If you read the last post I put up, then you hopefully remember the lab-rat-in-a-maze analogy. I was pretty much exploring what this whole life thing is NOT, but got carried away and forgot to give a shot at what it IS. Cue my big brother. (I *heart* my big brother, btw!) He sent me what I thought was the perfect explanation and it stays on point with the animal-habitat theme.
He said:
“Maybe you should extend it (the analogy) to show what it’s really like – now that you’ve explained what it’s not (a lab rat in a maze). In some ways we’re like that spider, rat or random creature trapped in the house that we’re trying to get back out into its natural habitat, where it belongs, without killing it.
“Have you ever tried doing that? It keeps running away in fear, because it doesn’t trust us and thinks we’re trying to kill it. Try it with an ant and a piece of paper one day…
“So here is Allah (SWT), trying to catch us and take us out to the Real World where we can see the big, wide life that we really desire so we can experience its wonders, because that’s where where we belong. But we just won’t trust Him and give up control to Him for a while. So we keep running the other way every time He approaches us with cheese/bait…”
I thought that was the most beautiful way to put it. If only we’d learn to get off our high horses and just DO what He says, trusting that He not only knows better, but actually Knows Best. That trust in itself seems to me to be the most rewarding aspect of the process – to be able to Absolutely rely on someone with no fear, no doubt and not the least bit of hesitation. Who doesn’t want that kind of a relationship? That kind of freedom?
So why not try it? After all, Allah (SWT) Himself has said that if we would only trust Him the way He deserves to be trusted, He would provide for us the way He provides for the birds…
S’laams
bint Ali
Peppermint Prose 