6. Seafarers
Dear Sister in Islam,
51. Trust no one, but Allah. Ask no one, but Allah. Hope in no one, but Allah.
52. Much of your life as a woman is taken up with fulfilling the needs of others and neglecting your own. You cannot pour into the cups of the people you love if your own teapot is empty.
53. Spend time nurturing, nourishing and taking care of yourself first, so you can be in a healthy place to take care of others. Make this a priority because it is of paramount importance to everyone’s well-being.
54. The worst cage is the cage you put yourself in. You become free when you stop conforming to the roles and expectations others assign for you. You become free when you stop caring about what other people think of you. You get one life to live. It’s too short to allow anyone other than Allah, His Book, and His Messenger, ﷺ, to tell you how it is to be lived.
55. Be your own best friend. Love who you are. Spend time with you. Get to know you. Let go of what no longer serves you. Foster what serves you in the now.
56. You can learn something from every seafarer who crosses paths with you. You can learn how to be and you can also learn how not to be. Both lessons are equally valuable.
57. It’s important to have a handful of few good friends with sound faith and character, based on real, authentic, genuine friendship, with sound principles and values. You don’t need to be surrounded by 200+ people to be seen and heard. You will find out who your true friends are in the times of tremendous upheaval in life.
58. Always ask yourself this key question when it comes to the people you choose to interact with: Does this person empower you? Or does this person deplete you?
59. The key qualities of friendship are love, respect, honesty, integrity, trust, loyalty and most importantly, to show up for those in need, by giving of your time, energy, and presence, especially during times of difficulty and hardship. If you have just one person who has these qualities in your life, you are truly blessed.
60. One of the worst feelings in the world is the betrayal by a dearly beloved trusted friend, especially in a time when you are already drowning in the worst storm of your life. That sudden and unexpectedly inflicted wound will be so deep, jagged and excruciating, that you will forever be wary of letting new people into your heart again at that level.
