🌈1416 – Wednesday, 12 August 2026 23:45
London
Sitting at the desk, with some rubbish playing on Virgin Radio. It’s a warm night. Today was a hot day – 32 degrees – and there was also a solar eclipse.
For some reason, our grandpa, Mum’s dad, would always say that on the day of an eclipse, either solar or lunar, at the time of the eclipse, we should spend time in prayer. Apparently, Prophet Muhammad used to spend time in sajda (head on the floor) and in prayer throughout the eclipse.
I didn’t spend all that time in prayer, but I did manage to spend some time in meditation. I hope it counts towards something, or rather…
I woke up not too late today. For no reason, I went to bed last night around 03:30 AM, yes, pretty nocturnal, which meant I only had a few hours of sleep. The sleep felt incomplete, and I was feeling a bit shabby in the morning. Can’t help it; I got carried away on the phone.
Remember the times when you had no phone, and summer nights were hot and absolutely boring as fuck, and you had to wank yourself to go to bed, sometimes three times in the end, and feel more exhausted the next day? Yes, that was me today! LOL.
Forgive me, but I’m sharing with my heart, or rather, typing whatever comes to mind while my fingers tap away.
I’ve been off work today – actually, I’m off for the next couple of weeks because my annual leave must be taken before the end of the year. I decided to spend some time on myself, at home, and have some me-time for the next couple of weeks. So I was allowed to let my judgement pass and stay up late.
All that waking up early, sitting up and studying, or working, practising, and then getting ready to run to the gym before starting work in my early 20s and 30s… all those hours spent on what, I do not know. Perhaps I will find out in the future. But now, when I see the blokes who are bigger and more muscular than me, I wonder: did he really work out more than I did? Did anyone ever work out more than I did? Because yes, I did. God knows I did! For what? We will find out at some point.
Today’s writing is the state of mind, as was yesterday’s, and the mind can’t always be kept under control, so it writes what it feels like.
Anyway, I woke up around 07:45 AM. Glad I didn’t have to rush and log in to work, but then perhaps it was the physical/psychological cycle of the mind. I found myself making a coffee, and I found myself sitting at the desk at the usual time, around 09:15 or so.
I was fascinated by how smoothly it felt to sit at the desk at that time without thinking, Oh, I should sit and do work now, and all that. I was rather glad.
Since I didn’t have to log in to the usual work, I spent the morning reading, catching up on things, booking some courses, finishing some purchases, checking delivery updates, and so on.
At 11:30 AM, I checked the parents’ living-room camera and saw my dear mother feeding my brother’s toddlers, my nephew and niece. My dad was sitting at the dining table, watching over the kids and simultaneously watching the cartoon along with my nephew Hamd.
It was so nice to watch that. Perhaps the happiest moment of my day was watching my parents and family on the camera for a bit, seeing life going on for our loved ones in their everyday routine.
Look back after 15 or 20 years, when things have inevitably changed, and you think: Remember the time I opened the parents’ camera and could see everyone there – parents and kids? How wonderful it was then.
So, with that feeling of awe, I make a wish to everyone who’s reading this, and for me too:
“What would it take for me and for you to receive something magnificent today that we have really cherished for some time and value as no one else will, and perhaps we are the ones who know best what it can mean to us and to our families, and we deliver ourselves best by having that to the rest of the world?”
Ate some chicken for breakfast while I sat at the kitchen table with my laptop, and my Spanish flatmate was around. She had just woken up after 11 hours of sleep, and she said she was feeling shabby even after that many hours of sleep.
I said to her, I wish I could say the same – that I had had 11 hours of sleep – but no, I will try to catch up tonight.
It is always nice to see her, for some reason. I feel like I’m spending time with my own sister when I spend time with her.
Sat at the kitchen table until 12:20. Then I looked at the gym app and found there was a class starting at 13:00 and finishing at 14:00: Body Pump.
Since I’m off, I thought, What an opportunity to attend these classes. And off I went.
I got ready and left home – Queen Square, High Holborn, Better Leisure Centre.
This instructor guy was so good. I had one hour of solid, sweaty workout. The instructor said, I love your energy, man, during the workout. Then, when everyone was leaving, he stood by the door and shook everyone’s hand, saying goodbye.
And he said to me, I want to see you again. Tell me you’ll come.
