May it be completely silent, so that the arrival of happiness may be heard coming…

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aprill 18, 2024 kirjutas Tasneem

I would like to thank Catherine for being such a lovely person and editing this text in the most loving and caring way possible.🌟

This line of poetry has remained in my thoughts for many years, since the time I left my homeland. At that time, I was not understanding the ulterior motive hidden in the lines of poetry; not knowing that so much hoped-for happiness was still not waiting for me.

I believe that all of us have met at some point during our lifetime someone who has achieved a permanent sense of contentment. In other words it can also be called a general feeling of happiness. Does such a person really have everything they want? Or maybe they have realized that we don’t create life from something that we don’t have, but instead from what we have at the current stage of life. Such a person has taken the imperfect details of their life and built the best possible outcome for themselves, felt satisfied with the result, and set new goals that are fulfilled step by step. The core of the whole topic is the understanding that we are all different, in our different lives and with very different living conditions. In light of these differences, it is important to utilize what we have in the moment and create the best way to live this specific life.

We all have different starting points based on different conditions. Our place of birth, childhood experiences, and genetics are influencing our entire lives. And even though I believe that with constant self-improvement it is possible to change the direction given to us at the starting point of our lives, the fact is that whoever starts the marathon halfway can reach the destination faster and easier than the one who begins the journey from its starting point. And some of us spend even half our lives searching for the marathon start line. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make any of us better or capable of more. It just illustrates life with this inequality. However, let’s not forget the different conditions subject to each one of us which immediately erases the topic of unfairness. This is because our differences also create a very different base, conditions, and desire for the outcome. The Islamic religion explains this theory very thoroughly by introducing the position of God as the All-Provider, the One Who guides, The Infallible Teacher, and The Preserver of Safety & Overseeing Protector. Therefore, it is pointless to compare yourself to others, instead, it makes more sense to focus only on your own life path.

On this path of life, the sign of success is not so much the achievements themselves, but rather the art of creating something likable from the conditions you have been given. Even though all proud life achievements are worth their high price, they are also often temporary, leaving you feeling empty right after achieving the trophy of victory. Such trophies can be exhibited and admired later in life, however, this does not necessarily put the winner of the marathon in a more successful position than the one who spent years looking for the starting line of the journey only to realize that the marathon is not meant for them. In fact, this can put the ‘loser’ in an even better position than the winner, because by abandoning the pursuit of ‘happiness and success’ dictated by society, it may have instead led them to discover their own personal and satisfying way of life that suits only them.

The more time I have spent alone, the less I have been influenced by external factors (society, its set criteria, companions, and their influences), and the closer I have become to myself. If you do not befriend yourself, you will not be able to create a life that is true to you. Society, on the other hand, is the opposite of being yourself, it alienates a person from themselves. Since God has created people to be social beings, the only solution here is not to live in total isolation (although that is not a bad option either) but instead to be very selective about the people whom you allow to be a part of your life. If your companions can accept you for your differences and are open-minded like you, then their influence will be supportive. I would like to give a contrary example to this. I once had a very close friend. I spent years empathizing with her hardships. Our paths diverged for a couple of years and reunited again for only one year following the initial break. Now that we have parted ways for the second time, when analyzing the past, it is easy to distinguish my emotional stability and life satisfaction level during these two different periods, being in communication with that friend and not being so as a comparison. Even though the ability to empathize is one of the highly valued characteristic traits, you have to learn how to set a boundary for situations where the ‘imprisoned person’ unknowingly locks you up too, to live with them in their own ‘cage’. Without giving any kind of judgment, I would like to mention that I myself have gone through such periods of ‘self-imprisonment’ and I understand the difficulty that was the life of my friend at the time. I gave this example to illustrate life with its whirlwinds, where you have to be able to create moments of silence for yourself, to ground yourself, and to find a source of strength/power so that you can move forward.

Bringing moments of silence into your life, in which the only sound is the voice of your own soul, leads you to rediscover yourself and creates the foundation for following the path of the soul. Such moments bring peace, which helps to organize your mindset. Satisfaction with life begins with our thoughts, not with what happens to us in life. Leaving aside the juxtaposition of one’s own destiny, there will be a lot of energy left over that can be directed towards building your life, using the conditions you have today, here, and now. This is how those who radiate a sense of satisfaction have created a better life for themselves and made even the lives of their companions a little easier.