My Very Favorite Aspect of Islam
A true Sufi is of such a nature that when you are around him, you forget your troubles--that the Sufi takes on your problems for you. Furthermore, because he himself is at peace, he will not appear to be troubled by your troubles, but you will have the benefit of being freed from them.
The Sufi way to help another is not to fuss or draw attention to your assistance but simply to help. A Sufi is guided by his emotions, but he never lets his emotions control him.
My mom brought me several Guatemalan worry dolls when I was little, which served a similar function, albeit on a smaller scale. They came in a little plywood container not much bigger than a quarter. They were tiny stick figures, probably made of papier-mache, and dressed in tiny, bright clothes made of hot pink, white and yellow string.
As the legend goes, you would tell each doll one of your problems just before you went to sleep and leave it out of the container. As you slept, the doll would work on your problem for you.
Guatemalan spiritualists and Sufis probably both know that, in time, most problems resolve themselves IF you can unburden yourself of them long enough to focus on how to solve the problem rather than worry about it.
The Sufi way to help another is not to fuss or draw attention to your assistance but simply to help. A Sufi is guided by his emotions, but he never lets his emotions control him.
My mom brought me several Guatemalan worry dolls when I was little, which served a similar function, albeit on a smaller scale. They came in a little plywood container not much bigger than a quarter. They were tiny stick figures, probably made of papier-mache, and dressed in tiny, bright clothes made of hot pink, white and yellow string.
As the legend goes, you would tell each doll one of your problems just before you went to sleep and leave it out of the container. As you slept, the doll would work on your problem for you.
Guatemalan spiritualists and Sufis probably both know that, in time, most problems resolve themselves IF you can unburden yourself of them long enough to focus on how to solve the problem rather than worry about it.