Life and its lessons (22)
Life and its lessons (22)
According to whom;
Our judgements, understanding and conclusions are mostly according to our personal experience and relevance. With the current COVID19 global crisis this has made it more evident and brought to light the existence of large inequalities and gaps within the populations of the world - food, health, access to information/internet being some examples. Even with the first line of defense “washing hands” which to some is as simple as opening the tap while others struggle with water access in the first place.
If this new world challenge has thought us something, we should not be quick to disregard the realities of people and communities around us. If you feel safe in your community, there are many women in your neighborhood that feel unsafe to go alone to the shop next door, if you can afford a 3 months food stock others work on daily earnings with minimal saving options and if “stay at home” is giving quality time for some families, others are finding it hard to cope in isolation or within dysfunctional families. My lesson, as individuals and leaders let’s not judge someone with a lens of oneself taking away the collective and comprehensive complex situations around us. Let’s be brave enough to say I don’t know where necessary and ask – to analyze, respond and listen.
Slower version;
Competitions, incremental numbers, fast, finish lines, completions – These are our parameters of success these days. Our lives are geared towards movements, to-do lists, tasks and deadlines. Unconsciously this has also been the state of my conversations and thinking process. My close friends that I have discussions with will know (Thanks Huda for the reminder), I find it hard to wait for the whole story/conversation to be completed. I would rather want the person to jump to the conclusion – to ask, to inform, to decide. On one side things get done quicker/decisions made faster but on the other I lose lessons and discussions within the story or conversation, I lose the different signs and emotions that are communicated, I cut short the well-deserved time of the other, I lose on my patience. My lesson, slow does not always mean I am losing or lagging behind. Being always in the fast lane can be overwhelming and can make you miss valuable lessons, feelings and emotions along the way. A new challenge for me “learn to be slower”.
Pain:
I have a wallpaper on my phone that says “Even the painful parts teach” We attribute pain with physical cuts, wounds that are visible and underestimate the invisible ones that hurt the most. In a recent video I watched of a psychologist discussing behaviors she talked about how – “Sometimes people might get unexplained headaches, tiredness, pain and low energy. It’s not only the physical/visible parts that create pain but our mental and emotional wellbeing too. And when there is an imbalance or that our surroundings are making it hard, they manifest in real physical pain. Unexplained pain is also pain. It hurts, its visible to the person.” My lesson, it is normal and part of being a human to feel pain. We have a responsibility to understand ourselves, give in to the process, get information, seek support, to move and act towards a place that brings us healing.
Note to self;
Take me as I am – And take others as they are
Inspirations❣️;
Ramadan Mubarak everyone - May we make use of this beautiful gift from Allah – To be closer to our creator, have gratitude, be thankful and come out with souls, bodies and minds more nourished and peaceful.
Until next time Insha’Allah – Cya 👊🏾
#my_one_step_at_a_time 🚶🏾♀️
Zuhur Yasin :)