The RoundUp: 09
This month: newsletter anniversary and getting back on track.
As most of you know, this month has been rocky, but on a lighter note…
This month marks the first anniversary of this newsletter! Subhan’Allah, I can’t believe it’s been a whole year on this journey. I’m notoriously a hobby hopper so I am surprised to reach this milestone. I can’t begin to explain every moment of barakah I’ve experienced on this journey, but I can say, it’s definitely been a magical one.
I started this newsletter to share any knowledge Allah had given that brought me closer to Him and work on my personal development. Over the course of this year, I’ve published 62 pieces, 8 of which are The RoundUp series. It’s been a space for me to explore ideas, document my learning, grow as a writer, connect with you all, and most importantly, connect with the deen!
I’m excited to continue sharing my growth journey, explore the craft of writing further, and keep trying new things. I re-read my very first post and noticed how much closer I was to Allah last year. My certainty in Him and tawakkul was a lot stronger. It reassures me that I’ve been there before, and by His will, I can get there again Insha’Allah!
Some things I’ve been up to this month:
Books
I started reading 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom. I’d heard a lot about it, I read his newsletter (sometimes) and the cover was cute. Unfortunately, I feel like there was nothing I haven’t heard before. It’s a guide book, so it just contains tools to improve life in different areas: time, social, mental, physical, and financial. I didn’t finish the book, but some stats from the social section sparked me to value family time a little more. He used to be an athlete and also worked in finance so maybe the last two sections would’ve been better. But I never got that far, so I wouldn’t know.
Podcasts
In other news, Dr. Andrew Huberman released an episode on belief in God and science which I was long awaiting and listened to this month. He briefly shared, in another episode, that he believes in God which made me take him more seriously and wanted to hear about him from him. In my experience of learning science, I didn’t see much conflict of interest between science and the existence of God and didn’t understand how science “justified” atheism. I appreciate that he’s open about this and now made an episode that explored some of the different conflicts of interests that exist in the discourse of science vs God. But this episode mostly focused on some research that supports belief in God and religious practices ultimately lead to better quality of life. They (Dr. Huberman and the interviewee) did agree that science is a measure of the visible world and it’s not intended to empirically “prove” the existence of God; belief in God comes from faith, not science.
Also this episode was sponsored by Our Place which is a Pakistani-American founded company. That little representation made me feel seen!
Substack
This piece resonated me this month. It was about how we have to be there for ourselves and do the work it takes to get better. As much as others may love and support us, they can’t do the work for us that help us get out any struggles we’re facing.
Thumbnails
I realized too late that the colours I used for Not A Race are the same as The RoundUp series. I wish I’d choose other colours to maintain a distinction, but it’s ok, next time.
That’s all I have for this month! I’d love to know, how was your month? Did anything eventful happen in your life?
Congrats on your one-year anniversary! I'm sorry you've been feeling a spiritual low lately. Know that it's common and the fact that you recognize and feel bad is a good sign. You can get back into it. Just start with one small thing and do it for a week. Then assess if you can do more.
Congrats on completing your year on substack. Mashallah you're writing is so good and this monthly series is motivating me to pen down what I've done and realised this month.
Also a big thank you for recommending my piece in your post. So glad you liked it this much!