Eid Festivities

By: Asma Shums
A week later, I am sure all of us are still enjoying Eid festivities. We are still indulging in feasts, new outfits, meeting our families and friends. As summer approaches, these are estimated to be regular meetings where we barbecue and catch up on each other’s lives. These events, for some, are not a joyous gathering but instead a place where they feel anxiety and stress. It is an event where people have to brace themselves in fear of judgement from family about their lives. Let us complement instead of comment this season.
I am sure we all mean well for our friends and family and experience love and care towards them. There are always ways of conveying our thoughts and opinions that do not undermine the feelings of others. Words once spoken cannot be taken back. We need to be careful of them, how we phrase them, and how it will be perceived by someone else. We are all different people with different things that bother us and touch base with our insecurities. We have different lifestyles, hobbies, and interests that we hold dear and would feel hurt if they were criticized by someone close to us. Even though we might have the right words to say and we say at the wrong time, the results defy our intentions.
Etiquettes of Life
We are social animals and live amongst others in a society with its own unwritten and written rules of conduct. We experience diversity in our community and should strive to learn the ways so that we do not offend or hurt our colleagues, neighbours, and friends in the way we speak or behave. We live amongst people of different races, religions, and spirituality which need to be treated with the same level of respect that we demand from others. Just how aggressive our community gets when we are wronged, we should keep those feelings in mind before we bad-mouth or disrespect the others. Watch your thoughts. They become words. Watch your words. They become deeds. Watch your deeds. They become habits. Watch your habits. They become character. Character is everything.
Our words create action. Our words can create intimacy or separation. With our words we can motivate ourselves to do things we never thought we could do, and our words can also move others to step forward into their own personal power so they can be of service to their community. Words can calm us or excite us. Words can actually change the direction of a nation. So watch what you think and be aware of the words that come from your thoughts, and the actions that follow your words.
A habit is an action we do regularly, often without thinking. It’s just what we do. If we do an action and it feels good or we get the results we want, then we often repeat it over and over. Some habits are beneficial and some can be detrimental. If it’s detrimental, it’s usually called an addiction. If it’s beneficial, it’s called a good discipline. Our day is full of small little “habits” that we do unconsciously. Some of us are habitually tidy, or messy, or early, or late, or rude, or courteous, or happy, or angry. These are all habitual ways of being. So, our habits become who we are, or they become our character.
When we change our thoughts and actions, we show our community as loving and actually as a region of peace. Let us cultivate the art of good etiquette and embody it in our life. We should strive to be a community of pleasant people, tolerable and open to speech and criticism, and more importantly show consideration for other human beings.
Asma Shums <asmashums@gmail.com>