The Best Person We Can Be

Is there any person in this world who doesn’t like to be recognized for what they are and what they do? Unfortunately, people are often judged by their looks, their family, their clothes, and the people they mix with. There is so much emphasis on the external superficial parts of a person that the person himself is usually left feeling lonely (even in a crowd), misunderstood (even though people say they love him), and perhaps even spending most of his life concentrating on developing these external parts of himself so as to be accepted; whereas in reality he knows that the real him is something very different.
How many people leave this world without ever having been appreciated for their real selves, without ever having discovered who they really are and what they are capable of doing? What a waste! And the thing is that we live our lives making sure that the way we dress, the place we live, the people we mix with, and even the food we eat are “right.” Somewhere along the line we forget to ask ourselves what we like to wear, what we like to eat, what we like!
In Ramadan month, we have to live our lives feeling hungry and yet still get on with our daily routine and work. We get to appreciate how the poor people feel every day of their lives. We learn how much strength we actually have inside because we manage to keep going. We may surprise ourselves with the depth of our perception when we read Qur’an and contemplate the meanings. We learn what it feels like to give to someone who appreciates what you have done and so you have the desire to give more.
Really, it is up to us how good we feel in life. As we live our lives we get feelings that serve as indicators telling us whether we are close to the truth or far away. Some people describe these feelings as a sense of tranquility when you do what is right, and a sense of anxiety when you do something that is wrong. Have you ever helped a person in need and felt bad? I don’t think so! Because most people will say they felt “good” after doing a noble action. Likewise when you sacrifice something for someone else, you feel good; when you tell the truth, you feel relieved; and when you pray sincerely, your heart feels at home.
So, we should all take every opportunity that life presents us with to develop ourselves. And I don’t mean just developing the superficial qualities or making more money, but to search our souls and find our potential and then dedicate our lives to being the best person we can be. A very important part of that is reaching out to others. When we try to help someone even a stranger our hearts feel uplifted and our insight deepens. When we do such things with the intention to please the Creator, angels will accompany us on our way through life and our feelings of mercy and kindness will emanate from our countenance, words, tone of voice, and actions until we put ourselves in the position of being eligible to receive the guidance and forgiveness of Allah whose mercy is apparent everywhere we look.