imbalances
Getting embroiled in the intricacies of everyday living often leads to imbalance. A person will struggle to survive, to pay rent, to put food on the table, and that's fine - we all have to live, however our energies can become depleted if we mismanage our time and priorities.
How many times has it happened that we make such efforts on these financial matters that our attention to equally important facets of life such as family time, non-work-related reading and maintaining a connection with God is aversely effected? It is a very frequently occurring phenomena.
Look, for example at post-World War II Japan's 'economic miracle'. When the Japanese had finally succumbed to the insanity of the Allied forces after they rained the new atomic terror upon Nagasaki and Hiroshima, their leaders decided that to really compete with this Western giant, the nation would have to surpass them in technological advance and capitalist enterprise (with a little funding from the conquering nation of course).
This meant that the importance of education and the work ethic were hyper-intensified. Children in Japan have suffered for decades the need to succeed - even to the extent of having after school classes to boost their school work. Parents (usually fathers) work so hard that they barely see their children.
Thus, the society has become severely individualised. The traditional family system (ie) has all but collapsed due to the magnified focus on work and financial advancement. The tendancy towards individualism leads to such psychological diseases as Hikikomori, an extreme condition whereby an individual isolates themselves totally from the society.
Looking at our japanese example serves to warn us of what can happen if we do not balance our time between work, family and spiritual endeavour. So how can we avoid that in our lives?
The answer comes again from the words of the blessed messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), in his words, 'Indeed actions are by their intentions...' If we make all our endeavours sincerely for the sake of Allah, then they will be accepted as such. He is the best disposer of affairs. Hasbunallah wa ni'm-al-wakil...
How many times has it happened that we make such efforts on these financial matters that our attention to equally important facets of life such as family time, non-work-related reading and maintaining a connection with God is aversely effected? It is a very frequently occurring phenomena.
Look, for example at post-World War II Japan's 'economic miracle'. When the Japanese had finally succumbed to the insanity of the Allied forces after they rained the new atomic terror upon Nagasaki and Hiroshima, their leaders decided that to really compete with this Western giant, the nation would have to surpass them in technological advance and capitalist enterprise (with a little funding from the conquering nation of course).
This meant that the importance of education and the work ethic were hyper-intensified. Children in Japan have suffered for decades the need to succeed - even to the extent of having after school classes to boost their school work. Parents (usually fathers) work so hard that they barely see their children.
Thus, the society has become severely individualised. The traditional family system (ie) has all but collapsed due to the magnified focus on work and financial advancement. The tendancy towards individualism leads to such psychological diseases as Hikikomori, an extreme condition whereby an individual isolates themselves totally from the society.
Looking at our japanese example serves to warn us of what can happen if we do not balance our time between work, family and spiritual endeavour. So how can we avoid that in our lives?
The answer comes again from the words of the blessed messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), in his words, 'Indeed actions are by their intentions...' If we make all our endeavours sincerely for the sake of Allah, then they will be accepted as such. He is the best disposer of affairs. Hasbunallah wa ni'm-al-wakil...
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