MIND HEART & LIFE

Sadeeq Akbar

Daastan Publishing

First Published in Pakistan by Daastan PVT LTD

House # A-41, Madni Street, Lala Rukh, Wah Cantt, Punjab 47040

www.daastan.com

www.meraqissa.com

Text copyrights © Sadeeq Akbar

Book Design copyright © Sadeeq Akbar

Edited by: Mariam Rizvi

The moral rights of the writer, illustrator and editor have been asserted.

All rights reserved

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

For permission requests, contact: sadeeqstudent830@gmail.com

ISBN 978-969-696-738-5

Table of Contents

  About Author

    Introduction

         Chapter 01:  Mastering Fear 

      Chapter 02: Force within

     Chapter 03: Emotional Intelligence

     Chapter 04: Attitude 

        Chapter 05: Post- Law of Attraction

       Chapter 06: Habit

        Chapter 07 Gratitude

I dedicate this book to my best friend Mr. Shams ul Islam and my all teachers and mentors who have guided me and inspired me to write this book.

About the Author

I hail from a periphery of an awesome landscape known as Sakhakot Malakand, (Swat) located on the north of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakistan. The region which is known for its hospitality and sincerity. It leaves visitors in awe when they behold the bounties of the creator bestowed to this piece of land. I was born to a middle-class family where education was but a little important part of life. Kids were pushed to schools but their end result was to be bound to KSA and United Arab Emirates for earning bread and butter. The purpose of sending kids to school was to be literate enough to survive and communicate at workplaces. And the maximum target would be to pass Matric and then would get mentally and physically prepared to go abroad to earn livelihood. The premature kids would get prepared to facilitate their family members to finance them at the cost of living for a long period of time abroad.

Since I observed the norm practiced in my society where kids either willing or unwilling are bound to go overseas to earn livelihood, I like other kids also commenced enjoying my life before the end. Although, earning overseas was pretty much fascinating where that life was full of needed facilities, but I wanted to do different than others. Spending one to two decades overseas and earning a handsome amount at the cost of living a lonely life was something scary for me. There was an inner force which would whisper that I was a different kid, I was not born to follow the most practiced path rather invent one which would open a fountain of opportunities in abundance where the youth might stay at their own hometowns and they make enough amount to meet their expenses. I wished to be an entrepreneur who could, instead of seeking, provide jobs to the youth and earn myself to make handsome amount to expand my entrepreneurship. 

But to have leadership skills, one needs to study hard and for that, enrolling in university or an institution was the need of the day. I enrolled privately in intermediate which I passed in 2^nd division and started getting familiarized with books because I could not afford regular education nor there was any financial support with me from anyone’s side. I made both ends meet and somehow managed to get enrolled in bachelors. Affording tuition was beyond my range but thanks to my generous teachers who with little amount accepted me their pupil and I started my journey from there and then wholeheartedly. I used to walk to my mentor’s drawing room in the scorching heat of June-July and if someone would ask me the reason of my lonely walk, I would come up with the reason that I love walking to my classes; however, the truth was that I was destitute. I barely had only fare of local transport whose conductors never compromised. If you lacked a penny, you would be kicked off the Suzuki. I knew what I had to do, but making excuses to my journey of study was washed out. I was well aware that if I wished to be successful, there was the only way to study hard for life not for the exams.

Having this kind of approach towards exam, I failed my English literature papers because of poor writing. To which my mentor astonished and inquired thoroughly the reason of my failure. And it was revealed that I was good at speaking English, but extremely poor at writing. I then realized that what we speak isn’t the same we write. Having failed the papers which for I used to study, put the burden on my shoulders of passing two papers in one exam, which for the student like who didn’t have a good educational background, was herculean task. But by the grace of God and the persistent efforts of my teacher and my hard work, I passed my exam and was qualified for enrolling in master program. Challenge upon challenge, but I learned two big lessons from my bachelor’s studies: one that those who study hard can pass any exam and the second was that when man tries his best, God paves way to bring him closer to his destination.

Having these fruitful lessons learned from the painful journey and struggle of my life, I envisaged about getting enrolled in further studies programs to enrich my thoughts and grasp the true essence of real education and endure the challenges approaching me in future. With such a low educational background, none of the institution admission criteria were flexible enough which through I squeezed and get admitted. I applied to many universities, but from the reception desk, I was denied to be their prospective pupil.

