Frantically, he tried to bend

His beautiful mind to comprehend

The name of this “missing” friend

–

Gasping for some air

He uttered a groan of despair

His agonized soul screamed, ‘tis unfair

–

Trying to fully attend

Reminding himself not to pretend

He struggled hard to apprehend

–

Tears wet his beard hair

For now he was fully aware

Missing Memories, solitaire

–

Peace and Blessings Everyone

So, today, I had some time on my hands and hence, I read some Tafsir of Surah Fatiha. This tafsir is one of the oldest tafsir of the Quran and its written by a well-known Muslim scholar Ibn Khatir. I am quite happy that I took some time to read it because I found yet another very practical solution to “how to handle anger”. Everyone gets angry now and then. I personally came across many annoying events; that range from simple mocking by some relative to racist remarks by some stranger. Quite frankly, people don’t realize the damage their tongues inflict on the soul of the victim. I am not saying that I don’t say anything mean to anyone. I do (rarely) and then I apologize after I realize it. Its not like I am perfect, no one is. So I can’t blame people for being what they are. But practically speaking, anger, mean words etc. everything do harm the other person. So I found a solution today which I will try from here on inshaAllah.

In the tafsir of Surah Fatiha, it said that “Isti-adhah” means “to seek refuge in God”. Muslims are enjoined to recite “aaodo-billa-hai-himainishai tuan-nir-rajim” meaning “I seek refuge in Allah from the devil”, when in anger.

In his Musnad, Al-Hafiz Abu Ya`la Ahmad bin `Ali bin Al-Muthanna Al-Mawsili reported that Ubayy bin Ka`b said, “Two men disputed with each other in the presence of the Messenger of Allah and the nose of one of them became swollen because of extreme anger. The Messenger of Allah said,

«إِنِّي لَأَعْلَمُ شَيْئًا لَوْ قَالَهُ لَذَهَبَ عَنْهُ مَا يَجِدُ: أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ»

(I know of some words that if he said them, what he feels will go away, ‘I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Satan.’)”

An-Nasa’i also recorded this Hadith in his book, Al-Yawm wal-Laylah.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Sulayman bin Surad said, “Two men disputed in the presence of the Prophet while we were sitting with him. One of them was cursing the other fellow and his face turned red due to anger. The Prophet said,

«إِنِّي لَأَعْلَمُ كَلِمَةً لَوْ قَالَهَا لَذَهَبَ عَنْهُ مَا يَجِدُ، لَوْ قَالَ: أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ»

(I know of a statement which if he said it, will make what he feels disappear, `I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Satan.’) They said to the man, `Do you not hear what the Messenger of Allah is saying’ He said, `I am not insane.”’ Also, Muslim, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa’i recorded this Hadith.

There are many other Hadiths about seeking refuge with Allah. One can find this subject in the books on supplication and the virtues of righteous, good deeds.

Seeking refugee in God from the devil has some really good benefits.

The Isti`adhah cleanses the mouth from the foul speech that it has indulged in. It also purifies the mouth and prepares it to recite the speech of Allah. Further, the Isti`adhah entails seeking Allah’s help and acknowledging His ability to do everything. The Isti`adhah also affirms the servant’s meekness, weakness and inability to face the enemy of his inner evil, whom Allah alone, Who created this enemy, is able to repel and defeat. This enemy does not accept kindness, unlike the human enemy. There are three Ayat in the Qur’an that affirm this fact. Also, Allah said,
[إِنَّ عِبَادِى لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَـنٌ وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ وَكِيلاً ]
(Verily, My servants (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) ـ you have no authority over them. And sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian.) (17:65).
We should state here that the believers, whom the human enemies kill, become martyrs, while those who fall victim to the inner enemy – Satan – become bandits. Further, the believers who are defeated by the apparent enemy – disbelievers – gain a reward, while those defeated by the inner enemy earn a sin and become misguided. Since Satan sees man where man cannot see him, it is befitting that the believers seek refuge from Satan with Whom Satan cannot see. The Isti`adhah is a form of drawing closer to Allah and seeking refuge with Him from the evil of every evil creature.

So today I learned the following:
1-Seek refuge in Allah (the One God) while in anger or from any doubts/evil thoughts that creep up in my heart or mind.
2-To purify the mind and the soul, its best to seek help from God because sometimes the inner devil is too strong to defeat.
3-Jihad is mostly an inner struggle and its enjoined on all Muslims.

