Pregnancy is such a complex, multi-faceted experience. I think if I could come up with one word to describe the process, it would be “vulnerability.” Something as private as your body becomes a public spectacle. Well-intentioned people begin to make comments about how you’re growing, if you’re growing, and whether or not that growth looks “good” or “bad.” Also, pregnancy is a time period marked with companionable, but unsolicited advice. Out of care and genuine curiosity, people seem to want to bond over this experience. It’s such an exciting time, and I think people, generally, are eager to share that excitement with you! They want to connect, and tell you about their experiences when they were pregnant, what worked for them and what didn’t’ work for them. Even strangers at the grocery store are eager to grant you their two cents on what you should or should not be doing, eating, not eating, craving, feeling etc. Though I agree that this advice comes from a benevolent place, it can sometimes be a hard to accept with an open heart.
I’m working on this, and on clearing my heart. I am trying to look at these advances as an opportunity for connection. What may seem as unsolicited advice may just be an attempt for others to find common ground. They are connecting with me, and giving me an opportunity to connect back. I won’t lie, however, thinking about advice this way is going to take some work. When someone criticizes what I’m doing, a natural resistance arises out of my human heart. I’ve witnessed this, specifically, in terms of others criticizing my running and physical activity.
I would go as far as saying that there is a universal taboo on physical exercise during pregnancy. It seems as if, regardless of culture, there is inaccurate information circulating about a suspected increased risk of miscarriages and birth defects associated with over-activity. This myth is especially exacerbated in the Indian/Pakistani culture 😦 The tricky thing in terms of defining what you can/cannot do in pregnancy is defining what “over-activity” means. I believe that the preceding definition is so subjective, and relative to the individual. For someone that has never walked a mile before, running 5 miles/day during pregnancy is probably alarming and unfavorable. However, for an ironman or triathlete, running a marathon might still be below their personal “over-activity” threshold. I guess the point I’m trying to make is: it is all relative. Nothing is 100% wrong or 100% right; in fact, my lovely OBGYN ran through eight months of all of her pregnancies! Pregnancy is a unique experience and no human being experiences it identically. Our bodies are also unique in their unparalleled capabilities, training and consequently, in the thresholds of intensity they are able to tolerate. From what I’ve gathered (mostly from my doctor and other OBGYNS), the rule of thumb seems to be the following: avoid trying new regimens that you haven’t been consistently pursuing before your pregnancy.
As for me, running and physical activity are the two practices that have kept me emotionally balanced. Everything seems to be subject to change in pregnancy, and I, for one, am still working on trying to tolerate change—much less, embrace it! Being pregnant is such an odd, lovely change! On one hand, there is this sense of blooming love and overwhelming excitement that I’ve never felt before. Then, on the other hand, I experience waves of terrifying fear and crippling vulnerability. “What if I screw this up?” “What if I mess up, and that ends up destroying my daughter’s life?” “What if I’m unable to provide her with enough stability to feel safe in this unpredictable world?” I think that is my biggest fear-that I will somehow “ruin her”. I don’t want to mess up her beautiful, fragile life. I suppose this fear is one that many parents have. I’ve seen the consequences of careless parenting one too many times, and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone. With all these thoughts ruminating in my mind, the addition of the vicissitudes of hormones and my own body changing can make me feel completely ungrounded. I can forthrightly and wholeheartedly say that the ONE thing that has helped me feel like myself is physical activity. Fitness, running, and working out are all activities that I enjoyed long before I was pregnant; they have been stable, persevering components in my transitions from childhood, youth, to adulthood. To me, physical activity serves as a hope for normalcy; it makes me feel like myself and gently reminds me that there is a beautiful end to these nine months of persistent change—that at the end of this process, my most sought out dream will come true; I, Maham Abid, will be a mother.
Running has provided me with a sense of consistency throughout this changing process. And of course, I’m terrified that one day I’m going to go the doctor and they will tell me that I have to restrain from all physical activity, and become bedridden because they’ve detected some sort of risk. Ah! how could I authentically claim this entry without the resurfacing of my ever-familiar tendency to catastrophize? I try to soothe these fears by reminding myself that so far, everything is normal, healthful and unimpaired. I do not know about tomorrow, but today, I have no reason to believe that this fear will manifest itself into reality. And if there ever comes a day when I do have to deal with this fear, or any other fear, for that matter—then, I will deal with it when it arrives in the present. But, not one moment sooner.
Today, I will choose something different.
