In Search For a Real Life

It is reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basrî often used to say, “O youth! Seek the hereafter, for we often see people pursuing the hereafter and finding it as well as the dunyâ (worldly wellbeing), but we have never seen anyone pursue the dunyâ and gain the hereafter as well as the dunyâ.”
Al-Bayhaqî, Al-Zuhd Al-Kabîr, article 12.


I often have this 'imaginary game', where i imagined what's gonna happened to me in the next 5, 10 or even 30 years from now. It began when i was at Senior High School -somewhat 14 years ago. I imagined that i would go to Medical School - get a good grade - working in hospital - have a family - raise my children - having grandchildren..and live happily ever after. A very classic Happy Ending story.

Funny thing is, the more i imagined about my own way of life, the more i get bored of it. Up to the point where i became an expert of imagining my life that i can finish imagining the entire life in just less than 5 seconds! Because it's all so wrapped up in just 4 time-phase in our life :
1. Childhood
2. Adolescence
3. Adult
4. Old

All and sundry, unconsciously take it all up together as the one reality in life. Many would define success as having a dreamed job, wonderful family, beautiful house, and so on. Very rare anyone define successful life in a more abstract -yet more important like : Having a good faith, patience and thankful heart.

I think that's one of the reason why people would tend to get panic whenever he lost his job then having a deteriorating faith. Because all this worldy thing seem real for most of us, its something we can see and touch rather than something we call by 'faith'. That's also why religion seemed to have a little portion in our life, because most people see religion merely as a getaway when we need comfort and it is way distance from our every day life. In fact in some cases, religion demands a quite contradictive way; whilst we are trying piling up every penny for our retirement plan, religion comes with minimum 2,5% of zakat (Moslem obligatory tithe which is contributed to the poor) ; when we like to keep the best thing for ourself, religion taught us that the best gift is indeed to give something that we like most; all and all - religion seem to pulled us off from this world we are living now. It shows us how not to get drowned with all the comfort in life. It's how to balance our life. How we can still enjoy our life without being attached within it.

Honestly, one of the thing i like most about religion that it transcend every imaginary things i've ever thought of. It gives me hope of a life more than this worldly life - the one that i can figure it out in less than 5 second. It promising a life more exciting than this life. What could be more interesting than that?

So, i choose to take my chance, living this path of God with all the consequences. Hoping that at the end of the road, i might found something much better and eternal than what i have now. Cause i am in a search for a real life...