Later days now
Take care
Peace and Blessings.

They are praising Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). Its so beautiful mashaallah. I can taste the depth of this nasheed but can’t sing it properly. It will take so much practice just to sing it properly, just for fun. Languages and faith are very complicated and once mixed together, ’tis just an amazing result. Alhamdulillah (Thank God)

Lyrics are here. (English translation is included)

Take care

Later days

Assalam-u-Alaikum

Just got this in an email from a friend and thought to share.

The Story of Moses and Khidr

THE story of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) with Khidr, mentioned in Surah Al Kahf, the Cave (65:82), is one of the most important didactic stories in the Qur’an.

The story begins when Moses was delivering a sermon and one of his followers suddenly asked him “Who is the most knowledgeable person on earth” and Moses (peace be upon him), immediately answered him: ‘I (am the most learned).’ Allah admonished him for this answer and told him that there was a man who was more knowledgeable than he was and ordered him to search for that man to learn from him, “So they found one of Our servants, on whom We had bestowed Mercy from Ourselves and whom We had taught knowledge from Our own Presence.”

We will notice that Moses’ relationship with Khidr is that of a student and his teacher that should be based on politeness, obedience, respect and patience and this is clear from Moses’ first question, “Moses said to him: “May I follow you, so that you teach me something of the (Higher) Truth which you have been taught (by Allah)?” Khidr reminds him during his stay with him that he has to be patient indicating that he (Moses) would see things that require a lot of patience, “He (Khidr) said: “Verily you will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about things about which your understanding is not complete?”

Moses declares that he would stick to his promise, “Moses said: “You will find me, if Allah wills, (truly) patient: nor shall I disobey you in aught.”

But what Khidr did was beyond the toleration of Moses; he scuttled the boat of the poor people who helped them, killed a boy for no reason and then built the wall (which was about to fall down) in the village that refused to offer them some food.

Then Khidr explained these mysterious events to Moses “This is the parting between me and you: now will I tell you the interpretation of (those things) over which you were unable to hold patience.

As for the boat, it belonged to certain men in dire want: they plied on the water: I but wished to render it unserviceable, for there was after them a certain king who seized every boat by force.

As for the youth, his parents were people of Faith, and we feared that he would bring them to grief by obstinate rebellion and ingratitude (to Allah and man). So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange (a son) better in purity (of conduct) and closer in affection. As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths, in the town; there was, beneath it, a buried treasure, to which they were entitled: their father had been a righteous man: So your Lord desired that they should attain their age of full strength and get out their treasure – a mercy (and favor) from your Lord.

I did it not of my own accord. Such is the interpretation of (those things) over which you were unable to hold patience.”

The moral lessons that we can elicit from the story include the following:

• A student’s relationship with his teacher has to be based on obedience, respect and above all patience because gaining knowledge requires a lot of patience on the part of the learner. (I think it questioning is good because not  every teacher is Khidr. But one must adopt proper manner for asking questions so the discussion is constructive and not destructive in nature)

• There is wisdom behind every event that takes place in this world, but we might not understand this wisdom immediately. Nothing happens haphazardly on earth.

• Knowledge has no limit and you always have to know that if you are very knowledgeable, there is someone who is more knowledgeable than you are.

I am so TIRED of getting these. Its so funny everytime I read it. Somebody out there actually makes the effort to compile something of this nature, thinking people will believe him/her. RIDICULOUSLY HIlaRIOUS!

FROM DESK OF MR.YAKOUBU PASCAL ALI
BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER
BANK OF
AFRICA AUDITING DEPARTMENT.
OUAGADOUGOU -BURKINA
FASO
WEST/AFRICA

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is my private email for security reasons where you reply this email: yakoubupascalali7@rediffmail.com

I am Mr.Yakoubu Pascal Ali In my department I discovered an abandoned sum of US$23.5 M,(Twenty Three Million,Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars Only) (Oh yea! I am gonna freaking rich) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers who died along with his wife and only daughter in a plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight number 261which crashed on 31 January, 2000. You shall read more about the crashon visiting this website:

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

It is therefore upon this discovery that I now decided to make this business proposal (Aha, business through email eh!) to you and for our bank to release the money to you. You have to follow the instruction which I will be send to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don’t want this money to go into our bank treasury as unclaimed bill. (Oh really! how humane of you) The banking law in the and guidelines here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after some years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The money has now stayed more than three years. It will be between me and you, that is why i contacted you to stand as my foreing partner (Oh seriously, I am honoured Sir), to provide your foreign current account where this money will be transfered.

