Rumi

My heart is so small it's almost invisible. How can you place such big sorrows in it? Look, he answered, your eyes are even smaller yet they behold the world. 

Empty Soul

The emptiness of my soul is one of the hardest things to face. 

There are moments during the day where the silence of my emotions come alive. They awaken the most painful feelings. 

The sound of the wind hitting on the edges of my window create a universe of thoughts and wonders, of doubts and fears creating an uncertain and inaudible echo.

It is the nothingness of my soul, the emptiness and silence that dive into my heart, trying to rescue the left overs of time. 

You will never understand The amount of pain that can stay hidden away in the deepest of a lonely damaged soul unless it's inside you 

A shared pain, is a healed pain.

*My Words, My Canvas*

Bittersweet Mornings

These days, mornings for me often start before dawn. I used to groan as I glanced out the window into the semi-darkness, lately I have found a way to make waking up a more joyful experience, even when it happens at 5 am. As soon as I open my eyes, I say a prayer: Lord, although I am tired this morning, You will give me all the strength I need to meet the challenges of the day. Your Words sustains me when I am weary. You awaken me morning by morning. I am ready, Lord, to liste...n to Your voice. Teach me what You would have me learn today. May everything I do today be pleasing in Your sight. Many of us today are not in the habit of prayer. I have heard many people note that they do not find it meaningful to mumble a bunch of words. The more we pray, the stronger the habit becomes; the less we pray, the weaker the habit becomes.
*My Words, My Canvas*

Loneliness

I know that reaching out to others comes back to me tenfold. Therefore, I get out of bed, get dressed, and join humanity in any way possible. Every word I speak to others, no matter how small, manifests in bigger ways. I am already creating the presence of more people in my life by my own positive and loving actions. I choose to find one living thing today to hold. As I hold a flower or a puppy or hug someone, I know I participate in the process of giving and receiving love which fills my soul. I am part of a living divine equation, and my emptiness is only a temporary illusion. I recognize, at a soul level, those who are already giving me love.

Social Change

The social change movement

The social change movement is defined a group of individuals acting together to address a particular social or community issue.  Any action to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, and cultures is also considered as social change. The overall goal of social change is to improve human and social conditions.

Social change impact on myself, my family, or my community.

September 11, 2001 was a tragic event for social change. Just like any other day, people attended work, school, lived their normal lives, just as any other day. The fear was not present as we believed that our country was safe, unbreakable. However on this day, things changed. Three hijacked airplanes were hijacked and the events would change America forever.

The Muslim-American continue to struggle with finding a way to reconcile American and Islamic identities. Muslims, one an overlooked minority were transformed in the eyes of the American public into something to be feared. Muslims became the newest, and most immediately threatening minority. Americans’ fear Muslims as they label every Muslim as a jihadist. However, they do not understand that the jihadist act due to a deeper misconstrued social, political and cultural force. The way society react to Muslims has been significantly altered.

Cowen (1991) discusses the importance of psychological wellness, wellness for different groups and across life spans. One threat to wellness is resilience which increases stress due to life events and circumstances. Competence can also be seen as a threat to wellness as over a life span competences change. System change and empowerment are also threats to wellness as the pursuit of wellness depends on an individual’s strengths and also the interaction they have within their social system. When individuals lack these four, wellness can become threatened. Merton (1936) discussed purposive action and isolated purposive acts as one kind of action is done without awareness of reasons; another kind of action is done because the agent is aware of reasons for that action. Anticipated and or unanticipated consequences are terms Merton (1936) uses frequently and describes is as an event that occurs after the action.

References

Cowen, E. L. (1991). In pursuit of wellness. American Psychologist, 46(4), 404-408.

Merton, R. K (1936) The unanticipated consequences of purposive social action. American Sociological Review. 1(6), 894-104