Issue 002: Strange Interest and Forever Plans

– Thoughts Worth Sharing –

In this letter: Getting fruits in the mail, my rather strange (to some) interest, what I learned from my instagram reel going viral, and a forever-home plan

Assalam o Alaikum friend,

I haven’t yet had chance to share this picture on my IG yet but this day lifted me up in more ways than I anticipated. If you don’t already know, my Hashimoto’s diagnoses means that I get to have a deep dive in depression every now and then and last week was a continuation of that journey. In efforts to get through it while knowing that walks in nature help me immensely, I agreed wholeheartedly to my husband’s suggestion of going to this nearby lake. I was not expecting it to be so beautiful!

Hamza did decide to test his Subaru’s off-roading capabilities much to my dismay so as he enjoyed taking us to not-walkable parts of the lakes, I cringed in my seat while driving through all bumps and feeling just a slight relief of having AAA in our car insurance.

Alhumdulillah we were able to go to stunning spots on this large lake while having the introvert dream come true of meeting the minimal amount of people on a beautiful, sunny day. One particular spot had an island of birds floating in the middle of the water, taking water baths and enjoying the scenery themselves. You could smell them pretty strongly but that didn’t stop us from staying for a few moments to enjoy their conversations.

I have a few interesting things to share with you today, so let’s get to it:

01 // Tropical Fruits

I have not shied away from sharing the surprisingly small size of our new hometown and the lack of the things that make a place feel like home to me. Recently I discovered that there was neither a nursery nor a bookstore in town! Have you seen any of my content? Those are two things that I love. So I decided to order from a place where I’ve sent gifts from and treat myself to some tropical fruit goodness. You might want to bookmark this website because if you’re living in the States, they just might have that one fruit which you’ve been craving. With their Black Friday sale, I ordered a small variety box which introduced me to new fruits and an even tastier version of some older ones. The flavor is incomparable and definitely can not be found in supermarkets! If you are a mango fan like me, get ready for the season and sign up for that mailing list because you can have the tastiest mangoes available but watch out, they do sell out pretty fast for those. I sent a box to my sister once and she raved about it. I’ve also sent jamun to my parents and they were reminded of their lives in Pakistan. Now I’m thinking that I should give a box of just guavas a spin while saving for that mango box in the future insha’Allah. There was one guava in the variety box and honestly, I haven’t had that sweet flavor ever since the tree in our first home together.

• 02 // Anyone likes pathology?

I have been following this account (click at your own risk) for quite a number of years on Instagram and this year, I decided to sign up for The Gross Room. Just a note that there are pretty hardcore photos and videos of gross anatomy and autopsy which is not a cup-of-tea of everyone. After enjoying her content for so long, I decided to sign up for her subscription content and it is so good. Let me share with you one thing which continues to surprise me and strengthens my faith in Allah ﷻ. We are literally ticking time bombs and our life is hanging at a balance every second of the day. If you look at the autopsy findings that she shares in TGR, you will find yourself amazed at the myriad of ways our bodies can stop functioning. From cancerous cells, to aneurysms, to cardiomyopathy and so many other diseases, it really is a miracle that we are alive… that you are alive reading this very post. Death can come at any time and nothing has cemented that in my mind other than reading her IG and TGR posts. She has a very interesting category of Celebrity Deaths where she details the lives, circumstances around the death and autopsy findings of the chosen celebrity. The big takeaway from these posts is: Don’t do drugs people (just don’t do it!), smoking is a precursor to many cancers, and alcohol is poison. It seems that the Celebrity culture is engrossed in exactly these things and it makes Islamic hudood all the more appealing. There is wisdom behind every prohibition – and the list is quite small – so obeying Allah ﷻ will help you from being on someone else’s dissection slab. Basically. You’ll leave with much more appreciation of Allah’s gift of life and knowledge of a lot of things you probably never would have learned unless you were in med school, of course. TGR is not safe for kids and can be addicting … if you’re into this sort of thing, that is.

• 03 // My Reel went viral and I have thoughts