Today, I will celebrate, because today I am pregnant with my beautiful baby girl. Today, I can of share my joy of running and other physical activity painlessly and effortlessly with my beautiful daughter. Today, I am carrying a sweet little child in my changing body, and that is miraculous. It is all I’ve longed for since I’ve been old enough to walk.
I was reminded of this in my new years trip with my family.
As we were hiking in Chattanooga, we passed by a wishing well and my sweet husband offered me a penny so that I could make a wish. When he suggested this, an indescribable emotion surged through me with immense power. I paused and with eyes full of grateful tears, I looked up at my kindhearted husband and said: “Alhamdullilah (by the grace God), I have nothing to wish for. All my wishes are coming true.”
I am happy, healthy, loved, and able to extend love.
And now, (iA), I will soon be a mother to a sweet, angelic baby doll.
There may come a day when my little girl grows up and feels dejected, and like the world has let her down. She may begin to doubt her own dreams, passions and aspirations, whatever they may be. And that day (and every other day), I’ll look down into her beautiful eyes, and point out that SHE, in her very existence, serves as MY constant reminder that dreams really do come true.
Thank you so much for reading my blog! I will definitely try to keep posting, as it is a highly therapeutic experience for me ❤ I plan on talking about my fears, changes in my workout routine, nutrition, pregnancy and other ramblings. Comment below and let me know if you’d like to know more about something else!
Hi beautiful beings! ❤ It’s so wonderful writing to you again 🙂 Eeep. I love you!
Okay, So! I am so flipping excited about this blog series because it is near and dear to my heart! If you haven’t figured it out already, I LOVE CARDIO!!!!!! I’m not kidding, “the runners high” is a real thing. It’s the closest thing I get to meditation 🙂 If you are wanting to get into cardiovascular exercise, this extended blog post is going to be your best friend! I have twenty-two total tips for ways to enhance cardiovascular endurance, so…without further adieu, here are the first eleven 🙂
1. No stretching before working out: Contrary to popular belief, I recommend that you do not stretch before you embark on your endurance endeavor. Eee! You see what I did there? I used lots of words that started with an “e.” Yay for alliteration. Okay. So little things amuse me. Prior studies have shown that acute static stretching impairs muscle force and torque. In simpler terms, this means that that muscle strength is decreased when it is lengthened. Notice how they said static stretching.
Dynamic stretching- means movement stretching (like taking a walk before you’re going on a run) or warming up slowly on a bike before you’re about to go finish a spin class.
Static: the traditional type of stretching “ex: sit and reach”
Thank God for such a thing as muscle memory! The term refers to a common phenomenon in which various muscle-related tasks seem to become easier to perform after previous practice. When you train in a specific way for elongated periods of time, your body will adapt to the stress so that the task is easier to perform next time. There is some consensus among the runners I’ve spoken to in that some amount of “tightness” in muscles is actually beneficial. Retained tightness is necessary for proper alignment. With that being said, trust your body. If you want to reduce the risk of injury, I do highly recommend dynamic stretching.
2. Cross-training! I cannot emphasize this enough especially for beginners! When we, as impatient human beings, want to do something, we want to go all into it. But that’s a sure way to disaster. Seriously, I’ve experienced this myself so many times. I call myself an “endurance athlete” and not exclusively a “runner” because I train in several different ways to enhance my cardiovascular strength. I swim; I do elliptical training; I take spin classes; I do plyometric movements and I also run. Cross-training not only reduces the risk of injury and over-training but it also allows us to diversify training. Through cross-training, we are able to work out different various muscle groups so that we remain beautifully symmetrical and proportionate.
I think both bodies, and all bodies are beautiful. It really is up to personal preference.
3. So this one is going to be a little controversial: I would advise NOT to “bodybuild” or strength-train areas you don’t need excess mass on. The reason for this is that when you’re running longer periods of time, you don’t need excess mass to slow you down. The lesser the mass, the lesser the impact of the surface on your joints, J as an endurance athlete, I find that the only muscle groups I really NEED strength in are my legs and abdominal/back muscles. I don’t like strength training my legs because I find that my cardiovascular exercise already provides them with adequate tone. I do strength train my abdominals/back muscles to help with balance and alignment throughout the exercise.
4. Shorten your stride! Research From Dr. Bryan Heiderscheit of the University of Wisconsin (and others) demonstrates that a shorter, quicker stride reduces impact on knees and hips. This is greatly beneficial especially if you’re wanting to do long-duration endurance work. There is a tip I’d like to share with you: when you’re landing, try to put your foot down BEHIND you. Of course, this is not actually what’s going to happen, but it will help make you conscious of shortening your stride as much as possible.
