Post-Ramadan note to Self [and Other]

•Now that Ramadan is over, do not go back to missing Fajr in congregation. Don't disable that alarm. Move it a bit forward, if need be.

•Continue with the tahajjud. That's how you steadily build a habit—a good one at that.

•Attend to your salah with the same urgency you attend to Sahūr and Iftār. When you miss congregational prayer, lament it like you do when you miss sahūr. Dread that day. Beat yourself up. Resolve never to miss it again.

•You thought you couldn't, but for 30 days, you stayed away from a lot of vices. The obsessions and addictions. Keep the momentum. Ramadan ended, but life hasn't yet—yours hasn't.

•You became more collectivist in the cause of the month. Keep to it. Belong to a community. Be a defined personality. Individualism is the bane of the modern Muslim youth. Fight it. You don't know it all; you know very little. Learn. Subject the ego into a teacher's hand. Ego is the enemy. Tame it.

•Your supplications were more for others than yourself. Don’t stop. Pray for your kinsmen. The Ummah needs that.

•For most of us, fasting during the month wasn't easy. We did that cheerfully amidst the chaos our ambience came with. If anything, that's the best sign of "with hardship comes ease." Keep hope alive. These struggles—whatever they may be—aren't eternal. They are rather integral to your growth. You shall overcome.

•Life is fleeting. You thought Ramadan would never come, but it did and is no longer around. That's definitive of what you are. Human. One day you're here, the next day you're not. Make the best of your stay here. Touch lives like Ramadan has. Be the Ramadan you and many others need.

•Take good care of yourself. You're not all you have, but take the utmost interest in your spiritual, physical and mental growth. You need you to survive this journey —a healthy you.

•Eid Mubarak!