Zaid Ismail's Blog, page 38

If tomorrow never comes…

So often I hear people speak of tomorrow not being guaranteed, but still packing away that dinner set for just a special occasion. We delay making changes that we know we need to make to improve the quality of our life, or of the lives of those around us, because we think we have time. […]

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Empty promises

Some promises are broken before they’re even sealed. Some are honoured before they’re even made. The promises that are sincere will be blessed in their outcomes, well beyond the obligation that they carry. But the promise made out of obligation or compromise will always be burdensome and restrained in its fulfilment. Like apologies, promises are […]

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Be gentle

Chances are very good that your harshness or cruelty is directed at the wrong person. Unfortunately, you’ll only realise this after the damage is done. Cruelty, like anger, is most often expressed to those weaker than us, even though we experience it at the hands of those stronger than us. Sadly, it is paid forward […]

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Humanity for sale

The ones driven by the validation of others turn themselves into victims. The ones driven by the belief that no one cares or no one understands, turn themselves into oppressors and abusers. But when we’re so focused on our own struggles, we fail to see the struggles that we introduce into the lives of others. […]

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Gratitude, the root of peace

As long as you have gratitude in your heart, you will always find opportunities instead of problems in your life. Gratitude allows us to focus on what’s good, and realise how much worse things could be. It encourages appreciation for what we have instead of envy for what we don’t have. Most importantly, it recognises […]

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Be more than your past

Like they say, every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Your past will only ever define your future if you allow it. They also say that the past may be blemished, but the future is still perfect. There is a reality between all this idealism that we can’t escape, and that […]

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In pursuit of a life worth living

We get it wrong so often. We chase the means to an end and neglect the end. We find reason to exhaust ourselves in accumulating the trophies of life while discarding life along that journey. The celebrity lifestyle teaches us that a celebration of our accomplishments is rarely a celebration of who we are. The […]

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Looking for love in all the wrong places

The shame that we carry within us about what we believe is lacking about ourselves, sometimes causes us to reject those who embrace us despite knowing the worst side of us. But because we reject that part of who we are, and are not willing to see our humanness attaching shame to it, we try […]

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Soul food

The physical form demands fulfilment, while the soul demands peace. Too often, we mistake the fulfilment of our physical needs to be soul food, and we neglect our soul. As this soul food grows familiar, we seek ever more creative ways to get that fulfilment leading us further into indulgence, and away from peace. Soul […]

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Don’t be your own enemy

You undermine yourself when you doubt your ability to accomplish something for no reason other than fear. When you allow the uninformed opinions of others, or their disrespect to define how you feel about yourself, you undermine yourself. When you settle for less because you believe you’re unworthy of better, you undermine yourself. Each time […]

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