God Never Promised You Days Without Pain

The title to this post in a line from one of my favourite songs Warrior//Worrier by Outlandish. I was driving on the highway after dropping my daughter at school a few weeks back and as I was driving I was scanning my head for trying to think of something to listen to that would give my spirit a spark. This song came to my mind and I turned it on; from the first line it was like it was the missing piece that tied so many life experiences together into a nice package that made it all make sense. That’s the beauty of art – something I have come to really appreciate in these « panorama » days of our lives.

So here it is…

I have been feeling disoriented and not in-sync with who I know myself to be. I have tried everything to get back in-harmony and to feel that fire within me again. The disinterest and who-cares attitude had started to engulf everything. I just wanted to give up on so much. Even basic things started to be confusing. If you have been there before then you get the idea.

I have been needing to do something about myself for sometime and although it’s taken me sometime to figure it out, its also really amusing to me because its taken me back to things that I so confidently knew at 18 but somehow lost. But it also so great and reassuring to find a sort of confirmation in belief in myself seeing how I am now going back to what I knew before. Here are some rules to stop worrying and being more free:

1. Everything will work out in the end: Esra this is for you and all the times I said I would be in two places at once and you asked how and I would reply « it will work out in the end ». I had this unwavering faith in the past and it was my answer to any any question. It was always enough for me, that is until I stopped truly believing it. I worked hard, did my best but when the odds were against me I didn’t even bat an eye and knew and believed to my-core-completely-unshaken that it will work out in the end.

2. This is Dunya//Life: This is life, its not meant to be easy. It’s not meant for leisure. It’s not eternal. It’s all going to end. We have a greater purpose and as believers we are so lucky to have this perspective to be able to see the different dimensions of life and to know there is an after-life. It’s literally seeing another dimension. And so as long as you know this is dunya and it comes it will also go, then you know this too will pass. You know that there is a Higher Power – Allah – watching over you and it will be ok. This too shall pass, nothing is external neither good or bad. We will face trials and tribulations to test us, to purify and at time even as an answer to our prayers to redirect us.

3. Tribulations are for purification: We pray and ask God for things and we have this expectation that what we have asked for will come as imagine it. But sometimes our prayers are answered in other ways. Sometimes we are faced with tribulation to drive us in the direction of where we need to be to get what we wanted. It could be we asked for more wealth, more love, more patience etc. Sometimes we need to be purified to get there and sometimes we are being redirected to get where we want to be.

4. We are tested with what we love: We are constantly tested with what we love because what we love the most is the hardest for us to let go of and this journey of life is all about dis-attachment. Anything that competes with God/your faith is up for grabs. So the minute you are being tested with something stop dead in your tracks and look up, look around for there is something that you have misaligned. Get it back together.

5. Life is short: There are no guarantees – if you are acting like you have one here is your wake up call. Life is so precious and our lives are so delicate. We have no idea when, where or how our lives will end. We also have no idea what will happen between now and tomorrow. It can be a spur of a moment and the world is flipped upside-down. God orders and it happens, and we only say what pleases Him.

6. Listen to yourself: Whilst we are on this earth fighting the good fight, what makes it ten times easier is doing what makes you feel alive and doing it with people that are good for you. There will be times when you will be in a place where you are unwelcome and its worth challenging yourself and fighting hard for yourself, but there will be other times where you need to know its time to pull back. There is wisdom in knowing what’s for you and what’s not, there is intuition that can guide you and there is that voice in the back of your head which if you tune into and learn to understand can save you so much pain.

7. Try something new: No matter where you are never let yourself get too comfortable, always be willing to push yourself to do something new. It keeps your mind open and allows you to expand your horizons. Learn a new skill, try something different, go somewhere you havent been before, start a hobby, learn a language… whatever it is that you want. Just make sure to keep going and you will physically feel your world expand.

8. Be honest: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Be honest with the people around you and dont tiptoe around issues. Be brave in expressing what you believe in and how you feel, don’t hold back – it does nobody any good. Being open and honest is the best way to be your authentic self and you will never regret it.

9. Celebrate the moment: Don’t wait for anyone or anything to create the moment for you, celebrate the moment now and fully engulf yourself in it. Create for yourself whatever it is you are waiting on from someone else and celebrate the people around you, your life, your love and whatever else you have. It’s when we take a moment to appreciate what we have that we are able to take in why life is worthwhile.

10. Know that your Creator will not leave you: You are never alone and God is always with us.