Solve for y: Answers January 27, 2009

 

Solve for y: Answers

 

Y= (a+b+c+d)

a.      our eman/faith:

Our level of faith is determined by how much tawwakkal (trust and reliance) in Allah (swt) we have.  As our faith and belief in Him increases we draw nearer to Him and as believers this is our ultimate success.  Many times our initial goal may not be obtained, but when we realize what we have by putting full trust in Allah, what we have gained is priceless.

b.      purified intentions:

 As our stellar front row students have mentioned if we purify our intentions, sincerely striving to do all things for the sake of Allah, whatever the outcome we will be benefitted in this life and the next InshaAllah.

c.       our effort/action:

In any given situation there is one thing that is within your control and it’s your personal effort.  In the above equation for success, the action that you commit to doing is the only variable (the only thing that changes in any given situation).  YOU are in control over the success.  Allah (swt) has already promised this to us as believers. 

d.      dua:

We have a miraculous tool that whenever used correctly will never fail- DUA!  All we have to do is sincerely and truly ask of our Lord the Most High and He will give to us.  There are special times when our prayers are answered directly, when they are delayed and something better is given to you in the next life and times when your prayer may not be answered but Allah (swt) protects you from something harmful.  How awesome is that!?  He who knows better than any of us will decide the best course of answer.  SubhannaAllah, how wonderful He is!

As believers we begin all of our deeds on the premise of La ilaha il Allah part of our testament of faith. Clear intentions and goals allow us to choose our pathways to success. These goals are only realized with concerted effort and action and dua to Allah (swt) for tawfiq.

May Allah (swt) give us all success in drawing nearer to Him! Amin

Commit yourself to a lifetime of learning!

Teacher~Tamara

© 2009 Teacher~Tamara.  All rights reserved.

 

It’s the little things… January 23, 2009

Sitting by his bedside with the yellow pages in my lap, I read “…calzones, stromboli’s, stuffed shells, linguine?”

“Stuffed shells” he said nodding, speaking more to himself than me “with Italian dressing on the side salad, you gotta have Italian dressing” he grinned.

So I rode into the next town and waited for 20 mins for ‘stuffed shells and a side salad with Italian dressing’.

 Because he was Daddy …because he was sick … because that’s what he wanted.

While working on the SIS project (soon to be posted! InshaAllah ) I drifted back to this  memory of one of the last moments I spent with my Dad.  My Dad died of prostate cancer in Oct 2007. Alhumdulillah, I was able to spend time with him during the last few months of his life. Those memories remind me of his vibrant spirit and passion for life.  Until the end and he left a long lasting impression on anyone he met.

This particular day he actually had an appetite and was able to eat (near the end this was such a rare occasion that we celebrated by indulging him whatever he wanted).  He was in the mood for pasta, so pasta it was.  

When I got back with the food, he ate about 1/8 of the container and was ecstatic to have eaten that much. He was happy with so little. Even before he was diagnosed as ”terminal” he would remind me that “each day we are all closer to death so why not live life to its fullest?” Seemingly small things like that meal and watching King Kong (lol) with family were the things that really mattered.

The lesson that day was to be grateful for the slightest of things.  I never thought that I’d see the day when this lion among men would be in that state.

I had heard before that you never really reach true adulthood until you lose a parent and I now understand why. The gravity of what life is truly manifests itself with the death of a parent.  His death caused me to look at myself, my life and to truly examine what I was living for and to promise to live a life of no regrets.  

In the end it’s the small things that will matter the most and being grateful for them Allah will reward us with success in this life and the next.  

 

Commit yourself to a lifetime of learning!

Shining Out….

Teacher ~Tamara

© 2009 Teacher~Tamara.  All rights reserved.

Solve for y: Allah + y = Success January 20, 2009

 Solve for y: 

 

The will of Allah (swt) + y = Success

Ok! Class is in session! In preparation for the next lesson we have a warm-up problem on the board.  Looking at the above equation  how would you solve for y? 

All of you “front row sitters” (you know who you are ) let’s see who the first 10 people are to respond with an explanation.

T.T.’s Answer: InshaAllah in Monday’s (1/26) blog.

Stay tuned! 

Commit yourself to a lifetime of learning!

Shining Out!

Teacher~Tamara

© 2009 Teacher~Tamara.  All rights reserved.

Goal Achieving 101: Back to the Future January 12, 2009

However many goals you wish to attain this year, these 4 basic steps can help you achieve them within the least amount of time.

Step one: Start with the end in mind.  It’s a simple statement but it can be very effective in reaching a goal. Imagine yourself having achieved your desired goal. If you could capture the frame in your mind what would the picture look like? Where are you? Who is with you? Are you sitting, standing or lying in the sun? Describe the moment using all of your senses. Using visualization techniques, take time to dream about your end and getting there will be much easier.

Script your dream using these sentence starters as a beginning:

When I (insert your goal here, including the date) I will be at ______________. My ___________ will be with me. I will be wearing___________. The weather that day will be____________. I will have_______ by that time……

Continue writing out your ideas until you actually believe that you have been in that place before.

Step two: Clearly define your goals in positive and active terms.  When thinking about your goal or speaking about it to others use affirming words such as I am healthier, I have gained a new outlook on life and I will laugh and sing daily. Action words put motion and energy into the goal creating a momentum in your mind that will empower you to move forward. 

Step three: Remind yourself -several times a day- of your goal. Use pocket calendars, reminders on your cell phone, post-it notes, before and after pictures, a new dress or any other motivators to keep you focused on the goal. Make note of all your progresses on a chart and update it daily to see how close you are to reaching your destination.

Step four: REPEAT 1-3 if you don’t succeed the first time.   As the saying goes Rome wasn’t built in a day and its possible that you too will need more than a day to realize your goals. During that time many small steps will lead up to achieving the greater goal, be prepared to review the steps you have taken and look for ways to revamp and streamline your process. Failures and mistakes don’t exist in this paradigm they are opportunities to figure out a better way to get things done!

 Shining out!

Commit yourself to a lifetime of learning!

- Teacher Tamara

P.S. Update 1-23-09 Just to give a clear example of what I’m talking about here: 

In case you’re wondering the red Porsche Cayenne up top? That’s my screen saver reminder of what I have to look forward to in 2010! InshaAllah it will be a 2008 (fantastically frugal ya’ll) with all the bells and whistles!

I already have someone scouting them out for me. Keep your eye’s on the prize!

T~T

© 2009 Teacher~Tamara.  All rights reserved.