This request of foreigner as next of kin in this transaction is occasioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and I as Burkinabe citizen i cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner to claim this funds. In appreciation of your assistance, I am offering you 30% ofthe total sum (Yippee! I am rich) 5% for contingencies (cost of transfer/other charges) likely to be incurred during the course of transaction, while the remaining 65% is for me from the total sum of US$23.5 M, (Twenty Three Million,Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars Only).

Upon receipt of your reply (Yea! in your dreams) ,i will send to you the text of the application which you will fill with your banking details and forward to our bank asking for this money to be paid to you as the next of kin to the funds. I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch-free and that you should not entertain any fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this mail through the above email.

Faithfully, Mr.Yakoubu (Keep dreaming dude)
Pascal Ali
This is my private email for security reasons where you
reply this email :
yakoubupascalali7@rediffmail.com

A while ago, I read a little piece on poverty at Shaila’s website. From there on a very intricate process happened.

Step 1: A while ago, Mohammad, my younger brother, comes up to me and tells me that he wishes to go on a hunger strike for volunteer work. Now, in his young mind, its just volunteer work but once he matures, he will comprehend its significance inshaAllah. So that kind of got me thinking again.

Step 2: Today, my Mom comes up to me and gives me a news article about poverty to read. I didn’t quite look at it because it merely gives definitions of poverty without addressing any solutions. This got me thinking further. What is the solution for poverty?

Step 3: I didn’t have proper lunch and breakfast today. I was just on the run entire day. So, by 10 pm, I was exhausted and my tummy was growling. So, I tried feeling this hunger. And it hurt. As I lied down to understand, I comprehended further, this thing called poverty. Most of the Canadians can’t pay for their housing and electricity together. Some of the International students in Canada, don’t have proper food to eat. Even the students who attend school and university, go without nutritious food.

So, I thought and thought. How does one addresses something so complicated. And the answer was right under my nose all the time.

In Islam, we are taught to give Zakat. Simply speaking, Zakat involves giving away 2.5% of one’s earnings to the poor and needy every lunar year given that one is adult, mentally stable, free and financially able Muslim, male or female. It is supposed to be calculated after taking any loans/debts into consideration.

So, I did some caculations. Let’s say, person A is earning $30,000 per year. That is only $750 per yer zakat given every condition is met. Let’s say we look at Bill Gates income. He earns approximately 2.2 billion per year according to Yahoo answer. 2.5% of that amount is $5500 million dollars charity. And we shouldn’t forget Donald Trump and other big guys in this equation. If this kind of money from the rich people starts pouring towards the poor and needy, then there won’t be any poverty. Perhaps the world will realize this in the future inshaAllah.

To read more on Zakat (charity), see this link.

Just sharing.

Later days now

Take care

This is one of my favourite clips from The Office, U. S. version. Its so hIlARRRRRIOUS! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Peace and Blessings Everyone

Today I went for a walk and spent some extra time meditating in a beautiful area. There were children playing nearby–Oh, the sound of life. And the sun just shone right at me, so warmly, so joyously. The wind lifted my spirits up as the birds sang an ever so peaceful song. I meditated for an hour, trying to focus within and without, trying to understand, to make sense out of life and such.

I wish to share with you all the meditations which I used today. Funny thing is that I realized that I was already doing a lot of these meditations in my daily life without even realizing it. Trying to be a good Muslim does have immense benefits, alhamdulillah.

So, all these are from a book titled “Live Well with One Spirit”. Its published by “One Spirit”

INSPIRING THE MIND

Meditation 1: Sea of Calm.

Prepare for meditation by counting backward from fifty. Visualize yourself rowing a boat toward a peaceful island. With each pull of the oars you count, feel your movements become more languid, your breathing slow down, and your strokes become longer and more relaxed. When you read zero, see yourself arriving on your island to begin your meditation.

Meditation 2: A Candle Meditation.

