New year resolutions

Dear readers

A new year beckons and so does a new opportunity arise to become a "new you".

Many people fail to realise that every day represents a new life in the mind of the wise.

In any case, a lot of people will be making resolutions and so I thought that I would share some thoughts on how to make the most of the good feeling that envelopes this time of year.

1) make a resolution if you are in two minds. You have an infinitely better chance of fulfilling your resolutions if you are able to articulate them and motivated to actually write them down.

2) make a maximum of 3. The more you make, the harder it will be to maintain them all and the moment one fails, the house comes crashing down.

3) write your reasons for wanting to achieve the resolutions and the consequences of failure to do so. This will give your aspirations the legs and heart to grow to fruition.

I wish you all a prosperous 2016 and would love to hear any thoughts or new year resolutions that you would like to share that you feel could help inspire anyone readings.

God bless.

Reflections on attending my first ever funeral

Readers,

At the ripe old age of 32, I experienced my first ever funeral yesterday and would like to share some of my thoughts and feelings with you all.

The first point that I would like to make is that witnessing a lifeless body placed in a box, lowered deep in to the ground and then covered up with mud and stones is probably the most humbling experience I have experienced in my life and would recommend everyone to go and witness a burial as soon as possible if you have not already done so. It certainly helps to put life and it's temporal problems into context.

The second point I would like to share is that knowing someone has died and watching them be buried are two very different things. I acknowledge my mortality daily when I pray 5 times, but the emotional response to watching a burial was something that I was not prepared for and my own emotional response took me by surprise.

The third point I would like to share is one of change. The witnessing of a burial has challenged me to question my own productivity. I have always known that I should be sowing more productive seeds with my limited time on Earth, but my goodness if ever a reminder of how short life is was needed, the message was received.

Finally, I was lucky that the first funeral service I attended was for a comparatively distant relative. Though it was my father's blood brother, he lived quite far away and so I rarely met him. I am determined to forge a closer relationship with the cemetery by trying to visit at least once a month. This will hopefully build up my character to be able to cope with human mortality in the future.

Thanks for reading and I hope that this post hasbeen of some benefit to you.

If today was your last day on Earth, what would you do?

Readers,

I have heard of so many deaths in the last few days ranging from babies to elderly men who have arguably had "a good innings".

The reality is though that death is never greeted with anything but shock and disappointment from friends and family.

We live in a world where death is guaranteed and yet we wilfully neglect to acknowledge that each day we wake up in the morning may well be our last.

How would you classify a successful day?

Does it include telling your loved ones that you love them?

Does it include savouring the taste of the food you eat?

Does it include reading something to enhance your education and spiritual growth?

Who do you want to be when you die?

The question worth asking every night is "am I closer or further away from the person I wish to be on my last day on Earth?"T

How often do we engage in contemplating about our own death and in effect the quality of our own lives?

I would like to end this post with a quote from the Prophet Muhammad  (peace be upon him and his family)

"The most intelligent person is the one who remembers death often".