Check out this classic Sesame Street episode from the 1970′s. I watched it with my daughter last week.
I am the person I know myself to be, no matter what anyone else thinks or says.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, ‘This Is My Story,’ 1937
Other people may try to define me negatively; they may call me names, or put me down, or say that I’m not good enough for this or that… but I know who I am. I believe in myself and in my abilities, even though others may not.
I trust the path that I am on. I trust my guidance from Allah and my connection to Allah.
I trust in my decision making capacity, which has been molded in the burning crucible of 45 years of happiness, suffering, grief, love and loss. Whatever little bit of wisdom I have, I have paid for dearly.
So I know who I am. And no matter what anyone may say about me, I’m still me, Alhamdulillah.
And so too, dear reader, you are still you. You are the unique, gifted, miraculous being that Allah created. Believe it.
Wael Abdelgawad is an Egyptian-American living in Fresno, California. He is the founder of several Islamic websites, including Zawaj.com and IslamicAnswers.com, and also of various technology and travel websites. He is a writer and poet, and has been a web developer since 1997.
This project, IslamicSunrays.com, is very dear to his heart, as it has allowed him to express ideas that have growing inside him for many years.
Wael is divorced and has one lovely young daughter. He practices and teaches martial arts (somewhat obsessively), and loves Islamic books, science fiction, and vanilla fudge ice cream. Wael is an advocate for human rights and blogs about these issues at AbolishTorture.com. He is also a volunteer with the MyDeen Muslim youth organization in Fresno.
That I´m unique, gifted and miraculous is not going to make my head bigger, I knew it already, gracias.
You made me laugh with that expression.
Yesterday, my son told me: Mum, I love you, and I said: Why?, and he looked at me like saying, I cannot believe you are asking me that, the he answered a bit annoyed: Mum, because I love you. Good answer, isn´t it?
Funny.