This is your year. Make it count!

🌈 1289 – Saturday, 5 October 2024 23:02

London

Happy Birthday to you, dear Noushee Beti! 🎉 I can’t believe it’s been so many years since little Neice was born—if I remember correctly, it was in 2003. No matter how much she grows up, she’ll always feel like my little one. I wonder if my aunts and uncles feel the same about me. Life keeps moving, and even though I don’t talk to many of my cousins as often as I used to, the love remains, though it changes as we grow older.

I woke up early today, as I was asked to do an ad hoc shift as a teaching assistant at Pimlico Academy. I’m grateful for the opportunity! Although it’s a primary school, I’ll be helping with the psychology education for the adult weekend class, so it’s a great chance to gain experience and knowledge while assisting with the learning.

In today’s psychology session, we explored several intriguing concepts related to the mind and its cognitive functions. These included Rhythmic Eye Movement, Rapid Eye De-focus, and the Library of Life. Each of these theories offers unique insights into how our brain processes information, emotions, and memories.

• Rhythmic Eye Movement refers to the idea that specific eye movements can influence mental states and cognitive functions. This concept is often linked to therapies like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which is used to help individuals process traumatic experiences by stimulating the brain through controlled eye movements.

• Rapid Eye De-focus examines the role of intentional changes in focus and defocus during eye movements. It is theorized that shifting between concentrated and relaxed states of visual attention can influence how we perceive and respond to our environment, potentially aiding in stress reduction or cognitive resets.

• Library of Life is a metaphorical framework that suggests our mind functions like an expansive library, cataloguing memories, experiences, and knowledge. This concept proposes that our consciousness constantly references this “library” to make decisions form perceptions, and guide behavior. Understanding how the brain organizes and retrieves this information can offer deeper insight into personal identity and emotional health.

Together, these theories contribute to a broader understanding of mental processes and therapeutic approaches in modern psychology.

The day stretched from 9 AM to 6:30 PM, and during that time, I had been texting my mate about meeting up later since it was Saturday and we wanted to catch up in the evening. As the lecture was wrapping up, he sent me his live location, showing he was already near Embankment station by the riverside. I headed straight there, making a quick stop at my place in Piccadilly for a loo, a bag of crisps and custard cream biscuits, before cutting through Trafalgar Square. When I met him, he was in a funny mood—he’d had quite an eventful day, out and about, which made for some entertaining conversation.

We strolled across the Embankment bridge, relaxing and chatting about a flat in Golders Green that my mate had viewed earlier. He’s planning to put in an offer, and I really hope he gets it. As we wandered around, we eventually found a bench facing the London Eye and sat down to take in the view.

We watched people passing by—older couples stopping to take pictures. We thought about offering to help if they started taking selfies, but they didn’t, so we let them carry on. Then a group of teenage girls showed up, busy taking photos and selfies. We considered offering to take a picture for them but decided against it, thinking they might misinterpret it as flirting or that they weren’t the type we’d usually engage with. I would’ve felt more comfortable offering the older couple help with their photo, but not the teens, haha.

As the girls walked by, we realized they were Polish, and it turned out my mate could speak Polish. We had a laugh, like, “Oh, Polish girls!” It was a fun little moment.

As we sat there catching up, it started to get colder, so we were about to head home. Just then, I got a text from another mate who happened to be in the area, asking if we could meet for a quick catch-up. I sent him my live location, but for some reason, it was tricky getting him to share his location, even though he was just in Soho and we were by Embankment Pier. He mentioned he was drunk, which probably explained the confusion. Eventually, we managed to meet up near Circa Club, on the other side of Embankment station by the riverside.

The mate who had just joined us had been out all day with his workmates and had completely lost his voice from drinking and shouting—it was hilarious. We strolled along the river, heading towards Waterloo Bridge, but eventually turned back when hunger kicked in. We stopped at a burger place, wondering whether to grab something, when a lady nearby recommended we walk a bit further to where the skaters were. She said there was a food festival going on just down the path. We decided to give it a shot, and it turned out to be a great call. We found this awesome spot—a food garden with big screens, plenty of tables and benches, and food stalls offering all kinds of different cuisines. It was the perfect place to grab a bite.

We were seated at a large table with three of us, and there were also two girls and a guy at the same table. After about ten minutes of eating, one of the girls moved closer to us, and before we knew it, we were sharing our chips with her. It felt like we all became one big group. She was a lively, cheerful drunk girl, happily munching on our chips, and we didn’t mind at all!

Life is full of surprises, filled with experiences and adventures if you allow it to unfold and trust the journey. When you believe that everything good is on its way to you, adding to your happiness, it becomes easier to let go of the need to control or figure everything out. Instead of constantly wondering what to do next, take a chance, follow your instincts, and make choices from the heart with good intentions for yourself and those around you. Trust the process, and in doing so, happiness and goodness will naturally come your way.

Around the world today –

• World War 3 – Israel is reportedly preparing to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran in response to the recent barrage of 200 missiles fired into Israeli territory. This missile attack is seen as retaliation for Israeli escalations, including the killings of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, an Iranian general, and an invasion of Lebanon. With the much-feared regional war in the Middle East now a reality, questions arise about its duration, potential casualties, and most urgently, Israel’s next moves. Since Hamas’s attack on Israel, over 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza, with more than 1,200 fatalities each in Lebanon and Israel.

• Forecasters had warned for days that Hurricane Helene was likely to cause widespread devastation. But when the powerful storm struck Florida and barreled through the eastern US last week,  it still managed to come as a shock.

3 things I felt grateful for today – 

• Grateful for the video call I had with my family to celebrate my niece’s birthday. My brother, sister, and everyone else joined in, and although I didn’t speak during class, I recorded the screen so I can show her one day that her birthday was captured.

• Grateful the catch-up I had with two friends this evening; it really lifted our spirits and set a positive mood for the weekend.

• Grateful that although I felt a bit queasy all week, I’m finally feeling much better today and everything seems to be back to normal!

What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10 x times bigger, stronger, muscular, leaner, energetic, happy, confident, healthy, wealthy, richer, make it to workout in the morning, have a good workout, get to class on time, everything to be okay with family, friends and everyone around and then have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, yet a productive day tomorrow?

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Goodnight, good luck!

Ash Khaleem