If you think wellness is expensive try illness.

If you think forgiveness is demeaning try anger.

If you think love is hard try loneliness.

If you think a pandemic is the ultimate suffering try war and famine.

There’s always something worse or better around the corner and it all depends on your frame of mind. It is up to you to be the optimist, the pessimist or the realist in every situation. The glass is neither half full nor is it half empty, it just simply is what it is; a glass container with water reaching the middle of it. It is our thoughts that determine how to see the glass forgetting the very essence that the glass is refillable.

Do not let the hardships of the world shake your confidence and beliefs, be kind to yourself, be hopeful and be determined. Only when you are kind and loving towards yourself can you begin to share those sentiments with others. Rather than looking down on the situation let us be reminded that it is through pain and suffering that we rise and it is through detrimental times that we realize the value of what we’ve got or what we had.

Let us also be mindful of the way we are with others. Sometimes you might think you are being kind but there is an etiquette to it we need to follow. We need to practice ettiquette when dealing with others especially people around us who are fighting a battle we know nothing about. Be kind and mindful of how you approach others. If you know someone who is suffering from an illness wether mentally or physically please do not shame them nor blame them for the difficulty they are undergoing. When you see someone struggling with an illness please do not use religion or the lack of it to verify it. Believe it or not many people continue to struggle with illnesses while being completely religious and faithful. In fact isn’t it in the Islamic faith that we are reminded that those who Allah is fond off are tested through pain and suffering? So pressuring the ill or depressed people to turn back to religion or blaming their religious shortcomings on their unfortunate situation defeats the purpose and makes them feel more helpless and inadequate. Remember, other people’s suffering isn’t about you so the best thing to do is just listen, nod and offer a helping hand. Reminding them that they’re not alone and that this too shall pass is more than enough.

For people overcoming other kinds of illnesses like covid please do not treat them like germs when they’re finished with quarantining. When you cringe or act skeptical around them it makes them feel as if the long days they’ve spent in isolation afraid to go near or touch anything wasn’t hard enough and now they are shamed by society. Let us remember that nobody chooses to be sick, that this is a predicament enforced by Allah and only when we remember that will we be more understanding, accepting and compassionate.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that. – Martin Luther King Jr.