Assalammualaikum,
A few days ago, I put on my gardener's hat and repotted a bunch of my plants, and there were a few interesting things that I observed that I wanted to share with in my diary today. Before I proceed with the rest of my story, let it be clear that I am far from having a green thumb. I have killed many plants in my life  but somehow, over the past year or so, Allah SWT has generously willed the 3 or 4 plants we had brought home, to thrive! They are all growing so well, Ma Sha Allah, that we had to re-pot some of them in order to give them more space to grow, and now I have 4 healthy, beautiful plants! (Which is one had dead while im in long long sleep, but I got another one. Alhamdulillah!)
Today, I would like to share some of the biggest lessons that I have learned when we uprooted our plants (ever so carefully) to place them in their new home:
1) Learn to appreciate the hardworking roots, not just the beautiful leaves and flowers.
We rarely see the roots of a plant as they are always underground and unseen, but it is through their hard work that the plants get their food and nourishment. When we took the plants out from their original pots, it blew my mind how deep and wide the roots had stretched and how strong they were!
This made me think about some of the people I love and admire in my life whose beautiful character I am always in awe of. I only see their calm and gentle demeanour on the outside, but I am sure in private, they do a lot of spiritual "root work" that no one else knows and sees but Allah SWT. For example, I personally know someone who is always smiling, light-hearted, and generous no matter what circumstances she is in, and when asked how she does this, she humbly said, "I think it's because every morning before I start my day, I recite Alhamdulillah a thousand times".
For her, Zikir is her spiritual roots. It made me think, what then is mine?
Doing our own version of spiritual root work is so important as it will not only allow us to ground ourselves to Him, but it will also be the source of food that will nourish our Ruhs!
2) Be deeply rooted so you can bloom and flow
My plants have survived the coldest of winter nights and the harshest of summer days, and one of the biggest reasons they were able to do so is because of their deep roots. When they are stably anchored, they stand a great chance to fight against tough weather and circumstances. Similarly, for us, when our relationship with Allah SWT is rock solid, we will always remain steady and hopeful, instead of flailing around, feeling lost. The only way to successfully thrive in this Dunia and the next, is then, to root ourselves with Allah SWT.
3) When your roots are strong, you thrive even in new environments.
It's been a couple of days since our plants have been uprooted and re-potted and Alhamdulillah, I am happy and grateful to report that they are blooming really well in their new home despite being forcefully pulled out of their comfortable old pots. And yes, you guessed it, this was only possible because they had GOOD ROOTS! This strongly reminds me of my parents' #1 parenting principle: raise your children with strong Islamic values, and no matter where the kid goes in this world, he / she will still be connected to Him and In Sha Allah, will be able to stand on their own!
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Are they dying? Or are they healthy and robust? Also, are we planting and harvesting enough for our Akhirah? Or are we too busy looking at other people's flowers instead of cultivating our own?
As you think these through, I will leave you with a prayer: May Allah SWT allow you to be so rooted to Him, that you will always beautifully bloom in your own special way. :)
"Root"-ing for you always, With love, Iman |
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