Al-Dibullāhim an-Ashaytān al-Rajim,
Bismillāh,
Rahmān,
Irāhim.
Hmm,
In the name of the One,
Most generous,
Most compassionate,
Most kind.
Often when a situation stretches out,
There can be a tremendous amount of fatigue that comes in.
It can be physical fatigue,
It can be emotional fatigue,
It can be spiritual fatigue,
Just a depletion of the heart.
And so if you're feeling any sense of depletion,
I just want to encourage you in this moment to just notice how tired you are.
And there's all kinds of things that we can be tired of.
And we can acknowledge that others have it perhaps way worse than us.
You can acknowledge that you may have some privilege and you may have some comfort.
And that there may be others that are struggling in a much worse place and yet your fatigue is real.
What is it like to just be tired,
To be depleted and to face the reality of what that is in your being?
And bringing your attention to your heart,
High up in your chest,
Letting your head bow in submission and in fatigue.
Letting your heart bow so that it can rest and not hold itself up anymore and to begin to call through the open doorway of your heart to the Divine.
Calling the name of the Divine.
Not trying to fix or change,
Not trying to push or heal.
Just calling.
Um Um We don't have to push through depletion.
Pushing through depletion is often the experience of holding yourself up just an inch or two above a chair or just an inch or two above a bed.
You're not really able to accomplish what you want to accomplish and yet you're not resting.
And we all have pictures.
I have a picture,
You probably have a picture of the ideal way you might do something.
For me it's whether it's content I create or the way that I mediate when the kids are arguing or even the food that I cook or even sometimes the way I do my spiritual practices.
And what if we could acknowledge that the way we do the things that we must do when we're depleted is the authentic way of doing them in that moment as well as letting go of the things that are not strictly necessary to be done.
What is it like to surrender into the experience that your depleted self,
When it's depleted,
Is your authentic self in that moment,
In this moment?
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
And when you surrender into your authentic depletion,
When you are truly who you are in this moment,
What do you notice in your heart?
What do you notice in the heart of your business?
What do you notice of the light of Allah,
Of the light of the Divine that shines in you and through you and from you and to you in this state?
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
There are many spiritual paths,
Including Sufism,
That use different practices that deliberately,
Consciously,
Wear down the self.
Staying up all night in prayer retreat,
Fasting as I'm doing now during Ramadan.
Different ways and practices of refusing the self,
Certain kinds of nourishment.
We're not always in a healthy enough state to take on those kinds of practices.
But there's a reason that those practices are sometimes recommended.
Because of the tenderness,
Because of how the ego,
The nafs,
The self can be made more translucent.
Unh.
When you're depleted,
There's often an amazing opportunity to allow the light to shine through.
See what you notice.
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
Unh.
Notice how your heart,
How your being,
How your business feels now.
After just a few moments of being able to rest in the depletion,
Being able to be in the depletion and be in your heart.
Notice any authentic gratitude or appreciation,
Anything that you might have experienced in this remembrance.
Let yourself express it to the divine.
Beautiful.
