So, here we are one week into the new year… I hope everyone’s 2012 is going swimmingly!

Just like what I did last year, I’ve decided to carry forward my unfulfilled 2010 resolutions. Needless to say they’re long overdue, yet there’s been some good progress down the list, I think. Also, while I didn’t blog every week last year, the number of new posts I had in 2011 according to WordPress is 78, so presumably that’s not too shabby.

That said, there’s one specific improvement I’d like to make in 2012. I remember reading this column (shared on Facebook) and feeling slapped in the face.

Before I genuinely began to cultivate and nurture my relationship with God, I regarded the five daily prayers that Islam enjoins on believers as laborious. It seemed impractical to expect that I would be able to stop what I was doing during my busy work schedule to take time out and pray.

Hm. Sounds a lot like me alright. I’m guilty of missing so many (particularly, but not limited to) early-morning prayers because I refused to get my lazy ass out of bed. Yes, that happened even when I lived in the tropics, where the prayer times (which depend on the movement of the sun) stay virtually constant throughout the year.

While I stumbled upon the column a couple of months ago, it wasn’t until recently that I realised the truth in this paragraph:

Looking back, I see how wrong I was about the impracticality of Islamic prayers, which are succinct and straightforward notwithstanding their resonance. When I moved from trying to fit prayers into my life to fitting my life around my prayer schedule, I instantly removed a great deal of clutter from my daily routine. Since regular prayer promotes emotional consistency and tranquillity, I began to eliminate excess negativity and cut down on unnecessary chitchat, helping me be more focused, productive and patient.

Perhaps to my own surprise, I find the early-morning prayers useful and actually like them. They provide some kind of order in my life. They help my mind get ready for work/school or whatever else I plan to do during the day. The quietness of the morning also lends a calming effect and is almost therapeutic.

It’s probably not a brilliant idea to set new goals when you have quite a few old ones that are still not accomplished, so I’m not gonna be ambitious here. I’m not promising myself or anyone that I won’t miss any morning prayers in 2012, but let’s just say that I’m making a conscious effort not to.

May we discover what really matters to us in 2012, no matter how seemingly small they are.