“O Allah! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.”
– Rabia Al Basri
That is one powerful quote.
When I pursued my passion in successful living and personal development, so many of the activities I did were out of fear.
– I would exercise out of fear of getting fat
– I would eat nutritious meals out of fear of getting diabetes or cholesterol
– I would desperately try to please people out of fear of losing their attention and being lonely
– I would beat myself up over a small mistake and ‘punish’ myself for it
– I would compete with other people over the slightest thing because of fear that I was not enough
These are all examples of how I operated my life. And soon enough I became miserable, strict and tired. In seeking the attention of others, I burnt myself out. In trying to prove to the world that I was successful, I became attention hungry. All this fear of losing out, not being recognized burdened my mind. My body became weak and I would fall ill very quickly. My happiness was dependant on others and thus I was always, some way or the other upset.
But now I operate from Love.
I choose love.
Self – Love.
I love myself enough to push myself even when I don’t feel like it. I love myself enough to leave people who don’t deserve my attention. I love myself enough to not care about what other people think. I love myself enough to give myself time and not get angry when it’s taking too long. Most importantly, I love myself enough to never feel inferior to another person – regardless if they have more education, wealth, beauty or status than me.
Slmz, this is an ongoing battle.How does one manage to actually learn to so this? it normally seems easier said then done.
Wa Aleikum Salam 🙂 That is a great question Sister Yumna. And yes it’s a daily,ongoing battle. And it does take time to get love as your default state. Begin by asking yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ Is it out of fear or love? The beauty is that you only have these two options. You can either act from fear or love – nothing else, so where are you coming from? Then ask ‘If I loved and honoured myself would I really do this?’And then act from a place of love. It’s about being aware of the small, daily actions you take. Something as small as not eating a chocolate bar because your body deserves so much better. Give it a try and do let me know how it goes. Hope that helps xxx