To read chapter 4 part I, click on the following link: https://creativewritersleague.co.ke/gratitude/
A close friend when asked why his speeches were so motivating and touching replied, “I don’t speak about solutions that I personally haven’t tried.” In this case for me, he was right. That is why this piece took this long to finally write.
For what experience is worth, I am blown away by what you’re about to discover of yourself today. And biidhnillah, it is the day you finally understand the kind of gratitude that will change your life.
But to do this, there are 3 things you have to understand to change your life as you know it.
We are more powerful than you could ever imagine. And its assistance has been waiting for you to finally understand how to use it; to let it serve you. It is why you’re here, listening to or reading this.
And it is also why if you sober up and open your mind, ah you will melt with realization of joy for what you were missing, and I dare say, denying yourself the right you were born with your whole life.
So secure your buckles and let’s discover the power that is You.
The first step to internalize is that, Gratitude is tied with Action.
If your friend or loved one was to give you a watch, being surprised and giving thanks is what we call Appreciation.
Gratitude, or being grateful on the other hand, is you putting it on every day and actually using it to tell the time. In the case it doesn’t match your clothing and you put it away, you remain appreciative of it but not grateful. For gratitude has a natural appeal in you to use anything with some benefit to you.
In other words, if you’re really grateful of something, you will gladly go for it and more so, use and enjoy using it in your favor. Anything less is appreciation, not gratitude.
You know that moment you take that first bite out of your favorite dish, ice-cream or pastry, and the world just fades away under your closed eyes, taking a second or two to feel the taste explosions of pleasure in your taste buds and sighing away the savor in harmony… that is gratitude.
Furthermore, it is also the second and most important thing you must absorb; Who You Are.
When a dead body is laid in front of you, you probably might run away and have nightmares of course. But if you can maintain, you would notice that if you wanted, you could move it any how you wanted. Even though once, it was someone; with personality, likes, dislikes, memories just like you are. But when they die, they are not there anymore.
Why is this important?
Because every single time you look at yourself in the mirror, admiring yourself or cursing that party crusher pimple, you are not really looking at the real you, but rather, the body that you use to function on this Earth.
The true and real you is the one inside; that exits when one dies or goes wires when something bad is about to happen. You are what is within you, within your body. And the brain is simply a switching station for you to control your ‘vessel’ in the way you desire. That is why the dead body is dead. Its owner is gone.
Now here’s the kicker.
Every single thing, concept, creation in this universe is made in a way that it is always in increase. Speak of age, experience, babies, plant shoots, days, years…everything. Even you. The deep inside you. And this is how it operates with increase.
Have you ever wanted something really bad; a phone, watch, food whilst walking home, a car, anything that somehow, someway you ended up getting with no real clue of how it got to you? That is your Nafs (let’s call it soul) for you, working to increase for you.
We have been given this amazing power within us that is desperate to serve in whatever we tell it to. It has no capacity to tell right from wrong and it is constantly observing us to see what we like and increase it for us.
Have you never wondered why every single thing we focus on, we always tend to see more of it in our lives?
Be it types of women, men, skin color, clothing, cars, hairstyles, makeup, style, fashion…anything that you think about all the time is as a result of that. A male can single out all the light-skinned women in a gathering with complete disregard to any other women just like a female can notice the type of shoes, handbag, clothing, manicure and makeup the women in a wedding have on.
That is not a fluke.
Your nafs , or subconscious mind as scientists call it, observed what you liked and worked tirelessly to find connections, combinations and influenced every decision you made to bring you to exactly where you are right now. Even reading or listening to this piece right now. It is not by chance. Nothing in this universe is ever by chance. This is all as a result of what you were focusing on. Whether right or wrong, your subconscious mind made every single connection to lead you to right at this moment.
The prophet aleyhi salaam was so conscious and aware of this fact so much so that whenever he would eat food and didn’t like it, he would leave it and say nothing. Because he understood that the subconscious mind is always observing for what you focus on and he didn’t want that to be criticism. A woman once approached him offering herself for his hand in marriage but she wasn’t his type. So he kept quiet such that a swahaba offered to marry her.
The prophet aleyhi salaam did not advise us to keep quite when we don’t have anything good to say just for the common courtesy and religious reasons. He knew. He understood.
When you spend time with perfume sellers, you end up catching their scent. And when you do that with blacksmiths, their dust shall settle on you. That time spent is what you focus on and the results, is what you get. The choice on what to focus on lies with you. Either way, you shall receive what you decide on.
What of Qadr (The Almighty’s Will)
You are responsible for the results you are getting in your life right now.
You cannot blame your teacher for failing the test even though he set the test and knew the answers.
You simply failed because you didn’t study.
This is life. Whether you fail or pass is up to you – regardless of the teacher knowing everything about answers, the test and even how you will do with how attentive you are in class.
Because if you study, whatever happens however, you will pass the test.
This is Qadar
So start studying for the success you desire in life. Your results depend on You. And that is how the Teacher decided it should be
And this is why no one will be oppressed or misjudged on the day of judgement. For the results you will be having that day, you made a choice to follow its path through what you focused on.
And your sub conscious mind, always wanting to increase for its master, found every possible reason for you to get more of what you focused on.
Mind bending. I know.
So what now?
The 3rd and perhaps the point that carries the ‘life-changing and transformational’ aspect of this series; which you’ll get in the third and final part of the Gratitude Chapter.
It took me a lot of studying to reach to this conclusion. And the mere thought that there is more to discover about how powerful you and I are sends chills to my core.
We were made Khalifas – Rulers over this earth.
That statement was not a joke. And after the coming final chapter, you will just realize how much when you get to learn simple, simple ways on how to use your power over your world.
And remember, you did not arrive here by chance. Observe on what you focus on and what comes your way in your life. And I’ll see you, in the next chapter.
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