This month thousands of Muslims from all around the world will arrive at Makkah in Saudi Arabia to perform the annual pilgrimage called Hajj. Most of these people take a lifetime to save enough money for what they see as their ultimate “good deed.” And it does not come easily either. It is a test of will to be able to go there and perform all the rites to completion. It involves a lot of risks, many people die there because of the heat or the stampede, and fires almost always break out. In spite of that, everyone who comes back invariably tells of a wondrous spiritual experience and a feeling of achievement and satisfaction.
I tell you about this, because it is part of my tradition and belief, and yet it is a microcosm of what life gives to all of us, regardless of religion.
If you look closely at your life, it is usually the things that you worked hardest for that you derive the most satisfaction from in the end. You might be satisfied with things easily achieved, we are all human, but how long do you think that lasts? Athletes feel this every time they play a hard game and win, and so does every student who stays up all night to pass a test and does so in the end.
Usually the hardest and toughest things in life involve a lot of risk. It’s a variable. To a student it’s a test, but to a cop it’s a bullet. Those astronauts abroad the space shuttle Columbia understood that very well but still went ahead and chose to stick with their mission. These are ordinary people who are ordinary no longer—only because their risk became reality.
We don’t all face this type of risk in our lives, but risk is risk and will always result in success, or failure. I think we all should remember this, as we go on with our classes or careers. We should not let anything stop us, but as in everything caution is required because too much risk is not good either—remember the stock market.
