George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."
Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.
Now, it stands to reason that a person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that's what he's thinking about. And we become what we think about. What are you thinking about this Ramadhan? What do you want to achieve from it? What is your goal this Ramadhan?
Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, his thoughts must therefore be thoughts of aimlessness, confusion, anxiety, fear and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing ... he becomes nothing.
How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.
Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make a decision.
We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant. Likewise, Ramadhan comes and goes. It does not care whether you benefit from it or not. But if you plant seeds of obedience and piety in it, it will give you abundance of blessings and success in return.
Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand - one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds - one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land ... what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted. As it's written in the Quran, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Remember, the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the plants - one corn, one poison. The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant: success ... or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal ... or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety, and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.
However. the month of Ramadhan is unparalleled greatest opportunity and can form the richest days of our life. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant. Therefore let us plant in it seeds of forgiveness, kindness, charity, and above all total submission to the Most Merciful who said in the Quran: "Ask and I will provide you …". Shall we then dare to loose the abundance of this Ramadhan or instead plant seeds of sins in it? May Allah forbid. |
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