Breath

As I stood in front of the kitchen window, completely lost in a labyrinth of thoughts which spun and knotted like an Escher lithograph, my hazed eyes fell upon the thick green leaves of the tree outside and focused unknowingly on their movement as the breeze blew through them.
I was mesmerised.
The gentle sway and buoyant motion of each leaf, and of the tree top as a whole, softly stirred me awake from the worldly, crazed, speeding coma I’d been surviving through every day.
Surviving.

Somewhere, deep inside, I knew there was a desire to ‘live’ and not just survive.

That moment stripped me back to the bare essence of what I was – a part of the Earth. I was the leaves as they danced, I was the wind as it meandered around every curve of bark, I was the tree as it stood grounded against space and time.

For a moment so short, I was a human essence, a part of His wondrous creation, and every worldly worry spilled away from my being. “I’m here”.
I connected with the very breath that the Earth took in, and inhaled every breath it gave out.
This is what we are at our foundations, we are souls – boundless and timeless.

My phone vibrated on the table beside me and pulled me back into that worldly life, but did you know… sometimes it’s the short, simple but bounteous moments like those that help to reset our state of mind.
There is beauty in simplicity, and there is life.

I pray that all of your days be filled with such awakening and precious moments.

When the World Falls to Silence

When all the clouds have dissipated,
and the rivers have dried;
When all the mountains have crumbled,
and all the tears have been cried;
When the thunder has quietened,
and all the storms have been raged;
When all the animals are gone,
and the wars have been waged;
When all the flowers have wilted,
and the hearts have turned hard;
When all the trees have been cut,
and the Earth is left scarred;
When all kin become enemies,
and all friendships are torn;
When all the nations have fallen,
and there’s none left to mourn.
When the skies become darkened,
and the Sun fails to light;
When the lands become barren,
and there’s no life in sight;
When the last child has smiled,
and there’s no one left free;
When the World falls to silence,
Only then we will see;

That this culture of hate,
from the moment of birth;
It’s the deadliest of plagues,
to this gift you call Earth.

In this moment of reflection,
and this silent reverie;
I ask that you listen;
O’ Child, listen to me.

I am your mother, your father,
your being;
I am the template of life
you’ve been seeing.

I am the land that has
kept you sustained;
In your existence
I am deeply ingrained.

I am the breath,
that has lifted your lungs;
I am the song,
that nature has sung.

I am the sands
of your hourglass of fate;
So listen to me, now,
before it’s too late.

I am the soul of the Earth
that you know;
I am left wounded,
from the hate that you show.

There is still time,
to turns things around;
If you wish to survive,
on this one united ground.

Hasten, O’ Children,
with love, peace – just try;
We don’t have much time,
please don’t let me die.

I am the World…

Poem ©Naziyah Mahmood, 2016.
(Image source unknown)

Soul Strings

 

© Naziyah Mahmood, 2016.

Universal Matters

In those moments when you feel so small, just remember;

You may be one point in a vast universe of matter,
Yet inside you exists an entire universe that truly matters.

… You are limitless…

© Naziyah Mahmood, 2016.

Kaleidoscope

Boxes

We live in a world made of boxes.

 
We spend all of our lives in a box – four walls, a floor and a ceiling.
We compartmentalize our daily duties into boxes too.
We leave our home box, get into a moving box, to then just go and sit in another box.

 
We eat from boxes – all those factory made “healthy” foods.
We pass on boxes to one another – Happy birthday!
We then spend the rest of our time looking at virtual boxes.

 
We rely on our ‘inbox’ for human to human communication.
We then retire to bed for the day and even dream in boxes.

 
The most dangerous box of all is the one that sits in everyone’s living room.
We spend whatever “free” time we have staring at a box that tells us what we can or cannot be. It tells us what we can or cannot do. It can make us believe next to anything as long as it’s done with dramatics.

 
We stare at that box, and at the beautiful scenery we see on it and think “I wish I could go there”, “I wish I could do that”, “I wish…”
It has the power to shackle down the human spirit by making us believe that what we are seeing on a screen IS firsthand experience. “You’ve seen one then you’ve seen them all”.

 

For a moment, step out of your box and look at the picture from an outside perspective.
Comfortable?
How controlled does it feel? An orchestrated routine that we’re all told is a must in order to be living a ‘successful’ life.
Every one of those boxes looks the same – what a mundane world that would be.

 
Now that we are looking from ‘outside of the box’, look around.
Realise that you ARE being, and that you CAN live – not just survive in cubes.
Rather than sitting in front of a box, wishing you could see that natural setting, get up and go.
Simple.
Rather than living a second hand experience, go and breathe in the very essence of what, in actuality, we all are and what we have been blessed with – the spirit of nature.

