A Journey of Dreams

A Prayer

ajourneyofdreams — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 04:47:40 +0000

“O God, I can no longer fight my battles alone. I need Your help, Your love. Forgive me for all my mistakes. Cleanse my heart of all evil. Show me the way to peace and quiet and health, and fill me with love even for my enemies.”

Ameen.

Be silly. Be kind. Be weird.

ajourneyofdreams — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 16:55:56 +0000

None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine. Jump in the ocean. Say the truth that you’re carrying in your heart like hidden treasure. Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.

GoodBye Note to BroadPeak

ajourneyofdreams — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 18:15:15 +0000

Someone once said: “How lucky I am to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye to.” I am taking a step forward to better opportunity in my career but the time I am leaving behind is what I am never going to forget. It was not the company, not the work but the people I used to sit with and used to spent my time with, are the best kind of people. BroadPeak Technologies was my second company and I spent 1.4 years there. In that time period, I found many opportunities to groom, started my Masters and learned desktop development. They trusted me and appreciated me a lot and involved me in big projects. Apart from work, I found good friends there, who saw good in me and guided me not only in work but in life too. They taught me how to work under pressure, how to laughed no matter what’s going on in life, how to live a moment, how to judge, how to tease, how to make someone smile, how to fight for common goal and how to share happiness and sadness. You might be thinking that it is too much to learn in such a short time or may be I am exaggerating but NO, this is the truth.

Here, I am sharing my goodbye note to BroadPeak (I wrote on company’s portal):

“As many of you probably know, today is my last day at BroadPeak technologies. Before I leave, I wanted to bid goodbye to all of you and let you know that I have enjoyed working for this company and I appreciate having had this wonderful opportunity to work with you all.

As I am writing this note, I am overwhelmed with emotions. I am feeling sad that I will be leaving friends that have taught me lessons, laughed with me, and above all else, was the best team I have ever worked with. SMS! you guys are amazing. I will miss our little celebrations for every happy moment we shared (friday’s mithai scenes, birthday celebrations, standup’s shugal, trip to mushkpuri, team lunches, and teasing me almost about everything :P). Thank you all for your valuable friendship and cooperation that helped me to work together.

I will always cherish my time at BroadPeak. I do wish you all and company every success in all its future endeavors.”

I am really lucky to have such amazing people in my life, best teachers, best friends, best supporters. I am going to miss them a lot.

Few glimpses of happy moments

Note to self

ajourneyofdreams — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 05:57:23 +0000

Tour De Hunza

ajourneyofdreams — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 16:38:46 +0000

It’s been so late now to share about the most marvelous trip of my life so far. It was June of 2017, Me, my brother, my sister and our two friends decided to explore beauty of Hunza valley. We booked Hiace van, packed gas cylinder, oil, sugar, tea, milk, rice, spices, cutlery items, camps and water for this 7 days long adventurous trip.

we left Islamabad at 7 AM. Our first stop was Naran. I have been to Naran in 2016. We camped in Naran. Even in month of June, the water was freezing-cold and nights were bone-chilling.

Camp site at Naran

We left Naran in morning and our next destination was Rakaposhi View point.

Before reaching at Rakaposhi view point, we witnessed many beautiful sceneries of nature. we passed by very peaceful Lulusar lake.

Lulusar Lake

After spending some time and taking lots of pictures at Lulusar Lake, we headed towards Babusar Top.

On my last visit, I made a pledge to myself to reached at top of Babusar top, but I could only accomplished only 70-80 percent.

Then, our next stop was Nanga Parbat view point.

After saving Nanga Parbat from far away into our memories, our next stop was Juglot. Juglot or Jaglot is a town in Gilgit District, Pakistan, and is situated 45 km south east of Gilgit on the Karakoram Highway. It is located at the junction of three mightiest mountain ranges, the Karakorum, Hindukush, and Himalayas. These mountains are masterpieces of Allah’s power and Jaglot was one of the glorious views.

Juglot

The most astonishing part of this road trip was the road – the mighty Karakoram Highway – the 8th wonder of the world. Beautifully constructed road among the tough mountains was source of amazement for us. Hats off to the all labors involved in the construction of Karakoram highway. It is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range.

Karakoram Highway near Khunjerab pass

We reached Rakaposhi view point by afternoon. The view point was picturesque. We spent our evening at one of the restaurant near glacier coming from Rakaposhi.

