Tag: Illustrations

boundaries over chaos

Posted on by Ajmal

Stepping back from the culture of urgency doesn’t mean abandoning your responsibilities. It’s not about turning your back on the world or ignoring the things that matter. It’s about reclaiming your time, your energy, and, most importantly, your sense of self. It’s a decision to stop pouring from an empty cup and to nourish yourself instead.

Life doesn’t have to be a constant race. The emails, the messages, the to-do lists—they will wait. What won’t wait is your well-being, your peace, your joy. When you pause, when you take a step back, you’re not being selfish. You’re prioritizing what truly matters: a life that feels whole instead of fractured, fulfilling instead of frantic.

This isn’t about escape—it’s about alignment. It’s learning to say no when your plate is already full, to set boundaries that protect your energy, and to recognize that you don’t have to be everything to everyone. It’s letting go of the pressure to always be on and instead choosing to be present for yourself.

When you step back from urgency, you create space. Space to breathe. Space to reflect. Space to rediscover what lights you up and makes you feel alive. And in that space, you realize that life isn’t meant to be a constant sprint. It’s meant to be lived, fully and intentionally.

the ripple of calm

Posted on by Ajmal

Be the presence that soothes the room when you walk in. Let calmness pour from you—not forced, but natural—born from a place of inner peace. It begins within: the quiet work of tending to your mind, softening the edges of your thoughts, and releasing the attachments that keep you tethered to stress. Trust yourself—trust your instincts, your feelings, your value. Let that trust anchor you in this moment.

Life is fleeting, and its impermanence is a gift. When you realize that all things pass, you understand that nothing is worth the cost of your peace. Lead with gentleness. Speak with clarity. Act with compassion. Not because you have to, but because it feels lighter to do so. Your calm becomes a refuge—not just for yourself, but for those around you.

Energy is contagious. When you radiate steadiness, others feel it. It’s not about fixing them or taking on their burdens; it’s about showing them a different way of being. A quiet reminder that even in the chaos, there is space for calm. That peace doesn’t mean ignoring life’s challenges, but meeting them with grace and resilience.

In your stillness, you become a mirror, reflecting the possibility of ease to others. And just like that, with no effort at all, your presence becomes a balm. Soften the world, one moment at a time. It begins with you.

carrying gratitude with you

Posted on by Ajmal

Gratitude is something you can carry with you, something that finds its place in every corner of life. You can pause to be grateful in the hush of early morning, cradling a cup of coffee as dawn breaks through your window. You might whisper thanks while waiting in line at the lulu hypermarket, or as you sit in traffic watching the world rush by. Gratitude can sneak up on you while taking a quiet walk by the corniche, feeling the sand beneath your feet, or as you pause to watch children laughing and playing in a nearby park .You can take a moment to feel thankful while curled up with a book, losing yourself in the worlds within its pages or my blog even : ) if you read it often, or just before biting into a warm slice of homemade samoosa or a morsel of chicken dum biriyani. Gratitude can be as simple as the warmth of a shared laugh over a kitchen table or the quiet contentment that follows a long phone call with an old friend. You can say a quick thank-you as you catch the colors of a sunset spilling across the sky, or as you stand barefoot on cool grass under a blanket of stars. There is no right place or time to feel gratitude. It’s a gift you can give yourself at any moment, wherever you are.

longing isn’t bound by rules

Posted on by Ajmal

In my thoughts before writing abstracts on the blog, it’s always etched in my mind that longing isn’t bound by rules. You can yearn for a moment, a feeling, a place, or a version of yourself that no longer exists. You might miss a person who once filled your days with laughter, or a quiet morning spent in a city that now feels like a distant dream. You can miss the person you once aspired to be, or the path you didn’t take, a life that seemed possible but never came to be.

There’s an ache in recalling a shared meal with someone you’ve lost touch with or a fleeting connection that slipped away too soon. You can feel the absence of a friend who lives oceans away, or the gentle embrace of a loved one sitting right beside you. Sometimes, you even miss the things that never truly belonged to you—a cozy armchair by a fire you only saw in passing, a sunset view from a mountain you haven’t climbed, or a life story you glimpsed but couldn’t make your own.

