By Sally Jo Gilbert de Vargas
“Allah asked, “Am I not your Sustainer?” They replied, “Yes! You are! We testify!” (Qur’an 7:172)
“…But those most devoted to Allah…have only the desire to seek for the Countenance of their Lord Most High; and soon they will attain complete satisfaction.” [Qur’an 92:17-21]
Most of our lives we seek satisfaction in the things and people of this world: possessions, titles, recognition and approval from others, thrilling experiences, and the company of people who we believe will satisfy our desires. But eventually, and sometimes painfully, we come to realize that the people and objects of the world are unreliable, ephemeral, and sometimes even damaging to us. Even those people and objects who give us pleasure and deep satisfaction cannot be counted on forever. Change, disappointment, and loss are inevitable.
But rather than turn bitter and close our hearts, we eventually come to realize that there is a deeper mystery, a deeper truth and a more complete satisfaction that is attainable in this world and will carry forth into the next phase as well. As we get in touch with that deeper mystery, our connection with Divinity within and around us, we realize that this same mysterious satisfaction is present in every living and non-living thing, is even at the core of every fibre of all being. It is in the deepest recesses of our own heart, and suddenly becomes apparent in the hearts of others as well, and in all of God’s creation.
This realization can strike us in the smallest moments – a ravishing sunset, the melodious tune of a beautiful songbird at our window, a child’s squeal of delight or an old man’s tears. It can also wrap us in truth at more momentous occasions such as when we witness the death of a loved one, or the birth of a child. At times like these we are graced with the larger sense of awe and wonder that encompass all of creation. That is when we taste real satisfaction.
“Why scurry about looking for the truth?
It vibrates in every thing and every not-thing,
Right off the tip of your nose.
Can you be still and see it in the mountain? The pine tree? Yourself?”
~Lao Tzu
When was the last time you saw and experienced the mystery of “the truth”?