A HoLe in tHe Road of ConTinuitY SwalloWs InteGriTy
When you are on a roll, you should try and keep on rolling, as long as you are rolling towards the right place. As soon as you stop, you might find it difficult to get moving again. Movement is life and inactivity is death.
If we stop for too long we can forget how to move, how to steer and where we were going. We are on a vehicle that doesn't seem to stop in one place for too long, like it is sloping upwards so that it is engine driven upwards or rolls inevitably backwards. We can't always pick up everything where we left off, so it's better not to stop in the first place if we don't have to.
When our engine stops we can get distracted by everything except what we want to be distracted by. If someone is regarded as a danger to a particular group of people, and that individual's work is feared, the endangered group will do all it can to hinder the work of that dangerous individual. A whole city may not produce one thinking man, but one thinking man might make a whole city think or he may even give birth to a city, which although impressive, could be quite painful. Stop that man thinking, break his concentration, cut off his flow, throw him off balance and see how quickly he can fall. Take your eyes off the ball and the ball can hit you in the face.
When you are in the right gear and moving forward any break in concentration, any wrong handling of steering or obscuring of the way ahead may turn the vehicle off the road. Consider the thinking man requiring silence to hear his own thoughts, any disturbance may break the walls of the castle he built in his mind and the bricks may become lost. All the kings horses and all the kings men might not be able to put Humpty Dumpty together again, and that's quite a problem because a lot of children wont ever get to see him sit on the wall. And that wont do in a society where people get along by building walls and sitting on fences or walls.
When we engage in productive work we are flowing like a river, we may switch direction and change speed several times due to the environment, but we remain a river while flowing. If we stop prematurely we can fast become a stagnant pond, we can't move and then we can't breathe. If the river meets an obstacle it needs to maintain the momentum to overcome the barrier or break through the dam. When it does so, it demonstrates its drive and direction and its unwillingness to cease its own nature and purpose. If the work has to be done, then has to be done so its best not to listen to the detractors and distractors.
If we stop for too long we can forget how to move, how to steer and where we were going. We are on a vehicle that doesn't seem to stop in one place for too long, like it is sloping upwards so that it is engine driven upwards or rolls inevitably backwards. We can't always pick up everything where we left off, so it's better not to stop in the first place if we don't have to.
When our engine stops we can get distracted by everything except what we want to be distracted by. If someone is regarded as a danger to a particular group of people, and that individual's work is feared, the endangered group will do all it can to hinder the work of that dangerous individual. A whole city may not produce one thinking man, but one thinking man might make a whole city think or he may even give birth to a city, which although impressive, could be quite painful. Stop that man thinking, break his concentration, cut off his flow, throw him off balance and see how quickly he can fall. Take your eyes off the ball and the ball can hit you in the face.
When you are in the right gear and moving forward any break in concentration, any wrong handling of steering or obscuring of the way ahead may turn the vehicle off the road. Consider the thinking man requiring silence to hear his own thoughts, any disturbance may break the walls of the castle he built in his mind and the bricks may become lost. All the kings horses and all the kings men might not be able to put Humpty Dumpty together again, and that's quite a problem because a lot of children wont ever get to see him sit on the wall. And that wont do in a society where people get along by building walls and sitting on fences or walls.
When we engage in productive work we are flowing like a river, we may switch direction and change speed several times due to the environment, but we remain a river while flowing. If we stop prematurely we can fast become a stagnant pond, we can't move and then we can't breathe. If the river meets an obstacle it needs to maintain the momentum to overcome the barrier or break through the dam. When it does so, it demonstrates its drive and direction and its unwillingness to cease its own nature and purpose. If the work has to be done, then has to be done so its best not to listen to the detractors and distractors.
Aisha reported that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said,
"The actions most loved by Allah are those done continuously,
even if they are small." (BUKHAARI, MUSLIM)
Continuity allows us to repeat our actions until we gain proficiency, it allows us to prepare for what our past journey showed us.
Continuity makes tasks easier through familiarity. This is not only familiarity with the task itself but all the matters associated and surrounding it. The expert smoothly enters the world of the familiar whereas the novice is thrown into the world of the unknown.
