Three Questions

Yesterday, I asked 3 questions that I think are and were profound in what I like to call my "spiritual" development. Oftentimes, many of us don't sit back enough and contemplate this whole thing that we call "life" and or God or Allah if you will. Sometimes pondering on the things that we tend to put on the back burner not only strengthens us, but makes us draw closer to Allah.
I have heard one too many times from "religious" folk that they definitely fear the Lord. If that is the case how come we don't submit as readily? As I asked yesterday:

Unless we are willing to submit to God are we truly fearful?

I mean, lets get real here, we have all seen it before, you know the same people at the club Saturday night, up in the Church Sunday morning shouting and passing out. Or the biggest hell raiser in the family is also the most so-called religious one. I'm not saying that we have to be perfect to praise God, but lets think about it for a minute. I mean even I do it sometimes, I such a good Muslim, yet I miss some of my prayers, or I'm not very careful in my speech. We all do it to varying degrees, which is the human flaw of non-perfection, but doesn't fearing God mean that we should try extra harder to please Him? Some of us consciously go against the will of God, and what's even worse, many of us don't have that self accusing spirit that allows us to at the very least fell bad about our transgressions.

What does it mean to submit?

There are volumes and hundreds of years of knowledge that try to communicate the precise definition of what this whole "submission" thing means. Personally, I believe that submission is not just the active or permissive obedience to God, but it is the conscience acceptance of the reality of God that lets us know that in truth we really don't have a choice but to submit, so instead of trying not to, we come into compliance naturally. Only when we accept our spec of sand position in the universe, and reverence Allah as He should be revered then in our humbleness we bow down and submit and true peace enters into our lives.

How can one submit on a daily basis?

Daily submission is not as hard as it sounds. First one needs to recognize that the world is going to go on with him/her or without them, and its best to act in harmony with the "way it is" than go against it. Then one should pray. Prayer is our communication with the divine and it centers and balances us on many physical and psychological levels. Submitting also means we have to exercise restraint. You know, when someone cuts you off in traffic! Instead of blowing a gasket, just learn to ignore the human flaw and just pray for them. Think positive about life. Thinking positive also forces you to act positive. As Jesus(PBUH), remarked so as a man thinks so is he.
Be positive to others and yourself. Watch how you communicate. A friend of mine told me that their mothers favorite saying was, once you write something, it can be erased, but the marks are still there. We really have to get away from our loose tongues. You know the phrases "if you have nothing nice to say don't say nothing at all" "the pen is mightier than the sword" etc. Lets not forget that God created the universe with a word. We are all little gods according to the scripture, at least potentially, so we have to remember that our words and deeds can not only create, but also destroy. Don't forget to be positive to yourself. Stress is the #1 killer. We have to learn to let go.

We must also be conscious as to what we put in our bodies as well. Don't forget you are what you eat.

I could ramble on and on and would probably start sounding like Confucius, Plato, or the Dali Lama, so I'm going to sign of for the day and God-willing come back tomorrow with another musing.

I really want to get into what going on with the world. The news is just so troublesome these days....