Whichever posture you adopt in your meditation-full lotus, half-lotus, or sitting on a chair-be sure to keep your back straing tnad your head upright. Close your eyes, empty your mind of thoughts, and imagaine the flame of a candle. See its flickering. Visualize it as your innate spiritual awareness.

Meditation 3: Your Inner Falme

A good object to use for meditation in an actual candle flame. Gaze at the flame, observing its shifting colours. Imagine the flame entering your being. Then look at it for another minute or two. Close your eyes, aware of the afterglow behind your eyelids, and for several minutes hold the image in your mind. As you meditate on the flame, lose all sense of its separateness.

Meditation 4: A Flower Meditation

Meditate on the Chrysanthemum flower, an Eastern symbol of good fortune. (I personally don’t believe in good luck charms and stuff. So I meditate on any flower because therese afterall God’s creations). Either use a real flower… Observe the flower, scanning its main features. Do not look for meaning in it; just allow its shapes, lines, and colors to penetrate your consciousness. Be aware that the image is both in front of you and inside your mind.

Meditation 5: Meditate on Clouds

Clouds make a useful focus for a simple but effective meditation. Sit somewhere comfortable inside your home, close your eyes, and, as random thoughts enter your mind, attach each one to an imaginary cloud, letting it float lazily across the blue sky of your consciousness until it is out of sight. Finish the execise after about fie mintues–feeling relaxed and refreshed.

SELF-BELIEF

Meditation 1: Be Fair to Yourself

Before we can truly give our love to others we must first learn to love and respect ourselves, but often we are our own harshest critics. Each evening spend a few minutes looking back over your day to give yourself the opportunity to learn from your errors. Forgive yourself for them, note and praise your successes, and reaffirms your friendship with yourself before going to bed.

Meditation 2: The Treasure Chest

Reflect on the treasures within you–gift such as love, strength, courage and empathy. Make a point of focusing on these positive qualities; learn to trust and respect all you have and all you are. If you are able to do that in your every day life, your inner treasure chest will spring open and your gifts will be revealed all around you.

Meditation 3: Connect with the Cosmos

Our lives can sometimes seem insignificant, but we can transform this feeling by remembering our place in the cosmos. Pick out a constellation in the night sky…and know that your life, like each of the millions of stars in the heavens, add light and beauty to the universe. In the midst of all this vastness, there is a place for you, and your life interconnects with the whole.

Meditation 4: Project Your Inner Self

See yourself as significant-not just a cog in the machine. You are the leading actor of your own drama, in charge of your own destiny. There are some aspects of life you cannot alter, such as the personalities or motivations of other people, but you can make big changes if you choose to. Act in the full knowledge of your powers, which are both a gift and a responsibility.

Meditation 5: Virtue’s Reward

Prizes and trophies are merely symbols of our attainments and as such they often have no practical value. Think of your own most significant successes in symbolic terms; your virtue may not have brought you material reward, but their effets on others, however modest, are meaningful emblems of your acheievements.

STILLNESS

Meditation 1: The Eye of the Storm

In the eye of the storm there is stillness. No matter what happens at any moment during any day, however hectic or troublesome things appear, and however many tasks we seem to be trying to do at once, we need only to turn inward to find a heaven of peace. To access your heaven, close your eyes, and imagine a stil and gentle light within you . Focus on the tranquility it brings.

Meditation 2: Stress Ballooning

Another way to banish worries is to imagine you are loading them into the basket of a hot-air balloon. In your mind’s eye, release the ballooon from its moorings and see it rise into the sky. Your problems become more and more remote as the balloon gets smaller and smaller. Watch it drift over the horizon, taking all your worries with it.

SELF-AWARENESS

Meditation 1: Many Faces

We create many identities for ourselves-the roles we playh for others in life’s various situations. Trouble arises when these roles obscure yoru understanding of who we really are. We might say “I’m a nurse”, or “I’m an extrovert”, or “I’m a coward”. Self-realization comes from throwing away these labels and focusing on the true, inner person. Esch day spend five mintues freeing yourself from one of your labeles-and see how much lighter you feel.

Meditation 2: The Mirror

This exercise helps you distinguish how you see yourself from how others see you. Take 20 minutes to write a list of all your positive qualities, and draw an image of this positive you. Next day, write a list of all the qualities that other people might see in you, and draw an image of this person. If there are differences, ask youself if, to narrow the gap, you need to change the way you behave or present yourself to the world.

