Remembrance & Gratitude

After nearly 15 years of love, devotion and companionship, my precious kitty Jasmine passed in the early morning hours.

Although the memories will last forever, right now the pain of the loss is too much.

I will always love and miss you Jasmine kitty.

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~Kahlil

Gratitude

Recently, I've been struggling with Amira's perceived attitude. What I seem to hear most often is all the things she's unhappy about (i.e., I didn't get to watch my show, how come I always have to take a shower, I don't like my sandwich, I didn't get the right kind of Gold Fish crackers I like, etc.) Note: Most of the things she complains about are an after affect due to not voicing her desires or thoughts ahead of time. Almost as if waiting, then complaining.

Perhaps it's not that bad, but it's what my ears seemed to be attuned to lately, and quite frankly it bothers me. So, I decided to recently add another little "ritual" to our daily lives to see how that might change the mood direction. I asked her the other day what she was grateful for, and she asked me what "grateful" meant. So, I explained to her that it was our way of acknowledging all those things we are thankful for, for example---I'm thankful that the sun was shining today.

She proceeded to ask me why we needed to do that, and I explained because it's our way of acknowledging and thanking God for our countless blessings we receive everyday.

So, Tuesday, this week, on our way to school, I asked her "Ok, so tell me what you are thankful for today". Her response was, "I don't know, the day hasn't started yet". To which, I laughed and said, "baby the day started when you opened your eyeballs this morning". Then, I said, "I'm thankful for the beautiful birds that were singing this morning". She said, "can I tell you after school today?"

After dinner that evening I decided to ask once again, "so, what are you grateful for?" And the response I got was priceless.

Amira-"Can I first tell you what I'm not grateful for?" At this point I wanted to scream because I was getting so tired of this perceived negativity, but decided better. Decided I should allow her to express this thought, so she'd be free to express something positive.

Me-"Sure"

Amira-"I'm not grateful I had to twirl the jump-rope all day at recess while the other kids jumped."

Me-"Ahhhh"

Amira-"I'm grateful I got Ms. Peggy this morning when we drove through the car line at school."

She rattled a few more off, then asked me what I was grateful for to which I shared. By the end of dinner there was a definitely change in attitude. Felt lighter.

Here's for being grateful!

MusicLover Recommendation

The other day MusicLover posted a comment on one of my post regarding a movie recommendation. After doing some research, I was not able to find this movie at my local movie rental place via their website, and was disappointed.

Tonight, however, after work Amira and I went to the movie rental place to pick up a couple of movies to watch over the long Thanksgiving holiday, and low in behold the movie, Away From Her, was starring right at me as soon as I rounded the corner. Of course, I immediately picked it up along with a few others. When we got home we had to watch Amira’s movie first which was Mickey Mouse’s Christmas….LOL It was cute. After finishing her movie, I immediately popped in Away From Her. Oh my goodness, what a perfect movie for the holidays. For the matter, it’s the perfect movie anytime. It will definitely be one of my favorites. I should caution to keep tissue nearby because it’s a very powerful movie.

I cannot and hope I never have to experience what both these people experienced, inshallah. But, how I would love to be able to spend 44 years with a beloved, inshallah. This movie is a great reminder of how we should be ever so grateful for every moment we have on this earth, and every moment we spend with our dear families, friends, and people will meet in the future. Truly life is the most precious gift on this earth, alhamdullilah, and we, as humans should cherish life as if it were a rare and precious gem. Moreover, we should always remember to never take advantage of the wonderful relationships we have with every human that crosses our path, inshallah.

MusicLover, thank you for the recommendation.

Thankful for All Things

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More Than A Day

As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we're poor,
Feel like bums, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.
We have friends and family we love;
We have guidance from heaven above.
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We're wealthy, when push comes to shove.
So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you've got;
Realize it's a lot,
And you'll make all your cares go away.

Too Blessed to Stress

Mere words of gratitude seem inadequate for the amount of support received from the various bloggers I’ve been blessed to encounter, alhamdullilah.

I’m grateful for Mixed Up Me for sharing the world of blogging with me. Grateful for Anglo-Libyan being one of the first to comment on my blog and welcoming me to the community. Grateful for Cofman for teaching me how to upload my display picture, for his translation services and for the variety of topics he brings to his blogspot. Grateful for PH for patiently helping me install cbox on my blogspot. Grateful for A_Akak’s eagerness to comment first on everyones' blog and do so with such sincerity. Grateful for Mani and his incredible gift for writing and stimulating conversation in all areas, but most appreciative for the philosophical topics. Grateful for Lost-Libyan, Boy Interrupted, and Lebeeya for their fantastic personalities and "real" perspectives on life. Grateful for DaMoon, Piccolina, White African, Brave Heart, and HappyMoi for their blogs and viewpoint.

Funny this blogging world – it appears to be a safe place to make one vulnerable enough to open up to their own truth. Why is it that we feel that comfortable to open our hearts and selves in this fashion risking so many things, and yet fear to do the same in "real" life? Also, would we be as seemingly close to those of the blog world in real life as we seem to be in this cyber world? Certainly geography plays a huge part, and for that mere reason alone I’m so grateful for the technology that seems to bind us together.

Most of all I’m grateful for the blessings I’ve found through this blog family.