What will happen next? What do we expect as we walk down the street? What do we contemplate? Do we imagine turning the corner and a tree bursting into flames and talking to us? It happened. It happened to Moses. A bush in the desert spoke to him. Could it happen to you? Could an azalea burst into flames and begin telling you what to do next on behalf of your Lord? I’m not sure it happens every day, but I am sure it happens once in a while. I’m sure that the people that it happens to either faint, run away or, if they have the courage, stand still and listen. How often does Allah approach us? How often does He send us messages. How often do we run away? How often do we collapse? How often do we have the courage to stand still and listen, not being afraid of what it is that we might be asked to do. Not being afraid of the direction that the instructions will take us. Not being afraid to do the Lord’s will. We have, in many ways, encounters with the Lord on a consistent basis. There are all the testaments that tell us what to do. The Bible, the New Testament, the Qur’an. They’re books of instructions, instructions as to how to act, Instructions as to how to be, instructions as to what to do. How many of us have the clarity to understand the instructions. How many of us have the wisdom and tenacity to follow through on the instructions.
Allah is everywhere. Allah sees everything. We, on the other hand, are forgetful. We forget that Allah is everywhere and Allah sees everything. We act as if he is not with us. Are we waiting for our own burning bush before we get involved, or is the fact that the burning bush occurred once sufficient for us? Is the fact that holy words came through the mouths of men sufficient for us to listen. What do we need? What does it take to get us on the path of righteousness?
The difficulty is that there is no self in righteousness. As long as our path is self-righteousness, the path is illusory. The path is a mistake that we consciously make, yet constantly assert that we are not making that mistake simultaneously.
The ability to release ourselves of the ego-centric self is at the core of our turning toward Allah. Our will must be replaced by His will. One would think that that would not be such a difficult transition, but our will is stubborn in many varied and different ways. Our will refuses to let go of us. Our illusory understandings of existence refuse to leave us. These understandings of existence have been turned into forms by us. They surround us and keep us in encased in structures that we believe we can’t break through. They are like bars in a jail cell.
The key is in our right hand, but we don’t want to turn it because we either believe that there is no cell there, or we believe that it will have no effect.
Does a burning bush need to explode for you into fire before you can be motivated, before you can move? Does Allah need to repeat Himself or can he come at you in a new way? Can he empower you in a way that hasn’t been thought of before? Are you ready for a new way of looking at things? For a way that you’ve never contemplated before? Has your culture institutionalized you into paralysis? That is the belief in that culture.
Traveling around the world is an interesting and important aspect of our education…
