To avoid disappointment expect nothing from nobody!

🌈 1355 – Sunday, 8 June 2025 22:15

London

It’s just past 10 PM in London. My mate’s lying on the sofa in my study, gently playing chilled tunes through the Bluetooth speaker while I sit at my desk, winding down after a long, reflective weekend.

The days felt heavy and full, but meaningful. I started both Saturday and Sunday with a visit to the gym, no matter how little sleep I’d had. Somehow, my body’s rhythm still made time for the things that matter – working out, calling parents, checking in with family.

Friday was Eid. I attended Eid Salah at Westminster Community Centre and Jummah prayers later at the Mayfair Islamic Centre. But my heart ached. I missed my family deeply – Eid alone feels like an echo of what should be shared. It made me wonder about solitude and its meaning. Then I looked across the room at my friend, navigating heartbreak. That’s the truth of life, isn’t it? We all face loss in one form or another. And there’s no shortcut to healing – only time.

Sometimes I think the pain is really just fear—fear of being alone. Everything in nature has a pair. Do we all find ours? Or is the waiting part of some beautiful, unfolding mystery?

To my dear friend, and anyone reading this in the middle of something heavy: this will pass. Everything does. That’s one of the greatest truths of life – nothing lasts forever, not even pain. There’s a lesson waiting in this chapter, maybe even a gift. Life tests us to see how we respond: Do we grow? Or do we retreat? Either way, it’s your journey. Mine is mine. And no one can walk it for you.

It’s nearly 11 now. Monday is peeking over the horizon. For many, a dreaded start—but I choose to see it as a fresh light, bringing with it the possibility of love, energy, and renewal.

Three things I felt grateful for today:

• Grateful for finally clearing out a box of old clothes that had been sitting around for months.

• Grateful hearing my friend finally say he submitted those trip expenses he’d been talking about endlessly – blessed silence at last.

• Grateful today finishing my writing by 11 PM, exactly as I’d planned, – small win, but it matters.

What would it take—for you, for me—to wake up tomorrow refreshed, with no regrets, full of motivation, ready for movement and stillness, laughter and focus, strength and peace?

Sign up to the monthly letter below.

Goodnight. Good luck.

Ash Khaleem