Bismillaah
Yesterday, I did a 2 hour drive around my town and the neighbouring town. It really is a time for me to reflect and contemplate. Therefore, I have added a new category just for my reflections from driving!
See the problem is – my grip (in general) is very firm. So, I unintentionally end up holding the steering really tightly too. And as my instructor doesn’t have her own steering wheel to control from, she has to really apply force to control the steering wheel when I mess up. So suffice to say, I get lectured on that a lot. After my 5th lesson, she sat me down, and had just given up on warning me of the dangers of wrist injury on her part! She gave me a lesson on control, which I think really applied to my current life.
She said we should take control of things in a gentle manner. If we don’t, then we’ll be harming our own selves in the long run. She told me about the cases where some of her students complained about shoulder or leg pain, from driving so intensely.
What I really got out of it was that we shouldn’t let our desire of control take us to our own means of destruction. Eventually, not being flexible and patient will only harm us in the long run. SubhanAllaah, when she said that, I couldn’t help but think of these ayaat from Surah ash-Shams:
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him;
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا
Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself
وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا
And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself
I really took this reminder from a leadership point of view. InshaAllaah, I hope that I bring in more gentleness in my dealings – even if I have to be harsh on the car! It’s better than being harsh on the living beings, right?
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