WAITING FOR A HIGHWAY
WAITING FOR A HIGHWAY
Impediment to Progress
Omar Abdullah is the Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview with The Times of India (December 1, 2014), he was asked why there is still no development in his state. He referred to a lack of ‘roads’ in his state and said: “We are waiting for the four-lane Jammu-Srinagar highway.”
There is a general lesson in this answer: Everyone is waiting for a supposed “four-lane highway”. Every person has developed the obsession that he needs a “highway” before he can progress in life. As soon as he would acquire that highway, he would be able to start running towards his future unimpeded and reach his destination quickly.
This waiting psyche is a common feature of every man and woman. Everyone is unaware of that opportunity which is presently available to him or her. Every person feels that they can play a heroic role in life, provided they were given that required highway.
But, this kind of thinking goes against the laws of nature. Nature follows its own laws and not anyone’s obsession. This is a serious problem in the life of every man and woman. Due to this phenomenon everyone lives in ‘waiting’. No person is free of this psyche. Everyone is waiting for the train, which will never arrive.
Don’t wait for the moment; rather discover
the opportunity that is already present,
and avail it with wise-planning.
The only successful strategy of life is in the acceptance of reality. It is reality that prevails and not anyone’s personal whim.
Don’t wait for the moment; instead every moment try to discover the opportunity that is already present, and avail it with wise planning. In this way, you will surely find an entry into the list of super-achievers.
The definition of a wise man and that of an unwise man is very simple. One who lives in his own mind is an unwise person, and one who knows 38 Spirit of Islam Issue 26 February 2015 the reality that exists in the external world is a wise person. Success is one-percent based on your mind’s desire, while the remaining ninetynine percent depends on knowing what the external world is ready to give you.
The fact is that man did not create this world. The Creator is someone other than ourselves. We have to know what the scheme of things is in the mind of the Creator. We have to adjust our mind with this scheme of things; like one cogwheel that attaches to another. Success will then be as certain as the rising of the sun after the night has passed. o
A Problem is not a Problem
When you find some problem in the external world, believe in advance that the real place where the problem exists is only in your own mind. So, analyse the situation and try to re-engineer your mind, and then you will find that the problem is completely solved. Seeing a problem as a problem is the problem. If you see a problem as a normal event then there is no problem.
A problem is an inevitable natural phenomenon. When you are immature you see a problem as a problem, but when you are mature, you are able to see the problem as a normal event then there is no problem. It all depends upon your perspective.
Sheikh Sadi has narrated a story in his book, Gulistan that, once, he was walking on a street barefoot, and was complaining that he had no shoes to wear, but as he walked on, he saw a man who had lost his legs. Sheikh Sadi compared himself with this man. He said to himself: I am without shoes but this man is without legs so I am better than this man. Thus, he managed the tension and became normal.