Salaam
The alarm rings at 7. Some of us wake up for Fajr. Others don’t.
We drag ourselves out of bed and head of for work/uni/college.
We spend the day working and/or complaining about something as mundane as the weather/traffic or workload.
We’re home in the evenings. We have our tea. Watch some TV. Might ring/visit/entertain a friend. Might surf the net. The next day is pretty much the same.
We might go shopping on the weekend. Entertain guests. Attend/lead a class.
Weeks and months fly by. And except for possible progression in our academic studies and/or careers.
What exactly have we accomplished? What difference have we made?
We regularly complain about being busy or having too much on….but do we even have our priorities sorted out?
When I was in Saudi...the main concern that was pressing down on my mind was that...before I know it I'll return to London, and once again my primary concern will be my job, my social life, whether my hijaab matches my handbag etc etc.... And I'll lose sight of whats really important.
Not sure where I’m going with this…but I was just wondering. Has anyone wished to get out of the rat race? Is everyone content with their current situation? Does anyone ever want more from their life? Does anyone ever feel restless or fed up?
Or is routine and stability a blessing?
Share your thoughts
Wasalaam
Yes. Everyday.
No.
Yes.
Yes.
And thats gona be my situation untill i've done my degree unfortunately. If it was my way, i would be in Syria right now studying. I'm sick of the same old routine, day in day out.
The only thing i look forward to in the week is my Arabic lesson, study circle, zhikr mehfil and the odd event which we organise.
Yes.
Always. I don't know when I'm going to go, but someday Insha Allah I'm just going to dissapear to somewhere where there's no buildings, no cities, no people. Just mountains, grass and sky. Its not about leaving the world forever or anything, its just something I have to do.
Routines and stability are blessings too.
Gentleness and kindness were never a part of anything except that it made it beautiful, and harshness was never a part of anything except that it made it ugly.
Through cheating, stealing, and lying, one may get required results but finally one becomes
Try Tora Bora, I hear it's great this time of year!!
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition, burns a picture to obtain the ashes!
exactly my thoughts too....except the bit about the maching hijab (I don't mind at all if the colours clash!)
except I kinda realised that day-to-day life should not be our main concern. At the mo I have long-term goals (both dunya and akhira) and I can put up with day-to-day tedium with the knowledge (or the hope) that it will not last forever.
It does feel a little strange though, adjusting in my 1st few days back at work...everyone worrying about such trivial issues and telling me about their weekends spent clubbing/doing up their car/sleeping etc.
Don't just do something! Stand there.
Assalam alaikum,
Interesting post. Some very important issues raised. Here I have picked out some of the points for discussion.
1, The rat race.
This one is particularly relevant to London. Everyone is on the go. Rush for the train. Rush for the tube. Rush into the already congested tube. Rush off the tube. Rush for a coffee. Rush into work. Rush rush rush. In comparison, working outside London is slightly less frantic. Of course we take part in the rat race because it allows us to support ourselves and our family financially. However, this is achieved by sacrificing our time that we could otherwise spend with our family and on learning and implementing our deen.
2, Accomplishment.
We all have different definitions for success and failure. During our studies we are aiming to pass with the best grades we can. Once we graduate we are aiming to enter a career which will provide a challenge and a worthwhile living for us. Once we are working we also start thinking about marriage and starting a family etc. Throughout our life we have specific goals and achieving these goals does provide the satisfaction that we have accomplished something. Having goals and targets is good as it provides direction and focus to our life. Achieving the goals provides satisfaction and also motivates us to progres further. These goals are the lifeblood of progress and development. The way to ensure we are not sleepwalking through our life, following our materialistic needs, is to ensure that alongside our worldly goals, we have our Islamic goals as well. This will help to balance our life more equally to ensure we are successful members of society but also preparing for the hereafter.
3, Is routine and stability a blessing?
Stability is most definitley a blessing, as it provides peace of mind knowing that all is as it should be. Routine can be a blessing if you have a good routine. I always feel good when I am in a good routine, i.e. I get enough sleep, I am eating well, I am getting to work on time, I am getting all my work done, etc. However a bad routine can be stressful and affect our chances of development and success.
Ultimately, it is all about figuring out what is important, and prioritising our life accordingly. We can let our whims and desires drive us or we can drive our life, knowing that we will be living on this earth for a specified amount of time and then we will depart with nothing but our good deeds and the sadaqah jaria (ongoing charity) that we have contributed.
tsmy.org - Innovative solutions for the youth
I always think about this a lot and always get the same answer nothing.
yes, yes, yes and yes.
Its only when you get out and see the real world you realise how pointless your life is.
This sounds really ridiculous but when I went Egypt for the first time in ages I felt like I belonged somewhere. I have never got that feeling here or when I have been to pak.
There you didn’t have to worry about your food being haraam or checking food labels for gelatine, animal rennet etc. You could crouch down in the middle of the busy street and drink your water without getting weird looks and ppl questioning your actions; you could even pray in the middle of a busy street. Every mosque had a separate women’s prayer section (dont get that round our end) and you are greeted with salaam and shown the most utter respect wherever you go.
I remember arriving back at Manchester airport and felt really sad to be back to my busy repetitive boring life (whenever i came back from pak i felt relief and glad to be back to civilisation).
If someone had asked me a couple years back would you ever consider leaving Britain and setting up home elsewhere i would have said never but now ask me and i am seriously considering it.
I have always liked routine but now i just find it boring and yearn for change.
No not the gum drop buttons! – Gingy
I was like that when I returned…it was like “Who CARES if the average price of jeans has gone up” “Who cares if it took you an extra 15min to get home last night” and “who cares if it rained and you came to work wearing the wrong shoes”
Of course I never said any of that out loud.
Now unfortunately 7 weeks down the line, I too go to bed stressing about an upcoming lesson observation with the deputy head, or what kind of car I can afford to buy/maintain etc….whereas in Saudi, I had my head screwed on….here, I complain about the traffic. In Saudi I didn’t even complain when the heat reached 48deg or when people used to reg run their wheelchairs over my foot!
London is very fast. I’m often brain dead at the end of the day. And I’m the kind of teacher that legs it home at 3.45pm with no work to bring home!
And I agree with you tsmy. Routine and stablity is a blessing. Its just important to incorporate a balence of things that'l benefit your soul as well as your career/dunia etc. And its hard to maintain a balence at times.
ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...................
You read my mind.
im so sick of this ..... same old cr@p.....
day in day out....
if i dont do something different ....
im gonna loose it....
even more than i already hav. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
Back in BLACK
Personally, I dont think that leaving the UK will neccessarily mean leaving the rat race - life is what we make of it. Wherever you are.
Even in Saudi, where you have the Kabah in front of you, buisnesses closing five times a day etc...I still met people who spent their day so concerned with non-issues, they didnt have time to walk down the road where one single Salaah is worth 100,000...
Salam
Solution is actually quite simple.
If you stop being a rat, you wont be in that race.
[b]Be a lion, or a lioness.[/b]
Omrow
hakunamatata
anyone can cook (including rats)
Don't just do something! Stand there.