my thoughts for this morning

I'm not sure, if we should have 'long term' plans. I mean after all, who knows when our life will end. Especially if our 'long term' plan is only duniawi - it's like a waste of time. Long term achievements should be a sum of our short term achievements - those that we aim to do and achieve today and now. Of course we should plan what we want to do later and tomorrow or next week - but to hope for achievement to come only THEN, rather than doing something and achieving something in the mean time - is like putting it to chance.

The good thing about us, as a servant of Allah SWT, is that Allah rewards us for our efforts - not necessarily the result of our effort. The result, achieved in this lifetime, may be the reward for our effort - or a test. Even happiness is attained more in the effort and the time taken to achieve 'the goal', rather than in the goal itself.

I remembered a talk I saw on Youtube yesterday, about how we are not someone who is surrounded by other things and events - but how we ARE a part of that Nature and Events that is happening around us, and how all of these are a sum of who we are before, now and in the future - which is different overtime.

I hope, I am shaped and made up of a lot of efforts and small achievements.


***

Alhamdulillah, I have managed to book, an Umrah package for the whole family. I am going to look away from the amount that we have to spend to bring my family of 6! 5 of which are already charged for adult prices. Yikes. BUT - all these years, we've been spending on things that don't mean a thing, and we didn't beat an eyelid... so, Ya Allah, do bless us, our efforts, our rezeki and our time for You. Aamiin.

I told the children many times, I think only after we have gone for Umrah as a family and I have performed my Hajj, then am I ok with spending our money to travel anywhere else. So let this year, be a year of Umrah and Hajj, and may Allah give barakah upon our rezeki for other travels next year, insyaAllah.

But you know, the best kind of travels is not to travel as a 'tourist', but to be among other people and cultures and see and experience the life there, in order to make ourselves a better person, someone who is broad-minded, and see in all these, the Signs that Allah SWT has put forth, and as such strengthens our Iman. I hope I can do this somehow, by studying/working part time in some country with my kids in tow. :p Aamiin.

Wishful thinking? I don't know.. Allah has planned our lives for us. I'll just doa and make some small effort, and we'll leave Allah's plans to Him. :)