What are you most grateful for?

There are just a few days left in 2021 and we take this time of year to wind down and reflect on the best of events this year.

Why not take a few moments and reflect on your own personal ‘best of life events’ in 2021? 

Capture them in a personal journal or document by writing down what you learned during these difficult times and years as the pandemic continues to disrupt our lives and ability to meet our friends and family in so many parts of the world for another year.   

Somehow you managed to get through this year no matter what challenges were presented and we encourage you to take some time to give yourself some self-recognition and gratitude!

Identifying a few of the best moments and memories could certainly help to make the transition into 2022 just a little bit calmer. We’ve all experienced a lot of stress as global humanity and a calendar year-end certainly is one of those times as we all plan for a better tomorrow.

Gratitude was a theme and subject that we mentioned throughout several of our blog posts in 2021 and we are sure we’ll continue to be reflecting on why it’s a great practice to be grateful in years to come.

We caught up with Beyond Badr creator Kelvin Ali to ask about what he thinks about at the end of the year and what he is grateful for.

“Year-end is always a time of peace and reflection for me personally. Because I do not celebrate Christmas anymore as I did prior to becoming Muslim, I spend my days adding something explicitly Islamic to my agenda.

I usually read, listen to lectures, or educate myself about various Prophets of Allah (swt). I like to study about Isa ‘Jesus’ (as) from Islamic hadith and also other Prophets lives as many Islamic scholars speak to Muslims about this time of year and the season.

From a cultural perspective, being Canadian, it’s a wonderful time of year.

Hockey, Football, Basketball, the decorations of the cities and towns, and the general feeling of goodness in the world always bring a smile to my heart. I try not to engage in old practices as my historical and theological knowledge about this time of year brings to me a feeling of awareness.

Being aware is critical for a Muslim to set personal boundaries which will account for good deeds. You can have good or bad manners any time of year, just like a good or bad day, but for me, it’s about trying to have the best of manners with people.

That is very difficult when people are in a rush, trying to hoard hard-to-find items, and literally spending frantically at this time of year to get gifts for friends and loved ones. ‘Secret Santa’ or the act of giving an anonymous gift to a colleague is done in so many workplaces that it’s hard to not become caught up in the season in one way or another.

I take this time to reflect and I am always grateful for my team. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful to Allah (swt) for granting me the knowledge and for being able to work to create good-intentioned products and experiences for our community.

I am grateful to every single one of the people who engaged, commented, and shared our content. I am especially grateful to anyone who has supported us and for those who joined our ‘Beyond Badr Clan’, we are creating many great things to support our community and scale our products, so it’s exciting to see engagement.

It means a lot to be able to wake up, get to work, support our team, and help them grow and develop in all areas of life. Without support, dreams will die quickly and when dreams die, you lose hope. You can spiral downward and become bitter as you age if you do not have awareness and gratitude. Failing is difficult but never trying something you have a passion or aspiration to do will lead to days of regret as you approach your end days. I think having an awareness of this is what makes me grateful when each year-end approaches.

We are diligent and consistent in our efforts and when you do even small things each day, after 365 days of reflection, you can amaze yourself at what you can achieve. Gratitude coupled with loving what you do and constantly working to become better will probably lead you to success, so my advice is, be grateful often, when you are having a really bad day, reflect on what was good or can still be good before you go to bed.

The world, people everywhere are stressed out, tired, exhausted, so many have had to change careers and paths they were once upon including us, so I get the mental strain and frustration. I understand the anger and pain, which is why we need gratitude as part of our own coping methods for whatever we are struggling with.

Allah (swt) will send people to help you at times, to support you and not ridicule you or your dreams, there will also be people who will try to distract you from that as well so you need to be aware.

For many years since my mom passed away in 2012 and my father in 2016 so every year-end, I take a moment to reflect on the wisdom my parents tried to leave me with and what I have done to build upon their good intentions for me. This helps me to be grateful even when I think of my own personal ‘greatest loss’. When your mom passes away, it will take many years to heal so be grateful for the time you have to spend with your parents if they are still alive. Ask them good questions and maybe even take a recording or write down their responses about their challenges in life. That will always make you feel grateful when you reflect upon the struggles of your parents or grandparents.

So, that has been my mental routine for many years now at year-end. Awareness of the great things that did happen and gratitude for the guidance and wisdom gained from and with those who support you. 

Think about and tell the people in your world that you appreciate them. This can certainly be done any time of year and it should be, so end your year in a good place no matter your struggles, there is always someone who could use a good thought or a kind word or gesture. If this is the one time of year you usually feel that vibe, then take the good emotions with you into 2022!

I wish all of the fans and supporters peace, love, and if no one said it to you in 2021, I am grateful for you just visiting us. Thank you sincerely.”

What are you most grateful for most at this time of year?

Was there something special, a time, a moment, or an event when you felt totally grateful? Capture your thoughts and if you have something wonderful to share, we’d love to hear about it, so why not join the Clan today?

Please visit us at beyondbadr.com/clan to subscribe to our monthly newsletter and to also receive some Amazing digital gifts just for joining us along the way! We appreciate you and we are grateful you joined us today!

Wishing you a wonderful New Year filled with joy and prosperity,

The Beyond Badr Dev Team!