“Oh I do. Shikenan kawai I’ve made up my mind” - A naive and fully confident me who believed I had complete control over my life.
“lol you’re lucky you get to make up your mind. For me it’s like ‘toh let’s see what happens’” - Them.
An attempt to convince “them” to attend school in the same country as me.
I was certain I would go. They weren’t. Guess what? They’re there and I’m still yet to set a foot in that place.
The point is, this dunya is a towering stack of mights. Life itself is uncertain. Even when you think you’ve successfully tucked yourself away in a safe haven of predictability, anything could change in a heartbeat.
Human beings are generally very uncomfortable with uncertainty. We like knowing things. We like events and circumstances to be connected and explicable. We appreciate the “cause and effect” stories because they give us a sense of security. If we know that traveling by road could get us kidnapped, then all we have to do is avoid doing that. And if we know that traveling by air is safer, then all we have to do is do that. Cause and effect is what we want to hear because it gives us a feeling of control over our lives. But what happens when we hear of the person who traveled by air and still got kidnapped?
What happens if we take preventative measures and they fail too? We are overwhelmed with a strong sense of helplessness, frustration and anger. We hate it when there is no remedy for the situation we are in. We hate when things just can’t be explained.
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”
The only constant in life is that it will involve change. Try as you may to control your future, but sometimes, in fact, most times, all you can do is put your faith in Allah, Al Wakeel, and know that no matter what happens, you will be able to adapt and make the most of it by His Will & Might.
Every action we take or don't take, every breath, is governed by Allah's will. The curtains hiding the future are stretched in full so as to hide everything beyond the present moment. Our eyes cannot discern what is behind that curtain, and our minds are finite, no matter how advanced our knowledge may be.
When we’re stuck, we realize our own fragility and the fragility of His creation. The logic we depend on to understand the world is not enough. Resources are limited.
This is why I love the concept of saying ‘In Sha Allah.’ Nothing is definite or guaranteed. Tomorrow belongs to the realm that lies beyond the reach of human perception. As such, it is known only to Allah. Hence, we do not make any assertions about it. What a blessing, and how lucky that life is so unpredictable?
Not knowing what to do, being stuck, feeling overwhelmed and/or anxious isn’t the end of the world. Being human means making mistakes. It's okay. It always is. What matters, is what you do (i.e. not dwelling on it, complaining about the consequences, or living in the past).
These experiences are meant to help us navigate our way to the One whose door was open all along and whose resources are unlimited.
What if—just what if— being stuck isn’t the problem, but how we perceive it?
Uncertainty can keep you up at night, obsessing over ways to protect yourself from anything that might go wrong. Or it can motivate you to practice acceptance, live in the moment, and embrace the adventure of living.
What’s coming tomorrow might not be easy, it can be an incredibly overwhelming, frustrating, and even paralyzing experience- or it might fulfill you in ways you didn’t know to imagine. What’s certain is that it will come and when it gets here, you’ll respond to it, learn from it, and move into another tomorrow full of endless possibilities before you ultimately return to your Creator.
It’s okay to have doubts. It’s okay to not know. You’re human. I’m human. We’re human. The harder we try to fight uncertainty, the deeper into the worry cycle we progress.
Change and growth are the laws of nature; 'who you are’ is a process, ever-changing. Discovery happens only in the midst of action, and discovery is inevitable; discovery begets questions; discovery begets uncertainities. The act of living is perpetual discovery; life is perpetually in flux.
No one ever has it “all” figured out. No one. The goal is to have 'enough’ figured out for all the other uncertainities and questions not to affect you (or greatly diminish how much those things affect you). Know your priorities, who you are, what you want, what truly matters and what doesn't, how to manage stress, how to deal with difficult emotions, how to take care of yourself, etc.
Acceptance, in my opinion, is the key to convert momentary happiness to enduring happiness. It helps you move from feeling happy to actually being happy.
We must also make room for what Allah may will in our case. Should Allah help us to put into effect what we intend, then all well and good. But if Allah’s will moves in a different direction, we should not despair or be sad. All matters belong to Allah at the beginning and at the end.
“Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” {31:34}
We ask Al Hadi for guidance & Al Mubeen for clarity. We ask Al Hakeem for understanding and As Sabūr for patience.
Dealing with Uncertainties: Boy, Do I have a Lesson for You.
You always write stuff exactly when I need them, love this🥺
Alhamdulillah