 
Yes, we all have obstacles and restrictions that can make it difficult, but go…  because at the end of the day, when we take our last breath and are headed for that final box that will be going six foot under, at least you’ll be able to say to yourself…
“I lived…”

 

 

© Naziyah Mahmood, 2015

Waves

“Somewhere between the wavelengths of blissful joy and soul shattering pain, lies the infinite stillness of enlightened peace.

That is where you’ll find me.”
(Naziyah Mahmood)

Sometimes, we all need those precious moments of peace and quiet to breathe and heal.

© Naziyah Mahmood, 2015.

Back to Basics

 

Most of my training is done outdoors in rough forest terrain, and as such I don’t often wear my dobok/gi (martial arts uniform) because of Scotland’s crazy weather. However, when I do (and when I wore it indoors in classes) I’d often find myself reaching for my white belt instead of the black.
It was strange, but it felt very comfortable.

It reminded me of the very basis of the arts, and their foundations. It was humbling. It symbolized the beginning of a rough yet beautiful journey – one which would continue till my last breath.
The white may be the start of the journey, but black is by no means the end!

It’s easy to get caught up in the more advanced aspects of any field or art when we’ve been in it for so long, however, it’s important to revisit the basics and foundations of that art in order to keep our grounding stable.
Just like a house, no matter how beautifully designed it is or how magnificent the architecture may be, if the supporting foundations are weak, the entire house will come crashing down.

The beauty of martial arts (and any arts) is that there is always more to learn, always more to do. Just as I’ve learned in the sciences and all aspects of learning, the attainment of knowledge is never ending! The more we learn, the more we realise that the less we know! It’s fantastic!
It makes me thirst to learn more!

I still personally, till this day, consider myself a newbie in the arts, but I like that! It keeps me on my toes!
During those times when I can’t physically train due to ill health, it stands as a reminder that there is much more to the arts than solely the physical side.
There’s the mental, psychological and spiritual training too. There’s the research.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t feel proud of our accomplishments and how far we’ve come, but reminding ourselves once in a while that we’re all still students in life helps to keep us grounded =)
The longer I’ve been in the martial arts, the less physical it actually became.
This doesn’t mean you train less! Not at all! The physical training was, of course, higher than ever before, but with time and wisdom comes a whole new aspect of what the arts offer.
It becomes a way of life. A journey. A quest.
A quest to find a better ‘me’.

Remember to go back to basics.
Whether it be simple forms, stances, or something as simple as taking time to appreciate the journey itself.
Thank you all for being a part of this wonderful learning curve for me =)
Be good, be safe and be wise.

The Free Spirit

~ She is gentle. She is kind. She is a picture of tranquillity in her serene presence.
She is also passionate. She is vivacious. She is a blazing fire in the realms of her own beliefs.
To ignore the latter would be to only accept a part of who she is.
Like a star, let her effervescent illumination shine bright. Smother it and the universe becomes that little bit darker. ~

(Original background photo by K. Clancy)

The Blessed Silence

 

Wishing all of my wonderful friends, family and fellow geek/science fanatics, a truly blessed and rewarding Ramadhan!
The month of Ramadhan is the Islamic month of fasting and restraining oneself from worldly pleasures. From sunrise to sunset, Muslims around the world observe their Sawm (fasting – one of the five pillars of Islam) in which we not only cease eating or drinking between these times, but also aim for increased spiritual elevation and a cleansing of the soul through prayer and self-reflection.

We try to be the best ‘us’ we can be by increasing our efforts in charity, kindness, compassion, self control and the spreading of love, however, this does not mean that it should stop when the month ends!
Depending on one’s location, the time duration of the daily fast will vary, and here in Scotland we’ll be approximately observing a 20 hour daily fast to begin with. SubhanAllah!

Many of my non-Muslim friends often ask me about the health risks associated with fasting, however, there have been many studies to show that there are, in fact, several health benefits!
There are obviously exemptions to those who must fast (for example, the elderly, young children, those who are ill etc), and fasting itself aids one in attaining a good sense of self-control over the use of energy! It’s used productively and not wasted.
This is a practise that has been carried out in many faiths and cultures for millennia.

Considering that these will be the longer fasts (the Islamic calendar, being a lunar calendar, is 10 days shorter than the Gregorian solar calendar, meaning the dates for fasting move back approximately 10 days every Gregorian year), I wish all those observing fast a healthy and safe month!

It’s time for the spiritual retreat that I’ve so painfully been waiting for and needing!

At iftaar (time to open the fast), let’s not only open our mouths but also our minds and souls in self-reflection.

May Allah (swt) bless you all! God Bless!

 

Image © Naziyah Mahmood, 2015.