Warp Level

It seems I've sort of skipped over a few days here, kinda like when you warp in Super Mario Bros. and end up in World 4 by going through a tube. Yeah, we can just say I warped, rather than admitting I neglected to blog.

Ironically, you can lose whole days in real life playing this game too.

Ok, now that that's over with, on to writing the things! The things that I am thinking!!




EXERCISE
It's been between 95-100 here again for the last few days, and it's supposed to get hotter at the end of the week after some storms roll through. While I acknowledge that I do have air conditioning at home, this heat really just makes exercising like, the least attractive thing in the world. But that's the laziness talking. I will commit to doing some stretching before bed to help me sleep but that's it.

Speaking of sleep, I have my first appointment with a specialty sleep and lung clinic tomorrow. It's not going to be the actual sleep study where they hook up all of the wires and watch me roll around for 6 hours (that might come later), but it's a pre-appointment to see what's up with my insomnia. They sent me a 4-page questionnaire I have to fill out tonight. I'm hoping I can get some relief not only to feel more refreshed but to also help my mood and overall health.

Here comes the Health Tip of the Day: I was just reading in Real Simple that one way to snack less during the day is to get more sleep. Actually, studies have shown that people who don't get enough sleep overeat in general because they have wacky levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin (which sound like LOTR characters to me, but what do I know?) which regulate feelings of hunger and fullness, respectively.

I took the whole day off for this appointment even though it will be an hour or so (I'm guessing). Ramadan is coming and it's been insane at the office with the whole move and post-move catch-up work, so I will take it easy and probably see my QB to work on my 5th and final surah for my Ramadan goal.

********************************

ISLAM
In Arabic class on Sunday we went over Hadith #16 in Imam Nawawy's 40 Ahadeeth. Regular readers know all about this book and our class's memorization of the recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ but just for those who may not know, it's a collection of 40 of these sayings, similar to the gospel of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) but with loads of concrete evidence to their authenticity and chains of narration all the way back to Muhammad. The sunnah (or traditions of the Prophet) is a guide to our life as Muslims as much as the Quran (and sometimes more) because of what Allah says in the Quran:

"And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy."

This commandment appears many other times in the Quran, but this is the simplest and clearest example in my opinion. Hadith #16 is one of my favorites not only for it's simplicity (it boils down to basically four words, or two in Arabic) but because of how effective it is in solving so many problems inside oneself and in society if applied correctly.

Here it goes via the wonderful YouTube:

"Do not get angry" or "La Taghdab". Sounds easy, right? But we all know it's an easy concept yet hard to put into practice. But that's the whole point. If you put your energy into channeling what you feel (because everyone will FEEL angry, you can't control that) into positive energy, you will save yourself and others a lot of hassle. This is like free marriage counseling. It's an answer to all disputes between friends, family members, political leaders, and teens worldwide.*

So try it out. Next time you want to slam the table and scream red-faced at your [boss/child/husband/daughter/neighbor/Post Office clerk/not-so-friendly-collections-agent] just don't get angry. You have better things to do with your life, I assume.

Disclaimer: I am not a real counselor or conflict resolution specialist or whatever. Just passing along the wisdom of our messenger ﷺ. I hope it helps!