LESSON OF THE DAY 432

Ayahs of the Day:
And the simile for a vicious word is as a noxious plant unrooted on the surface of the earth with no stability to it. God will stabilize those who believe by the enduring word, in the life of the world, and in the hereafter. And God will leave the wrong doers astray, and God does what God wills. [14: 26,27]

Hadith of the Day:
Dismiss the stumblings of those whose reputations are good. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Faith rests on four pillars: patience, certitude, justice, and struggle. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Your heart is revealed by the way you treat elders. Like children, the elders are a burden. But unlike children, they offer no hope or promise. They are a weight and an encumbrance and a mirror of our own mortality. It takes a person of great heart to see past this fact to the wisdom elders have to offer, and to serve them out of gratitude for the life they have passed on to us.

Having gratitude for our elders is not easy in this culture. We have lost a feel for them. They are a sad, gray presence hidden behind clumsy phrases like "the elderly," "senior citizens," and retired persons." They are tolerated out of guilt, feared for the burden they represent, or shunted aside into irrelevance. They are not loved and honored and sought out for the wisdom that their years have given them. Even if theirs was the simplest, most limited, most ordinary of lives, the elders saw the world into which you have come. No other past generation is as close to yours; no other life so near in time. Their stories have the blood of your life running through them.

You will never be so near to the world that gave birth to you as you are when speaking to them. For that and that alone you should honor and revere them and give them your ear. You are bonded in time. But more than that, the elders offer a glimpse into your own future. They were you and you will be them. You carry the seeds of your old age in you at this very moment, and they hear the echoes of their younger years each time they are in your presence. Each touch you have with them makes you wiser in ways you cannot imagine. [Simple Truths by Kent Nerburn]

Food for Thought:
Always think of the power words have. Because everything you think and read will affect your actions. Therefore always be positive. Be deaf when people tell you that you cannot fulfill your dreams.