death row...

Every day is death row...

for we know we are to die

so we wait for our turn to be next...

One last phone call...

a chat with our spiritual advisor...

what are you going to do today

on death row..

where you could be called up any second?(c)

-m.n.-

I love how people think they know what they're talking about when they have no dang clue...

Put aside your pride,
set down your arrogance,
and remember your grave.-Ali (ra)

Nothing can contain me…
My soul is what
Barriers are unable to withhold…
I seek refuge in your safety…
With the treasure of your love,
How can one care about jewels and gold?
You have taught me life,
Through my eyes and my stories untold,
In your presence,
My heart unfolds…
I yearn for you,
My sanity I have sold,
to get closer to you…
Nothing can obtain me…
My soul is what
Barriers are unable to withhold…©
-M.N.-

Author unknown

Allah hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through.

Allah hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But Allah hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way

Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy
Undying love . . .

O Allah,
let me laugh again,
But never let me forget that I cried.

O heart let go of your soul

Until you see the soul maker

Leave behind this deceptive faker

So you reach your real goal.

Unless you pass through here

You will never reach the beyond

Free yourself from worldly bond

Doubtless clear, to you appear.

If it is a sign that you seek

In this path, my dear friend

Yourself you must transcend

And signs to you will speak.

-Rumi-

Afghans--painting by Alexander Yakovlev

My fantastical garden...

Came across this pic online...lovin it...

You searched the whole world for life

Yet in your heart you will die.

You were born in the blissful arms of union

Yet alone you will die.

You have fallen asleep by the edge of a lake

And now you are thirsty.

You sit on top of a treasure

Yet in utter poverty you will die.

-Rumi-

If today was your last day....(nickelback song)

I must say, this is a beautiful song, as the lyrics really did it for me. You can't find music like this nowadays. I heard the lyrics one day randomly when I was out somewhere and I love the content...
word...

My best friend gave me the best advice

He said each day's a gift and not a given right

Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind

And try to take the path less traveled by

That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day

And tomorrow was too late

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?

Leave old pictures in the past

Donate every dime you have?

If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life

What's worth the prize is always worth the fight

Every second counts 'cause there's no second try

So live like you'll never live it twice

Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day

And tomorrow was too late

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?

Leave old pictures in the past

Donate every dime you have?

Would you call old friends you never see?

Reminisce old memories

Would you forgive your enemies?

Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?

Swear up and down to God above

That you finally fall in love

If today was your last day

If today was your last day

Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?

You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars

Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes'

Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life

Let nothin' stand in your way

Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day

And tomorrow was too late

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Unfortunately, when you mention death to some people, or how life is short and you might not see someone ever again, or the last conversation you have with them could be the last one, some say ''if Allah wills it, then it's going to happen"...YES, of course...BUT..also when we are reminded how this life is so temporary and how everything can end, its a reminder to let us know that we have to value every breath we take and realize it isn't promised for tomorrow..that way we should die to each other every night in a positive way, remembering sometimes there aren't 2nd chances...this has to do w/ every aspect of life, not just w/ one...so treat those whom you love, better, for you never know if you or them will be in the shroud next, at a funeral....

What is this deafening noise I escape from?
Silence.
I run from it, yet I let it catch me…
Something I once craved, I now just let in after a fight…
I use silence as the advantage to be alone with the One who has might,
I cry on silence’s shoulder til it drowns in my tears,
Silence is the noise that brings out my fears…
Yet ironically it’s also the one that has given me peace throughout these hard years…
I put my pen on paper,
But all I get is silence…
My mind has numbed and can no longer make words…
My mojo is off and my vision has become blurred…
My flow has disappeared and my speech is now slurred…
I’ve become erratic, my state is absurd…
Something I hide, that you’ll never see…
Silence…the drunkenness of unity…
Sometimes the only solution to obtaining purity,
I wait til it decides to leave me…©
=M.N=

My heart took off,
such as a plane leaving the tarmac…
It escapes with you,
On this roundtrip adventure,
I wait on the pavement,
With my eyes towards the sky,
waiting for the next destination...(c)
.MN.

This knot will not pass through my throat…
It’s got a hold on every breath I take…
Leaving me gasping…
It’s pain…
Pain I wish not to let loose…
For I fear the repercussions,
Not from just one thing, or two…
Pain from far and near, old and fresh,
Petty and enormous…
I can’t even swallow food and water correctly anymore…
Ya Rabb, loosen the knot in my throat
As you loosened the knots from the tongue of Musa, peace be upon he…
I can’t breathe…©
-MN-

Where am I?
Where have I come to?
I know not my whereabouts,
Last I remember, darkness took over me…

I fell into a coma…

This cannot be the place I longed to grow up and live in…
I am not the person I always dreamt of bein…
I don’t look like the person I always imagined seein..
in the mirror…
Get me outta here, now!
Who brought me here?
Surely it couldn’t be my self…I hope not…
I know who dragged me here…I’ve heard of it before…
That vile creature…titled Nafs…
When I fell into a coma it must have
Brought me to this place…
Was it a coma? Was I in a deep sleep?
Was I drunk from drinking sips of dunya?
All of the above?

My heart aches,
It is being weighed down
With black filth…
It doesn’t even beat like it used to…
Purification is its cure…

Lips parched,
This nasty after-taste left behind,
Why wouldn’t dunya taste so bad?
I need His drink…

This place is a prison…at one point,
My garden…

I know what I must do to
Escape this hell on earth…
I just have to want it,
Yearn for it as I would yearn for air…
Saying it isn’t enough…©
-MN-

Subhan'Allah...left me speechless..

I saw grief drinking a cup of sorrow and called out, "It tastes sweet, does it not?"

"You've caught me," grief answered, "and you've ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow, when you know it's a blessing?"

-Rumi

Disputational knowing wants customers. It has no soul.

-Rumi

The dark thought, the same, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each guest has been sent as a guide from beyond. -Rumi

I want to sing like the birds sing,

not worrying about who hears

or what they think.

(Rumi)

She cries in the rain,
to let the raindrops
disguise her tears...

She trembles,
the thunder is not from the sky,
it's in her heart...

The night radiates
the darkness in her eyes,
the depth of her soul,
the receiver of her trials and tribulations,
the pain-filled black hole...

Lightning rips through the sky,
as it rips through her mind,
flashes of anguish
jolt of reality...

Head raised to the sky,
she prays...
that this shower of His mercy,
will spring forth flowers in
her garden of Hope...

As she waits,
she cries in the rain,
as the raindrops disguise
her tears....(c)
-MN-

“i can be changed by what happens to me. but i refuse to be reduced by it.”

-maya angelou

Rainy morning thoughts...

Individual raindrops merge into one,
Passing through gutters
Until it is no more,
once the earth has dried…

Is that how it is?

Or could it be that each raindrop lives its life
Through the earth that it nourishes,
Becoming whole with the tree, flowers, grass, whatever it may be,
Living a life nurturing others…

We,
in retrospect,
Are raindrops too…

When the storm of life comes upon us,
We individuals in some ways merge into one…
Some of us think we’re half dead,
And some recognize being a source of vitality,
we’re actually able to contribute to life somehow,

Are you the one who passes through a gutter and dies off?
Or are you the one who nourishes your surroundings…
Making contact with creation and surviving through various forms?(c)

-MN-

Night of SAWA- May 8th