And perhaps, there’s the most bittersweet longing of all: when what you miss reappears in your life, only for you to realize that the memory was warmer, more comforting than the reality. In that moment, you understand that sometimes, the idea of something holds more power than its presence ever could.

things left behind

Posted on by Ajmal

There’s a quiet tragedy in things left behind. Empty rooms that once echoed with laughter now sit in silence, their walls bearing the fading traces of past lives. Buildings stand unfinished or forgotten, relics of dreams that were never fulfilled. Streets no longer walked on, chairs no longer sat in, stories that will never be told. There is a sadness in abandonment, distinct from the solitude of choosing to be alone. It’s the reminder that everything, at some point, was cherished, needed, or inhabited.We are creatures made for connection, drawn to places, people, and memories. To be left behind, or to witness something left behind, stirs something deep within us. It’s why we hold onto family, create communities, and fill our lives with others. Belonging is not just a desire—it’s essential. When we see something or someone cast aside, it echoes a fear and longing we all understand. Perhaps that’s why we look at abandoned places and feel a strange familiarity, a reminder of the need to belong, to love, and to live fully, lest we too fade into forgotten memories.

every moment is significant.

Posted on by Ajmal

Every moment holds its own quiet significance. The warmth of fresh-baked bread. The sharpness of a new pencil. The geometry of latticed pie crust. The quiet ache of hands letting go. The velvet texture of a ripe peach. The murmur of morning birds. A detour that led to an unexpected view. The melancholy of an unfinished song. The stillness of waiting for a friend to arrive. The golden crunch of a perfectly toasted baguette. The anticipation of an unread post card. The thrill of a second glance.

simple, quiet joys

Posted on by Ajmal

Life is not measured by trophies or promotions. Life is not a list of accomplishments or titles we collect. Life is the warmth of sunlight on your skin, the stillness of early mornings, and the sound of laughter shared over a simple meal. It’s finding an unexpected Whatsapp message from an old friend, feeling the cool breeze through an open window, and the quiet joy of getting lost in a good book.Life is the smell of fresh bread from the oven, the rhythm of raindrops on the roof, and the gentle rustling of leaves in the park. It’s the soft glow of fairy lights in the evening, the comfort of your favorite worn-out sweater, and the satisfaction of crossing something off your to-do list. Life is pausing to watch the sunset paint the sky in hues of gold and pink, or the peace that comes with watering your plants or curating your aquarium .It’s not grand gestures but small moments of stillness and connection. It’s in the shared smiles, in a random compliment, in taking that extra deep breath after a long day. Life is found in the simple, quiet joys that make us feel alive, even if just for a fleeting moment.

the materialistic spell

Posted on by Ajmal

We live entranced by a materialistic spell, deluding us into believing the physical world comprises all of existence. From birth, we’re indoctrinated with a dogma asserting reality begins with matter and ends with our finite lives. Any notion of grander metaphysical forces or the eternal soul is dismissed as mere fantasy. Yet this reductive worldview results from heedlessly imbibing assumptions while failing to deeply ponder our cosmic origins and spellbinding consciousness. To awaken from this materialistic trance, we must bravely scrutinize its intellectual premises through the light of rigorous reflection. As we flex our philosophers’ minds, the ephemeral veil dissolves to reveal the unmistakable hallmarks of a supreme immaterial Reality that preceded space and time. Our existence screams out its Divine authorship – if we’d only break the spell’s hypnotic grip.

savoring flow of moments

Posted on by Ajmal

We’ve all experienced those moments when time seems to stand still. Maybe it’s during a sunset that paints the sky in impossible colors, or when we’re lost in the rhythm of our favorite song. In these fleeting instances, the constant chatter of our minds quiets down, and we’re fully present. It’s strange how rare these moments can feel in our hectic lives. We rush from one task to another, our attention pulled in a thousand directions by notifications, deadlines, and endless to-do lists. But what if those brief glimpses of timelessness aren’t just random occurrences? What if they’re invitations to a different way of experiencing life? Not as a series of items to check off, but as a flow of moments to be savored. Perhaps the key isn’t in doing more, but in noticing more – in rediscovering the wonder that’s hiding in plain sight all around us.

letting souls touch

Posted on by Ajmal

The old man sat on his porch, rocking gently. He watched the neighbor boy dash across the street, shouting to a friend. “You know,” he said to me, “folks don’t listen much anymore.” I waited, sensing more to come. “They’re all wrapped up in their own stories,” he continued. “Can’t hear past ’em.” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked at me. “But you, you’re different. You’ve got curious ears.” I smiled, unsure what he meant. “Curious ears,” he repeated. “They don’t just hear words. They reach for the truth hiding behind ’em.” He paused, considering. “It’s not always easy. Sometimes the truth bites. But it’s worth it.” The neighbor boy laughed, a clear sound cutting through the evening air. “That’s the thing about honest talk,” the old man said softly. “It lets two souls touch, just for a moment.” He fell silent then, and we sat, listening to the crickets begin their nightly song.