Continuity instills discipline. The continuous application of effort, thought, and focus translates our purpose into facts rather than dreaming about them. Laziness and escapisms can become a virus in a body which has allowed its defences to be breached through indiscipline, stagnation and carelessness.
Continuity moves us closer to the gates of success. Interruptions and stalling of a task or project make it's end more distant and can result in demotivation or losing interest altogether.
We are creatures of habit, if we instill the right actions on a regular basis, we build our nature and our personality, we become our actions and are then known by them. A writer writes, a builder builds, a fighter fights, a thinker thinks and a mover moves. Similarly, a quitter quits. Our bodies are withering away but our actions can live long after we have gone, so if we find the right thing to do, we should keep doing it.
Beware of stratagems to break your perseverance and dedication. Your opponents may hope that you will give up if they can distract you. If they can make you pause, make you doubt your potential, make you lose sight of the road and even more so, the destination. When any such distraction occurs, any faltering of the machinery, it is vital to get back on board immediately. If you wait too long, more obstacles may arise. Stop the rot before it stops you. At that point the gates may close so another path has to be found. Although such alternative routes may keep the journey worthwhile, it is better to try and keep the original plan in place that was previously assessed to be the better one.
When we are on the ascendancy, our opponent is on the decline and is hoping for respite. Give that respite, then we find we no longer are pushing but are being pushed, a small opening in the defences and soon our walls of security can come tumbling down.
We don't always know what good fruit the seeds of our action will produce, we march down one road and another view opens up, other opportunities and new horizons are cast into our vision. It may well be that some don't want us to see the road ahead nor the mountains and valleys it leads to, so they continue to confuse, interfere, deter our hearts and distort our vision. But we can maintain our integrity if we continue to walk forward with caution, not allowing ourselves to fall down any real holes nor paralysed by the fear of false ones.
Continuity makes tasks easier through familiarity. This is not only familiarity with the task itself but all the matters associated and surrounding it. The expert smoothly enters the world of the familiar whereas the novice is thrown into the world of the unknown.
Continuity instills discipline. The continuous application of effort, thought, and focus translates our purpose into facts rather than dreaming about them. Laziness and escapisms can become a virus in a body which has allowed its defences to be breached through indiscipline, stagnation and carelessness.
Continuity moves us closer to the gates of success. Interruptions and stalling of a task or project make it's end more distant and can result in demotivation or losing interest altogether.
We are creatures of habit, if we instill the right actions on a regular basis, we build our nature and our personality, we become our actions and are then known by them. A writer writes, a builder builds, a fighter fights, a thinker thinks and a mover moves. Similarly, a quitter quits. Our bodies are withering away but our actions can live long after we have gone, so if we find the right thing to do, we should keep doing it.
Beware of stratagems to break your perseverance and dedication. Your opponents may hope that you will give up if they can distract you. If they can make you pause, make you doubt your potential, make you lose sight of the road and even more so, the destination. When any such distraction occurs, any faltering of the machinery, it is vital to get back on board immediately. If you wait too long, more obstacles may arise. Stop the rot before it stops you. At that point the gates may close so another path has to be found. Although such alternative routes may keep the journey worthwhile, it is better to try and keep the original plan in place that was previously assessed to be the better one.
When we are on the ascendancy, our opponent is on the decline and is hoping for respite. Give that respite, then we find we no longer are pushing but are being pushed, a small opening in the defences and soon our walls of security can come tumbling down.
We don't always know what good fruit the seeds of our action will produce, we march down one road and another view opens up, other opportunities and new horizons are cast into our vision. It may well be that some don't want us to see the road ahead nor the mountains and valleys it leads to, so they continue to confuse, interfere, deter our hearts and distort our vision. But we can maintain our integrity if we continue to walk forward with caution, not allowing ourselves to fall down any real holes nor paralysed by the fear of false ones.
Anas bin Maalik reported that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said,
“If the Hour comes when one of you is holding a seedling in his hand,
“If the Hour comes when one of you is holding a seedling in his hand,
if you are able to plant it before the Day arrives, do so.”
(AHMAD, BUKHAARI in 'Adab al Mufrad')
