麻豆约拍

Yesterday was Blue Monday, which, according to researchers, is the unhappiest day of the year.聽 In 2021 though, in Lockdown, in winter, I reckon Blue Monday has got a lot of stiff competition!聽聽I often find January a hard month to get through anyway, and February can be like crawling on my hands and knees into March!

Concentration is tough 鈥� and currently I鈥檓 able to work in bursts of only ten minutes. Occasionally I get on a roll and manage 20!聽 Woohoo! And sometimes the rhythm of the work does take over, and I find myself able to write for longer, and zone out all the noise of my mind.聽

Right now, I would do almost anything to go for a long walk in the hills, to see some beauty. Of course, I can鈥檛, and I won鈥檛.聽

To try and give me some grain of motivation, I listened to some sessions of a 鈥渕indfulness鈥� app to help start the day, and help me peel away the cocooning safety of my duvet, which is so hard in the morning. Things were going okay until it told me to focus on 鈥渕y spark鈥�.聽

鈥淢y spark?鈥� I pondered? 鈥淲hat spark?鈥� I railed against the app: 鈥淚 get up because I have to, because I have children to care for, and pets to feed, and work to be done. I get up because staying in bed is not an option!鈥澛�

Finding a 鈥渟park鈥� felt like way too much pressure. And the thought I didn鈥檛 really have one at the moment鈥� well!!

But鈥� there is always a but鈥� my faith teaches me that despair is not an option. In Islam 鈥� the name of the one who is totally lost - 鈥淚blis鈥�-comes from the word 鈥渢o despair鈥�. And so, I hold on to hope.

My faith asks me to remember the Qur鈥檃nic maxim that 鈥渘o soul will be burdened with more than it can bear.鈥� And so I know I can manage.

And the Qur鈥檃n reminds that 鈥渨ith hardship there is also ease.鈥� And so I look with thankful eyes at all the things that I have to be grateful for, and there are many 鈥� even in winter, in lockdown, and on Blue Monday 鈥� or any day for that matter!

Happy New Year everyone 鈥� stay safe, and stay strong! We鈥檝e got this!