In the past month or so I have been traveling a lot. I was in Michigan for a few weeks here and there for family events, currently I am in South Carolina, and then later this month I will be in California for about a week (a shout out to all of my Michigan, S.Carolina and California readers, jazakallah khair for the support!). I love traveling and seeing new places and new things, but with traveling comes a lot of adjusting. One must adapt to new places quickly when always on the go.
As I got a moment to sit down and relax (while Isra was sleeping of course!) I began to think, as much as I love traveling there is no place like home. After a few weeks anywhere I start to miss my daily routine. I feel like when I am at home I am a lot more disciplined with myself when it comes to doing extra good deeds or eating healthy and exercising. The things I do at home such as read Quran before I go to bed, exercise, and eat healthy are things I want to be a part of me…a habit. While traveling I realized that these things I do at home are not true habits because it seems when I leave my “bubble” in Wheaton, Illinois I leave these so called habits behind as well.
It is important for a person to make the good things they do into a habit, something that a person does automatically without giving much thought. Of course if you travel a lot it may not be possible to have the exact same daily routine you have at home, this is normal. But I believe you can selectively pick and choose the good things you do on a daily basis and apply to your day even when you are on the go. This will make you feel good both physically, spiritually and will keep the homesick feeling at bay.
One problem many people have is a take it or leave it attitude. If a person cannot have their complete routine they will leave it totally. To get past this we need to realize that when traveling or visiting family the truth is we most likely will not be able to have our typical daily routine, but to do a few things that are easy to do is better than nothing.
This not only applies to adults but children as well. I know for those who are mothers (myself included) may get frustrated at times when our children’s routine goes haywire. Their sleeping, eating, playing, you name it gets all jumbled around when you’re on the road. This is just a fact of life. But we can still do things such as bath before bedtime, and reading a book before bedtime, and going for daily walks to make things feel a little more like home.
So all in all one thing I learned from my reflections on traveling so much is that a habit is not a true habit unless you do those things where ever you are in any circumstance. Since I will be traveling quite a bit this month my goal is to pick 4 good things I do daily at home and apply it and make it into a REAL, TRUE habit!
Are you a traveler? Read the following quick tips, called Triple P, to keep your Mind, Body, and Soul nourished!
1. Pick 4- good things you do when you are at home and make them into REAL habits. Make sure you try to pick one for each mind, body, and soul! (i.e. Mind=Reading a good book, Body=Exercising/Eating healthy, Soul=Reading and reflecting upon the Qura)
2. Pay a visit- to the local Masjid. When you settle in at your hotel make sure you look up the closest masjid, its always nice to find a Muslim Community!
3. Purge the urge- to always eat out, try to stay in a hotel that has a basic kitchen. Go to the local market and buy fruits, veggies, eggs, bread. etc. and make your own quick meals. A lot better for your heart and pocket!
July 2nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I like that last P– purge the urge. Saqib and I tried to find a hotel in Tennessee that has a small kitchen so that we could eat in breakfast, lunch or dinner a few days on our Honeymoon. Eating out takes a toll on your body and your wallet!
I hope you enjoyed all the “family events” in Michigan recently
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Alhumdulilah I had a wonderful time at the family events, its always nice to see everyone.
I hope you and Saqib have a wonderful honeymoon inshallah! We are heading to the Smokies this weekend inshallah, very excited
July 4th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Assalamualaikum Farah, I have been reading your website and I really enjoy it, because of the benefit I am getting from it. But I had a question to ask you, is there any way I can ask privately?