A LIFE OF PURPOSE
No Time for Frivolity
JAMES HATFIELD, an Englishman from the town of Bury St Edmunds, was in his youth dogged by heart disease. His experience imbued him with sympathy for those suffering in a similar way. He therefore decided to do something to relieve their plight. The idea that came to him was around the world yacht trip single-handedly, with the aim of raising £100,000 in aid of heart and cancer patients.
In the summer of 1984 he commenced his journey, heading first for Cape Town in South Africa, then Australia, and finally across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans back to the port of Ipswich, from which he had set sail. In the South Atlantic, however, his boat met with an accident. It struck what he thought was a “ship container” and the rudder was badly damaged. Besides this, James Hatfield was seriously injured. He was making coffee in the cabin at the time of the collision and the freshly brewed beverage spilt on his leg, causing severe burns.
He set about steering his damaged ship into the nearest harbour, which happened to be Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. There he gave an interview on the BBC Radio programme “Outlook”. When asked about the injury to himself, which seemed very severe, he said: “It was very painful, but I was so preoccupied with steering my boat into port that I forgot all about it.”
A person with a supreme purpose in life knows that involvement in relatively petty side issues will only serve to detract from his main purpose and hinder his advance towards its achievement.
James Hatfield forgot about the injury because he had before him a purpose that superseded it. The pain he was suffering was of no consequence to him because he was on a journey to relieve the pain of others. Had he not steered his damaged boat into port for repairs, his whole purpose would have been thwarted; his journey would have come to a premature end and the benefits he had hoped would accrue from it would have failed to materialize.
So it is with anyone who has a supreme purpose in life. Such a person overlooks harm that has been done to him and relentlessly continues in pursuance of his goal. He knows that involvement in relatively petty side issues will only serve to detract from his main purpose and hinder his advance towards its achievement The purpose that spurred James Hatfield on was a desire to relieve the temporary suffering of others in this world. The Muslims, as a community, should be moved by an even greater resolve—the urge to save humankind from unending suffering in the next world. If, on their journey through life, they suffer injury or harm at the hands of others, they should overlook it and continue to seek their goal. Not only will their injuries fade into insignificance, the great task with which they have been entrusted will also be achieved.