“I hate this feeling. Like I’m here, but I’m not. Like someone cares. But they don’t. Like I belong somewhere else, anywhere but here, and escape lies just past that snowy window, cool and crisp as the February air.”

“Songs are as sad as the listener.”

“Let me see you for just a moment. The real you that you hide behind the curtain of your fake smile. Let me see the crumbling walls, the burnt remains of what used to be before life began to fight back. No, this isn’t for my ego. No, it doesn’t make me happy to see you hurt. Trust that its crucial that I see your smile. But I want the real one. This facade doesn’t satisfy me. I know deep down you’re not satisfied either. At the very least, even if we can’t reclaim or rebuild everything- At least let’s get started on moving that curtain. Beloved, I won’t let you be alone.”

“She is wearing her black dress. She isn’t crying, but she never did cry, anyhow. It’s a bright sunny day and she’s like a black shadow creeping down the empty street.”

Today, I learned an important lesson from my therapist.

do you still remember your creator when your mind is foggy from sleep deprivation?

“I dare you to burn holes into me; I will bleed love and kindness from all of them, and you will drown in the things you tried to end in me.”

Eid Mubarak. You are not alone. Blessed Eid to all you out on your own. To all the converts that feel dejected by their communities. Blessed Eid. You are not alone. To all the singles that have no family to visit. Blessed Eid. You are not alone. To all those separated without choice from their families. Blessed Eid. You are not alone. The best that you can be given this Eid, is not the smiles and the handshakes and the hugs. Its not the invitations and the food and the merriment. Its not the games and the entertainment and the companionship. All of those are good, but you’ve been given much more. “Say: For the grace of God and his mercy, let them rejoice. It is better than what all others gather.” Yunus:58 Remember that Ramadan ends, but life goes on. In this past month, you didn’t look for validation or recognition from anyone else. God’s pleasure with you your acts was sufficient. God is enough. Though you may be sitting by yourself. Though you may be separated from those you love. Though you may be alone. You are not. Eid is a day for glorifying God. “Is not God sufficient for his slave? Yet they will scare you with those other than him.” If you have him, you have enough. Eid Mubarak.