I said, Yes, of course.
Put it in soon, bro! LOL. Sooner the better.
Since it was a timed class, it ended sharply at 14:00, and I returned home straight away. It was very warm and sunny outside, beautiful weather, but I didn’t feel like staying out much. I wanted to return to the desk.
The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Ate more chicken and rice for lunch after that good workout.
Then, around 15:20, I rang Mum. Again, after seeing them on their camera, it looked like they were chilling, so I rang them back. Mum answered on the video call. My niece and nephew were running around and playing.
Little nephew made an aeroplane out of combs and said, Chachu, hum plane banaey – “Uncle, I made a plane.”
To be honest, that was the first time he had ever spoken to me about anything or told me about something. He’s just three years old now. He called me Uncle, Chachu, but had never said anything more than that.
But today he said:
Uncle, I made a plane.
Little niece Hawwa was just running around. She put everything that was on a dressing table onto the floor, then started putting it all back onto the table.
Fun to watch, but it must be exhausting for my dear mother, father and sister-in-law, since my brother is overseas, for them to be looking after two kids non-stop all day.
But yeah, they have been chosen to do that. Perhaps my gift is to sit here, write about them, share with others and pursue the purpose in life. Same for them – they are doing their bit.
Just grateful for whatever place we’re all placed in.
We had a long, one-hour call, just looking at their play. Mum was sitting there, and I said to her, I’m at the desk; I was at my laptop and now just thought I’d ring you guys and then take a nap, since I slept funny last night.
We spoke for quite a bit, and then it was 18:40 by then.
I set the alarm for 30 minutes and took a nap. It was bright, and the sun was still out. The alarm went off. I woke up and turned the alarm off. It was dark.
I was still sleepy. I didn’t want to know much but rather go back to sleep again, and so I did.
I heard some sort of truck or something loud passing downstairs, woke up, looked around, and went back to sleep.
I then had a sudden burst of strong, alert consciousness telling me to wake up soon, thinking that if I had overslept, I’d find it difficult to sleep again later at night.
It had gone completely dark by then.
I had completely forgotten it was the solar eclipse today and that everything had gone dark. So when I woke up earlier, since it went dark during the day, I felt like it was already night and went back to bed – and so I did.
It had just subconsciously pulled me back to bed.
But then, when I got up, it was only 19:30 by then, and I realised I had slept very well, even though only an hour had passed. It felt like definitely more than an hour.
Perhaps I shall try sleeping with the blinds down for a few days and see if it feels any different, because I usually sleep with the light on or the window blinds open and so on.
One of our housemates had messaged in the group chat saying something about the eclipse and how he was at the park.
Only then did it occur to me.
The next thing I know, I was ChatGPTing to check how long the eclipse would last, and it said for an hour. It was only 19:30 by then, and it was on until 20:00.
All I knew next was that I wanted to put a candle on and sit and meditate.
That went on for about 25 minutes until my legs started playing up and I got up.
Had a shower and left home to take a walk.
It was 22:30 by then already.
I stayed out, walking around Bloomsbury Square, then round and round until I got hungry. I got a sandwich from Tesco’s with a pack of crisps and a bottle of orange juice.
Sat on the bench with my headphones on and sat there until the end of the Bloomberg podcast. Then I returned home just after 23:30 so I could sit and write something before bed.
Henceforth, my eclipse day ended with nothing significant to carry on, but still, at least this writing is done.
Perhaps one day I’ll look back and have something to read about and ask you to do it too:
Write something today, okay?
Bull bull.
Start today and let all the blocks disappear!
3 things I felt grateful for today
Grateful for the CCTV cameras, 5,000 miles away, I can see my parents’ living-room camera on my phone from time to time, checking on them. Can anyone want more than that – the ability to make sure their loved ones are there?
Grateful for the evening nap I had; it felt like an eternity.
Grateful I got a couple of weeks off. I will plan as I go along.
What would it take for me and for you to wake up 10x bigger, thicker, leaner, more muscular, more energetic, confident, happy and grateful, wake up early, have a good workout, have everything be okay with family, friends and everyone around us, and then have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, yet productive day tomorrow?
Sign up for the monthly letter below.
Goodnight, good luck!
Ash Khaleem
MY LETTERS ARE 100% FREE.