Birdbath

This morning, I was eating breakfast and looking out over the backyard and trees as I often do.  Today was a rainy morning and there was a bird bathing in a puddle.  I could tell it wasn’t thinking more than 5 seconds in the future.  It was just doing wazu and enjoying the puddle.  It would submerge half its body and then shake off the water.  There was nothing special about this bird.  It was smallish and boring mix of brown colors.

The bird was just doing it’s thing and was totally in the moment.  It didn’t seem to think about where it’s next meal would come from or what it would be doing later.  It was just doing wazu.

Taher, don’t worry about all the things.  Be like the bird and just do your thing.

Frame

Our mindset can determine our actions.  That's why it's so important.  Stuff happens and that's unavoidable.  We have the ability to respond and not react to stuff.

What is the right response?  It's almost never frustration.  That's a reaction.  A more useful response is probably passion.  Framing the situation is key.  Passion is almost always positive.  I think of a cool word I learned a while back, equanimity. This basically means ability to remain calm.  Being calm seems to almost never be a bad thing.

Frustration is inevitable.  It can be expressed like a toddler, suppressed, expressed as passion, or something more difficult like being calm.  

The positive part is up to us.   That's the mindset piece.  It's important that your actions follow your niyat.  Your actions won't be 100% positive, but cut yourself some slack Taher.  

Taher, be clear what you want your mindset to be. Your niyat can be 100%.

Faith

The other day I heard a family kid relay some wrong information. For some reason, I felt compelled to correct her. I somehow assumed the role of elder😅

She said, “my friend in Jamea said this”. I responded, “still wrong”. She turned to her friend and said what I was saying made more sense. I saw her grow in that moment.

I also thought about my place. It’s not only student and not only to listen. Listening should very regularly be the majority, but not always. I thought about this thing I corrected probably way more than anyone else. I felt compelled to find them the next day and explain a bit more and to leave them with a thought to think more and not just take my word for it. 

This whole thing made me wonder about reason. It’s a critical part of faith I think. You have to accept something without understanding so that you can apply reason. It sounds contradictory, but it’s not. More simply, “to see reality, we must focus on the unseen and unproven”

I don’t understand, but this seems to be vital to happiness. 

Taher, reason requires faith. 

Bees and Naseeb

I recently heard something I want to remember and connect to other stuff I've learned.

"Appreciate the bees, not just the honey"

Moula says mud makhi na misal bano (become like the bee).  Another layer of this became apparent to me.  The bee produces the honey and is a worker.  There are lots of steps in between that don't produce honey.  The bee doesn't care. The "steps" good and bad are written.  They will come.

Recently, I was questioning my place and ability to affect, well anything.  My question was me thinking about my place and asking generally, "Who am I to change anything?".  I was thinking basically why do anything.  My premise was je naseeb ma che tho naseeb ma che (what is written is written).

I got a response that was indirect, but it made me think and satisfied my questioning.  Basically, the response was your premise is correct.  However, when you're hungry you don't just stand under the apple tree and wait for the apple to fall in your mouth.  You put in effort, you water the tree, you nurture the tree, and you eventually pick the apple. Then you eat it.  The effort is part of it; it's essential.  It is written, but what is written isn't based on what you perceive has already happened.

Taher, the bee doesn't care.  Appreciate all of it.

Reason

I've been thinking about incentives.  Specifically, incentive to be kind.  

It doesn't make any rationale sense to be kind sometimes.  There are situations where it just feels right to be kind for no reason.  It doesn't make sense, but it just feels right.  Why?  I don't know.  Does it matter? Other people see. 

Sometimes there's kindness with no hope.  Like taking care of a parent near the end. There is no incentive. But it just feels right. There’s something indirect and undeserved. 

Taher, be kind because it feels right.  It'll come back eventually and you won't ever understand.