Zaid Ismail's Blog, page 48
September 9, 2020
A walk…and a bit
I stepped on the treadmill today. It’s not my favourite pastime, but I did it anyway. At first, I recalled the time, many years ago, when I first attempted it and found myself winded in less than 3 minutes. I was still working in corporate. Life was lifeless, and purpose was found in servitude. I …
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September 7, 2020
Restless souls write
Restless souls write Anxious souls read Complacent souls pay no heed And then there’s me. Fitting uncomfortably in each space, while not fitting in at all. There’s a blessing in being anomalous. It spares us the slavery of living by rules. But blessings don’t occur without burdens, and the burden of being anomalous is the …
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Respectfully dishonest
This is especially true for our relationships with ourselves, more than it reflects on our relationships with others. We disrespect ourselves when we avoid truths that feel shameful or disappointing about who we are. That shame or disappointment that we feel is because we’re looking at ourselves through other people’s eyes, or at least what …
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September 4, 2020
Reconnect with your innate wisdom
We all have an innate wisdom that we lose sight of as the distractions of life accumulate. When we go out in search of answers and adopt methods that worked for someone else, we further distance ourselves from that innate wisdom. This distancing that occurs undermines our authenticity, and leaves us feeling at odds with …
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September 3, 2020
Demand more…of yourself
Unless you believe that you are capable of achieving more, you will always hold on to less. That belief is more about feeling worthy than it is about ability. Sometimes, we look at how our best efforts were received and assume that the negative outcomes bear testament to the value that we have to offer. …
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Fleeting Thoughts X
If I were to write without restraint, would you see my soul or judge my sanity? Sanity is elusive when it competes with the heart. The heart is not satiated by the intellect, and the intellect cannot reason with the heart. They both swim in their own orbits. Like the sun and the moon, each …
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September 2, 2020
Depression is not an illness
I realise that this is a highly contentious point. But we must recognise the elephant in the room before we are able to deal with it. The myth that depression is an illness causes more harm than the good it’s intended to achieve. Depression is the absence of hope. Preceding that is the saturation of …
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September 1, 2020
Do more than survive
Those who respect your victim-hood do so because it makes them feel better about themselves. They either feel more accomplished, or they find comfort in the familiarity of your struggle. Sometimes it gives them purpose in their need to uplift others so that their lives feel more fulfilled. Whether their intentions are good or not …
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August 31, 2020
Don’t sell yourself short
When you surrender your principles in exchange for affection, you give others permission to demand compromises rather than create understanding. Worse than this, when you make such a compromise, you undermine your worth in the relationship by giving up what you believe in, not because you changed your beliefs, but because you wanted to be …
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August 28, 2020
Breathe, beloved
The coolness of my eyesThe garment of my soul‘tis all I need to make me whole My lips on her lipsFrom whence she sippedWill fill the void, between cup and lip Beauty reservedFor the beholder beholdenElevates her words, still unspoken Bejewelled with modestyBut never frigid‘tis a treasure, rarely acquired My companion eludes meMy resolve still …
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