London
Sitting on the edge of the bed, typing this now. Before that, there was some clothes folding to do. The bedroom had become such a muddle this morning while getting ready. Everything was thrown around, and it took ages to get it all tidy again. Funny how long it takes to put everything in order, only for it to be back to square one within a few minutes!
I will be back in a few minutes. Won’t be long. Just want to finish tidying the room first, so everything can be looked at properly once settled down. You go and do something too, then come back.
00:38 now, and back again. Took longer than expected! Ended up trimming the beard a little too when the scissors got in the way. Then there was a message to reply to from a mate, telling me about the weather tonight and tomorrow.
It’s 2 degrees right now, and apparently it’s going to stay in single digits tomorrow and throughout the rest of the weekend. According to my mate, that means clear skies and plenty of stars to look at. Can’t remember the last time the stars were properly visible. I do miss them whenever he reminds me of them. Who generally talks about stars like that? Must be in a good mood!
Today was a good day!
Woke up to the first alarm at 05:53, went for a wee and straight back to bed. It was freezing! Woke up again at 08:30, thinking, aww, why didn’t I just stay up when I first woke up earlier? Could have started the day much earlier.
Still in bed, read three rukus of Surah Kahf, followed by affirmations. Then came Dad’s usual good morning prayer message, as always. Finally got off the bed. It was already 08:40 by then! Time to get ready and leave for work.
09:10 – Showered and started checking clothes. The black shirt brothers gifted for my birthday last year was the first choice, but after ironing it, found it was too tight. Then came a checked shirt, which didn’t fit quite right either. Luckily, there was a backup: a maroon shirt that only seems to come out once a year! That fitted really well, and the trousers matched too, so those got ironed as well. By this point, three shirts had been ironed in the morning, lol!
09:35 left home, absolutely freezing outside! Grateful for the thicker, feather-filled jacket, fully zipped up, along with a hat and gloves. Off on the bike, with Bloomberg daybreak Europe on the headphones.
Russell Square, past Bloomsbury, past the Holborn station area, then Aldwych, towards Trafalgar Square. Took the roundabout and continued towards Westminster and St James park..
The estate agent from yesterday, the one discussing the new flat, rang while cycling. Told him it wasn’t possible to speak while on the bike. He went quiet, almost as if to say, can you still not talk? The network was also fluctuating, so agreed to speak later.
09:50 Arrived at work. The day went smoothly, with most of the time spent clearing invoices and dealing with survey feedback. Had a GP appointment at 10:45, which went well, and everything was okay there too.
Had lunch at the terrace a large salad with fish. Back to the desk afterwards, and the rest of the afternoon passed smoothly. Logged off work at around 18:00.
Dark, wet and freezing cold outside. Cycled back home, had a little lie-down for three minutes with an alarm set, then got up and changed again. Jeans, shorts and a T-shirt underneath, followed by the jacket. Off to the gym for Karate at 19:00 sharp.
Arrived on time, which meant getting a place at the front of the class, with the instructor directly in front, watching and observing every movement.
At one point during the class, the instructor asked someone to demonstrate a few kicks for me. This guy was standing right in front, explaining a few things, when suddenly there was this feeling of being connected to everything and all the objects around me. One of those moments when everything just feels aligned. This is me, right here, fully connected and aligned with everything.
A quick thought came: let me make a dua, say some affirmations, make a wish or something. Started with, “What would it take to make £300K a day?” Only got as far as that, with this guy still standing in front of me and talking. Then added, “For him also.”
And then came the realisation that being fully present was important too. Left the affirmations there and continued with the Karate practice.
Another girl standing next to me came over for a chat. She mentioned she’d been doing Karate for 10 years and had achieved her black belt. She said I was doing really well and asked how long ago I’d started, whether it was my first class or not.
“This is my fourth class,” came the reply.
“You’re definitely doing really well. I can see that. You know this is all a black belt class, and you’re keeping up with everyone. That’s really good.”
I was in awe! Is it really a black belt class? Turned around to have a look. Apart from one or two people wearing green and red belts, the rest, around 20 of them, were all black belts. And here was someone on just the fourth class, keeping up with them!
Such a happy and grateful moment. Learning and being among those who have already learned, who seem to show such exquisite patience in their surroundings. There’s something special about being amongst people who have mastered something through years of practice, yet remain so patient and composed.
21:14 – Went into Sainsbury’s by Holborn. Picked up milk, turkey and peas, just needed oat milk and banana’s tbh.
Walked back home, made a banana, milk and whey protein shake, and drank it while making spaghetti with peas.
Tomorrow is a day off work, so looking forward to a proper lie-in without having to keep thinking about the time!
This year isn’t over, and neither are you. All those unanswered prayers and slow months were setting up one moment, and it could land this November. Be ready to catch it!
3 things I felt grateful for today:
Grateful for a good workout this evening in the form of the Karate class.
Grateful for starting the process of buying a new flat.
Grateful for my sweet sister and brother. Both of them, big time.
What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10 times bigger, thicker, leaner and more muscular? To wake up early, have a good workout in the morning, have everything be okay with family, friends and everyone around us, and then enjoy a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing yet productive day tomorrow?
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Goodnight, good luck!
Ash Khaleem
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