Hmm! I read this article a while ago. Just thought to post here for everyone to read. Apparently, fire may start at a gas pump simply by moving in and out of the car too much, which leads to a build-up of static electricity. Please don’t take this lightly just becaue its not a common day occurance. It pays to be cautious inshaAllah.

He’d never seen a gas pump fire sparked by static electricity before, but all it took was a quick check of the immediate surroundings for Lynchburg, Va., Fire Department Marshall Greg Wormser to see how catastrophic such a blaze could be without the quick thinking of gas station staff and firefighters.

“With that kind of fire, there are several thousand gallons of gas that are right beneath the pumps underground,” says Wormser, who was on the scene in November for a gas pump fire in the rural western Virginia community. “And that fire can burn as long as that fuel is there.”

About 100 static-sparked fires occur at gas stations each year, according to Fowler Associates, a Moore, S.C.-based electrostatic research and consulting firm. The fires most often result from easily avoidable mistakes committed by a driver while fueling. “I’ve worked on these tragic accidents, and have seen cars blow up from static at the gas pump,” says John Fagan, professor of electrical and computer engineering for the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.

Fagan says these fires start with the static electricity that all cars accumulate while driving as air passes over them. Static electricity is especially problematic when it’s cold and dry — 10 to 15 percent humidity or less — making winter the prime time for static fires.

During fueling, fumes can leak from both the fuel tank and the pump nozzle. If you get in and out of the car several times, the car’s static electricity can be transferred to your body. If enough static is built up, it can cause the vapors to ignite if you come too close to the fumes near the pump. “The fuel doesn’t ignite, but the vapor from the fuel,” Wormser says.

Fortunately, the station had an emergency shut-off program that was quickly triggered by staff to restrict the underground fuel being supplied to the gas pumps. As such, the blaze, which started quickly and was described by the fire department as a “total fireball up under and around the vehicle,” was contained before there were any injuries. Damages of around $20,000 were incurred by the station, and the vehicle received several thousand dollars worth on its own.

To avoid static fires, Fagan suggests not getting in and out of your car while pumping gas, wearing shoes with rubber soles that can “ground” you, and discharging static by touching the nozzle tip to a metal surface that’s away from the gas tank before fueling. Fagan says a spark is also possible when the nozzle touches the metal ring of the gas tank opening.

Advice like this has helped reduce static fires. Fowler Associates estimates there were about 1,000 of these fires a year as recently as six or seven years ago, about ten times the current rate.

Steve Fowler, president of Fowler Associates, says it’s possible for motorists to become lax as static fires temporarily fade from the public consciousness. There may be fewer, but the fires aren’t less dangerous, he says. “People have a short memory cycle about these things.”

Static fires received a lot of attention about a decade ago, after a couple of infamous gas station blazes, one in Oklahoma that resulted in a fatality and another in Las Vegas that caused the victim to become severely burned. Surveillance footage from the Oklahoma fire eventually wound up on the Internet, creating a sensation.

Mechanical preventative measures have also been introduced, such as the OPW Nozzle, a touchpad designed in part by Fowler that grounds the user when a driver touches the nozzle. Other protective devices include covers for nozzles that prevent fumes from escaping during fueling.

“These fires don’t necessarily happen everyday, so people tend to take it lightly. But it’s a very serious issue,” says Charles Sunderhaus, a risk manager with OPW Fueling Components in Cincinnati, Ohio, which has produced a video of “dos and don’ts” for the gas pump.

Most of the warning signs from OPW and trade groups like the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute stress not getting in and out of the car while refueling, because it’s been found that most static fires start that way. Fowler says 80 percent of static fires are re-entry/exit fires, and 80 percent involve women. One theory for why more women are involved in static fires is that perhaps women go back into their cars to get a credit card or cell phone from their purse, whereas most men carry their wallets and cell phones on their person.

But even if you do get in and out of the car, it’s still easy to prevent a static fire. “If you grab the steering wheel or the side of the car, you discharge and then you aren’t carrying static electricity,” says Bob Renkes, executive vice president and general counsel for the Petroleum Equipment Institute in Tulsa, Okla.

