Life's a Booger

As a distracted driver, it is my obligation to think about everything but the road while I'm driving. On my way to work this morning, my mom kept yelling at me for going too fast and rarely ever using the brake. Once I made it onto the highway, I carelessly began passing by cars and pondering over stuff, which I gather to be a teenager's favorite word. I remembered when I first began driving and I took a delight in hating it. The reason that I despised it, and I still do, was because I sucked at it. I was afraid of crashing into a cow and flipping the whole car over, killing myself, the other passengers in the car, and the cow. Therefore, I avoided driving as much as possible. I was discouraged by the possibility of making mistakes. I didn't want to mess up. But that's what life's about. There's no possible way you can live life without making a fool out of yourself. Making mistakes is evitable. But that's how you learn. Sometimes it's the only way you learn. You shouldn't be scared of messing up, and you most definitely shouldn't let it keep you from doing something. It's taken me forever to embrace this concept.

What's even more amazing is that Allah 'azawajal realizes this as well. He understands that as human beings, we screw up. That's why He constantly reminds us that we need to turn back to Him and ask for forgiveness. He is always ready to answer our du'as. All we have to do is ask. It's like if you're picking your nose when you notice that somebody's watching you. You sheepishly apologize for being so embarrasingly disgusting and you never pick your nose in public again. So if you commit a sin and then remember that Allah's watching, you suddenly regret what you did and turn back to Him is repentance. Then you've learned your lesson. And even if you didn't, you can still turn back to Him if you mess up again. He is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. It's amazing how inspiring a simple car ride can be.