Nourishing the Soul

Sidi Hakim teaches that an essential part of good health is our connection to Allah. This connection opens our eyes and hearts to hamd and shukr. It enables us to recognize the pattern of Allah's creation and to accept the natural flow of creation.

I find that our lives are busy and complicated, and therefore, establishing a meaningful connection with our Rabb can often be difficult. In response to an e-mail I once sent Sidi Hakim about feeling far from Allah because of the demands of a schedule, he wrote me the following.I have returned to it for inspiration and solace time and again.

.....As a far as staying close to Allah, this is the question for us all. Once one finds a closeness, if it is genuine, there is nothng that will take you away, all situations are informed by that way of being. Insha'Allah, Allah guides us by our sincerity in this.

Shaykh al Akbar Ibn al Arabi said arrival is in setting out on the journey. Remember that closeness to yourself and being authentic so that you can be trusted-by yourself!- is the road to sidq. This means being honest at all times until you can be trusted (by yourself) then you can take counsel with yourself at all times.

Most people it seems don't believe they can be trusted in the first place and while we need nasiha and counsel from others , we also need to see that we are OK, just that, Ok , but most feel they are not, they're bad, or incompetent, or fake or not up to what they should be by the expectations put on them in the past to succeed, usually.

Rumi speaks of the fish seeking water as our situation. You are always close to Allah , or: "He is closer to you than your carotid artery.." In the same way we are beloved by Allah swt by virtue of our staying alive, breathing, sight, the Table spread before us each new day , cleaned from the previous and new with the birds announcing that. Our challenge is to awaken to this truth. Insha'Allah......