Redha

This week has been rather hectic, so I have not been able to spend much time "entertaining" guests to this blog.  Though I do try, in between meetings, during lunch breaks, late at night or very early morning, it is very difficult to take my thoughts away from work.

I wish I can be like some people who can do many things all at once, unfortunately I'm not made that way. Once I am on to something, I have this tendency of overdoing things to the point of being obsessed.  It's what someone used to describe as single-minded tenacity in the pursuit of the absolute, whatever that may mean.  By the time I had the time to ask him what he actually meant by that, he'd already left for a scientific research expedition to Alaska, and I never hear from him since.  That was especially sad, as I really liked him, but life goes on and time waits for no man.

Personally I think it is OK to be single-minded, if I may say so myself, but that single-mindedness must be tempered with wisdom and intellect.  The ability to remove emotions from the equation, reason things out with logic, and most importantly to analyse information from all sources and perspectives, outside the scope of self-interest, will be crucial if we were to avoid being manipulated by others.

One of the things I love about Islam is the concept of "redha" as derived from one of the six articles  of Islamic faith, faith in the pre-ordained (Qada & Qadar).  Please do correct me if I am wrong, but from my own personal experience, that is when something happens, you must have the capacity to accept the outcome as pre-ordained and should not find someone or something to blame. According to my Mom, who used to remind me to be "redha" at all times, being "redha" will help me to move on, because there is always something to be learned from every misfortune, and I will not have the capacity to learn if I keep looking for someone to blame.

Over the years, I have learned that being redha with what life allots me has helped me to understand my limitations, single-mindedness being one of the more problematic ones, and find ways to overcome these limitations without trying to blame every misfortune and calamity on someone else.  It also has helped me to move forward without carrying too much baggage of the past and enabled me to think with a clearer head.

I am sure other faiths have something similar.  It would be nice if we can discuss this concept without being overtly political or downright hostile, but I doubt that is possible in the present political atmosphere.  Redha is much needed in politics.