Pieces of Me

While Omar Ibn Khattab was walking at night to check on the people, he heard a mother ordering her daughter to dilute the milk.  The daughter replied, “Do you not know that the Emir of the believers has forbidden that?”  The mother said, “Omar Ibnul-Khattab does not see us now.”  She replied, “If Omar does not see us, his Lord sees us.”  When Omar heard these words, he put a mark on the house and went to his sons.  He told them, “There is a young lady in that house; which of you will marry her?  By Allah, I will not let her marry a stranger. If you do not obey me, I will marry her myself.”  His son Aasem married her, and in this way the son of the Amir of the believers married a milk-seller for her fear of Allah.  And so it is that Omar Ibn-Abdul-Azeez, the well-known and just ruler descended from this woman.  

Like many stories of the seerah of the prophet Muhammad SAW and his companions, this one has many nuances.  We can talk about how this woman was honest and so won the hand of the most eligible bachelor.  We can talk about how cheaters never prosper or how you have to stand up for your values.  We might even say that she puts Cinderella to shame. 

But the thing that stands out for me today – and hopefully for you to, is that this woman was congruent.  Congruent.  Congruent as in aligned.  What you see is what you get.  She’s the same inside as she is outside.  No hypocrisy.  She’s living according to her values – and all measures of happiness tell us that this is the best way to live.

When our insides – who we are when no one is watching or no one can hear – are in sync with our actions – how we act when others can see or hear - we become aligned, congruent, and happiness can be ours too.  It’s the notion of “an authentically lived life.” 

And without taking away from the concept of taqwa, because indeed Allah SWT can see and hear us at all times and is closer to us than our life’s vein, the idea of a life lived authentically carries this knowledge too. 

So, how to do it?  How do we live in a way that makes us feel like all that we consider to be good, right, and true to equate to happiness and positivity in ourselves and in how we feel about our own sections of the world? 

We do it, very simply, by taking the two parts and matching them up like a puzzle with only 2 pieces. 

1.  Listen to your Heart

I’ve quoted Steven Covey before (especially in regards to time management) and one of his other says is “Be sure that, as you scramble up the ladder of success, it is leaning against the right building.” 

Understanding what your heart really wants and knowing that the roles you take on in your life are ones that meet your heart’s desires helps ensure that no matter what happens, at the end of the day, you can find contentment and satisfaction in all that you did. 

In my last post I talked about trusting yourself and this comes into play here as well, trust your heart to tell you what it most desires. 

What do you want to be known for on earth?  What reputation would you like to have while here?  How do you want to be known with Allah SWT?

2.  Watch your Body

After determining the values that will shape who you are,  you need to choose to get your body to act on those values.  You need to guide your body to do the bidding of your heart’s most ideal desires.

Whenever you are forced to choose between one behavior and another you will always act consistent with what is most important and valuable to you.  You will choose the behavior that brings you closer to the outcome of what you want to be known for on earth and in the sight of Allah SWT.

Seems simple, right?  It is. 

Be “what you see is what is” in all your dealings, relationships, and deeds and all that is happy, authentic, congruent, aligned will be yours.  This is true, no matter what your life circumstances are.  It’s true if you’re a milk seller or the leader of an empire, or a loyal iamsheba.com implementer.

Yay, queens of Sheba, yay