The Strength of Today

I’ve been thinking about respect a lot lately; self-respect, respecting others, qualities I respect and admire the most, qualities I don’t respect or tolerate, etc. And as a result, I’ve come to a very eye opening conclusion. Actually, it’s more of an epiphany. I found out that I respect strength most of all. Not physical strength, but the ability to emotionally and mentally rise in difficult times. I respect those who’ve been down in God knows where doing God knows what but have found the strength and motivation to better themselves. I respect those who’ve lost their way and made mistake after mistake only to find it in them to make a comeback. Because I admire such strength, I decided that I have enough self-respect to empower myself with that quality. Strength.

Being lost is part of the human journey. No one has lived a perfect life. No one has traveled a bump free road. We all have situations that come to our heads when we think of the word “regret”, but it seems that not everyone sees that because we all have our faults, that we should not judge one another. We should never look down upon those who have a “history”. Instead, we should respect those amongst us that have been in situations from which bouncing back is difficult. I know several examples of people who have been through dark times. Alcohol, drugs, health issues, you name it, Muslims and non-Muslims, but they have all been able to make a comeback. It makes me realize that if others have been through tough times and have been able to regain their strength, that there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do the same. There is no reason for you not to empower yourself. There is no reason for you to keep yourself in a situation where people, drugs and/or desires use and manipulate you. There is no reason for thinking that you are not good enough to be strong. That you don’t have what it takes, because you do. I do.

So when life throws bricks at you, use them to build a wall. Build yourself a fortress. Use the bricks to strengthen yourself, but don’t let the bricks bring you down. I’ve been accumulating bruises for a while now from life’s bricks, but, thanks to Allah, I’ve finally realized how to start building my wall up. I might not be where I want to be. My fortress might not be as strong as I would like, but it’s a start. I realized that I deserve to protect and love myself. My wall won’t shut people out. My wall won’t harden my soul. My wall will exist only to shield me from negativity and to build my strength up so that I may become amongst those whom I respect so much. The strong.  

And with that I leave you with a beautiful quote that I’ve stumbled upon: 

“The pain of yesterday is the strength of today” – Paulo Coelho

Peace and much love to y’all J

The Golden Rule

There comes a time in our lives when we realize how petty and unfortunate humanity can really be. How nosey, hypocritical, manipulative, disgusting, and all around ignorant people can be sometimes. Instead of helping one another, you'll find that people in close knit communities or minority groups are constantly putting one another down, instead of strengthening and supporting each other. You find women bashing their sisters. Men taking part in unnecessary physical or verbal drama. Countries going to war. Human killing human with no remorse or mercy. Not only will many people engage in such horrendous acts (gossip, backbiting, murder, theft, cheating etc.), but they will also try to drag you into their activities and expect you to be as low as they are. Try hard as you can to stay clean, you will still at least be accused of things you haven't done. Your reputation will become a résumé crafted by people who don't even know you, laced with "achievements" you never took part in.

It's when we realize all this that many of us will say, "well f*ck it", right? Why should I put in the effort of making this world a better place when all it's ever been and will be is a set constructed just to be destroyed by its own actors? Why should I treat others with respect, dignity and empathy when I will most likely never get the same treatment in return? Why should I try being a decent human being when even then, people will find ways to pick at me and accuse me of flaws I might not even have? I find myself asking these questions quite often, sometimes even more than once daily and lemme tell ya, it puts quite a damper on my mood. But then I remember the most golden rule of all; do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's a staple rule in every religion, it's the cornerstone of morality, in my opinion, and it's what makes us merciful beings and not hungry predators.

No matter what people say or do to me, I always try to remember to treat others as I would like to be treated. It's a simple rule whose application is sometimes just as simple, or infinitely more complicated and difficult. It takes a plethora of patience, even more self-control and the ability to let go of all anger and resentment to say you completely live by this rule. Unfortunately though, we cannot always let go of our anger and put aside our frustrations, but we should at least try to elevate ourselves above what's petty and unnecessary. I know that I myself, am taking it as one of my goals for this Ramadan to be more mindful of the golden rule, and I hope and pray that all of you do the same. Imagine a world where people are compassionate rather than revengeful and conniving. A world as such can only exist if we look within ourselves to try to fix our own flaws, as opposed to looking at others and pointing out their faults.

As always, peace and much love to y'all and a Ramadan kareem to all who celebrate :)

And with that I'll end with this verse:

"O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers" (Quran 49:11)