5. STAY AS ERECT AS POSSIBLE. Do you think you’re standing AS tall as possible? Good. Now, stand even taller! Seriously. This is one tip that I think can apply to EVERYONE. It is so important!!!! Probably the most important one that I have to offer. If you are on the elliptical, or if you are running, STAND as TALL as possible. You should be able to draw a straight line throughout your body. Here’s my tips for ensuring that your posture is correct:
Your shoulders should be relaxed, slightly pushing down away from your head. Chest should be expanded and raised (think proud Tarzan!) Your abs should be contracted and almost pushing your ribcage UP so that the weight of your upper body is being supported by the back/abdominal muscles instead of the legs, which are already doing their share of work!
6. Arms and legs should be loose and as relaxed as possible! “So my abs are supposed to be completely tight, but my legs are supposed to be loose?” Yes. I won’t lie. This is going to feel super awkward at first. But, I promise with time, you will get better at “isolating” certain muscle groups. This will help you contract/relax different parts of your muscle groups more easily.
7. Run on an even surface. There is a reason that treadmills and running track were created the way they are! They provide an extra “bounciness” so that the overall surface impact on the knees and joints decreases. This is exactly what we need if we want to run longer periods of time!
8. Do have a speed day! This is commonly known as HIIT training. HIIT training will help strengthen the major muscle groups in the lower body. It also burns a ton of calories and adds variety to the fitness regimen
9. Do have ONE day of full rest (not active rest). Please take a day off from endurance training altogether. I promise; it helps out so much!!!! When you’re doing endurance work, rest is essential to recovery and prevention of burnout.
10. Have yourself a cool-down. No! Cool-down does not equal stretching. I take at least 5-10 minutes to cool down. When you are working out and have your heartrate elevated, your blood vessels are dilated, and your heart is pumping blood rapidly. Having an adequate cool down allows your body to return to a state of homeostasis or balance. This will ensure that you don’t get that weird jittery/ “I’m going to pass out” feeling after working out. 🙂
11. Avoid (or USE caution with) hip openers and pigeon poses in yoga: Like I mentioned before, there is an element of tightness that is necessary for hip/body alignment when it comes to endurance work (especially running/and elliptical training). Be very careful in hip opening poses because we don’t want to get “too open” or “too loose” to wear we will be at a greater risk for injury the next time we run!
I hope these were somewhat helpful to you! And, I hope that you know how loved and cared for you are 🙂
And don’t forget, tips 12-22 will be coming soon in Part II: Tips for Endurance Athletes ❤
Are you frustrated because you’re still not seeing results?
Well, take a read of my 20 top reasons you may not be seeing results.
1. Unclear goals. I believe that this is the number one reason people fail to see “results.” The way the human body works is quite simple–it adapts. It will make necessary changes and adjustments in its own physiology to better adapt to whatever stresses are being placed on it. In our case, the added stress is related to how/when/how often we are training. Often times, we do a bunch of different things, in no particular order or time and expect the body to respond in a specific way. Randomness is never going to lead to a specific outcome. So my #1 tip is to figure things out. What do you want? What type of body type do you desire? Are your goals to gain strength, gain muscle, lose muscle, loss fat, etc? Once you’ve established clear cut goals, do some research on it. What types of exercises do you need to do? How often? At what rate do you add a greater load your workouts?
Now, I want to tell you guys something really exciting. Eeep are you ready?
This blog post is only the first one in a SERIES of blog posts to come. So what are my next blog posts going to be about? In light of the fact that I think most people do not get the results they desire DUE to unclear goals, my next THREE blog posts are going to be a series of tips pertaining to three distinct fitness goals
Tips for increased muscle tone (bulking)
Tips for simultaneous fat loss and muscle tone gain
Tips to lose weight and excess bulk
ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS THE CAT?!?! Me too!!! ❤ giggles.
2. Misinformed post workout nutrition: you may not be eating at the proper time or the proper foods for your goals. For example, if your goal is to increase muscle tone and definition, it is a good idea for you to fuel up on an isolate protein snack within 30 minutes of a weight lifting session. On the contrary, if your goal is to lose excess bulk or muscle (ie; bulky quads), you should be avoiding ALL food at least forty five minutes after a moderate intensity cardio workout. This way the body is able to utilize the glycogen stores and then, and only THEN begin to burn through some of the excess muscle storage. More information about appropriate post workout nutrition in relation to your fitness goals will be posted in proceeding blogs.
