Burden or Blessing? Burden or Blessing? That is the question! It's obvious from my last post that I am in a spiritual slump. Spiritually OUT OF SHAPE. And just with being physically out of shape, one can't just decide to run a 10K Marathon the next day. The person has to train to get in shape. So the same thing goes with spirituality in a way. So I do want to share some spiritual "excercises," that are good for starting the training, or at the very least, a walk in the park to stretch one's legs, get some fresh air, get the heart pumping.
I find that watching videos on Islam and videos about Muslims, made for Muslims, made by Muslims are often inspiring (as opposed to going to the Islamic center, which often is not as inspiring -- at least on the ladies' side -- but that's another story). Here are a few that I like:
FRONTLINE: Muslims:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/muslims/
EMPIRES: ISLAM--EMPIRE OF FAITH
MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET
313 The Movie
KARBALA: When Eyes Wept Bloodhttp://www.redtears.co.uk/karbala.html
Also, to marvel at God's power, just:
Read books & watch shows
about the anatomy of the human body and its systems
about specific animals and how they function:
about natural disasters
about space:
And my favorite: about the human development in the womb:
Wow, that's amazing, MashaaAllah, Alhamdulillah! Still, I wonder why it is so easy for me to get lost in the haze of the mundane when staying home all day and dealing with housekeeping (constantly picking up THINGS, cleaning, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, dusting, --and that's just if you can get to it all) and cranky kids and having little uninterrupted time to focus on "improving" oneself. Of course, Alhamdulillah, there are dozens of moments in the day when I just stare at my kids and say, MASHAA'ALLAH, ALHAMDULILLAH. THANK YOU ALLAH. Often, the things that are the most burdensome to me, are my greatest blessings. Such is life. Such is Ramadan. Such is the headscarf. It can seem a burden, but also a blessing. It takes awareness, and some fresh air, to experience the difference. My admiration goes out to all the stay-at-home Moms because it is truly a difficult and respect-worthy lifestyle that deserves recognition for its many blessings--and an acknowledgment of its real burdens--in order for its true experience to be a blessing. And subsitute the words HEADSCARF, HIJAB, WOMAN, AND MUSLIMS with stay-at-home Moms--and it's the same. It takes courage and confidence to do/be a SAHM, a Hijabi, a Woman, a Muslim. With some things, like the headscarf, it's obvious--one needs courage and confidence to do it--but with other things its less obvious--for example, when I think of fasting for 30 days, I think, "I CAN'T DO IT" and "WHAT IF?"--it's interesting that my lack of courage and confidence plays into my practice of Islam. And the more courage and confidence one has, the less miserable one will feel, the more successful they will be. It's difficult. It requires help...
GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CAN NOT CHANGE
COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
And, God knows, I need more time. I hope I have more time.
"Yes, I need more time just to make things right."--Oasis
3 comments:
I love The Seven Wonders of the Muslim World especially to see the Spanish brother, its wonderful that Spain is becoming Muslim again. The new mosque in Cordoba is just over a small valley from the Mezquita.
I'm commenting here, even if it's kind out of place as I see no other way to message you.
Please keep writing. I've only just found your blog, and have read every word of it.
In the last couple days I've thought of what you've said about maintaining your identity and wearing the hijab. I've found myself wanting to share a couple ideas with you for DIY kinda punky clothes.
Anyway, I wanted to encourage you to keep writing - even if you feel like you're complaining, it is your blog after all, and if that is what you need to do for your own self maintenance, so be it.
I love how you said, "spiritually out of shape," sis! We should really all concentrate on becoming better spiritually inshAllah. It's something all of us should be struggling to do. MasAllah wonderful videos btw
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