Aly Gulamhusein

Tag: Letters' Lounge

  • May 19, 2026: Silence

    Prompt: Write about silence.

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/3gAjKZ1waykU0wHgSvU5v9?si=G4qXhQncQQOvfBB8O6QedA

    The prompt for today, May 19th, 2026, is: write about silence.

    That was a long pause.

    I think silence is difficult for me because I get very uncomfortable with it. I think that I want things to be quiet and calm and peaceful and silent in a restful sort of way, but when things actually become silent, I immediately look for something to do.

    Part of this whole transition into what I’m calling “slow living” — this idea, this notion of developing some kind of slow living methodology, I don’t know what it would be exactly — would probably involve getting comfortable with silence.

    I guess the clearest example for me is that I can’t sleep unless I have a TV show playing in my ear. It’s kind of awkward, honestly. I’ll have my iPad beside me with one earphone in because I can’t wake up Hannah, and there’ll be some movie or TV show I’ve watched a hundred times just playing in the background. I’m not even really paying attention to it, but I can’t fall asleep unless it’s there.

    In fact, when it turns off, I wake up and put it back on. So even in an unconscious state, I seem uncomfortable with silence.

    And I think that’s an issue.

    Trying meditation would probably be interesting. I have tried it before, but I guess that’s the whole point of meditation — practice. You have to keep working at it.

    So I don’t know. I don’t know if this reveals that I’m uncomfortable with myself, or with being alone with my thoughts, or if it’s simply silence itself.

    What is that?

    I’m curious now. I think I’m going to keep pondering this because I genuinely want to understand it better. Is discomfort with silence actually discomfort with myself? Or is it that silence removes the things I normally reflect against? Almost like losing a mirror.

    Huh.

    Interesting.

    Anyway, here comes the ad.

    You can find this prompt and more at  Letters’ Lounge. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic — or any of the others — so please leave a comment with a link to your blog, audio journal, or whatever it may be. You can even just write your response directly in the comments.

    All right, folks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

    This transcript was lightly edited with the help of AI for clarity, grammar, and readability while keeping the original tone and structure intact.

  • May 15, 2026: Rest

    Prompt: Write about rest.

  • April 17, 2026: The Risk

    Prompt: Write about a risk that feels both exciting and uncomfortable.

    Adjusting to my new school has come with some challenges. Namely, I don’t know that I get along with, or like, many of my colleagues. There’s no animosity, but neither is there a connection. The year has been an exceptional one, in that we had a baby, I got wicked sick in the winter, and then I broke a bone in my wrist on my way to work on the Monday after March Break. Pair all of these things together, and the year has been busy.

    Recently, a Position of Responsibility role was posted so I applied for it. The title implies a grander status than the job warrants. I’m still waiting to hear back after the interview. Even my administrators were surprised to see my application come through. Them trying to understand why I applied for the position to satisfy their curiosity become part of the interview itself.

    Is it exciting? Not really. Am I made uncomfortable by it? Not as such. Still, it feels like a small risk in an environment I’m not entirely well seated in. Perhaps some good will come of it and I’ll learn little bit more about myself.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 16, 2026: Letting Go of Outcomes

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that clings to outcomes.

    I often seek approval or reassurance before doing anything. ChatGPT only feeds this compulsion. I even asked it why I do.

    I have this vision of this blog being a place where I just dump my thoughts, work through them, and let them rest. This feels unrealistic because things are no longer allowed to just exist. People are no longer able to discover themselves outwardly because of the persistence of our digital lives. We retreat into ourselves in search of the person we want to show the world and then emerge. Hard launch.

    There’s an underlying fear of something unknown that I can’t shake. I don’t feel prepared enough to take on whatever might come my way.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 15, 2026: The Weight of Should

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that carries the weight of “should.”

    I am having a very difficult time with slowing down and doing less. I’m being forced to slow down because of my broken wrist and am struggling to accept the reality of it. There are always things that I want to do but I’m not unable to do many of them, and I won’t be able to for a while.

    I should slow down. I should be doing less. I should turn my focus to “slow living,” if I can figure out what it means to me. I should get things done. I should figure out what I can do and focus on doing them. I should take advantage of this time.

    Much like my fall, this injury came abruptly and has been incredibly disruptive.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 13, 2026: Wanting Certainty

    Prompt: Write a letter to the part of you that wants guarantees.

    I don’t have time to write a letter to myself. Indeed, I probably shouldn’t be writing with the state my wrist is in. In any case, I would love to get more comfortable with the “unknown.” Rather, I just need to learn how to be patient. Life is notoriously good at upsetting an otherwise rooted guarantee.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 12, 2026: Returning Questions

    Prompt: What questions keep returning to you?

    How can I earn a living outside of teaching?

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 9, 2026: Unmade Decisions

    Prompt: Write about a decision you haven’t made yet.

    I can’t decide if I should take a parental leave, and, if so, when.

    Find daily writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 6, 2026: Small Progress

    Prompt: Write about something small that felt like progress.

    Most recently, I finally created a product listing on my Shopify store and Etsy for an eco-resin pen rest that I’ve been working on for a while now. That journey started at the end of last year and has been making slow progress since.

    The notion of “slow living” has been on my mind for quite a while but I’ve done little to enact it in my life. I don’t know what it means because I haven’t taken the time to create my own definition for it. AI would be a good tool to use to get started, but AI feels like a quick, thereby counterproductive, solution to the problem.

    Find more writing prompts at Letters’ Lounge.

  • April 1, 2026: Making Space

    Prompt: What part of you has been quietly asking for more space?

    Lately, there’s been a ripening desire within me to write more seriously. This blog is part of that larger goal, but I want to have a more focussed and targeted approach to my writing. I want to work on something less ad-hoc, something more seasoned.

    For this, I will need to make the time and find the space.

  • March 2, 2026: Doorways

    Today’s prompt: Describe a doorway that mattered.

    On the day we took possession of our first house, we weren’t the ones to walk in first. Circumstances made is such that Hannah’s mom was the first to arrive, and the one to struggle to open the lock box to get the keys.

    At the time, it felt like a moment lost, a novelty we’d never experience again. Now, it’s just something I remember when prompted. I tend to get sentimental about things.

  • February 11, 2026: A Lost Photograph

    Today’s prompt: Write about a photograph you remember, even if you don’t have it anymore.

    While I was an exchange student in Finland, I took a photography course, figuring it was something I could do to communicate with people without having to speak Finnish, a difficult language to learn, especially when you don’t want to. I bought an SLR and started walking around taking pictures instead of going to class.

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