Some people work out their urge to superiority by plying their physical and sexual attractiveness—what the psychoanalysts call the “Don Juan” character. Others work it out by the superiority of their minds; others by being generous and helpful; others by making superior things, or money, or playing beautiful music, or being an unusual mimic and joke teller; some work it out by being devoted slaves: “I am a locus of real value because I serve the great man.” Others serve the corporation to get the same feeling, and some serve the war-machines. And so on, and on.
Understanding who's in control
Many people cannot find internal peace because they believe that they are in control. We confuse our ability to make decisions in life with having actual power. Trials and tribulations force us to recognize Allah's irresistible power over us. He is Al-Qahar (The Irresistible, the Subduer) and Al-Azerz (the All-Mighty). This knowledge then leads to a redeeming understanding of our own poverty and need for Allah. It inspires a beautiful humility before God. It inspires an experiential understanding of the golden statement: "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah": that there is no change in state and no power or strength, except by Allah. That it is not us that can save anyone or anything. That it is not us who can fix it. That we are nor in charge. Allah is.
This realization can save our lives. It can save our relationships. The human heart was never created to carry the weight of the world upon it. Only Allah can carry this weight and until we can hand this burden to the One who owns the heavens and the earth, we will continue to suffer under the crushing weight of this false sense of control.
Sayfa 40Kitabı okudu
“You are not loved by everybody, but that does not mean you are not loved at all. You are not the most beautiful, but being the most beautiful is not what matters most. You are bound by nothing but your own fear, so you will not find freedom anywhere but within yourself.”
you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with a lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow
Sayfa 27
You know sometimes it's the little details
that take up the most room in your heart.
How nervous they get
when you tell them you think they're beautiful,
the way they laugh
even if it's not supposed to be funny,
the way they reach for you and they find you through the dark
even if their eyes are
closed.
Sayfa 38
