it was one of those whatsapp forwards, a little corny, a little reminiscent of kipling's 'if'. the last line though, got me: "because in the end, it's between you and god; it was never between you and them anyway".
so so true. do good, speak good, be good, because that is what allah wants of you. and in the end, allah is who you must explain your actions to. i have firmly believed this, i was firmly brought up with this philosophy, with the 'turn the other cheek' philosophy. it is easy to do when you are surrounded by people of a similar nature, when you live in a place where giving people the benefit of the doubt is the norm, not the exception. being surrounded by cynics, a 'survival of the fittest' mentality and coarse language, i notice that i am becoming more abrasive, more cynical, less kind and trusting. i don't like it. i cannot change my surroundings, i cannot changer others' perceptions, but i can definitely change my own reactions. and suddenly, it is so easy; i just envision allah's presence at any situation, and choosing the better, righter option is nearly automatic. my choice may not sit well with others, but again, i just have to remind myself that it is allah's opinion that matters.
the one downside to this attitude though, is that it can make your relationships and interactions a little clinical, a little impersonal...
3 comments:
hey m,
funny i was thinking something along the same lines.. i remembered something a former business teacher would say about "it doesn't matter if you win the rat race, because if you run it, you're a rat anyway."
i think the reason why i'm thinking about that is the "run" or competition for jobs here, and how everyone seems to be asking me "what are you doing jobwise?" these days - and i think mostly it's a comparison people draw to one other - how well others are doing professionally and how well one could be doing in comparison.
and i realised, i'd rather not be running that race. i'd rather not be competing with anyone. i'd rather be creating because it makes me happy, and while reading other things i realised the comparison is best between yourself and a former self, but really even former self - meh - as long as you're happy :)
so i don't think it makes you a little impersonal or clinical if you just say - meh - like water off a duck's back I say...
oh, and it's me c ;) xx
shoulda said, me c, the love of your life.. :)
ahhh, c, where have you been??
the long lost love of my life, to be more accurate methinks.. ;)
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