Qur'an 20170424

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

78.  It is God who has created for you hearing, sight, feeling, and understanding.  Little thanks it is you give!

79.  And God has multiplied you through the earth, and to God shall you be gathered back.

80.  It is God Who gives life and death, and to God the alternation of night and day.  Will you not then understand?

81.  On the contrary, they say things similar to what the ancients said.

82.  They say, "What!  When we become dust and bones, could we really be raised up again?"

83.  "Such things have been promised to us and our fathers before!  They are nothing but tales of the ancients!"

84.  Say, "To whom belong the earth and all things therein?  If you know!"

85.  They will say, "To Allah!"  Say, "Yet, will you not receive admonition?"

The Believers 23:78-85
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Ya Allah, thank You for all You have given me.  Please forgive me as I will never be able to thank You adequately.

Happy Earth Day

And so to celebrate Earth Day, I cut the grass over at your house inshaAllah.  Here it's not a matter of growing more trees, it's more a case of controlling the growth here.  The weeds here are the size of trees, well because they are trees.  And the vines, you can swing on them like Tarzan.  I took down some jackfruit and gave it to the neighbor, and I harvested some young coconut for my Mom.  It's been a while since I rode a bicycle, but I used to back in the mountains of Utah.  Instead I rode my motorcycle to town to get gasoline.  It's not a car, at least.  I do so much gardening and yard work, I must be giving back to the earth.

Just the usual today for me

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is say a prayer.  It's an "after difficulty, there is relief" prayer.  It's in the Qur'an.  Then I feed Floofy and her daughters.  I had already done extra worship earlier on, so all I had to do this morning was the dawn prayer.  Then I fed the outdoor cats, and watched Chee Cheah eat, while keeping a watch for the Cat Bully.  Chee Cheah eats so slowly.  I was about to clean the cat room and water the plants, then my Mom wanted to go to the downtown market and get a kilo of hot peppers, her breakfast, and my Dad's newspaper.  So I did that, and when I got home after eating breakfast (which was glutenous rice with salted fish and fresh tomatoes) and cleaning up after the cats, I planted another mango tree.  Then I watered the plants, then my Mom wanted me to hang up some curtains.  By the time I got done with that, it was time for a nap.  I was tired, but I didn't really sleep well.  I made my lunch, which was a chunk of sirloin steak.  Just the steak, ma'am.  It was awesome.  Alhamdulillah.  It was also the most convenient.  Then it was time for the noon prayer followed by voice training.  After that I tidied up my Mom's kitchen, then after the Asr prayer I had to go back downtown to do more shopping.  It was raining, so I took the car.  I had to go to the supermarket, the pharmacy, and the furniture supply store.  I stopped by Ina's for a quick dinner.  Then when I got back, I had to fix the my parents' cutlery drawer.  It's almost sunset now, and I'm writing a love letter.  I love you.

Natty you generous little sweetheart, are you giving your buddies another treat?  I want you to save up your money for yourself, so you can have wealth that's all your own.  OK?

There are two types of jackfruit trees growing on the compound.  I don't particularly like either one, and I mostly give the fruit away to the locals.  This type is the not-so-sickly-sweet kind.

To brood or to gloat

Let's face it- public speaking can be a tremendous strain on the heart.  Whether your heart be young or old, you get your emotions boiling in the heat of battle, and you go home still seething and thinking about the fight as you toss and turn in bed.  It's impossible to say the right thing all the time.  It's easier to look back and think to yourself, "Oh I should have said this, and I should have answered that, etc etc".  Well you have to calm your heart down somehow, and if you're going to be thinking about it anyway, then you might as well write down what you should have done, so you can use the wisdom you've learned the next time the situation comes up.  And it will too, because people are repetitive.  But pour your heart out then let it go, and get some rest.  Nurture your precious heart that I love so much.

Gloating is a different matter, because you're so pleased with yourself that you want to live the moment over and over.  Our own ego keeps the gloating going, and it never ends even years later.  May I ask you to be humble, please?  Give thanks to God, and do a kind deed.  Hug and kiss your kitty.  Then get some rest.

You are above me in this matter

I told you a while ago that you were me, because you are my wife inshaAllah.  So people look upon you as an extension of me.  But I'm not there with you to distract them when they talk to you, so you will have to talk for us.  I don't expect you to protect me, I am more concerned with protecting you.  I am difficult to talk to.  I have a psychic wall made of steel, and I take pleasure in yanking out souls by the scruff of the neck and shaking it about for the world to see.  But you are easy to approach, because you are kind and sweet.  This puts you above me in this matter.  But that also means that people prefer to pick on you instead of me.  That's why I have been urging you to express yourself more, and practice practice practice.  I'm sorry I'm not with you to take the shots as I should be.  It's time for you to become a strong talker.  The only advice I can give you is that in an argument, seek emotional weaknesses not intellectual weaknesses.

You Natty, are too kind.  Too generous beyond your means.  You need to make your fortune first, before you give things away.  Yeah I know I have no money but I give things away too, but you don't copy me.  I want you to be safe and pampered.  I want you to be treated like a princess.  Please remember to eat only what you feel like eating.  Don't eat something just to be polite.  And drink lots of water.

Pina, are you hungry?  Today for lunch, I made spaghetti with eggplant sauce.  It was great, but it would have been perfect if I had added sliced steak or chicken breast.

Chee Cheah is so terrified of the Cat Bully, that she didn't eat for 3 days.  Here's a snapshot of her finally getting some food, along with my other outdoor cats Emma and Bat Cat.

Hello, how are you feeling?

Erin, are you able to express yourself better?  Have you been practicing writing, in a journal perhaps?  Oh, you probably are too busy, you don't have time.  This is important though, so you have to make time to express your feelings, even if it is only a few words.  You don't have to show it to anybody.  It's for your heart.  Your precious heart.  If you "don't have time" to write it down, then speak into your cell phone, talk about your feelings.  Try to use the most beautiful words you can.

Natty, did you eat a lot yesterday?  You were probably trying to be polite, and people want you to taste their cooking, and the like.  You have to learn to turn people away.  We may love them, but some people just can't cook.  If you don't feel like eating something, just say "Sorry, but I don't feel like eating."  And please remember to drink lots of water.  You need lots of water.  You have a nervous tummy, and you need to drink lots of water.

Pina, now that your Mom is in town you're finally eating well.  Go home, Pina.  Maintain your beauty and chastity.  Learn how to cook well.

The Shopping Experience

So is your schedule loosening up a little my dearest?  Or are you still busy as ever?  Well, you are beautiful to me, and I love you, so please make sure you take the time to take good care of yourself.  Make sure you get plenty of sleep and eat properly.

By now, we are all familiar with online shopping, and the pages and pages of items we peruse then decide which to add to our cart, then pay for electronically, then wait for delivery.  In the virtual world Second Life, that too can be done, especially for digital products that can be packaged as objects then downloaded and saved, like one would save a snapshot.  But it could also provide another means of browsing and shopping for real products.  For example, let's consider shopping for apparel.  Online, one would typically browse for products on pages like this:

On Second Life, one would browse for products like this:

The difference is that on Second Life, we get to shop with friends: we don't have to shop alone.  We can chat in real time with our shopping buddies, get their opinions on our purchase, preview our purchase in 3D, etc etc.  There are so many ways of presenting products in virtual reality, plus there is also the option of combining 3D and the usual page perusing method.  All within the same program.  And if your avatar is true to your real life appearance, then you get to see what you look like, front and back!  No, I don't look like this in real life.  Next life, inshaAllah.