Ahhh… Finally a Well-Balanced Day!

Day Five, came and went. Where indeed is the time going? It seems like yesterday we were all sitting and wondering how we’d be able to fast long 16 hour days. And today? Well, the time just seems to fly. Between all the prayers and Quran Recitation and time spent helping prepare Iftar, I get maybe 3-4 hours to get any other task done (Although, Alhumdulillah, I got some of my coding in after a week’s gap.) We worry in our hearts, yet we should always remember, Allah never burdens us more than we can handle.

لَا تُكَلَّفُ نَفْسٌ إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
No person shall have a burden laid on him greater than he can bear.(Surah Baqarah:233)

And so it is.

Though we may be in good conditions,the same cannot be said about the poor people of Karachi. Over 500 deaths have been reported in the last couple of days due to the severe heat wave coupled with the lack of water and electricity, with no rain in sight. May Allah make this time easy for them and may they be blessed with rain in these tough times. That is a burden I know for sure that I can’t bear.

When you think about the trials and tribulations other people face all over the world, our own struggles seem futile. But you have to remember, everyone has a trial fitted for them that only they can bear and we must be thankful that Allah has blessed us with many good things, which we often take for granted (in this case, the fact that we have abundant amount of water, electricity and means of keeping cool in the hot weather.)

JavaScript, Why Art Thou So Cool??

After a week, I finally got back to my coding courses. After a prolonged exposure to tech, I have finally realized that programming is the way to go for me. For over a month now, I have started with basic training in computer programming, starting with the markup language of HTML/CSS (used for designing webpages) and now continuing with JavaScript(used for making the webpages interactive.)

I never had given a thought to coding or programming, but now that I think about it in retrospect, it’s the thing I would do. Why? I love creating and I love learning new languages. I’ve been making things with my hands as far back as I can remember, whether it’s painting, knitting, clay sculptures, scrapbooking. And this also reflected in the classes I took growing up — Fashions, Foods, Art, Tech Ed. As far as languages go, I’m fluent in English and Urdu and have studied Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese over the years. Programming is the marriage of creation and language, inputting different languages to tell the computer what to output.

Programming is a really important skill to possess, not only in terms of jobs, as there is a high demand for programmers nowadays, but also in terms of where society is going. The society is immersed in tech, whether it is smartphones, tablets, computers, smart watches, etc. Some people would want to avoid this, calling it a distraction, but not so much these days. Tech is becoming more and more mainstream, seeping into household things (like light bulbs and thermostats) to self-driving cars. It’s been predicted that in the near future regular cars will be banned because self-driving cars are better at accident prevention. That’s how much tech has seeped into the world. Instead of running from all this, people with the interest in this field should train themselves to be able to provide for the enhancement of tech in the society.

One thing we must remember is that devices and tech are mediums, they themselves are not bad nor should be considered so. What we choose to do with the tech is another thing. Choosing to create in order to address gaps in our lives versus choosing to use it for bullying, trolling, spreading disorder, watching and taking part in shamelessness depends on the type of person you are. This is no fault of the tech. People with a certain agenda will do their dirty deed regardless of the medium.

And, thus, I venture into the field of computer science. And what do I think?

IT”S AWESOME!

I love coding, as being able to create something has always been my forte. And the challenge is welcome and refreshing, challenging my brain to oil up and rev into action. I learn in hopes that one day this skill will help me create something that will be useful for all who use it.

The Many Fish in the Ocean

So after iftar today, I wasn’t feeling too good, kind of weak and lethargic. So I put on a documentary called Life, which is a series of episodes showing the different kinds of critters that roam the land and dominate the sea. The episode that I watched today is called Fish and is about….well… Fish. But not just your average joe goldfish, I’m talking about the many different kinds that lurk beneath the deep blue sea, hiding in anemones and swimming in shoals. And watching them, swimming, living amongst each other in a beautiful community, in such a balanced way of life… sigh, Allah truly is the Master of all Creation.

The fish living beneath the sea all have systems. Little fish provide cleaning services to big fish in return for protection, fish that climb the rocky ledges of waterfalls in order to attain a beautiful safe environment to mate, and fish that can fly above the water to travel between two points in a safe way.

But my favorite? The Japanese Mud Skipper.

Picture Source:Kyodo

Picture Source: Alan Holyoak

These funny looking mud dwellers are the best! Having developed the ability to move on the muddy shores of Japan, these fish live peacefully on the plants and bacteria that the tide drags in. I can tell you more about them but the thing that I want to mention that blew my mind is the way the papa mudskipper looks after his unborn eggs.

The dad digs a u-shaped tunnel, one end opens up to the surface while the other end opens up to a small underground chamber that holds his many eggs. But since the chamber is where it is, the father repeatedly goes up the tunnel to the surface to collect a mouthful of air and then releases in the chamber full of eggs, to keep the young provided with fresh oxygen. And he does this over and over and over, until the eggs hatch.

If anyone deserves a Father’s Day, it’s this fella. He works tirelessly, unconditionally, without asking for or seeking appreciation. And honestly, I don’t think that the majority of the world know of its existence. Heck, I just found out today! And it just makes you wonder, all the effort these animals put into their kids, without being appreciated by them (or anyone else, for that matter.)

Such beautiful life exists on the same planet in which humans (who are the higher species) bury their daughters alive or who, on a more relatable scale, neglect their kids or find them burdensome or a chore. May we all be guided to become good parents to the generations ahead.