Sustenance & Gratitude..

I was driving around Riyadh today after a short unsuccessful visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an attestation ( did not happen.. inshallah Saturday :D)…

As always, I enjoy every trip I make in my car, or try to. I observe, see people, see buildings , roads and the city activities. I notice little things and insignificant people. Like a municipality worker cleaning or a woman fighting with a taxi driver. I see disappointed faces of young men walking out of office buildings.. no job. I see evil faces of dirty minded little brats driving around in their made up cars with loud music. I see government officers going about their day with that serious face which says : Talk to me and I will make you regret it!

I see a group of Bangladeshis standing in a corner in HARA developing a great business concept which will definitely work. The only problem is they cannot write it down in English and make a powerpoint presentation of it. I see Philipinos parking their old Lancers or Sunnys that they have upgraded into Corvettes and amazing cars.. clean , prim and proper. I see Pathans driving around in taxis and trucks with an expression that says : This is home too dude!…I see a lot, I see all that I can. I love my Creator and I admire His creation. It will always amaze me. I can never have enough of it. Every moment of my life is a learning process I thank my Allah for.

What truly amazes me and baffles my mind is how the setup of this world has been constructed and evolved to provide sustenance to everyone. How reason and cause produces needs and solutions that translate into work and how for some reason or for no reason , everyone gets provided for somehow. Take a look not too high up in the sky and you will see other industries in full swing. Birds doing their little work and flights and getting provided for. Take a look down on the ground not too deep and you will see how ants are running a whole universe of their own and sustenance is being provided. What a sloppy child dropped on the road, a piece of chocolate or biscuit is food for an entire army of ants. The cycle of life goes on.

Amazing!

I am writing this post for people who feel down and out because of some setback in business or loss of job or absence of work. I am writing this post for people who have everything and want more. I am writing this post for you , me and all of us. Us humans. Children of Adam. Lets see the world differently. Lets calm down and observe. Lets look.. really look…It is not all that bad.

We are born with nothing and we return with nothing but all the things we have done, thought and believed in during our time on Earth. We fly out of this body, leaving it in Earth.. from which it was made. During our time here, our top priority is sustenance. Or, should it be?  Don’t we see it being provided out of nowhere ? The hardship and the ups and downs that come between us and sustenance are not random and without reason. We experience them for a reason. To see more. Know more. Appreciate more.

The most important thing in life is the realization that none of us are alone. That there is a God observing. That everything we think, do and want to do is recorded. That there is an interaction that we ignore a lot. Only because we cannot see it. We take the responsibility of sustenance because of our own ignorance. Our responsibility is NOT sustenance BUT DEVELOPMENT of our hearts and minds. Honesty, Wisdom, Awareness of God, Gratefulness, Compassion, Worship and Appreciation. Not mere utterances of little thank you’s but deep realizations and observations of our Creator… resulting in true worship and gratefulness.

As we thank God for what we have, we are given so much more. Peace, joy, health and Sustenance.

No matter what the job maybe, I have found two types of people doing them… the grateful one and the ungrateful one. The grateful one earns more, gets more.. is loved more and enjoys life more. The ungrateful one sulks more, gets depressed more and ends up with not much…

Allah promises us: If Ye shall be Thankful, I shall Increase for you.

That is a promise.

Come my friends. Lets all thank our AL MIGHTY GOD for every little joy that we have. For our kids, our food, our transport, our homes, our loved ones and our health. Be you Christian, Jewish, Hindu and my Muslim.. let us thank Him. Our ONE Lord. Together.

Thank you Allah , Most Exalted, Most Merciful.. Thank you for everything you have given us. In words we thank you, and in Deed we shall be Grateful by SHARING and GIVING to those that need. Enlighten us and guide us. Enable us to bring light into hearts that feel you not and thank you not so that they may also join us in thanking you.

My Prayer

May All those lacking work and sustenance be provided for,  May All that have loans pay their loans happily and May all that wronged, be forgiven and others compensated.  

ALHAMDULILAH YA RUBBI, ALHAMDULILLAH YA RAHEEM, AL HAMDU LAKA..

Wa Sallim Wa Barik ala Syedna Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, Al Nabi Al ummi wa Habeebak Wa Ala Alihi Wa  Sallim.

Enjoy your Weekend!