Spiritual Partnerships

I was skimming through the pages of “The Seat of the Soul” by Gary Sukav and had a few thoughts I wanted to share. Reading through the pages and understanding the concepts, I felt like someone had worded the essence of what I believe in when it comes to relationships. Let me share.

Two concepts marked me. Firstly, the idea of a SPIRTUAL PARTNERSHIP as a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth. This could be a husband, friends, colleagues and so on. The idea here is that you create these connections with others for the purpose of growing emotionally to become a healthy and wholesome being. Spiritual growth requires healing and overcoming those parts in our personalities that are based in fear (anger, jealousy, feelings of superiority/inferiority and unworthiness for instance). Fear of course, it the root of all evil.

The concept of spiritual partnership coincides to exactly what I am looking for in my friendships and inshaAllah in my future partner. I am not interested in the traditional model of marriage, which involves my husband providing for the family and me giving birth and raising our children. A model based on survival. I want something deeper. I want a relationship where we work together to reach deeper more purposeful goals – coming closer to Allah and to being the best person we each can be – independently yet together.

The second idea that he eloquently presented is the idea that every unexpected sorrow and pain is the OPPORTUNITY to grow spirituality. Pain as an opportunity. How interesting. When you think of it, as we are exposed to painful situations such as death, divorce, failure in business or school etc or even those difficult situations of others, we can react in one of two ways: become the victim or the creator. If we decide to be the latter, we can use these moments to learn about ourselves and grow in the most positive of ways, to learn how we are creating now and how we can CHOOSE to CREATE DIFFERENTLY.

Growth both spiritually and emotionally is very important to me. I find myself often reflecting and trying to understand why I react in certain ways and how I can perceive things in ways that are more constructive and better for my soul. Having said that, I am still a very strong realist and very well grounded (not a hippy I promise!) but I am constantly striving for betterment, for a stronger connection and closeness to my creator… In many ways the relationships I seek are with people looking for this same growth with an eye on the big picture of this life and a conscious knowledge of our mortality. And my partner… I hope he will support me in working towards spiritual growth with an attitude that will make us both enjoy the journey.

Welcome Y2k7!

Within a blink of an eye came 2007 - a whole new year packed with excitement and endless possibilities! I celebrated in Chicago this year, staying with my brother and his wife. I spent the evening babysitting my beautiful niece and nephew. I wonder how many other 24 year olds spent New Year's Eve lying on the floor with two children watching Dora's Halloween Adventures!

In Retrospect
It's funny to think that it was only one year ago that I officially moved to Canada from Switzerland for what I knew would be quite the adventure. On December 31st 2005, I had arrived in Montreal that night, and had a quick sushi bite with friends, a nice tea. I was in bed sleeping away in peace while the clock ticked into the new year and I embarked on a fresh beginning in my new home.

Moving to Canada, I set out looking for the community I have always lacked and that is what 2006 was all about and I am happy to say that the attempts were quite successful and set the groundwork for more to come... I met plenty of fabulous people this year from all walks of life and discovered many different personalities. Most importantly, I became more involved in the Islamic community and continued to explore my spirituality and my faith, which I treasure. 2006 was also a year of career discovery as I continue to search for my professional purpose! Moving through three different job positions, I feel much closer to knowing what I want to do. Consequently, I have finally made the confident decision not to go to law school and pursue a masters in business.

Looking Forward to 2007
If I had to choose a theme for 2007, it would be "stability". I want to find answers to all the questions that have been hanging up in the air for years... Going back for my MBA will help me really figure out what I want to do with my career and make myself more of an asset to the business world. There is so much to achieve and accomplish - I want to continue to race forward and challenge my capabilities. I want to strengthen my Islam... I want to overcome the emptiness I feel inside when it comes to Libya and stop feeling so torn and deformed... I want to get rid of this ache - that famous repetitive ache - that haunts me once every few months and begs me to return to my country and make it my own... and of course, I would love to meet a partner, someone compatible with my vision for the future and who shares similar desires so that we may merge our paths and move forward as one.

So much to discover and learn... and I truly look forward to what life will bring. InshaAllah kheir!