Tuesday 16 March 2010

Closing Your Mind to Reality

ONE

She’s a Muslim who wears the scarf, but not the abaya (black cloak worn in the GCC). Her clothing, while conservative, is always colourful and stylish. She gets married. Her husband asks her to wear the abaya. She accepts, and while her personality doesn’t change, her dress-code does. She gets divorced (for unrelated reasons). She sees no reason for wearing the abaya anymore, and takes it off. Her clothing returns to being conservative yet colourful.

Her family:

Look at her. She’s a lively stylish young woman who knows how to dress up. That marriage created a siege on her personality, and constrained her freedom. Thanks to Allah she got divorced.

Her ex’s family:

Look at her. That marriage taught her to be a good Muslim, with proper ethics and decent shy behaviour – which is highly encouraged in Islam. Divorce put her back to zero, and may Allah guide her to the true path now.

TWO

The company was facing a financial crisis. If they didn’t do anything urgently, it could’ve gotten liquidated immediately. They held an abrupt meeting to discuss the problem. The 1st attendee suggested a solution. They all agreed. The 2nd attendee suggested how this solution may be implemented. They all agreed. Everyone went home with a smile on their faces.

1st attendee’s thoughts:

If it wasn’t for me, that company would’ve lost everything. I should force them to give me a promotion when this mess is cleaned up.

2nd attendee’s thoughts:

If it wasn’t for me, that solution would’ve been executed all wrong. It could’ve been a disaster. I should force them to give me a promotion when this mess is cleaned up.

A few weeks later, the company goes bankrupt.


THREE

She was beautiful and she was a star. She took good care of herself (exercise, healthy food, make-up) and she was extremely successful at work. She and her husband decided to get a baby. They got one, and she resigned from work. 2 years later, the baby is chubby, cute, and smilingly looking at his exhausted, fat, messy mother. She smiles back weakly.

Her 1st friend:

Dear God what happened to her? I feel so sorry for her. She’s lonely now; her husband is always out at work and she’s got no time to see family or friends. Plus all her previous beauty has gone away, and her successful career is forgotten. May Allah ease her pains.

Her 2nd friend:

Oh look at that adorable child she’s got. Lucky her. Her life was empty before, just a routine like any other Omani citizen. Now it’s full of love and plentiful cuteness. I wish Allah engulfs me with blessings just as her’s.

Dearest readers,

Things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes you need a reality check to confirm your thoughts. Sometimes your thoughts seem to match the story, and the conclusion seems accurate. The biggest problem is to act upon your conclusion without ensuring that it is correct.

P.S. Apologies for posting a bit late, I’m too busy and will be even busier within the next few days! Bear with me, and soon this blog will be updated more regularly :)

16 comments:

  1. 2 thumbs up! I like the way you approach your topics. keep up the good writing.

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  2. I too enjoyed this. Really made me think and reflect upon myself and my life-how I view things.

    Thank you for sharing this with us.

    InshaAllah you are well

    Best wishes,
    Shell

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  3. So glad you did Shell!

    I hope I keep the stimulating on :)

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  4. very interesting..
    there is always 2 side to a coin..

    very well writen..

    hope you do wriet more often.

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  5. nice thought provoking post... :)
    agree - we all look at situations differently - and we need to be able to stop and think about how the other person feels... :)

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  6. Thanks guys.. keep passing and keep commenting! :) Your comments are my inspiration ;)

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  7. Although you re 100% correct, you cant stop people from talking, and sadly, no matter how good a person you are, there will always be someone who will talk. In some cases, even in your own family or circle of friends.

    Your solace always should be:

    1. Would I want someone doing/saying that about me?

    and 2. God knows the truth. And that's what you will be judged on, and thats what they, with their wondering mouths, will be as well.

    Nice post, nice blog. Ill look around!

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  8. Thanks for visiting ultra blue, and welcome to the blog :)

    It's true, I cannot completely change that, but I can try, by shedding some light on the issue... And as you said, we should "fix" ourselves before trying others.

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  9. as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah,

    Mashallah! a very thought-provoking post.

    sadly, like ultra[blue] said, you can't stop people from talking...

    I just got in touch with one side of my family and I know they are weary about my being Muslim and that I am living in the Middle East. But inshallah I am slowly opening their eyes.

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  10. I just got in touch with one side of my family and I know they are weary about my being Muslim and that I am living in the Middle East. But inshallah I am slowly opening their eyes.

    It comes in handy sometimes! If people think that you can bomb them in a second they tend to be nice to you!

    The best eye opening experiences I think are those that happen when we arent trying, the simple way you walk, or if you run back into a store to get a can of tuna for a stray cat, or the way belief is manifested that no matter what, at the call we run to wudu...

    All the little things, how you speak, how you smile, when you choose not to speak... Compounded I think it opens the eyes of many in a better way than the things we put effort into (Not that we shouldnt do that as well.)

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  11. I agree that there are many opinions about the same thing and each person has his own "truth". Often times it happens that the grass is always greener at the other side of the fence. We like to focus on our own problems and shortcomings, imperfections in our lives. While when we look at others we can imagine only the positive things and become jealous. It's amazing that what is bad for one person can be considered good by another.

    Also it's extremely hard if not impossible to be objective about reality. We can try and think of ourself as more open-minded but still we are doomed to perceive things through our own subjective knowledge and experiences.

    Isn't it frustrating how God gave us mind and we are not able to comprehend the Universe with our limited abilities? Like someone showed us a highly intriguing and alluring toy and hid it away forever.

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  12. Great post. People's perceptions are rarely the same and you provided three great examples of this.

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  13. I thought that was a brilliant look at how perspective can change the look of everything and how nothing is ever as it seems. I loved that; a great post =)

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  14. Thanks guys,

    Hamdy welcome to the blog :) And glad you liked it!

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