Bismillah

"Bismillaah ir Rahmaan ir Raheem" 

("In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate")

We are supposed to say this to ourselves before we set out to any task. Thus showing our love for God...our offering of every action in His name. It is a means to keep purity behind our actions and our intentions...a reminder that our deeds and thoughts should be directed toward the good...on the right path.

When I was younger, a practicing Catholic, I would ask for things in Jesus' name...to ensure my prayers were heard and answered. Now that I am older...and Muslim (at least I still think I am...) the idea of my every action being an act of gratitude and worship...and a direct opportunity to praise God with every undertaking is a route to have my prayers heard that makes a lot more sense. Not that I do it. It is one of the most beautiful phrases to hear...even to say, feels beautiful. Yet I hardly EVER remember to say it before I set out to do things. Perhaps if I DID...I would remember what my intentions were when I converted. What I was thinking. Which was...all about GOD. Not about people or community or others.

It was about my infallible belief in that absolute, higher power and my willingness to submit to what I found to be the absolute truth.

Which is that God exists, in a realm and as an entity we cannot describe, understand or even imagine. And that there is only ONE God. With NO others by His side. "Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'een" ("You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help", from Surah Fatihah (The Opening), Qur'an. 

I NEED to remember my intentions in seeking and then finding my truth. It was to be better. To be better at being a human. To be better at being a mother. To be better at living in harmony on this earth with the 7 billion others. I need to find a way to get back on THAT track. Forget about the rest.