Journeys

"And You? When will you begin that long journey into Yourself?" ~Mevlana Rumi (1207 - 1273)

I was contemplating how I would start this blog today and my mind wandered into journeys...so then I automatically started thinking about one of the main principles associated with Islam and really any part of a person's religious or philosophical part of oneself, the journey.

I was moved towards thinking about my own journey in my life and where I first remembered having thoughts in relation to religion and philosophy. I know I was six when the concept of something higher than myself just made sense. I recall that moment because I told the preacher of my home church these exact words...God just makes sense. He said, it's good to come to that conclusion...now you have your life to figure out what that means.

My preacher, and yes I still consider him my preacher, always has found a way to be a fantasic light on my path. Sometimes when I feel I'm meandering a bit, I can go to him for advice. When I was contemplating my conversion to Islam and the many complications that came with it, it was my preacher who helped guide me towards the source of strength of my journey, God, for guidance. Even though we are on different journeys, my preacher and I still have many crossroads where we can meet and learn from each other along our own paths.

So, here I encourage you, even if you do not know where you are going, to plan for a journey of sorts. Perhaps you haven't figured out what your ultimate goal is, what a higher power is or, maybe you are certain like I was and have a definite path in mind. No matter. Declare your journey as far as you know.

If you have a statement of your journey, verbalize it, write it down or put it in front of you in some form. For me, I have the Shahada, or declaration of faith, from Islam. There is no god but God and Mohammed is his prophet. You have something similar you can declare.

Look for crossroads along the way and people and things at those crossroads to help guide you through the meandering times. These things can be completely within your path or not. Never forget that sometimes a path is not a mere two-dimensional object, but can wind its way through space, time and realms we may not have conceived of yet during our adventure.

A Quranic verse for journeys:

In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:
Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe.
The Most Merciful, the Ever Merciful.
King of the Day of Judgment.
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help
Guide us to the straight path;
The path of those whom you have blessed, not of those who have deserved anger, nor of those who stray.

Verse 1:1 (The Opening)

Kelly
American Islamic Fellowship
blog@americanislamicfellowship.com