How life transforms when the heart learns to see

Assalaamu’alaykum,

I'd like you to take a moment to think about what it actually feels like to experience gratitude.

Not the quick Alhamdulilah we say when someone asks how we are or the Hamd (praise) we say mindlessly out of habit while our mind is preoccupied with the next task, worry or responsibility pulling at our attention.

I'm talking about the kind of gratitude that feels alive and present in your heart, the kind that lifts your energy and spirits and changes the lens through which you see your life, your world and the people around you, even the difficult ones.

The other day, I was speaking with a client who felt completely overwhelmed by a challenge she was facing. Her mind was consumed with what might go wrong, what she didn't have and how far away the solution seemed. As we spoke, I asked her to tell me a little bit more about her life beyond the problem.

Within a few minutes she had described her children as a blessing, friends who cared deeply about her, good health, a roof over her head, safety, faith and countless blessings she hadn't mentioned once because the challenge had become so large that it was blocking her view of everything else.

Nothing about her situation had changed during that conversation, but her perspective had. By the end of our call, she had shifted from feeling weighed down and defeated to feeling lighter, calmer and more hopeful, Alhamdulilah.

Gratitude doesn't remove our problems but what it does do is change the way we see and experience them entirely. The challenge may still be there, but it is no longer the only thing we see. We become more aware of the blessings, resources, strengths and support that exist alongside it and that shift in perspective can transform how we think, feel and respond.

I think many of us live in the lip service of gratitude more often than we'd like to admit. This isn't a judgement but I think it's a casualty of the busy, chaotic and distracted world we now live in.

Most of us have become quite good at verbally expressing gratitude, but very few of us have been taught how to truly live it, how to embody it in a way that changes our vision of life and radiates its light through our thoughts, our limbs and our soul.

Gratitude is such a powerful emotion that, even in the middle of difficulty, it allows us to recognise that Allah is still providing for us, protecting us and taking care of our needs in all the ways that count.

With a grateful heart, there is an undercurrent of appreciation that lives within, an acknowledgement of the delicate and intricate balance that Allah continuously sustains us in. A balance so precise that if just one thing were to fall out of place, it would be like a castle of cards collapsing.

Think about what would happen if a single organ fell out of sync with the rest of the body or if the balance of oxygen in the atmosphere was disrupted, leaving us without the amount we need to breathe. Or imagine if the basic necessities of survival suddenly became inaccessible...food, warmth, shelter and safety.

SubhanAllah. We move through life so accustomed to these blessings that we rarely stop to consider just how much Allah is sustaining for us, every moment of every day, without us even noticing.

The scholars of the heart spoke about gratitude as something experienced through the heart, the tongue and the limbs.

Notice where it begins...the heart comes first.

But for many of us caught up in a world filled with noise and distraction, that is the hardest place to reach. Our minds are busy replaying conversations, worrying about tomorrow, complaining or comparing ourselves to others and focusing on how much more we still have to do.

As a result, gratitude stays as something we say rather than something we experience.

Perhaps that's why Allah repeatedly calls our attention back to His signs, His Rahma, His provisions and the importance of being grateful servants.
Not because they are absent in our life but because we become too distracted to notice them.

To ignite gratitude in our hearts, spend a minute just noticing...

• Notice what Allah has already given you.
• Notice what He is currently sustaining for you. Look at the world around you... the skies above, the beauty of nature, the air you breathe and the rain that falls to nourish the earth and grow the food that sustains you. Entire systems, seen and unseen, working together by Allah's command to support your survival and wellbeing.
• Notice the blessings that have become so familiar that you've stopped seeing them.

Then say one mindful, meaningful, slow "Alhamdulilah", one that begins in your heart and travels through every part of your being.

Sometimes the blessings we overlook are not small blessings at all. They are blessings that have become so deeply embedded into our daily lives that we no longer notice them and instead just expect them to always be there.

This week, try looking at your life through fresh eyes and see how many signs of Allah's love, care, mercy and provision have been surrounding you and continue to do so every single day with His permission, Alhamdulilah! 

Reflection of the Week

Think about a blessing in your life that you rarely thank Allah for anymore because it has become so familiar.…

What would change if it was no longer there tomorrow?

Dua of the Week

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni 'ibadatik.

O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You, and worship You in the best manner.

(Hadith: Abu Dawud 1522, An-Nasa'i 1303)

Allah's name of the Week

Ash-Shakoor (The Most Appreciative, The Most Rewarding)

Ya Ash-Shakoor, help us to recognise Your countless blessings, even those we have become blind to. Open our hearts to true gratitude and allow us to see Your generosity in both the ease and the tests You send our way. Aameen, ya rabbal aalameen.