We begin in the name of God, the most Loving, the most Wise,
Even though the Islamic new year already passed and as Muslims, we don’t really make a big deal of the new year, as we step into 2020, this is a time where many people take advantage of the “fresh start” and use it as a point of renewal of intentions, of goals, of their life. Letting go of and clearing out the difficulties, the weaknesses, the areas we didn’t do as well as we wish we had and setting new goals, making good intentions and inhaling a nice long breath of fresh air. I love setting goals for the year – it gives me that same feeling I remember from my school days of opening the fresh new notebooks, papers and pens. It can be super refreshing and motivating.
One of my goals for our family or, I suppose, an overarching theme of several goals I have for this year has to do with being more intentional in our life. What I mean by that is being more thoughtful and mindful in the choices we are making in our everyday lives so that when we look at the overall picture, what we have painted is a work of art, full of love, full of hard work, and that makes our hearts filled with gratitude and contentment. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of all that there is to do in a day and not take the time to review and reflect as to whether we are staying on track to where we want to go.
Throughout this year, we will be working on building habits that help us to focus on living a life that is nourishing rather than depleting us, refueling our energy rather than simply using it all up. As we go throughout our days, sometimes it seems like everything just goes together and before we know it, it’s about to be another year. We get so busy, all the little things just building up and it feels like we don’t even have time to check in with ourselves, let alone anyone else. These times however, are the most important to take a few moments and make sure we are acting with mindfulness and intention – especially in the little things we do every day. The truth is, we have no choice but to act each day, so why not take the necessary time to do so purposefully and in a way that will propel us toward where we’re trying to get.
Often times when we hear of nourishing, it’s being connected to the topic of food but that is only one of the ways we can nourish ourselves. While being more intentional about the foods we choose to put into our body is very important when it comes to nourishing ourselves, it definitely is not the only thing to consider. What’s more, it is not only our bodies that require nourishment – our mind, our heart, our loved ones, and even our homes.
Here are 6 things we are working on doing in our home that maybe you’d like to join in on so that together, we are living a little more intentionally every day:
1. Begin the day with thanking Allah for giving us another day.
There is a supplication for when we wake up, ‘All praise is due to Allah who gave us life again, after having taken it from us and unto Him is the resurrection’. If we get into the habit of saying this it reminds us that each day is a gift, it is not a coincidence that you woke up this morning. Waking up with gratitude and a word of connection with our Creator will have us waking up with intention rather than waking up wishing we could go back to sleep.
2. Plan your intentions for tomorrow tonight.
To me, intentions are one step further than to-do’s… Not only do you set your mind to do these things, but you have scheduled it in your day. You get as prepared for it in advance as you can. If you make your intentions the day before, that allows you to get right into your day with the ball already rolling. You’ve already got things set in motion and that gives you the set up to get those things done that need to be accomplished that day.
3. Be mindful of who we let into our space – in-person, as well as through media.
It is important that all of us are paying attention to whom we invite into our space and choose to spend our time with. This applies even when it’s more consumption than connection such as Youtube or television. A big step for us with this goal for the year is to cut out movies and TV shows. It’s difficult but I feel like there will be a lot of good to come with it. The energy from those around us, the things we hear, see, everything that our senses take in are things that we are consuming and all of it affects us. It is important that we empower ourselves to make these choices for ourselves and when we find that someone is constantly bringing us down or sharing their bad habits with us, we need to value ourselves enough to let them go.
4. Pray on time and plan your day around prayer times.
We get so caught up with the rest of our lives, way too often we’re giving God what we have left rather than making Him a priority. At the end of the day, yes we are obeying the commandments of Allah but it is for our benefit – He doesn’t need these things from us. Our family is going to do our very best to plan our days around our prayers and pray within the first thirty minutes of the prayer time coming in. We are very committed to this habit as prayer is like the life source of our faith-in-action. If we fall short in our prayer, more than likely other things – both in our religious obligations and elsewhere – are going to slip as well.
5. Go outdoors and enjoy nature every day.
This doesn’t need to be a glorious hike or anything like that, just getting outside in your yard and having some fresh air is perfectly sufficient. It is necessary to take some time away from the screens, the stress, being indoors and just take some breaths of fresh air, smell the rain, look up at the tallest leaves in the trees – connect with the Earth around you. We use these signs to get to know our Creator. It’s essential for you and your family to go outside every day – even just 2 minutes. An additional plus is to get some movement in while you’re outside!
6. Eat food that fuels your body and makes you feel good.
We tend to have so much guilt and negative emotions around our food and it’s not really necessary. It’s okay to eat what you enjoy but for this year, our primary focus is eating food that is mostly from the Earth and that is meant to fuel our bodies. They say you are what you eat but I think we often forget how true that is. Your cells, your organs, your body gets the fuel and nutrition or lack thereof through what we eat. If we aren’t eating well for our body, if we aren’t eating to fuel ourselves – we are not going to have the proper energy and we are not going to feel healthy. We have to make the intention that we are eating the delicious foods that we choose to eat to sustain our bodies, give us energy and that we can enjoy it as well. It’s not about banning foods or feeling guilty after having a treat but rather making choices that promote our well-being. There are sooo many healthy foods and great recipes if we’re willing to experiment and try new things.
These are a couple things our family will be working on this year to be a bit more intentional. I hope you’ll join us, even if not in these specific habits, in being more mindful and intentional with our life, our health, our time, and our gifts.
Question for the comments: What are some things you all will be doing to be more intentional throughout the year?
Thank you for stopping by ‘Nourishing Our Home’. Please be sure to pop in every Monday and Thursday for new posts. Also, if you found this to be relatable and beneficial, please help me out by sharing with your family and friends.