"M" For Mercy

Religion 'holds' our integrity and gives us a distant 'hope' that one day we will be held accountable for our actions to ourselves and others and thus be awarded for our deeds. We stay in orbit like planets as Religion becomes our force of gravitation providing us the balance and forward motion.

I've seen people confess that they feel better and at ease when they don't bring God into their lives. I wonder when that short-term bubble will burst and their buoyant structures will go down for God gives us strength. There should be 'belief' in something in order to focus and move on. 

For a civilized society to exist, the observance of rules plays an extremely important role. The fear of punishment for ill-deeds and the thought of getting rewarded for good makes a person decide intently on (his) next move. Divine rules are necessary for the grooming of an individual.

I'm a strong proponent of God's Mercy. We humans are created intentionally imperfect by God so that we turn to Him and seek fulfillment from Him. The only perfect being is God. Once one understands this notion, life becomes tolerable with its imperfections. Hope pervades and a vision is created. God's Love and Mercy is abundant and it is greater than our mistakes. If God's Mercy was short, then all His beings would end up in Hell for the numerous misdeeds that are committed. Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye will soon leave the whole world blind....."

Always remember "Your sin is not greater than God's Mercy." You can and should seek God's forgiveness and no doubt God in His mercy will grant it to you.

**Quote and picture by Nouman A Khan

"I" for Ignominious Acts

Nothing disgusts me more 'than to commit injustice and harm humanity' in the name of personal agendas, constituting politics and religion. Why blood is spilled for the most ridiculous, bizarre yet lame excuses is beyond my imagination. I keep reminding myself that we don't live in Heaven where life and everything around us will be perfect and harmonious; that we live on earth where cruelty daily manifests itself in our actions towards one another. But why can't sense prevail?

Despite traveling miles to acquire the best of education(s), earning various degrees, trophies, certificates; being polished and refined with the exposure to aggregate experiences, having the imagination expand horizons; yet we still lack one simple quality inside our puffed up selves: of tolerance and respect of another. So what's the use of all those degrees, certificates and all that exposure and all that experience when your mind is no bigger than an atom and cannot hold a simple message of tolerance and respect??

There may be a few good people but they are too few to count in numbers and they are quickly drifting away into the "perfect, harmonious life of Heaven"...My message to all folks that read this article is: You don't have to have the spotlight on you in order to do great things in life. A lot of good things are done when no one is watching. Begin with respecting and tolerating the person next to you even when you know he is at fault. Spread the tolerance and respect laced with love....

Peace to all....