Look at things positively and you’ll see more positive results in your life!

🌈 1318 – Saturday, 22 February 2025 23:43

Hyderabad

Some days don’t feel like they belong to the calendar. Today is Saturday, yet it doesn’t quite feel like one. When life moves in a state of bliss, time becomes irrelevant – there is no yesterday, no tomorrow, only the now. And in the now, everything exists.

A new day brings new strength. A calm mind can weather any storm. As I step into this Saturday, I send love to everyone silently healing from struggles they don’t speak about.

I woke up early 07:20 AM, despite sleeping past midnight. Somehow, I still felt sharp. The house was quiet. My mother and brother were still asleep, while my father was already up. Breakfast had been prepared the night before by our cook, but my father and I still sat down together in the living room, talking about how we slept and what lay ahead for the day.

My mother, only four days post her sixth chemo session, remained in bed, resting. My brother had returned from Riyadh last week to help care for the family, giving me a break. He was still battling jet lag, and an increase in uric acid had caused painful swelling in his foot. I had taken him to the doctor the night before. “It’s about 5% better than yesterday,” he told me. Small progress, but progress nonetheless.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on time and family. Studies show that most of our time with loved ones happens in childhood, declining sharply after we grow up and move away. It made me realize how precious these moments are. So when my father asked me to accompany him to the fish market, I didn’t hesitate. I would trade a million other things for this time with him.

At 11:30 AM, we stepped out into the warm sun. It was a scorching 35 degrees, but I felt light, happy. First, the fish market. Then vegetables. Then fruits. There was a certain satisfaction in these small, simple tasks.

We returned home around 12:45, just before Zohr prayer. The entire family gathered for lunch – a special meal, Mughlai Fish – Machali-ka-Khatta, an ancestral dish passed down through generations.

As I stood in the kitchen, my mother guided me through the process, her presence unwavering despite her exhaustion.

“Cut the fish into medium pieces,” she instructed, her voice soft but steady.

She soaked tamarind in water, chopped three large onions, and prepared a small piece of dry coconut, cutting it to match the size of the onions. In a pan, she heated oil and fried the onions and coconut until golden brown, their rich aroma filling the kitchen. Then, we blended them with fried sesame seeds into a thick, fragrant paste.

In another pot, we heated more oil, adding cumin and mustard seeds. When they crackled, we poured in the blended mixture, stirring in turmeric, chili, salt, and coriander. The dish took on a deep, rich color. We let it cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly so nothing stuck to the bottom. Then came the tamarind water, its tangy scent mixing with the warm spices. Finally, we carefully placed the fish into the simmering gravy, letting it cook undisturbed for eight minutes – stirring it would cause the delicate pieces to break apart.

It was a dish rich with history, infused with the flavors of the Mughal Empire and the essence of my roots. As I stood cooking, I realized it was more than just preparing a meal – it was about safeguarding a tradition, a piece of my heritage. I’m grateful that my mother passed it down to me, just as it was handed to her by our grandmother, and generations before her, keeping our tradition alive.

When we finally sat down to eat, my mother didn’t take a single bite. The chemo had left her nauseous, but she still smiled, watching us enjoy the meal. “Seeing you all eat fills my stomach,” she said.

A mother’s love is unlike anything else.

As the day came to a close, I took a moment to reflect on what I was grateful for:

• Grateful for having a loving and a caring family.

• Grateful for my own health to be able to look after all the family.

• I don’t know if God exists, but if He does, I am grateful for today.

Around the world today –

• Hamas released six Israeli hostages, including two held for nearly a decade, marking the completion of the first phase of a cease-fire deal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.

• The AI Action Summit in Paris concluded with 58 countries signing a joint declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI, while notable absentees, the US and UK, declined to endorse the agreement, highlighting differing international perspectives on AI governance.

• The release of DeepSeek’s open-source reasoning model, R1, has caused a stir in the AI community. Developed with minimal funding and weaker chips, R1’s performance has led to a significant market reaction.

What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10 x times bigger, thicker, muscular more energetic, confident, happy, do some workout in the morning, to be there for others, have everything to be okay with family, friends and everyone around, then have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing yet a productive day tomorrow?

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Goodnight, good luck!

Ash Khaleem