FACES

The faces we meet are nothing but blessings. They are there for a purpose beyond our comprehension. Everyone is there to teach a lesson or tell a story. Everyone is there to teach us something about ourselves and to help us make decisions we alone cannot. Everyone is there to help us bounce back after a fall.

Life has its way of playing tricks on us but with the right answers, we are able to scale its tests and obstacles and these answers are found in the faces we see and meet everyday.

As is said, “no man is an island of himself”, the more reason why we have others around us. So be kind to everyone you meet for we are all fighting a tough battle with different set of cards dealt at different times and stages in our existence.

Be thankful for the faces in your life for they are a gift, a mercy and a treasure from your Creator. Never look down at the next person unless you are trying to pick him up from a fall for they might be the source of your joy someday. We all can learn even from the tiniest of things and find answers in the strangest of places.

FORGIVENESS

In this journey of ours, we meet and we sometimes also leave. Friends become strangers and strangers become friends. In the middle of it all, sometimes time takes charge and sometimes trusts are betrayed.

But before anything else, we were told and taught of a power beyond our comprehension, a gateway to everything beautiful, a source to everything we desire and a mercy beyond doubt and immeasurable. We were taught that forgiveness is a gift only a relative few are blessed with. It’s the highest thing to seek and the easiest to get (from the Almighty) but the hardest to give (we humans).

What we give, we get back in return. What effort we put in, we get results equivalent. What we sow, we reap. Karma it is generally called.

Wisdom dictates that to get forgiveness, we have to ask for it while mustering the strength to give it also. There may be instances where this would seem not achievable because of the immensity of the offense but the choice has always been left to us.

As said by Roselyn Payne, “to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you”. So,

• For the frowns and aches I caused, forgive me.
• For the moments I made you feel sad, forgive me.
• For every regret caused by my actions, forgive me.
• For the quiet times I didn’t keep in touch, forgive me.
• For the times I wasn’t there when needed, forgive me.
• To anyone who ever made me regret, I forgive you.
• To anyone who has ever made me sad, I forgive you.
• To anyone who has ever tested my patience, I forgive you.
• To anyone deserving of my forgiveness, it has been granted.

Oh Allah! Forgive our shortcomings and grant us your mercy. Make us amongst those who will benefit from your abundance here and in the hereafter. Ameen.

HAVE A THOUGHT

What makes a man keep going? Is it hope, faith, greed, love? Or is it the knowledge that someday he will be no more and thus need to create a legacy? Of what purpose does a man do what he does? What fun does he derive from the things he does? What is the feeling or emotion that he keeps searching for? When does he know he has arrived or found what he is searching for? What are the answers that he is seeking? Is he asking the right questions? Is he seeking in the right places? Is what he is searching for right there in front of him but too blind to notice? Why does a man prey on another? Why does he conquer? Why does he find comfort in inflicting pain? Why does he not care?

So many questions are asked and so many answers are needed.

The world is a beautiful place. Life is beautiful. Why can’t it be simple? Why can’t it be glorious? Why can’t it be safe?

We have been given freewill and we have been given options. Why not choose wisely? Why not choose what will be of benefit to all?

The good in us and the evil in us are separated only by how we employ our freewill when taking actions based on options before us. So I ask, why hate when it’s much easier and better to love?

Reality and Illusions.

Traveling does to your soul the strangest of change

It opens your mind to the reality of things

It gives your eyes a clearer view

It changes the very pattern and nature of your thought

What seems opaque becomes transparent

What seems at a distance becomes a step away

Reality becomes a friend

Truth becomes a weapon

Justice becomes the only choice

A second chance is found in the lives of strangers

A new call is heard in their voices

A new horizon is seen in their struggles

Illusions disappear, as does the mirage on the road

For with each step taken is a distance reduced

And dreams become possible

For you have been altered and renewed

And will forever never be the same

At last, you find peace

And happiness follows you back home.