Glacier coming from Rakaposhi

Rakaposhi is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range in Northern Pakistan. It is situated in the middle of Nagar Valley Nagar District and Danyore and Bagrote valley approximately 100 km (62 mi) north of the capital city Gilgit of the semi autonomous Gilgit-Baltistan region of Northern Pakistan. Rakaposhi means “Snow Covered” in the local language. Rakaposhi is also known as Dumani (“Mother of Mist” or “Mother of Clouds”). It is ranked 27th highest in the world and 12th highest in Pakistan.

Rakaposhi

We ate fries and drank tea on one of the view point’s restaurants. We camped there and cooked matar pulao for dinner.

Our camps at Rakaposhi view point

In the next morning, we drove to Hunza, the main destination of our trip. While entering Hunza, we encounter the traditional edible of Hunza valley named “Chup churu”. It was filled with meat of Markhor (as said by locals) and onions.

Then, we reached Hunza, one of the most beautiful valleys of Pakistan I have ever visited. Here are the few glimpses of the Hunza valley on our tour of the Altit Fort, Baltit Fort and Bazar of Hunza. You would fall in love with the cleanliness, the people and the beauty of this amazing valley. We also tasted the most famous and delicious Walnut cake of Cafe de Hunza. And, don’t forget to taste cherries if you visit Hunza, the best cherries I ate ever.

Our next target was Khunjerab border – The border between Pakistan and China. Khunjerab Pass is a high mountain pass on the northern border of Pakistan with China, at an elevation of 4.733 meters (15,528 feet) above the sea level. The Khunjerab Pass is the highest border-crossing in the world and the highest point on the Karakoram Highway. On our way to highest border in the world, we witnessed the stunning beauty of Attabad Lake. Attabad Lake also known as Gojal lake, is a lake in Gojal Valley, Hunza, Pakistan that was created in January 2010 by a landslide. The lake has since become a tourist attraction itself for its unique blue color and dramatic mountain backdrop. We loved boating in lake. The water was very calm and silent surrounded by astonishing mountains.

On way to Khunjerab pass, we made a stay at small village restaurant in the area of Sost. We had breakfast there and spend time just appreciating the beauty in surrounding.

We were excited about seeing chineses at khunjerab pass, but we were surprised to see that there is no chinese at the border, only three Pakistani soliders were standing there. Later on, we came to know that the entrance of chinese’s area is on the other side of the mountain. It was snowing, the some group of young boys were dancing on Indian movie songs in front of border gate. We took lot of picture there. Khunjerab pass has the world’s highest ATM of National Bank of Pakistan. We also met the ‘yakk’ there. Yakk is the name of animal used for trade in ancient times by chinese. Now it’s becoming extinct.

Along the way, we kept finding the Piala Lake. Piala Lake is situated on the way to Lulusar from Naran. The name comes from its round shape. We also stopped at Batakundi. It’s water was bone-chilling.

After spending our last day at Hunza, we started our journey back to home. We stopped at Gilgit and spend a night at house of a friend of my Uncle. After breakfast, we traveled towards Islamabad.

This trip was the most dreamy trip of my life. The things that took my breath away was the beauty of Hunza valley and the Karakoram Highway. No doubt, Pakistan is a very beautiful country. The landscape of Pakistan is really diverse. There are many beautiful landscapes in Pakistan which are mesmerizing and hypnotizing. May Allah keep my beloved country safe. Ameen

Al-Wahhab

ajourneyofdreams — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 18:33:59 +0000

And when you wake up
in the middle of the night
feeling all alone with your thoughts,
fall straight into sujood
for Allah arouse you
out of your sleep,
so you could be with Him,
in His companionship.
Perhaps you would notice
that you do not need anyone else
except Al-Wahhab,
The Give of All.

-copied

My Pledge to Love Myself

ajourneyofdreams — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 18:29:13 +0000

I PLEDGE:

To Forgive myself for the mistakes I made.
To love my body just the way it is.
To treat my body as my temple and nourish it with good thoughts, healthy food and exercise.
To continue to challenge myself.
To accept that I am not perfect.
To know that I worthy of love.
To never talk down to myself and to always show my body respect in my actions and choice.
To carry myself with pride at all times.
To honor my dreams.
To honor my friendships.
To never let my doubts and fear hold me back from doing something I want to do.
To take a risk everyday.
To be thankful for my life.
To give back to others.
To pamper myself.
To not worry too much what others think of me.
To always be true to myself and my beliefs.
To be understanding, compassionate, patient and kind to myself.
To not compare myself to others.
To let go of my past.
To have fun.
To be my biggest fan and my ultimate cheerleader.
To not focus on the things I cannot do, but the things I can.
To believe in myself.