Interestingly enough, in the central city approximately 35 kilometers away, I applied for master’s degree and I was put in queue of admission’s merit list. And was told that if any of the enrolled students canceled his/ her admission because of any reason, I would be given that seat and would be properly enrolled as per the university admission rules. During this short span, I could not wait anymore and without admission, I started my course partly because the course had already commenced and if I would start my classes being in the waiting list, would miss many crucial lecturers. Luckily, the lecturers were not that meticulous about taking attendance and I somehow managed to attend my classes. I inwardly knew that it was my time and was determined and courageous enough that I believed I would get admission. Because I heard that fortune favors the brave and I was firm in my beliefs that I would for sure take my seat. I, as perceived happened the same as one of the students canceled his admission because he applied to two universities to secure his admission and between the two; he cancelled the one where I was impatiently waiting for my seat. This was the moment where I promised to my God that after securing admission in that university, I would wholeheartedly study by burning day-night oil to not let my university administration down and prove to be the outstanding student of my department. With this enthusiasm and by the efforts of all our teachers, I remained a bright student by taking participation in co-curricular activities as well.

After attending my lectures, I used to sit in library and study till it closed every day. I found most of the students studying not for the purpose to be curious and studious rather their mere motto of enrolling in masters was to get hired in public sectors so that they might earn handsome amount to averagely live their lives. There wasn’t something wrong I guess but their purpose and direction was to get employed rather than being employers who could provide jobs to others. As we were the students of English literature, so least of the students were interested to contemplate what that was rather they were more into improving their English proficiency. Where the true essence of studying literature was casted away and if they were to be enrolled in that very subject, there mere purpose should have been studying human being in accordance with life and lifestyle. Since then, I realized that my purpose ought not to be what others pursue and so I did.

We got graduated and the two years passed on so swiftly that we later could not realize how short were they and the time could in actual differentiate who studied well but degrees were awarded to us all as per the performance we showed in our exams. But in actual, that was the crucial moment which transformed me into the best version of myself. I grasped the true essence of life and comprehended what life wants from us and vice versa. But stepping out to the practical life was still scary, those who desired to be average individuals went to their respective fields but the ones who wished to quench the thirst for acquiring ample knowledge commenced fruitful initiatives for the whole of the community, for them life was demanding extraordinary skills to harness the situation and turn it into their favor. And it required persistence and painstaking efforts. This wasn’t like a piece of cake rather a very herculean task. We had to face the sordid reality of life, bearing the criticism of any Tom and Jack. Being financially unstable and acquiring further education was very impossible so taking a part time job to pursue higher education was a pretty convincing option and so I did. Because in my beloved country, getting graduated means seeking a good job to be financially stable and get married. So far, I comprehended my community practiced the same customs of the society. Bearing a vision and seeing dreams were easy enough but accomplishing them would raise whirling storm which would be considered a revolt against the set norm of the society. To be an average was entertained but to become an extraordinary would be thought as futile notion. And numerous dreams are still dashed to the ground. So was true of the opposite gender who if luckily would get graduated would gotten married to the man against her choice. It was in real the survival of the fittest and those who were the real heroes broke the manacle of the set customary rules and taboos of the society and snatched their destinies from their lives. They were harshly criticized, excommunicated and sometimes exiled from their hometowns but they never yielded against their visions and dreams of life.    

For broadening the vision and grasping the real essence of life, I enrolled in post –graduate studies program and commenced acquiring knowledge. It lasted for four years but this span of time molded me in real sense. I came to know about life from the close quarter and wished to enclose my experiences into an envelope so that the coming posterity may get benefited from that how fears, phobias, passions, emotions, attitude and gratitude confine and expand the limitations of our lives. How to counterbalance mind with heart and live a balanced life? How the thought process influences our lives and affects our circumstances. How character, destiny, vision, perspective, lifestyles are connected to thinking pattern was life changing moment for me. I, in fact, came to know the real worth of man in the universe and how is he superior to all other creatures. How man, through his thoughts gains and loses his worth and acquires the will of God. How the lost paradise can he regain and lose at the same time. Above all, why God has fashioned man? All these were fountains of knowledge opened to me which enabled me to contemplate upon these nuances and differentiate between vice and virtue. It, in fact, was an eye opener for me to wake me up from the slumber.

I wished to impart all these experiences of my life to others so that masses may get benefited how these things matter in life. How we make and break our lives due to our thought process. What really matters in life and what not? To showcase the lessons learned from life, I began penning all these down and gave it a book shape as “Mind Heart & Life” and wrote down my experience chapter wise. What matters in life are mind and heart; when they are appropriately utilized, help you out in every miserable condition of life and paves way to explore a practical remedy to that happening, but if the thought process is inaccurate, it ruins not only the thinker’s life rather communities, state and nation’s lives. If mind and heart are counterbalanced in life, the results are very fruitful which rises the standard of man and if these are not connected to one another and left them function individually, one then faces the music in both eternal as well as worldly lives. Wise is the one who utilizes these both interdependently in all critical and normal situations. I hope you might have gained something from my life experiences.