3. You are overtraining the muscle you want to see shrink. This is a close #2 mistake I see women making. Numerous research has shown that even though women do not get as “bulky” as men, their lower body is more responsive to hypertrophy than any other part. This means that some of us may end up with bulkier legs than we prefer. When this happens, so many of us run to the cardio machines (stair master, elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike etc) in an attempt to burn more calories so we can lose muscle. In theory, this may work. However, what most girls forget is the “use it or lose it rule.” Intense forms of cardio are STILL working your leg muscles. If you are doing cardio everyday, you run the risk of overtraining the very muscle you want to see shrink. “Use it or lose it” applies everywhere. Train the muscles you want to see definition in to fatigue (for me this is arms, and abs). I steer away from training my legs to fatigue as I do not want the bulkier aesthetic for myself.
4. Not drinking enough water! This may be causing you to eat more, and retain more water.
5. Doing too much of the same thing: If you do what you have always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always gotten. That Robbins was a smart cookie, eh? A lot of issues can come up in your training if you continue to do the same sort of excercise day in and day out. First, your muscles will adapt to the load and therefore, it will be much harder for you to attain a “good workout” (I mean “good” in terms of effectiveness). Lessened variety of excercises within your regimen will force hypertrophy (growth) of certain muscles and ignore other muscle groups. This means that you may have more definition in one area (the area you are training), while completely lacking definition in other areas (the areas you are ignoring). Please include cross-training in your regimen. It has saved my world. Seriously. Please. Do it!
6. Nor resting enough: the next few reasons are going to come from the same basic background: that you are putting your body under a ton of stress. When your body feels excessive physiological stress, it begins to produce higher levels of cortisol to allow conservatory metabolic changes to occur. When there is a sustained increase in cortisol levels, your body may start to hold onto food as fat stores. So where does rest come into play? Lack of adequate rest can elicit your body to begin elevating its levels of cortisol! So be careful and take a rest day. 🙂
7. Creating too large of a caloric deficit: you may be working out like crazy and may have simultaneously cut your calories a little too much. Though this will eventually lead to weight loss (I’m talking months, people), the primary reaction is going to be one of stress. In fact, you are probably going to see the opposite results of what you want, initially. Your body will start retaining water like no other, which will lead to an overall “bigger” appearance as you will display signs of puffiness, inflammation and bloating. Furthermore, your body may decide to shift to survival mode and start storing everything you put in it into adipose tissue (or fat). My tip to avoid this from happening is: do as a turtle would do. Slow and steady wins the race. Also, creating too large of a caloric deficit and continuing to work out is a sure way to get injured.
8. Not getting enough zZzZzZz: Let’s talk sleep. If you are not getting enough sleep, you are putting your body in the “elevated cortisol” phase once more. It is under stress, and consequently, it’s going to start retaining water, become inflamed and react as if it is under attack. Also, as you all know, staying up at night can lead to binging on extra snacks, which may not be the best, depending on your fitness goals. So please don’t trade sleep for working out. It may be counteractive.
9. Getting too much sleep: Ah. Here’s that “moderation is key” mantra again. Too much sleep can affect your results too. 6-8 hours per night is optimal. Any more than that and you risk entering a robotic phase of what I like to call “sleep coma.” You know what I’m talking about. Those days where you feel entirely lethargic and tired throughout the day even though you slept a million hours. Getting too much sleep throws off your body’s natural circadian rhythm, pushing it off balance. We don’t want this.
10. Not instilling a proper warm up or cool down: When you are getting into the gym, chances are you haven’t been training for a marathon the whole day. This means that your muscles have been in a static phase. They need time to become “warm” and ready to go. So please take AT LEAST (and I mean, at the very least) 5 minutes to warm up the muscle group you are planning to work out. I, personally, take about 10-15 minutes to conduct a full body warm up. Numerous studies have shown that a proper warm up can also aid in injury prevention. AFTER you are done with your workout, a cool-down needs to take place. Your heart will be pumping blood like crazy; everything is rapid, and your blood vessels are dilated keeping your body at a hyper-alert stage. It is important to take time to cool down, and allow your body to return to homeostasis. A proper cool down can ensure that you don’t faint or begin to feel sick after your workout. Personally, I like to cool down for about 10-15 minutes– until my heart rate gets down to 100 level.
