I just came back from my vacation and I am in good health Alhumdillah.I couldn't get you all a material souvenir but I did attain some knowledge by experience and I will share it with you. Insh'Allah you will benefit from this knowledge.


Patience
In my trip there were several long lines.A short period of time can seem like a long period of time if you are not being productive in that period of time.Therefore a 20 minute line can seem like forever.How can you be patient in a time like this?There are several things you can do ranging from dua to dikr. In this time I found it best to recite Allah's names and praise Allah swt.I use to take this time for granted and found it very hard to be patient in these situations.

In Surah Hud (11:11), Allah (S.W.T.) again promises to reward those who are patient in adversity:

"Not so do those who show patience and constancy, and work righteousness; for them is forgiveness (of sins) and a great reward."

Supporting Source:http://makkah.wordpress.com/2007/12/...ue-to-live-by/

Optimism
In my trip I was reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.It is about a Christian Professor at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and wrote a book about childhood dreams.Among many things he talked about the importance of optimism.

"My personal take on optimism is that as a mental state ,it can enable you to do tangible things to improve your physical state"[183]

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said "Be optimistic and good shall be found".

Creativity
I also learned the importance of creativity on my trip.I was walking along these shops and found an ad saying, "Protect your neck from the sun,wear jewelry."This creative ad stuck in my head and I thought what if we placed more creativity in dawah or calling to Islam.If we could apply various halal creative concepts to dawah would we get more people to convert?These questions won't be answered unless we try different approaches in dawah.

Close Proximity
Lastly I learned about how people show their true character while in close proximity.You may think you know a friend,family member or colleague but unless you have been with them on a journey,have done business with them or saw them under stress you don't know their true character.Keep this in mind for many people can pretend and act a certain way in front of you but when you see their true character you see something completely different.

Supporting Source:http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cf...ub_cat_id=2122


I hope you will benefit from my advice whether you knew it before and it is a reminder or if this is the first time you are exposed to this information.insh'Allah