Introduction

We, human being, study, contemplate, work hard in our entire span of life for assembling materials associated with contentment, but we try least to work and think to bring happiness in life. This is the most amazing and valuable present from our creator, but we take painstaking efforts to make it more complicated and confusing phenomenon. Throughout our lives, we work hard to gain materials at the cost of our health and when health is disoriented and get disordered, we then spend the whole of our wealth and materials to fix our health. In fact, we don’t realize that if we before losing our health and happiness, contemplate slightly about our benefits from all our struggles, we will definitely choose to stay healthy and happy rather collecting materials somehow associated with the so-called status and ranks in community. We burn day-night oil to study and get graduated, seek job, run business, and render our services believing that they will bring delight into our life but at the end of the day, we realize that we have everything but we end up being unhappy, depressed, hopeless and most of the time unhealthy. But we fail to identify what matters in life and they are good relation, gratitude, health and the state of happiness. They don’t come automatically rather they are achieved; you have to make sacrifices to obtain them. You have to learn how to invite, earn and achieve them. For instance, we spent most of early life span to remember and study school subjects, theories, experiments, but we never try to learn life skills to live life happily. How an average happy life is, how to make a married life successful and so on? We, in fact, lose all these at the cost of our true essence of life. And the end result may be satisfactory, but it will be for others because you will be a living zombie not an individual full of emotions. The emotions, reasons, intellect will be washed out of your life and you will be a remote-controlled robot. They are number of variables which cause us refrain from living the life of our choice and we don’t ever try out to perish them to reach to our destination and the benchmark we want to reach. For instance, Fear; why do we have fear? There can be two possibilities, one fear exists because of the dire repercussions of something in life which matter a lot such as you are walking on slender peak of a mountain where there is a high risk to fall, roll down and die. The existence of this kind of fear has worth because your life is at stack and you have to be mindful, careful and responsible, too. However, most of the time while walking, you will be thinking about lest you should and most of this thinking pattern, your mind tunes to that and passes a signal of threat to your body and it reacts the same. The chances of falling are more as compared to the successfully walking the path on the peak. You have to win this fear from your mind and channelize to convert it into strength, but the overthinking process of this pattern may fall you down prematurely and you ruin your life. 

To curb this fear, one needs motor to enhance the process of performance and get rid of fear. That is the force within the body which lights the fire of achievement and enthusiasm and instills confidence to get to the milestone. That is passion which never leaves us sit at ease rather pushes us forward to be on the move both physically and mentally. Passion is the whole torch which paves way to accomplish the most difficult tasks, but this blissing is misused and displaced most of the time in our lives. For channelizing passion and potential, man is in dire need of Emotional Intelligence to cope with every situation in life and counterbalance the tussle with mind. In various occasions in life, one has to balance reason with emotion and emotion with reason to avoid repentance and dis-reputation to manage and survive numerous endurances in life.          

For maintaining such courage to harness your emotions, an individual needs the attitude to carry out this management in life. Attitude plays vital role in life because that is the maintenance of the ideology a person possesses. Attitude is the vehicle to transform your thoughts into existence. This can make and also break the frame of your life. If one has negative attitude, it earns him disgrace and spoils his life, however, positive attitude erects the whole edifice of one’s life. Thus, you are the breaker and maker of your life by the help of the attitude you own.

All this requires a magnetic power which compels the universe to bring you closer to your destination in your life. This magnetic power is sometimes known ‘Law of Attraction’ which is based on three main principles as ‘Ask, Believe and Receive’ and it is argued that is it not a law rather a perception or a superstitious kind of customary practice. But, how come you reach to a spot without firmly asking, believing and receiving it at the end? If not, this obviously questions your belief system which lags behind purity. And, of course, you receive but you don’t realize its shape only. It is bestowed in the garb of other objects. This book finds answers to those who doubt the law of attraction.

In the last chapter, this book showcases the importance and vitality of the most blessing of the creator which is Gratitude. It teaches us how to live happily with the existing blessings of the creator and not be a ungrateful. It educates us all about connecting our satisfaction level with the current blessings rather than opting for more and not cherishing the ones in our possession which invites truly more in abundance.     

CHAPTER 01

Mastering fear