Spirituality & Wellness is like Hand in Glove

I took a few days off because it was the weekend and I had to do some running around. I didn’t get to re-vamp my blog design but I will get to it eventually.

This weekend was quite relaxing and the weather was beautiful. I really enjoy being outdoors because I lose track of time. To my surprise I walked a 5k in an hour which was awesome. More so than getting my walk in, I got a chance to think about a lot of things.

One of the things I asked myself was how I got to the state that I am in? Alhamdulillah (Praise and thanks to Allah) I have achieved quite a bit in my life (school, marriage, work, friends, career, etc.) but throughout achieving all those things I have always struggled with two things. A recurring thing for me is my struggle with weight and spirituality. And in contemplating on this I realize that they both go hand in hand, for me at least. They fit like hand in glove.

When tragic or unfortunate things happen in our lives, it can truly shake our faith. For some it causes them to question their faith, some lose their faith, some just aren’t able to grasp anything at all and down spiral until they have fallen flat on their faces. There is a quote that a friend of mine used to say, when you fall to your knees that is the best position to pray. (The quote is not verbatim). That is a profound quote because I have done the falling flat on face thing one too many times. LOL

For myself, I had fallen into the not grasping anything at all category. (No judgment) I am being honest here. And I down spiraled spiritually and along with it went my wellness. I was too overwhelmed to understand how I was coping and I went into a baking frenzy. LOL. I was off from work for a bit and watched too much Paula Deen and we all know she cooks with a ton of butter, sugar, and bacon. Luckily, I don’t eat bacon but the butter and sugar were enough to pack on the pounds. That’s kind of where it all started. The weight gain at least. With weight gain comes lethargy and laziness. That depression isht is NO JOKE! And for a person like myself who was happy and bubbly by nature, I fell into a place that I had never known before. I had to keep up the façade when I spent time with family and friends because people didn’t know me any other way. So I limited the time I spent with them because that faking business takes a lot of energy. It was a dark sucky place. Thank Allah I am no longer there and pray for God to never allow me to get back there.

Eventually I had to make a conscious decision to get better so I sought help and became proactive.  It took me a while though and it is a constant work in progress because it is easy to start bad habits and soooooooo hard to break them. I had to accept who I was and really embrace all the hard work that it would take to transform into the person I need to be.

Any method of coping without the element of God consciousness is a set up for defeat. God consciousness is so crucial. When we forget that the whole reason for our existence is to please HIM and that nothing that we are struggling with is absent of HIS infinite wisdom, it really makes things bearable. In the Quran, there is a passage that says:

 “With Him are the keys of the unseen, the treasures that none knows but He. He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness (or depths) of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered), but is (inscribed) in a record clear (to those who can read).” – Quran 6:59

Doesn’t that make your heart melt? Allah knows me, you, and us. God knows you and your struggles. When I have gone through tough moments or bad days when I have felt hopeless, it is because I have forgotten this mere fact. That’s why it is important to always read the words of Allah because he reminds us to chill because he has our back! (In simpler terms.lol.) 

So this is another part of my journey….. to strengthen my relationship with my Lord.  That is such a big part of who I am and having experienced the sweetness of faith at certain time periods of my life I KNOW I am not on my “A” game. Quite honestly my spirituality has been neglected because I have become distracted, complacent, and downright lazy. I have no legitimate excuse. No, I am not being hard on myself or negative but I am being real with myself and you.  I am not on the high horse of religiosity and I would be the last person to claim that I am a good little Muslim girl because I am a certified human being and that comes with flaws.

 Although this has already been long-winded, in a nutshell I firmly believe that if my spirit is right, it will in turn feed my soul, I will become better in decision making, and in turn develop overall better wellness. This is my theory and maybe through this process I will prove it to be fact.  

Who knows maybe this might be very interesting to document for a PhD research topic? Then again…..naaah. I think I am done with the school thing. LOL.