11. Overestimating expenditure: You’ve probably heard the saying– “a one hour workout is just 4% of your day.” Though this statement is meant to motivate, it does hold subtly important information. A one hour workout, regardless of the intensity, is just 4% of your day. A lot of us are guilty of going to the gym, giving it a 110%, and then remaining completely stationary for the next 23 hours. This can lead to an overestimation of expenditure, or how much we think we are burning. The more you move, the more you burn. For an average-sized woman, a one hour shopping spree (walk at the mall) can result in an additional caloric loss of 300-400 cal. My advice to you is: try not to remain stationary the entire day. I know that workouts are tough. Sometimes, you just don’t want to move after them. It is okay to sit/lay for a little bit to recover. However, try to stay on your feet most of the day and move around 🙂
12. Not tracking your food intake. This can lead to an underestimation of how much we are truly eating. Truth be told, calories are hard to burn. They really are. But they are so EASY (and yummy) to ingest. Regardless of your goal, I think it may be a good idea to track your food intake for a few days to see how much you are really eating. This way, you can tweak your workout program and nutrition regimen to optimize results. On a side note, PEOPLE! DRINKS COUNT AS CALORIES TOO. A few lattes from starbucks per day can result in anywhere from a 600 to 900 calorie gain.
13. Not having proper meals. Are you snacking all day? Every few hours? Yes, there has been research done that demonstrates that snacking frequently can rev up your metabolism, allowing you to burn more throughout the day. Though that is true, most people forget to mention the flip side of this phenomenon! When you “rev” up your metabolism with a snack, it means that your body is probably going to feel hungrier and want MORE food. So unless you have the discipline and self-control of a superhero, I recommend that you stick to 3 proper meals, and snack 2-3 times a day.
14. Yo-yo dieting and random working out: Like I said before, randomness will never lead to specificity. If you are not consistent in your method, you are not going to see consistent results. Doing too much, too often throws your body into confusion. So though, some variety is good, too much variety is chaotic. It will take a little bit of time for you to find that balance for you, but I promise, through practicing gentle curiosity and patience, you will discover it.
15. Rewarding yourself with food: There are so many things wrong with that statement. I literally cringed as I typed it up. First of all, food is not a reward. The mentality of using it in a punishment/reward system is very risky. This type of thinking is the root backbone of eating disorders, and compulsive eating behaviors. So, no, food is not a reward. You are not a pet who needs to be bribed with a “treat” to conduct a certain task. Food is fuel. It is a necessity that you need to sustain yourself and all the wonderful things that you accomplish. Please don’t use working out as a means to allow yourself certain foods. Coming from that place of motivation is highly stressful and distorted. (alright, alright, I am getting off my soap box now).
16. Sipping on popular sports drinks during workout: The popular marketed sports drinks are high in calories and sugar. Depending on the drink, you may, literally, be drinking all the calories you are burning. So take notice of what you put in your body. If you tend to get dizzy and want to make sure that you are replenishing your electrolytes, I would stick to plain water, and just mix in a packet of Emergen-C powder!
17. Taking too many breaks during your workout: Sometimes, we work out really hard for 5 minutes, and then start to look at our phone–“oh look, our best friend texted us with a funny picture of a cat eating noodles. Haha, how cute! We need to reply to this. Wait, why just reply in a text message? Let’s one up her! Let’s google funny pictures of cats and find an ubber hilarious picture and send it to her!” 15 minutes later…you’re still on that phone. Sound familiar? Put that phone down!!! Heart rate is changing number ya’ll. In order for it remain elevated, it needs to be maintained with consistent activity. Let’s make the most out of the 30 minutes-1 hour we are dedicating to ourselves and our bodies at the gym.
18. Got (no) patience? : So many of us need immediate gratification. We need to see those changes! And when we don’t, we are quick to walk out on the process. This is one of the simplest reasons we may not see results. If we’re not sticking to working out and seeing the process through, we’re not going to get the results. Sucks how that works, right?
19. Not listening to your body: On the contrary, you may not be listening to your own body . Are you trying really hard to make yourself into another transformation? In that process, you may be neglecting what your body is telling you. The truth is that you are not the same person as any of the other girls in the “transformation pictures.” No, I don’t care if your body may resemble hers. You are NOT her. This means that no work out program is going to be smarter than your own body. If a regimen that’s supposed to make you lose weight is actually making you gain weight, then you may want to change it up. But so often, we just keep going— hoping that with enough time, it will magically make us lose weight. The entire time, we ignore the signs that our body gives us. So, let your body be the primary judge–your primary guide. If you are hyper-vigilant and super aware of your body, you should see SOME change in 4 weeks. If it takes you a little bit longer to notice changes, you should see some by 6 weeks for sure. Again, notice that I said some results. They are probably not going to major life changing ones, but they should be enough to give you insight on how your body is responding to a certain regimen.
