Sakinah Abdul Aziz

Today, my father reminded us all on what Eid truly means. Eid is an Arabic word which means festival but it is also derived from its root words carrying meanings of "to return". We were reminded to always bring ourselves back to our Creator and to always put Him in the center. " Here I am at Thy service, O Lord, here I am ".

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." - Kahlil Gibran And when you truly give, you put your whole heart in it. It is not gifts of compassion, or love, or joy, or gratitude if you do not open up your well-hidden hearts into it. It is not meaningful work but pure labour if you do not put your hearts in it. And when you truly understand the centrality of your heart, you would do anything to nurture it. To nurture is to also liberate it, free it. It is not to bubble-wrap it and keep it safely hidden and locked up in your selfishness. To give freely is not to expect or concern yourself with how much you receive in return. The moment you free your heart, that's when you truly, fully, unconditionally give.