I think. A lot. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. And that is okay because I just keep on finding better and broader ways to think about stuff as I live, regardless of whether it is mundane or extraordinary.
Then, there is religion. There is Islam. A belief system.
Countless number of things in my environment that have and will continue to shape what I believe in, who I am, what I stand for and what I strive to be, and among them, religion is my foundation, as it should be and as I want it to be.
For all the point of views I have obtained throughout, donning an Islamic lens was my way of integration (we all have our methods, and this is mine).
Background
I wasn’t always perfect. I guess no one ever is or will be, so let me just dismiss that thought. We all have our thoughts on perfection or idealism. Are they far-fetched standards? Dreams? Goals?
I can’t answer in your case, I can only in mine. But what I can help you with is viewing at them through a way, or different ways. Why I say ‘different ways’ is because having so many ways to process a certain thought or idea leads to getting confused on your foundations, in the event that they aren’t grounded. That was my problem. That, is where I wasn’t perfect. This very imperfection or problem of mine led to even worser complications, where I lost my sense of self. But don’t worry, I am better. I got better. And I believe, better.
Anyways, we all see the world differently, in our own unique ways. There are certain parts and ways we align with, and certain ones we don’t. I have a vague idea of how other people view the world. It is unrefined, and for the most part, even largely false (everybody is a factor, including me). But it helps. Because it eventually helped me see the world better, and evaluate my own thought process and life even more better.
I lay below certain thoughts I came across, and how I refined them to benefit myself, through Deen. It may be ugly, it may be pretty, and I hardly care. I value them regardless, because they help me live.
Read and ponder wisely.
1. People who want to reach Heaven, are afraid to die to even reach there. Abandonment of their worldly desires? Or a question of their worth?
Look, I don’t know about you but this is true. It actually is, in this present age and time.
Being afraid of death is good, questioning your worth is all good. For we will never know whether we are worthy of reaching the Heavens up above.
But being a Muslim, we are taught something else…
Heaven is the real goal, your life in this Dunya is only temporary.
Paraphrased, not original words. But this is the essence. I leave it to you to ponder upon it.
2. You are the sole factor in determining your outcome. Its always you. Its always the amount of work you put in and the amount of belief you have in yourself. Nothing else matters. Keep on working.
I’m pretty sure this has become way too common of a self-thought or a set of lines people pass around to motivate others.
It is wrong, but not totally. It is partly right.
Belief is the root factor that determines your future outcomes. For us, it relates to Belief in Allah and then in one’s abilities.
Do what you can to achieve. Put in your all. You do play a role in determining the outcome. Play your part as much as you can and however you can. But along with it, allow Allah to favor the outcome. Because let’s be honest, we don’t know what is best for us, we never have. Only Allah does.
Commit, Perform, and leave the rest to Allah. You will win.
3. Distraction is the ultimate go-to painkiller for any kind of pain, to the point we have become addicts.
This could be a doozie for some of you, but I don’t know, I just had to. Most, if not all of us, are victims to this. It just cannot be denied. Coming out of this rut was hard, but much needed.
We all have had our struggles. Each struggle is unique, in the sense, it has a unique way of being solved, not in the nature of you yourself being the only victim in this world of that specific struggle (relax, there always is somebody else who might be in a similar situation, always). Most people say “Well, why should I care about that if it doesn’t help me alleviate the problem or struggle or at least how it makes me feel?” I can’t enforce you to be humble about the fact that your struggles are not uncommon, that is up to you to decide (harsh?). But I feel you, I really do. And I also know how easy it is to immerse yourself in not wanting to think about it and wish it could magically disappear.
I have a huge sweet-tooth. Wanting a land or planet for myself filled with candy and chocolate both kept me up at night and helped me lucid dream of swimming in a pool of chocolate. Was 6 then, 21 now. Same dream but only tasteful. What was once Hershey’s turned to a pool of some good quality 70% dark chocolate (I know its not that sweet but still irresistible). It doesn’t help at all fantasizing about your natatorium of chocolate in your early 20’s but it sure feels good thinking about it. Imagine velvety silk chocolate all around you, your body submerged and bathing in all the velvet decadence, claiming you with every stroke you make. You sink in deeper and deeper, and you just can’t help it. Senses numb, body numb, all you feel is chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
Now I have no idea how that made you feel, but I know for sure it felt good just thinking about it. The more saucier or raunchier thoughts aside, it made you forget about your worries and focus on the good, for once. If that didn’t help, I am not sure what will, but then again I am sure you will stumble your way on to something or may have already. For most of my brothers out there, sugar and chocolate are probably the greater working alternatives for somebody like me who chose not to indulge in smoking or drinking no matter what. Anyways, desperately hoping it has or did heal more than harm (pretty sure you get what I mean) if it helped subside your pain for a while, I am sure it was worth the time you spent on it. Right? Or no? I mean, all you did was distract yourself from feeling what your mind and heart should be feeling.
Alright that was harsh, let me be more sensitive and clearer. Movies, series, dramas, anime, music, games, etc. The world’s large, the distractions offered even larger in number. There are worthwhile ones, ones that motivate you to do good, and those that harm you. There exists duality in all things. But when it comes to content consumed, in the early years you would either want to consume that which helped you understand what you were feeling or at least relate to it, or shift your mind to think and feel opposite of how you actually feel. I relate to not understanding what and how you were feeling all the while and the difficulty of understanding and going more deeper into whatever was within you, your thought process, your mindset, your altering moods and character. But the above mediums only help you reinforce the negativities within in some or other ways; one where the content consumed is good but the reception and output is not given a spotlight, or where you consume negativity and push out even more negativity.
I get it, you don’t see a means to why it should or would be different, and what I say may be subjective (there’s a lot to consider) but painkillers are solely taken to “kill” pain. Pain can never be killed. Negativity can’t be taken away from this world. It has existed for a long time now and will always exist. Why struggle to kill the pain temporarily when you can shift towards feeling and acknowledging it… or maybe even making peace? That is the only way forward. Trust me.
“Verily, with hardship comes ease.”
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear.”
“So remember Me; I will remember you.”
“Why is this important?”
There is no good coming off of distracting yourself from your worries/struggles. It is good to not think about it or feel it but ignoring its existence altogether will only make way for it to announce its existence in even more worse ways. Find and rationalize why it exists, what purpose (if any) does it serve, how can it be removed and what am I to gain from its removal. Understand these aspects and more on your way, and see that you have started to move from where you sat all this while. And after that? Simple. Leave it to Your Lord. He will provide. He will fix. His mercy always comes. There is always a reason as to why everything happens in life, either a lesson or a test. He determines it all and asks us to have faith in Him. Well, how else would you know the intensity or the strength of your faith in Your Lord?
Fix your Salah, read and understand the Quran, and accumulate good deeds whenever and wherever you can. Supplicate Duaa and see how it changes everything, slowly (maybe) but surely.
“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.”