-by zartasha
On our way back from our errand in
Eglington Downtown, we decided to pass through downtown and lakeshore
heading towards Pickering.
Passing the CN tower and skydom as
we drove through the streets of downtown, we could see the work of
every architectural phenomena. High buildings reaching the sky.
Skyscape buildings. Every commercial product in the market. Every
industrial and human achievement and the accumulation of an abundant amount
of wealth.
The people all striving towards a goal,
almost running frantically towards a goal, but what goal? Ever since
we are young we are taught this concept of success but as we drive
through the streets of downtown, we realize that no one is in peace.
Downtown, the place where everyone does exactly what they want to do
without a care in the world. Everyone is competing and striving to
beat the rest in this conceptual success. There is every form of self
gratification available. Clothed in all the latest trends and yet
pain, worry and arrogance marks all these faces. You see people on
the streets and yet you see people on drugs, but people pass eachother
without recognition. No one talks, there is no mercy, thankfulness or
care for anyone. Everyone is different , everyone is unique and
everyones does as they wish. Is this really what we want? Is this our
measure of success?
Crossing through these streets disrupts
your own peace as though the world is cold although the day is warm,.
Is this what we are working so hard to become?
Exiting throughout the streets of
downtowm, we enter don valley parkway.
It contains a highway surrounded by a
beautiful park. Lush trees grouped together reaching towards the
heavens. Harmoniously breathing and their natural beauty is unmatched.
The air is fresh, the winds are cool, the park is as though a meadow.
The trees almost absorbing the pain, the worry, and returning peace
and love into the air. This beauty is wild and yet submitted to
the diving law of its creator. There is goodness in it. There is a
harmony to it that you can accept as goodness coming from a source of
goodness. As you see the faces of the drivres around, their calm is
reflected on their features. No loudness, no self gratification, no
worry, just peace.
We now turn to Eglington. There is a
combination of civilization and nature. You can see pigeouns now.
People are dressed more simply yet cleanly and comfortably. No one
is rushing. There is some famlies, some friends, you can sense
greater love here.
Than we approach kingston and as we
approach closer to pickering, the more you can see compassion rather
than competition. People are now striving to want the best rather
than to be the best. Humility and submission to the divine will are
replacing the arrogance and self gratification behavior. As though we
are taking the time to breathe, to plant the seeds to blossom into
beautiful flowers. There is small homes with gardens rather than high
sky scape buildings There is many birds. The people in the streets
are with families. There is lesser diversity and greater unity
because th e sense of community is growing. Wealth is not piled up and accumulated
but people are living well. Love is surpassing the need for fame and
self glory. People are considerate of their surroundings rather than oblivious.
It is as though we are coming closer to
heaven. But what do we really want? Why have we always been taught
that money, fame and power are marks of success? That knowledge of
technical advancements are the true marks of a great civilization? Why
have we been kept so busy to fulfill the greater essence of life
itself?
The essence of life is created when our
omnipotent self is awakened. A belief in a solid foundaiton behind
everything. To believe that there is a creator and that creator has a
will that marks every attribute of perfeciton, of goodness. And the
absence of it as as thought the absence of a light leaving all else
in darkness, Who taught us this is success? I've heard a quote that
Everyone says love hurts, but that is not true. Loneliness hurts.
Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts. Everyone gets
these things confused with love. But in reality love is the only
thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel
wonderful again, love is the only thing that doesnt hurt. Just like
sorrow is the absence of joy, just like chaos is the absence of
patience, just like darkness is the absence of light, and just like
evil is the absence of goodness, and ignorance the absence of
knowledge. Nothing is beautiful without the perfect omnipotent will
of the creator from whom originate all that is good. Goodness itself
is a manifestation of the divine and the true essence of life. To
believe that the beginning and the end belong to him. And to believe
that what will happen will the His good perfect will. The angry faces
just lackign that goodness within them deprived of the beauty that
Allah created in the best of moulds. Reduced to the lowliest of lows,
unmeasured greed and self gratification. Is this how we are measuring
success?
Everything just kept turning more and
more beautiful because as we neared Pickering, that will manifested
itself more. He is the Most Compassionate, He is the Most Just, He is
the Most Wise and so is His perfect will. And so people let their
compassion and want for the best supersede their competition and
ruthless and want to be the best. The streets empty of homeless
people. Like the final sermon of the prophet “my umaah, my umaah, m
y umaah”.
The greed, gluttony and envy of the
selfish desires replacing by an increase in humility and submission
before the perfect diving will. The wealth shared, the community. The
faces joyful and in peace instead of in hurry and greed and want.
We believed in goodness. Omnipotent
goodness. But all this beauty only manifested itself when we took the
first step even as it started wretched , but than the sincere heart
and the sincere intention, and Allah swt made it beautiful.
May Allah swt preserve the goodness in
our community.
