Two days ago when I was watching TV with my suitemates and my phone started buzzing, I did not know I was going to hear some words that would turn me around a pivot which I was too oblivious to acknowledge.
It was a friend of mine with whom I had shared the deepest and saddest parts of me once, but with whom I had unfortunately not had contact in a while. Talking to her made me so happy, that I could not keep my excitement in and started hollering everything I wanted to tell her, which included some stories of stress, sleeplessness, and being exhausted from working hard but not being compensated for it, ever. Many of us share these worries, as did my friend. But she was stronger and I was not, because she gave me the advice I could not give her.
She told me to pray and to keep praying.
After our conversation ended, I pondered on it for a while. I pondered long and hard because I am a reflective person and words affect me deeply. I thought to myself that I do pray sometimes, but soon realized that lately I have not been sincere about it. I wasn't really doing it anymore and was thus failing to cope with my restlessness and anxiety. So I laid out my prayer mat, performed ablution, covered up my hair and neck, and kneeled down in prayer. She was a Christian, and I a Muslim. And in that prayer, I thanked God for blessing me with such wonderful people in my life. As I got up from the mat and folded it, I felt refreshed and energized. It was soothing for me. As it might be for anyone who simply prays in a slightly different way, and has a different name for God.
The simple act of humbling oneself can be therapeutic because it allows you to escape your problems and realize that all that pressure and anxiety are just small bits of a much larger picture. Because at that moment you are actually acknowledging that you are not in authority of your life, but that God is, and that you cannot control everything in your life. You are handing your problems and issues to God and telling yourself that everything will be alright as long as you put in faith. This mentality might help to accept hardships and move on with life. At least it does for me, every single time without fail.
College life is stressful enough. Put some relationship issues and financial problems on top and you have what seems like an eternal disaster. It is essential we learn how to be a little less harsh on ourselves and prevent our minds from going nuts. Prayer has always worked for me, and I know it has for many of my friends and family members. But I strongly believe it is not only for religious observers. Prayer can be a form of therapy for anybody, whether he or she be of faith or not. It can heal the broken, and cure the sick. It can bring freshness to the mind. But most of all, it can bring harmony into your life and help you appreciate the good things you have.
