Rather accidentally discovered a quote by C.S. Lewis which spoke to a current situation in my (at this moment) less than charmed life. “ The dream is ended- this is the morning.” This I find, a hopeful message, as the morning is the dawn of a new day. Many of my dreams have died, have ended recently. Some shall be explored and analyzed on this blog but some shall not be.
Me: I am in charge here. (I write laughingly)
Alter Ego: Indeed you are!
Then more of C.S. Lewis appeared.
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” (The Four Loves)
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
C.S. Lewis was a Christian and spoke of his faith. ““I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” That is as I see my Islamic faith. I believe in Allah, as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” The Qur’an: “Their likeness is that of a person who kindled a fire; when it illuminated all around him. God took away their light, and left them in darkness, unable to see. Deaf, dumb, blind. They shall not return.: (2:17-19)
What in the world would I do without the Internet? At one point in the not too distant past, I made the determination to become an Islamic scholar, envisioned myself at the library of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi slaving over scholarly works. But that was not to be, because my Emerita retirement visa was denied. However, this is a new morning, the Internet contains so vast knowledge and information and has the distinct advantage of being portable. At the inception of my becoming a Muslim, in telephone conversation with ‘my’ Islamic scholar spoke of the effect of the printing press and the publication of the Gutenberg bible on the rise of Protestantism. People were able to read the Scriptures on their own, not relying on the Roman Catholic Church’s interpretation. That made all of the difference. ‘My’ Islamic scholar agreed that a blog, accessible by Internet could, in this day and age, serve the same function. These were his words.
He: Yes, Alexis. I teach the precepts of the faith to a small group of children – your blog reaches so many, all over the world. It seemed that a blog, accessible through the Internet, in this day and age, could spread the faith in much the same fashion.
Me: Yes!!! It seems I was made for the job.
A precept is a principle, rule, tenet, canon, code, doctrine, guideline, working principle, law, command, order, decree, mandate, dictate, dictum, directive, direction, instruction, injunction, prescription, commandment; mitzvah. .
Oh, by the way, in case any of you are wondering, I am fasting this Ramadan. Do occasionally take a day off, to be made up at the end but am doing it. The fasting along with adherence to my Intentions brings peace. I am a driven woman, have been all of my life. This has allowed me to lighten up on myself.
My faith does not falter in the midst of adversity. I never loose faith in Allah when misfortune strikes. The misfortune guides me along the path that destiny has chosen for me. Adversity has many names: ill luck, bad luck, trouble, difficulty, hardship, distress, disaster, misadventure, suffering, affliction, sorrow, misery, heartbreak, heartache, wretchedness, tribulation, woe, pain, trauma, torment, torture; mishap, stroke of ill luck, stroke of bad luck, accident, shock, upset, reverse, reversal, reversal of fortune, setback, crisis, catastrophe, tragedy, calamity, trial, cross, burden, blow, vicissitude, issue; hard times, dire straits, trials and tribulations; hell, hell on earth, hassle, stress.
It appears that the recent calamity, vicissitude, heartbreak and tribulation served to purge me of impurities. Purge is to rid (someone or something) of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling. Synonyms are; cleanse, to clear, purify, wash, shrive, absolve, free someone from; make someone pure.
What was the someone or something of unwanted quality? I have cleansed myself, purified myself of parasites. Parasites have haunted my life since the beginning of time. Parasites have the creepiest synonyms: hanger-on, drone; bloodsucker, sponger, sponge, scrounger, freeloader;, cadger; moocher, mooch. But as the years have passed the hangers-on, the freeloaders, the moochers, the bloodsuckers are soon realized and leave my presence either because I reject them, they reject themselves or, as seems to be the situation recently, Allah removes them for me. There is a very slight period of mourning but then it is a new morning. I have renewed vitality and somehow never loose hope, never become embittered or cynical. If one is surrounded by drones and spongers there is no room for the good folks.
Back to C.S.Lewis for this pertinent quote: “Adventures are never fun while you’re having them.” From the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He definitely has a good point. Life can be indeed fun, be an adventure, but there are occasional moments when it is not fun at all.
Tomorrow’f blog will discuss another dream that ended. The dream of living in this Muslim country. This UAE has been swept over by the Western culture and way of life. The thinking and analysis from Dr, Azeem’s epilogue in The Status of Women in Islam. Stay tuned.
Pictured is a package of Oreo cookies. The two black cookies are gone – only the pure white vanilla center remains. I am actually very pure, particularly these days.
