Nadir Keval

Have you ever noticed that there are those short periods in life where things just don’t go right at all? When you begin to feel as though you may have done something that lead to your fate being as it is?

In this last little while, since the last time I wrote a blog here, I lost a relative to leukemia, someone close to me collapsed and was hospitalized, and alongside these events came the realization that there is a necessity for change in my life. I wondered what I have done to have deserved these tests, but quickly, though admittedly painfully, I came to realize that these tests were just that: tests.

I began to realize the aspects of my life that had major parts to play in my past, present and future, and realized that many of these things had elements of dysfunction and a lack of uniformity. Is this a reality for most people in the world, or is it just me?

Why is it that as time progresses, we let go of our youthful imaginations and ambitions towards greatness, and barricade the walls to creativity with notions of what reality is? Reality should be open to interpretation. What does that mean? Well, it means that we should be able to accept the events and aspects of life, whether seemingly good or bad. But, if we feel unhappy with the consequences of these events or aspects of life, we should make changes within ourselves in order to bring back happiness. This may mean doing things that appear to the naked eye to be unexpected or outside of the ordinary, but in the end, the only glasses through which your eyes should seek contentment is the glasses of your heart.

When I say this, I’m sure that some may look at it as being some sort of abnormal thing, projecting some idealistic, optimistic approach to dealing with life, but is that true? Or, could it be that what I said earlier about restraining ourselves with this so-called reality is what seems to TRULY hold us back? It may appear as though living your life according to your hearts level of comfort may sound irreligious to those who submit to the will of God, but in fact, it is not. At least, not in my understanding.

When we approach religion (and the reason I say religion is because it is the way of life that I understand – ie. I follow a religion, and have made it my lifestyle, and know no other form of living), we are to submit to the will of God, because in fact, embrace of a religion means an embrace of its every aspect. That said, I do know that God would never place upon His creation more than that which we cannot handle. Also, He knows better than we do as to what is good for us and what is not, because there are some things we may find to be good that are actually bad for us, and there are some things we may find to be bad, but they are good for us, but we do not know. God knows best. And, finally, we cannot think that just by saying that we believe, that we wouldn’t be tested in our faith. It makes no sense to me to not test someone on their claim every once in a while, just to make sure that they’re still standing strong by their claim.

Back to the point at hand… we need to recognize that embracing a lifestyle, and embracing life altogether is not an overnight thing. It takes time. There are some things that some of us find difficult, while others find those same things easy. But there also may be times when others find something difficult that you found to be easy. This is a part of life. Growth towards being the best you can be, while being the best you can be to yourself. If you are not satisfied with life, change something about your life to see if that will satisfy you. I’m not suggesting that you live based on your whims and desires. That would be ignorant. Live according to standards you set based on your beliefs and values. Then, you will always stay within what is good for you, because you will always accept that whatever life brings you is something that has some value of good. You may not recognize what that is now, but it’ll come with time. Just be patient. It’ll all be alright.