My Refreshed Life

Photograph by Izzah Shaheen.

I’m totally reconditioned now, just like a car. Original model maybe older, but have got completely overhauled now.

Overhauled within a span of five years:

Let me see, in my case I’ve got the following things done so far:

I’ve had my eyes’ operation done with new lenses placed.
Diseased parts removed & fully healed – yes the cancerous parts.
Knee are okay now for normal life, may need a knee operation within a couple of years.
All extra twelve kilograms of weight removed magically – or should I say chemo-cally! (Comically speaking…) ?

Good news:

Brain is still the same, we shall have to make do with that! ?Well, I’m very happy with it anyway. It is the only part of the body which doesn’t grow old, if you keep learning new things especially mathematical and languages.

So, basically I’m a refreshed version of myself. Now, sometimes I even feel as if I’m a better version of myself.

Had I not gone through all this cancer story of mine, I would have still been that same overweight self that I was.

This has been plain magic.

Alhamdolillah! He truly knows what’s best for you.

Let me confess:

*Now I sit in my office in a completely refreshed phase in my life.*

In the beginning, (of my overhauling) I have to confess I wondered if I’ll ever get to become my normal self again. (What to say about becoming a better version of myself!) I wondered if I’d ever be able to paint again or to work at my home office as before. Subhan Allah! My main hope was knowing Mahjabeen, Ambereen, Rikky, Saira, and Farheen, all of them are my cancer survivor friends. Each one is an amazing personality. There are qualities in them which I find very endearing; Brave enough to share their vulnerability. They go out of the way to help. There is a serenity about them.

Anyhow, now that I’m back to as normal as possible for this time, I’m keen to get back to my full output. So, I got back to work on my office, starting by a furniture shift mainly due to the video recording that took place on Wednesday the 20th of April, with Haroon Sharif as my guest. (Yes, I’m reactivating my YouTube channel too.)

Here is part 2 of the same interview. It is really very interesting. I loved working at it with my team member Rizwan Iqbal. We all found it so interesting and a real ground breaking interview it is.

My home office:

It was in 2008 when I was reading a book on Feng Shui, and came upon this theory of working while facing West. So, I started doing it. My books weren’t getting published and I was doing my EMBA both were not getting done. So, when I started working facing West, I got my degree and I published my three books with Ferozsons.

While I was at it, I realized, that facing West while working, means that one is facing the Kaaba in Makkah! (Which has been scientifically proved that it is the central point of the earth.) It was our Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who mentioned that we should go to China even, to seek knowledge. Feng Shui is a Chinese theory of living. Awesome! Ever since I started applying this in my life, my projects started getting completed.

So, now I’m always sitting facing West, as I’m writing right now!

Join a course like Reiki or Yoga:

*Dr. Moiz is one of the most prominent persons in this field of Mental Health Sciences.*

If you cannot change bad habits on your own, then take help of experts. In my case, Providence led to my meeting with Fareeha, and she convinced me to join the ‘Journey to Joy’ course with Uzma Ramzan. It was online, and only four days, for three-and-a-half hours only. Yes. Doable. I would highly recommend this course, or anyone that makes you feel good about it.

I can safely say, it changed my life.

Shedding some bad habits:

Every few years, we need to check out ourselves, realize how many bad habits have crept into our lives. Once pinpointed, one by one, it is vital to throw these out!

In my case, it was these:

Having breakfast in bed, then doing ‘office work’ there and then. Also watching motivational videos along with it. (I had made breakfast for my husband and myself, for thirty-one years, so now, I loved this luxury of breakfast in bed, for last ten years!)
Stopped going for my daily walks in evenings. I had stopped these walks in parks after I fell three times during my walks. So then, I’d complete my daily steps, walking in my home.) Somehow it is never so satisfying.
Mindless eating; I took almost two teaspoons of sugar in my tea. Loved meat, especially beef. Almost always ate with television motivational videos or dramas, or even Holy Quran surahs. Over-ate often, just to ‘clean the plate’.
Disturbed sleep: After my husband passed away, I never got a full night’s sleep, as I’d get up every few hours to check the house. Once my parents moved over, I’d go to check how they are. One needs to sleep at least six hours straight, and I never got that.

What was the height of luxury of having my breakfast in bed every morning, became the reason for my back and leg stiffness; because after breakfast, I’d write my blog post there on that bed tray after getting it cleared. Due to this, my output in blog posts was very regular. But this meant that I was literally not moving for at least twelve hours in the day! Naturally, my body became the embodiment of stiffness! 😉

You can transform your life:

Early morning: Yoga exercises: After realizing my folly, I now start my day with yoga exercises and prayers. (Making bed, so I don’t get tempted to return.)
Food in dining room: I’m having my breakfast at my dining table in the dining room, (mindful eating, with no distractions.)
Work time: Then I go to my home office for my work. This feels great, and is practical for my staff also.
Walks in evenings, at least twenty to thirty minutes, I love to be out in nature. Exercise is important for body and mind.
Mindful eating; I’ve cut sugar out of my diet completely. Avoid meat as much as possible. Focusing mainly on fruits, salads, and veggies. Also, eating without any distraction like television or phone, makes sure one eats only enough for hunger to be finished. No over-eating now.
Sleeping hours: A bedtime routine, helps one to unwind, and you have to give time to it. All this exercise and yoga in the day, is bound to give one good sleep!
Rejoined art classes: Already completed two paintings.
Charity work: Our charity work has been in full swing. Food drives continued for half the month of Ramzan, then we had to close these, as too many folks are giving food. So, we started giving rations of monthly groceries to 85 families, 7 brides were helped, (one even received a washing machine!) So, we have helped in 140 marriages in underprivileged homes.