These preventive measures and informational campaigns are combining to make static fires relatively rare, especially considering that there are about 160,000 gas stations in the U.S. handling about 12 billion refuelings each year, according to the American Petroleum Institute, based in Washington D.C. But most experts say that educating the public more than any physical device at the gas station is the best way to insure safety.

Source

Peace and Blessings Everyone

Something interested happened today. A lady I know, just vented all her out frustrations out on me just like that. She just continously mocked me. Perhaps she was too tired and it just happened. Whatever the reasons, I don’t quite care because it all initiated a cycle of frustration and hatred inside me. I just wanted to let her have a piece of my mind but the conscientious part of me warned me otherwise. So I left the room and went to a quieter area. After isolating myself from the source of my anger, I lied down for a couple of seconds. Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) instructed once that if you are in anger, then drink some water. If it doesn’t help, then sit down. If that doesn’t help, then lie down. So, I did that and it worked. I felt calm enough to think and logically try to resolve this issue. All this eventually caused me to write this beneficial post.

Now, you see if someone takes frustration out on you, you are bound to lose your temper with somebody else or the same person. So, how do you avoid this crazy cycle of incoherent feelings that lead nowhere? Also sometimes, you can’t quite change the person involved so you have to change your own attitude. Other times its possible to logically discuss everything with the individual who bothered you. So assess your situation before acting.

First of all, try Prophet Mohammad’s suggestion as mentioned above:  “If you are in anger, then drink some water. If it doesn’t help, then sit down. If that doesn’t help, then lie down.”

My second tip is for Muslims only. Recite Surah Fatiha. It is known to be “The remedy.”

I seek refuge in Allah from the outcast Satan

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The Beneficent, the Merciful.(1:2)

Owner of the Day of Judgement.(1:3)

Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. (1:4)

Show us the straight path,(1:5)

The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; (1:6)

Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. (1:7) [Quran, Chapter 1]

Thirdly, try these tips that I pulled up from EHow.com article titled “How to Release One’s Frustrations”

Step 1:
Take a mental break to clear your mind and forget about whatever it was that was frustrating you for a moment.

Step 2:
Exercise to release your frustration. Take a jog, ride your bike, hit the gym, do some push-ups, take a dance or yoga class or take a walk to physically release the tension you’ve been feeling.

Step 3:
Allow yourself to cry it out if you need to. Sometimes having a good cry is just what you need to let out your frustrations and get back to work.

Step 4:
Write about whatever is frustrating you in a journal, on your computer or even on a scrap piece of paper. Letting it all out on paper can help to clear your mind so that you can start to work through the problem that is causing you frustration.

Step 5:
Do something enjoyable and relaxing that will calm you down. Go see a movie, listen to music, draw or paint, meditate or pray.

Step 6:
Vent to a close friend, family member or counselor. Talk about your frustrations openly so that you can let them go and move on.

Step 7:
Continue to work toward your goals, even if they are the source of your frustration. Use your frustration as fuel to work even harder to overcome obstacles and achieve these goals

Last but not least, I would like to dismiss a popular belief that letting out your anger is in fact healthy. The truth of the matter is that its unhealthy to do something like this because doing so would provoke more fights, moe anger, more hatred, a neverending cycle in fact. You know why in corporate companies, they ask you to take “anger management “courses if you have a tendency to let it out too much? Its because they know that getting angry won’t give any positive results. So, wouldn’t it make sense to do the same in the rest of your life? I had a first-hand experience where a colleague of mine was very civil in the work environment but on a more personal level, that individual just totally went berzerk me. It made me only avoid this individual in the future.

I remember reading something from Prophet Mohammad’s life. It went something like this. “The strongest one among you is the one who controls his anger best”. So, here we see that the strongest individual created by God is not the most muscular one or the most rich one. The strongest is the one who controls the anger. PERIOD. The emphasis is on mental strength. I will tell you something from first hand experience. When I started controlling my anger on little things (still working on it more), I started looking for more ways to vent it out. Hence, I got into exercising, martial arts, healthy political discussions, blogging and even poetry. So the strongest is the one who controls her/his anger. If I just started letting it out, I wouldn’t have done all this to help myself, would I?

If you wish to read more about “Learning how to Control one’s Anger”, read this article. Its a worthy read.

Just my 2 cents.

Signing off now

Take care