The Unique, Inviting Nature of Ashura

I know- how can Ashura be inviting? The most atrocious killings and sufferings took place on that day, and yet this very day is something that invites people to the path of Ahlulbayt (a.s). When I was younger, and even until recently, I thought I understood what it meant to understand the message of Imam Hussain (a.s), and yet at the same time, I felt frustratingly distant from him. I felt like I didn't really know him.

And this is exactly what I am talking about- the day of Ashura is not something that can be understood without pondering over it, really immersing oneself into a bottomless pit of thoughts about the events that took place in Karbala. The day of Ashura is a chest in which there is a plethora of lessons, morals, inspirational personalities, but all this has to be discovered. They are not something simple that can be understood and learnt from at the instant of comprehension. And that is the beauty of it.

It's almost like there is a catch (for lack of a better word)- one must ponder, think, make an effort to understand, in order to acquire the treasures of this event. "Catch" is not the best word to use, I know. This scenario doesn't form a congruence with the nature of a catch, because the only person who gains is the one that ponders, the one that understands and in the end acquires the deep meanings and teachings from this day. There is no "other side" that would gain anything in return. What a mercy.

All this leads me to think that the true understanding, and the self-appointed pseudo-understanding, is the difference between the true lovers of Imam Hussein (a.s) and others who claim to be so. Why? Because the true lover has to undergo an intellectual struggle to grasp the true essence of his message, to even begin to understand him.

Success

I have come to believe that success is universally attainable for those who understand it, because success is seemingly subjective in every way- the achiever, the place, the era, the circumstance. The aspects of one's life can be moulded to fit the wide description of success very easily, if one adopts the correct attitude of it being impossible to be unsuccessful, for failure to be inexistent for them, for them to be destined to be successful. Unsurprisingly then, success only comes to those who want it, and want it enough to work for it.

Success comes via two routes, as far as my short experience goes: Either, one complies to a tight strategy whereby the focus of all life decisions, all or most actions of this person's life are all contriburing towards that final goal, and of course, it pays off- success comes. This route is usually the starting point of most people. The other route is a diversion from the aforementioned one- perhaps destiny has a different plan, and I believe that this is the real test- this is where one can really mould success. This is the likely route of all those that consider themselves "unsuccessful", except that they didn't spot the test, they didn't take the chance, they didn't leave flexibility, they didn't see it as an alternative route, but a dead end.

Failure is not the absence, or inability to achieve, success. Rather, it is the inability to recognise and mould apportunities that were not initially part of the plan. The great thing about success is that one can never delude themselves into believing that they have achieved it, because success is gauged by the feeling of content, and as humans with a ceaseless desire to satisfy ourselves, the kinaesthesia pertaining to the feeling of content is probably the most efficient one.

The successes in my life are not ends, but means towards another, deeper, more satisfying end, and this what causes me to convert any obstacle, any diversion, any setback into a helper, a catalyst for another success. I strongly feel that this inexistence of failure in my life is a result of my belief in God and the residing of my ultimate goal in a world beyond this one. Whether this is true in all cases, I do not know.