Resilience is Contagious

"Resilience is contagious." –Amy Estrada. Sure, life comes along now
and thenand blows you off your feet. That's alright. What matters is
that you get back up.
You don't have to have theanswers. You don't have tobe superman or
superwoman. When the thundercloud opens up, who among us can stop the
rain? When the hurricane blows, who can stay on his feet? No one.
When the storm passes, stand up. Dust yourself off, take stock, and
move forward in the name of Allah. If the storm has disoriented you
and you don't see the way forward, look to the Quran. "And if there
should come to youguidance from Me – then whoever follows My guidance
will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter]."
(Quran, Surat TaHa, 20:123). The Quran is a mighty book. Never
underestimate it. If you cannot speak Arabic and find the English
translations unwieldy, get one of the modern translations that are
easier to read, like those by Umm Muhammad, or Thomas Cleary.
When you get knocked down and then stand up tall, with strength,
others see it, and it rallies them. Your spouse sees it, your children
see it, your friends see it, and of course Allah sees it. Don't think
of it as showing off. Not at all. Think of it as brotherhood and
sisterhood, all of us helping each other, giving each other strength,
being good shepherds to our flocks.
Superman is no hero, he's impervious to bullets! Real heroes get hurt,
they get down on themselves sometimes, they're imperfect, they
struggle to pay the bills and raise theirchildren, they struggle to be
become stronger in their faith, but they struggle! They don't give up.
That's inspiring, and it's contagious, and maybe sometimes it will be
someone else inspiring you, and maybe sometimesit will be you, getting
up after the hurricane, showing us all how it's done.

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Hadees

The Mother of the Believers, Juwairiyah bint Al-Harith reported that
the Prophet (sallAllahu 'alyhi wasallam) came out from my apartment in
the morning as I was busy in performing Dhikr after Fajr (the dawn
prayer). He cameback in the forenoon and found me sitting there.
TheProphet (sallAllahu 'alyhi wasallam) said," Are you still in the
same position asI left you?" I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon
the Prophet (sallAllahu 'alyhi wasallam) said,
•►"I recited four phrases three times after I had left you. If these
are to be weighed against all you have recited since morning,these
will be heavier. Theseare:
Subhan-Allah Wa bihamdihi, 'adada khalqihi, wa rida-a nafsihi, wa
zinatah 'arshihi, wa midadakalimatihi
(Allah is free from imperfection and I begin with His praise, as many
times as the number of His creatures, in accordance with His Good
Pleasure, equal to the ink that may be used in recording the words
(for His Praise)."
(Muslim 4/2090) —

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Waste land or 'brownfield' sites are vital for wildlife

Wasteland or"brownfield" areas are vital but overlooked habitats for
UK wildlife, according to the charity Butterfly Conservation.
These sites are home to unusual, hardy plants and their patches of
bare ground become warm"microclimates".
Experts say these features allow many rare insects to thrive.
One moth, the small ranunculus, which disappeared from the UK before
World War II, has now recolonised brownfield habitats throughout
England and Wales.
Winged wasteland residents
While most moths fly during the night, there are about 500 species of
day-flying moths in the UK. Early summer is the best time to spot them
Butterflies are actually a type of moth. The insects both belong to
the Lepidoptera family
Many moths thrive on brownfield sites, including the rare small
ranunculus (pictured) and more common, (and colourfully named) bright
wave, chalk carpet, wormwood and six-belted clearwing, which looks
like a wasp
In pictures: Day-flying moths
Springwatch: see how anoil refinery became a wildlife haven
BBC Nature's wildlife-finding field trip to the Chernobyl exclusion zone
The conservation group and and the wildlife magazine the insect
journal Atropos are encouraging people, wheresafe and legal access is
possible, to explore their local quarries, disused railway lines,
gravel pits and spoil tips in search of unusual moths this weekend.
This call for public participation is part of the charity's annual "moth night".
Richard Fox from Butterfly Conservation said that many of the sites
were under threat from by redevelopment and "bland landscaping
schemes".
He explained to BBC Naturewhy these areas - of disturbed or even
contaminated land - were such unique habitats.
"An old spoil tip [for example] would be terribleif you wanted to
create a garden, but it's great for wildlife, because the poor soil
leads to slow development of diverse plants."
The diversity arises because only hardy plants can grow in such poor
soil. These "tough" wild flowers- such as rosebay willowherb, prickly
lettuce and dandelions - thrive precisely because they are not pushed
out by swathesof more common weeds that need a more nutrient-rich
landscape.
The variety of wild flowers provides some favoured food for the
caterpillars of unusual moth species, suchas the small ranunculus.
This species disappeared from Britain completely in the mid-20th
Century, but has now recolonised large areas of south-east England,
become established in south Wales and been sighted as far north as
Lancashire.
Wild cities
Patches of bare ground that heat up in the sun alsoproduce "little
microclimates" on brownfield sites.
Mr Fox explained: "These are great for insects, especially in a cool,
damp place like Britain."
Elephant hawkmoths are commonly found on brownfield sites
He added that he hoped"moth night" would encourage formal wildlife
surveys of brownfield areas, so that their true environmental value
could be calculated and taken into consideration in any decision about
whether and how to develop them.
Philip James, professor of ecology at the University ofSalford, agreed
that such sites could be ecologically important, telling BBC Nature
that they often became home to rare species "normally associated with
other habitats that are regularly disturbed, such as river banks,
sandy heaths or chalk grassland".
But rather than avoid developing brownfield sites all together, he
pointed out that it was important to understand their changing nature,
and perhaps to leave areas derelict when they harboured "the greatest
species richness".
"Over a few years," Prof James explained, "soil begins to build up and
the vegetation changes.
"Before the soil builds up and burrowing animals come in is when there
are opportunistic plants and the insects that feed on them.
"That is the time when... one might find nationally rare species."
Prof James suggests that these "transient" habitats could become part
of planning an ever-changing,rich urban landscape.
Disused quarries can be home to many wildflower species

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HEALTH

Daily in the morning, on anempty stomach, drink honey and cinnamon
powder boiled in one cup of water,and then do not eat breakfast till
90 minutes.
Repeat the same cup of this drink at night before sleeping.
If taken regularly, this magical prasad will reduce the weight of even
the most obese person, and will not allow the fat to accumulate in the
body even if the person is on a high calorie diet :)

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