Writing,
deleting, again writing and again deleting. That’s how I am dealing with today’s
blog. Actually the problem is, what I want to write is not appropriate to write
under the current circumstances as it might cause an uproar. So I prefer to
stick with something safe and diplomatic.
Yesterday
after a long period of convincing myself, I finally got on the treadmill. My feet
were heavy and I was sleepy, still I went ahead with my decision. It was only
ten minutes into the walk but it seemed that I have been walking for 20 years,
time seemed to have stopped. I hated it!
Still
I continued, and as I walking on that dreaded machine I blamed everyone in my
life for making me do this miserable thing. My feet were sour and stiff.
Then it happened, somewhere around the ten-minute mark. The heart opened up, the lungs expanded, and the legs loosened. My eyes suddenly sparked by little tears of gratitude and awareness: I AM ALIVE. I get to be alive! In a human body! I get to feel all this — the air and the gratitude in my soul.
And
I say to myself “Thank You Allah! for making this a possibility”. Thank you for
blessing me with this life. Thank you for giving me hands. Thank You so much
for the amazing gift of feet. Thank You for my legs. Thank You so much for
blessing me with abundant energy. Thank You so much for the wonderful gift of
life, the gift of my health.
In
that moment I promised to myself that I shall treat my body with respect. That I
will take care of myself. That I will not abuse the gift of my health, heart, body
& mind by filling it up with unhealthy food, thoughts & deeds.
With
all this going in my mind, I had an epiphany. Our lives are pretty much similar
to the walk on treadmill. The soreness, the difficulties, our struggles that we
all go through are very alike walking on the treadmill; however, once you reach
a particular point that ten-minute mark everything suddenly starts to make sense.
And then the pain of the journey turns into peace & gratitude.
The
first step to peace, is to go through the difficulties so the situation can be
transformed into blessings.
I
love Surah al-Inshirah (The Expansion) from the Holy Quran that perfectly
explains life in few words:
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ
Alam nashrah laka sadrak (Have We not caused thy bosom to dilate)
وَوَضَعْنَا عَنْكَ وِزْرَكَ
Wa
wa d'ana 'anka wizrak (And eased thee of the burden)
الَّذِي أَنْقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ
Allazee
anqada zahrak (Which
weighed down thy back)
وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ
Wa
raf 'ana laka zikrak (And exalted thy fame?)
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
Fa
inna ma'al usri yusra (But lo! with hardship goes ease),
إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
Inna
ma'al 'usri yusra (Lo!
with hardship goes ease);
فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانْصَبْ
Fa
iza faragh ta fansab (So when thou art relieved, still toil)
وَإِلَى رَبِّكَ فَارْغَبْ
Wa
ilaa rabbika far ghab (And strive to please thy Lord)”
May we all live and breathe in the air of peace &
joy.
Sonya Syed. (Day 502)
Special thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert for her inspiring words.
Title courtesy 'Aditya Birla Group'.
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