LOVE: A four letter word

Okay, I just realized it is Valentine’s Day. I don’t celebrate it or acknowledge it as a holiday but one can’t help having love on the mind when it’s on every channel, even my rebellious LinkTV. There are cheesy red hearts and chocolate sales in every grocery store.

So this is NOT a Valentine’s Day bashing blog like you might expect from me.

This is a blog about love and how it can change your life. When we think of love we tend to think of romantic love, and then after that, love for our parents and children. But there is another love, a broader love that can shift the earth:

Love for humanity.

There is so much hate nowadays. It’s spouting from the mouths of politicians and warlords and terrorists. It’s emitting from the thoughts and actions of everyday citizens. We shouldn’t do good because we feel sorry for others: that is not only insulting, but it does not inspire growth. We shouldn’t do it out of sympathy or guilt. We should do good deeds out of LOVE. Love for humanity. Love for our Creator. Love for ourselves.

So whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not, there is one four letter word that should stay on your tongue and in your heart: LOVE

Finding my Purpose

I haven't posted any blogs in the past few days because I've been working on my lastest venture at Suite101. On this "soft news" site, I am a contributing publisher. When I first signed up, I thought- writing web articles and getting paid? Sounds like a great idea! However, I am now learning that, unlike blogging, writing news articles can be a grueling process. Especially when you are lacking a journalism degree.

Okay, this isn't supposed to be sounding all down and out- I do love it! It's just that I haven't been challenged in this way in a long time. In school, sometimes I would run from challenge- take the easy, lazy road. But now I am an adult with responsibilities and I realize that nothing is free in this world. For me, that means that even doing what you love to do can be very hard work, so one just has to learn to love working hard.

Writing for Suite 101 is a giant leap of faith because there is no garauntee that any revenue will be generated. By picking good topics and writing attractive titles, one can increase the likelyhood of web traffic going to their article, hence increasing the likelyhood of being paid by advertisers. So, here I go, once again, refining my purpose in life, paving a new road to travel. May Allah give us all strength in finding our purpose.

-Judge Not!