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