LESSON OF THE DAY 449

Ayahs of the Day:
It is We who give life and who cause death, and We are the inheritors. And We know who among you are the ones who make progress, and We know those who linger behind. And it is in fact your Lord who will gather them, being Most wise, All Knowing. [15: 23,24,25]

Hadith of the Day:
If any one of you are making dua, let him be resolute in it. They should not say, 'O Allah, if you want to give, give me this or that,' for there is no one to compel Allah. [Bukhari & Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
The one who has tasted the sweetness of slavehood finds no repose in leisure pursuits. [Abdullah Manazil]

Guidance of the Day:
Don't interrupt others or finish their sentences. Think about it for a moment, how destructive this habit is, not only to the respect and love you receive from others but also for tremendous amount of energy it takes to try to be in two heads at once! When you hurry someone along, interrupt someone, or finish his or her sentence, you have to keep track not only of your own thoughts but of those of the person you are interrupting as well.

This tendency (which, by the way, is extremely common in busy people), encourages both parties to speed up their speech and their thinking. This, in turn, makes both parties nervous, irritable, and annoyed. It's downright exhausting. It's also the cause of many arguments, because if there's one thing almost everyone resents, it's someone who doesn't listen to what they are saying. And how can you really listen to what someone is saying when you are speaking for that person? Once you begin noticing yourself interrupting others, you'll see that this insidious tendency is nothing more than an innocent habit that has become visible to you. This is good news because it means that all you really have to do is to begin catching yourself when you forget.

Remind yourself (before a conversation begins, if possible) to be patient and wait. Tell yourself to allow the other person to finish speaking before you take your turn. You'll notice, right away, how much the interactions with the people in your life will improve as a direct result of this simple act. The people you communicate will feel much more relaxed around you when they feel heard and listened to. You'll also notice how much more relaxed you'll feel when you stop interrupting others. Your heart and pulse rates will slow down, and you'll begin to enjoy your conversations rather than rush through them. This is an easy way to become a more relaxed, loving person. [Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff]

Food for Thought:
The changing of the times is always strange, but being heedless through them is even moreso.