20. Don’t forget to love yourself: Alright, so this tip may not be the most “scientifically” correlated with seeing results, but I had to put it in here! It would feel inauthentic if I didn’t! 🙂 Take time to love yourself throughout the entire process–through the injuries, the messups, the falls, the small victories, the big wins, and all the rest. You are trying and you are human. This means that you are going to get there a little bit a time, not all at once. Take time to honor your body and what it can do for you, and most of all, trust it 🙂 It does so much to support you!
I love you all so much! I hope this was helpful ❤
And don’t forget, this was just the first post in a series of posts to come. Watch out for these next three blogs ❤
Tips for increased muscle tone (bulking)
Tips for simultaneous fat loss and muscle tone gain
There is so much relief that comes from not fighting the currents of this life. It’s so nice not having to swim against the tide, and instead spend time floating atop the water. Relinquish control and place your trust in the wisdom of this large ocean. I promise its sage, erudite currents will safely deliver you and I to our next magnificent destination.
When I feel that my energy is off balance, I love sitting outside and thinking.
You know the feeling I’m talking about! A certain chakra in your body lets you know that something isn’t right; you may not be able to put your finger on it, but you intuitively feel that something is amiss. We all seem to feel certain things when our core energies are misaligned with that of the magnamonious universe.
However, some of us resort to deal with the resultant anxiety through familiar maladaptive coping mechanisms; there are the obvious ones such as self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, and other obsessive-compulsive tendencies. But then, there are the subtle addictions we use to cope–we may drown ourselves in our careers or an activity; we may foster codependency in our intimate relationships; we may inaccurately project our “identity” onto our children; we may become overly dependent on the approval of others…etc.
It is okay if you have used one of the preceding mechanisms to cope before. I have used several. This makes you like the 7 billion others of us ❤ It is human nature to act in a manner that reduces anxiety. So, when faced with these unavoidable distressful feelings, what do we do? What do you do?
I drown in the earth.
Sometimes, I literally build a small “earth castle” around my silhouette, and lay in the earth, allowing my body to absorb its majestic healing energy.
yes. this happens.
My body, mind and soul seem to function most efficiently when I’m outdoors. Sitting down and having tea with the world allows me to experience some of the mostpeaceful feelings I have stumbled upon yet. I just sit on the ground and look all around me until I become a mere observer.
Quietly, I survey and inhale all the yummy sounds, sights and smells around me, all the while rejoicing in my delightful contact with Mother Earth. I continue to lovingly enfold in her arms, until I unknowingly abandon the confining box of my biased preconceptions and charged views about the world; I return to a neutral state of “being.”
Life is bigger than me.
I begin to notice the wisdom and beauty of nature all around me and I feel so marvelously miniscule compared to everything else. I realize, then, that I’m just one little girl in this big, big universe–that I will spend my allotted time here and leave this confusing but nevertheless beautiful place, just like all those before me.
I smile and look at the trees, the sky,ground and the grass as I’m endowed with unshakable certainty that they are all supporting me. They are watching over me like omniscient guardians. And I am grateful.
Even when unexpected and seemingly “dreadful” events conspire, I know that, ultimately, the universe is taking care of me, and guiding me towards the extraordinary path that has always been destined for me. I had a purpose before anyone, including myself, had an opinion about it ❤
Ah! And, as I slowly arrive to this realization once more, the sweet butterflies commence their excited and eager waltz within my stomach! I begin to have this overwhelming feeling of faith–in this world, it’s creatures and its people. And, I notice a newfound appreciation for myself–because, even I, small little Maham Abid, am part of something so much bigger and more significant than myself.
I begin to have so much compassion for all of humanity, and how fervidly we attempt to guard the delectable delicacies of this life–its gifts of happiness, love and trust. But, each one of us will neglect these bounties at some point, as we are imperfect; we can’t always understand and take care of all these cherished but ever-so-fragile gifts. We can only try our best.
Isn’t that what we are all doing? (though some in more twisted, incomprehensible ways than others)? No matter how different we may appear to be, we are all doing the best we can to survive the many powerful, and inevitable forces of life. Day and night, each one of us strives towards the same goal; we all want to make it.
This understanding gives me the power to rise above smaller battles and find forgivenenss for myself and all other people in this big complex world.
There is only one love. I was born in love; I am created of it. Therefore, it is only natural that I must give it wholly, and receive it with open-arms.
abidmaham 