LESSON OF THE DAY 501

Ayah of the Day:
God has made an example of a slave in bondage with no power over anything, and someone for whom We provide a fine provision from Us, and he gives of it secretly and openly--are the two equal? God be praised! But most of them do not know. [16: 75]

Hadith of the Day:
The most enviable of my friends is a believer who finds pleasure in prayer, who performs the worship of his Lord, well. Who obeys Him in secret, who is obscure among men, who is not pointed out by people, and whose provision is a bare sufficiency with which he is content. [Tirmidhi]

Wise Quote of Day:
Whenever people omit any of their religious obligations to cultivate their worldly affairs, God inflicts something worse on them. [Ali radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
Listen to your feelings (they are trying to tell you something. You have at your disposal a fool proof guidance system to navigate you through life. This system, which consists solely of your own feelings, lets you know whether you are off track and headed toward unhappiness and conflict--or on track, headed toward peace of mind. Your feelings act as a barometer, letting you know what your internal weather is like. When you are not caught up in your thinking, taking things too seriously, your feelings will be generally positive. They will be affirming that you are using your thinking to your advantage. No mental adjustment needs to be made.

When your experience of life is other than pleasant--when you are feeling angry, resentful, depressed, stressed out, frustrated, and so forth, your warning system of feelings kicks in like a red flag to remind you that you are off track, that it's time to ease up on your thinking, you've lost perspective. Mental adjustment does need to be made. You can think of your negative feelings in the same way as you think of the warning lights on the dashboard of your car. When flashing, they let you know that it's time to ease up. Contrary to popular belief, negative feelings don't need to be studied and analyzed. When you analyze your negative feelings, you'll usually end up with more of them to contend with.

The next time you are feeling bad, rather than getting stuck in "analysis paralysis," wondering why you feel the way you do, see if instead you can use your feelings to guide you back in the direction of serenity. Don't pretend that the negative feelings don't exist, but try to recognize that the reason you are feeling sad, angry, stressed, or whatever is that you are taking life too seriously--you are "sweating the small stuff." Instead of rolling up your sleeves and fighting life, back off, take a few deep breaths and relax. Remember, life isn't an emergency unless you make it so. [Don't Sweat The Small Stuff]

Food for Thought:
Within you is the kingdom of serenity that can create all of the prosperity that you could ever want. When you know you are in charge of your intentions, then you will come to know that you are in charge of your entire world.