Life Matters.
What or who matters in life? Does life itself matter? Can one just live through it as if in a hazy dream? Or a hazy nightmare?
I so often catch myself wondering what's the purpose of living? Why do we live? No, it's not one of those "purpose of life" discussions wherein you try to figure your mission on this planet. It's a one wherein am questioning the need for life on the planet itself.
There has to be more to it than a mere creation of God, sent on this planet as a punishment for Adam & Eve's deeds. There has to be more than just Good vs Bad, more than Us vs Them. Did God create us to check how we combat temptations? Is that all? How we respond to crisis & how we uphold our integrity? All this....this suffering...this violence...the joys...the happiness....the manipulations...the honesty...the whole hog...all to test the being? For what? And why?
Family ties, friendship, enmity, betrayal, tears, sacrifices, testimonies...for what?
Is the fear of God & His Anger the deciding factor of one's action? Do you do good to please Him? Or do you do good because the situation warrants it & that's the right thing to do? When you do wrong or are unfair, what do you fear the most? God's punishment or the wrath of a lost hope?
How much does the human being matter to you? If God's within each one of us, arnt we repeatedly killing Him when we thoughtlessly hurt people around us?
When you are at a crossroad of breaking someone's trust, do you go ahead? How easily? And if it involves a choice between trust of 2 parties and one has to be broken to honor the other, how do you decide? Do you do a cost benefit analysis to find where the least damage is? It's still betrayal at the end of the day.
That brings me back to the question. Is this what Life is all about? How you carry yourself through it...how many friends & foes you make by the end of it? Or how famous you were?
I guess, for me....Life's all about a Heart. Not how many you have won, rather how many you could've chosen to break....but didn't.
© Zarine.
I so often catch myself wondering what's the purpose of living? Why do we live? No, it's not one of those "purpose of life" discussions wherein you try to figure your mission on this planet. It's a one wherein am questioning the need for life on the planet itself.
There has to be more to it than a mere creation of God, sent on this planet as a punishment for Adam & Eve's deeds. There has to be more than just Good vs Bad, more than Us vs Them. Did God create us to check how we combat temptations? Is that all? How we respond to crisis & how we uphold our integrity? All this....this suffering...this violence...the joys...the happiness....the manipulations...the honesty...the whole hog...all to test the being? For what? And why?
Family ties, friendship, enmity, betrayal, tears, sacrifices, testimonies...for what?
Is the fear of God & His Anger the deciding factor of one's action? Do you do good to please Him? Or do you do good because the situation warrants it & that's the right thing to do? When you do wrong or are unfair, what do you fear the most? God's punishment or the wrath of a lost hope?
How much does the human being matter to you? If God's within each one of us, arnt we repeatedly killing Him when we thoughtlessly hurt people around us?
When you are at a crossroad of breaking someone's trust, do you go ahead? How easily? And if it involves a choice between trust of 2 parties and one has to be broken to honor the other, how do you decide? Do you do a cost benefit analysis to find where the least damage is? It's still betrayal at the end of the day.
That brings me back to the question. Is this what Life is all about? How you carry yourself through it...how many friends & foes you make by the end of it? Or how famous you were?
I guess, for me....Life's all about a Heart. Not how many you have won, rather how many you could've chosen to break....but didn't.
© Zarine.
Comments
There will be more opportunities in 60s to ask these kind of question, kid!
Her question caught me off guard. I didn’t expect it from an eight year old. I knew of course the most obvious answer—that as Muslims we are obligated to—but I did not want to waste the opportunity to share with her the experience and benefits of salah. Nevertheless, as I tried to put together a reply in my mind, I bought a little time by beginning with, ‘We pray because God wants us to!’
‘But why, daddy, what does praying do?’ she asked.
‘It is hard to explain to a young person, honey. Someday, if you do the five prayers every day, I’m sure you’ll understand, but I’ll do my best to answer your question.’
‘You see, sweetheart. God is the source of all the love, mercy, kindness, and wisdom—of all the beauty—that we experience and feel. Like the sun is the source of the light we see in the daytime, God is the source of all of these and much more. Thus, the love I feel for you, your sisters, and mommy is given to me by God. We know that God is kind and merciful by all the things He has given us in this life. But when we pray, we can feel God’s love, kindness, and mercy in a very special way, in the most powerful way.
For example, you know that mommy and I love you by the way we take care of you. But when we hug you and kiss you, you can really feel how much we love you. In a similar way, we know that God loves and is kind to us by the way He takes care of us. But when we pray, we can feel His love in a very real and special way.’
‘Does praying make you a better daddy?’ She asked me.
‘I hope so and I would like to think so, because once you are touched by God’s love and kindness in the prayer, it is so beautiful and powerful, that you need to share it with those around you, especially your family. Sometimes, after a hard day at work, I feel so exhausted that I just want to be alone. But if I feel God’s kindness and mercy in the prayer, I look at my family and remember what a great gift you are to me, and all the love and happiness I get from being your daddy and mommy’s husband. I’m not saying that I am the perfect father, but I believe I would not be as good a father without the prayers. Am I making any sense at all?’
‘I kind of understand what you mean,’ Jameelah answered.
Then she hugged me and said, ‘And I love you, Daddy!’
‘I love you too, sweetie pie. I love you too.’
J.L