You’ve got to love yourself

ajourneyofdreams — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 10:47:59 +0000

And kid, you’ve got to love yourself. You’ve got wake up at four in the morning, brew black coffee, and stare at the birds drowning in the darkness of the dawn. You’ve got to sit next to the man at the train station who’s reading your favorite book and start a conversation. You’ve got to come home after a bad day and burn your skin from a shower. Then you’ve got to wash all your sheets until they smell of lemon detergent you bought for four dollars at the local grocery store. You’ve got to stop taking everything so goddam personally. You are not the moon kissing the black sky. You’ve got to compliment someones crooked brows at an art fair and tell them that their eyes remind you of green swimming pools in mid July. You’ve got to stop letting yourself get upset about things that won’t matter in two years. Sleep in on Saturday mornings and wake yourself up early on Sunday. You’ve got to stop worrying about what you’re going to tell her when she finds out. You’ve got to stop over thinking why he stopped caring about you over six months ago. You’ve got to stop asking everyone for their opinions. Fuck it. Love yourself, kiddo. You’ve got to love yourself.
— Unknown

New Year Resolutions (2018)

ajourneyofdreams — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 18:16:24 +0000

Drink more water
Read more books
Do workout regularly
More forgiveness and more forgetfulness
More love
Watch more seasons
Become more social
Improve technical skills
Saving for Umrah
Be more happy and wild
Be more mindful in daily tasks
Start taking medicine properly
Be more productive
Pray more
Positive vibes only
Try something new (Yoga, DIY projects, baking, meditation or dance)

Good Bye 2017

ajourneyofdreams — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 17:10:41 +0000

Here comes the last day of 2017. In the start of every new year, I see people in different meme, requesting new year to be nice to them. I think it’s not the year but you who have to be nice to yourself. I haven’t set my new year resolution yet but the things I started in this year, I have plan to continue doing them. Let’s see, how my 2017 went.

2017 started with the 3-days adventurous trip to Shogran and Siri Paye in January. I hadn’t see live snow falling till that day and I witnessed it. I still remember, how existed I was about snow falling and my parents kept calling me again and again just to ask me was I satisfied enough with my wish being fulfilled. I was shouting with excitement on phone call and kept saying yes yes it’s happening for real.

The second best thing happened to me in this year was Tour De Hunza (Trip to Hunza and Khunjerab Pass). I haven’t written about my that trip but it is in queue. Camping, View of Rakaposhi peak, Visit to Hunza City, Hunza’s famous Walnut cake, Visit to Pak-china boarder, watching Hunza from Eagles Nest Peak, travelling over kharakoram highway- the 8th wonder of the world, Visiting Passu and Gilgit, and the breathtaking sceneries on the way to Khunjerab Pass is beyond words. I will definitely write about the most thrilling trip of my life.

In start of 2017, I started reading ‘Tafseer of Holy Quran’ but unfortunately I left that practice and hardly completed 3 paras. I am promising myself to start it again in upcoming year and will try to complete it in 2018 InshaAllah.

In this leaving year, I switched my company and I think it was a good decision. It helped me to progress both monetarily and technically, and Alhumdulilah I am very happy with my job. Looking forward to more challenges, and more and more learning.

And yes, my sister got married in this year. The wedding went well Alhumdulilah and we really enjoyed dancing, teasing her, shopping, running to parlour and all the preparations from months to that big day. I wish her very happy and blessed life ahead. I miss her a lot.

This year fulfilled my another wish of pursuing higher education. I got admission in MS(CS) and Alhumdulilah, first semester is about to complete. I also completed my goodreads challenge of “Reading 10 books in 2017”.

So, 2017 was overall a very good and interesting year of my life. I have learned a lot about beauty of Pakistan, people, relationship, friendship, books, time management, balance between work, studies and life and much more in this year. I will be better next year. I will be better in dealing with liars, fake people, flirts and mean people. I will be better in managing my work life and studies and giving time to family and to myself. Hoping to be a better version of myself next year.

I wish you all a happy new year with new dreams, new hopes, new perspectives, new goals and new aspirations. Thanks to everyone who made me smile this year.

keep smiling, loving and reading.