So I began to read it, and oh-my, I found out, that Rhonda read, before she wrote “the Secret”, the same books as I discovered over the past years. And she’s put the whole knowledge together in one book called “the Secret”, in the most beautiful, and easily understandable way, subhanallah.
So, if there would be only one book I could recommend reading these days – beside the holy Qur’an – then it would be Rhonda Byrnes “The Secret” (especially the chapter about the world).
When I read books, especially non-Islamic-books, I always only take what resonates with my soul, with my religion, my beliefs and my reason. I take what I need, and I neglect what doesn’t serve me.
I always remember, that everything in the universe happens only through the permission and power of Allah. The universe is in constant development and creation by the will of Allah, and Allah is the provider and the sustainer of everything.
The Secret, which is the theory of the “law of attraction” and the power humans have through it, totally resonates with my understanding and my beliefs. The content mostly strengthens my faith and testifies many of our Islamic teachings.
I really believe that human beings can attract and create a lot through their expectations and personal attitude, through good action, thankfulness, a positive mindset and belief. And I am totally sure that we can manifest positive things through our thoughts – by the will of Allah – because God gave us this power INCHAALLAH – God willingly!
“Every single person has the power […] to highly influence the world by his thoughts and words.
Help the world by concentrating on the positive things. Activate the good by praying, thinking and visualizing a better world in health, peace and abundance.”
I believe, that it is even our duty to stay positive and to radiate only good things. Especially NOW!
I believe that we often are our most evil enemy, by limiting ourselves through fearful thoughts and self-made barriers.
„What comes to you of good, comes from God (Allah), but what cones to you of evil, oh Man, is from yourself.” (Qur’an 4:79)
“Satan promises you poverty and encourages evil doing, and God promises you forgiveness from HIM and abundance” (Qur’an 2:268)
“I am as My servant expects Me to be” Narrated by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah)
These other authors also wrote wonderful books that provide inspiration and positive energy:
Catherine Ponder, Wallace D. Wattles, Prentice Mulford, Napoleon Hill, Louise Hay , Dr. Frank Kinslow “Quantum healing”, Emile Coué, Genevieve Behrend, Orison Swett Marden, Laura Malina Seiler (only available in German), Deepak Chopra, Anthony Robbins, Eckehard Tolle
(many of the books are older than fifty or hundred years and you can find them online, in many languages, and often (nearly) for free)
I wish you blessed morning hours, I wish you strength and optimism
and PLEASE! Share your list of books of positive inspiration with us in the comment section below! Thank you so much!
Peace, love and light. And a Happy Spring!
Some others thoughts on the “law of attraction” from a Muslim point of view:
https://ittosjournal.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/everything-is-possible-inchaallah/
http://muslimtribune.org/the-law-of-attraction-an-islamic-perspective/
https://muslim-mind.com/2011/05/optimism-and-the-law-of-attraction-in-islam/
https://mybeliefs.co.uk/2012/10/10/the-law-of-attraction-from-an-islamic-point-of-view/
Stay optimistic, get creative, make the best out of C-times!
Most of us are enforced to stay home at the moment. That’s a totally new situation and a challenge to many of us.
In fact, it really is a historic moment – the whole world of social and economic life stands still. Something like this never happened before… Mashaallah. Many questions arise, how is this possible and why? “Just” because of this virus? The real “why” behind all the measurements and government requirements is unclear and even mysterious, and maybe we’ll never find out.
But instead of spending the time watching bad news, panicking around or wasting time with fearful thoughts, we can try to stay positive and seek the good within, make the most out of this sudden vacation.
I have to tell you, until now, I really enjoy this new way of life, subhanallah!
I so enjoy being at home, back to basics, back with hubby and the kids all day long, as a stay-at-home mom, homeschooling, unschooling, enjoying family life at it’s most real, with all the ups and downs during the course of a day, alhamdulillah.
In my breaks, I sometimes watch out for online inspiration and positive ways of living …
And I thought, I could even spread myself a bit more hope and offer alternative views and possibilities to others. So I wanna begin here a new section on my blog and add a spark of optimism.
I call these times now “C-times” and I began a whole new journal dedicated to it.
Little by little I will add here different lists of ideas, links, inspiration and blessings concerning different topics, which are so good even or especially in these times,
and I invite you to add your thoughts, ideas or links of hope and encouragement in the comment section below of each post – So we can put together valuable sources of positivity for all of us, inchaallah.
Together for the better – yes we can!
Love, peace and health to all of you!
a golden light @Coronavirus
Let go of the old idea of an unjust and hard world and use your light to help make the world a good and loving place.
Just by your radiance and being, make sure that wherever you are or whatever you do, love is increased and peace arises.
Become a tool of peace.When each individual shines his golden light, the whole world will shine.
( originally quoted in German- by Laura Malina Seiler)
