Assalamualaikum wbt and peace be upon you,
Actually I'm super bored right now. Watching a rerun of Criminal Minds. My neighbour and his family have left for the UK this evening. My mom went to their farewell lunch. We kids were invited but since lil sister's friends, Syamira and Maisarah were hanging out at our home today, we decided not to go. Not many people went coz today is Saturday and a long holiday due to Maulidur Rasul and Thaipusam later. So most people are outstation except us coz my dad is not around.
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So, because I'm super bored, I'd like to continue with my list of Simple Living. It's up to you whether you wanna read it or not.
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1. Use earthenware pots and jars coz my mom says it eliminates heavy metals which are actually free radicals, from our diet. And it's cheap too. Mom use traditional Malay earthenware jars to keep our drinking water cool and earthenware pots which can be bought from Indian shops. And the food will taste nicer too, and my mom will switch off the fire before the food is cooked, coz the pot will retain the heat and it will continue cooking the food even when there's no fire. So you save on cooking gas and cooking time.(Isn't this a very long and detailed explanation?pheww).
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2. Eat simple so you'll have only simple illness. If your diet is complex, then you'll end up having complex illnesses like cancer and whatnot. Who said this? Our beloved Prophet Muhammad saw of course. Prophet Muhammad saw even taught us to eat like what a pauper in your area eat (meaning don't eat like a king, coz then you'll have various complex illnesses). And to eat local produce,to eat fresh food, and not to mix up certain food when you eat. I'm not so sure about the combination, but it's something like, you shouldn't eat fish with milk, this with that, etc. Maybe you can look up books on this coz there's a lot of books on this topic out there.
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3. We don't have a medicine cabinet. Maybe you're wondering, what has this got to do with simple living. Well, we lead a simple life that we don't even have a single pill at home. We only have a bottle of gamat (sea cucumber) oil. That's all. Maybe you don't have it in the west but you can research its properties. It heals cuts, itchiness, tooth ache etc. And if we have other illnesses, we'll simply take honey, apple cider vinegar, dates vinegar, pomegranates, black seeds, garlic and stuff like that to cure our illnesses. Basically, we follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. You can read books like "the Prophetic Medicine" etc to find out.
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4. Mom controls our house water level from the main pipe near the water meter. That way, you can reduce water wastage in your home.
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5. Mom reduces the amount of stuff in the kitchen so that there's less things to wash everyday. I know coz I help her everyday. You know how we need to wipe and wash our kitchen everyday. I think it's the only place that needs constant wiping and whatnot.
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6. We look for entertainment at home, not in the shopping complexes etc. My mom says, once you step out of the house, your money will start flying out of your wallet. So, if we want to eat something nice, we'll cook it ourselves at home. If we want to watch a movie which is just out, my dad will buy a dvd from a local shop, if we want to watch a classic movie (coz I'm a big fan of Audrey Hepburn. Guess you all know this already), dad will rent it . We do go out sometimes, but not always coz Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said, "The bazaar (or market place, shopping complexes, or places where people do transactions) is a battle field of the Satans where they put up their flags. So do not be the first to enter it, nor the last to leave it."
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7. Do not go shopping after the sun has set. This is a Malay belief that if you spend your money after sunset, you'll give your fortune away. Even if you owe someone money, do not repay him in the evening. In short, no monetary transaction in the evening. Maybe you think it's ridiculous, but I personally do not prefer to go shopping in the evening. Maybe it'll stress you out after you realize that you wallet is getting thinner, and then you'll end up having difficulty in sleeping. Maybe you'll overspend if you go in the evening coz you can't think as clear as in the morning. Maybe you'll become forgetful and lose you money, misplace you wallet etc. Maybe the stuff you bought look nice in the evening because of the lights, but when you look at it again in the morning under the natural light, it looked horrible, etc. I don't know the reason behind this, but I do think it's good to shop when your mind is clear and your mental state is sound.
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8. Gosh, it's so hard to get to number 10. What else emmmm!!ok, only buy clothes that don't have to be dry cleaned. It's such a hassle and a waste of your money don't you think. And to think that they use chemical to wash you clothes, yucks! and it's not always clean too. Like, my dad has to send his winter jackets to the dry cleaners, and my mom would always ask him, "Can i rewash your down using body soap (coz body soap gets rid of stains) on this area?". And my dad would say, "No, never mind" (as usual!), and my mom would become upset, coz she said she'd want my dad to look the best coz it shows that she has been taking good care of him. My mom is always afraid if my dad looks shabby or unkempt, coz she said it means that she's a sloppy wife etc. Whatever!!!!!My dad, on the other hand, couldn't care less.
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9. DIY. yes, DO IT YOURSELF! Whatever projects that you want to undertake, do it yourself. If you don't have the expertise, hire someone who does, but you can be his helper. So you'll save on paying an extra hand and you can learn something from him too. My dad always does this.
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10. Save your weekly or monthly allowance. I save on my allowance everyday by taking food and drink from home. All of us take a litre of water to school everyday. But I've asked my mom whether I can bring 2 litres of water and she said yes. I feel more fresh and I can do my maths much more better when I drink more water. But my mom says 2 litres is the max. We also bring food from home. My mom would cook the night before and prepare our lunch boxes, so that it's ready in the morning. My dad also brings his lunch box sometimes. If mom doesn't prepare our lunch boxes, she'll make sure we take at least a packet consisting of 3 dates to school.
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11. Fast. My dad fasts every Monday and Thursday. We haven't started the routine this year. My mom hasn't because she's not quite well and she has to take a drink if she coughs. But basically, fasting saves you money, makes you lean and light and stabilize you emotion (like my dad. You just don't freak out like a person who doesn't fast. You'll just stay calm and cool when something happen).
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Well, I think that's more than enough for tonight.
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Have a happy day!
Peace
Daniel Zaydi
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