THE NEED TO BE BETTER

Asalamualaykum Warahmatullah,

As we grow older and our time becomes shorter and faster and far more precious, we have to create priorities in our lives to make it better and efficient. 

When we are young and free we take advantage of the fact that we can waste time, we can dream we can hope for the future. 

But once you actually reach the age that you so badly wished for when you were a child, dreams slow down as you begin to take in your surroundings one at a time. 

Obviously you don't completely stop planning for the future, but you begin to question where time went, and how you wish you made the most of your past. 

One of the positives about growing older is recognising important relationships from less important ones. 

It all boils down to making an effort. 

Once you have realised the people you want to keep in your life, the ones you want to maintain a relationship with, you have to physically go out of your way to nourish it and keep it growing.

Even if it is a relative, the way you behave towards them will affect the relationship in the long run. 

Its strange, how we, as religious people forget that our life has a purpose. A meaning. 

We forget that this life is not the one.

I recently heard a lecture where it was mentioned that we are naturally born to understand that we have an afterlife and we are looking for better things. This explains why we are making this life the jannah that we hope for, even though we are aware that one day we will pass away.

It is crazy that we know but we don't act. We understand but we don't change. We are stuck in our ignorant ways. 

We know that we wont be here forever, yet we don't work towards that afterlife that we know we are striving for.

We as humans rely so much on hope that we assume that the mercy of God will save us (which if God wills, is the case). 

However, we need to stop knowing information and not practicing it. Especially if that is what we claim to believe. 

We need to work towards an evident end. Create an aim to become better. 

An example of this is a brother who recently found that he had terminal cancer and was given a short amount of time left to live. Through this he realised the reality of how he will be left in his grave with nothing but his deeds, none of his material goods will be brought with him to the grave. 

This hit me. 

The idea that we waste time in arguments, in drama, in negativity, instead of knowing our religion inside and out and practicing it with purity, rather than getting lost in our materialistic goods. 

Ya Allah make us stronger. Make us better. 

Watch the video of the brother, it says it all there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJoId1f4f3M