Eureka! A Lesson

Background: 

The recent affairs of my daily bearings have induced a multitude of humbling ruminations. I've found myself questioning the unlikeliness and probabilities of fate, destiny and coincidence - the simple act of meeting a person, the mere occurrence of an event, the consequences of flimsy actions, thoughtless decisions, and how each of these elements will unfold to serve a higher purpose. The concepts of hikmah, jodoh, along with qada' and qadr' - of proceedings that are bound to happen, all readily written in the stars, and the steps we individually take to experience its outcomes.

Ground: 

I liken it to an endless expanse of fabric, with each thread and conjuncture a path for us to take, a turning for us to choose. All the possibilities are set in this material, and our freedom of will is to determine which strand we will follow to get to the other side of the textile. Our subsequent decisions open and close various other paths accordingly, fair and just. The test of life isn't so much as an open ended essay question, it is more a multi choice exam with numerous options. So there it is - we exercise our power within our limitations, we push our limitations within our capabilities.

Foreground: 

It hit me in a breathless second - that however sure we are, however confident we are in ourselves, in our fate and our course, there's always the chance of something bigger, more incredible, more terrifying, beyond our expectation and power of prediction. A relatable comparison could be living in a 2D world before realizing it's 3D; or perhaps having a piece of paper, understanding and accepting it as its own entity, before finding out that it's actually a small part of a large jigsaw puzzle. It's the adage of the everchanging - that however content we may be, there is always room for growth and improvement, a capacity for prospects to change, whether we fight or welcome them, whether for better or worse. The bottom line is to not ever be complacent, but to thrive, and to live.