Humans must weed everyday..

Bear with me... I know I've been posting a lot recently after a two year absence from the blog but these are ideas that have been in my head for a while now and I must get them out in order to realize them. I was recently reading an article about Mia Farrow and something she said really resonated with me:

"I think it's the role of parents and educators to say that evil is not some cartoon outside yourself. It's in your own make-up and in the human heart. Know it, identify it, and weed it out every single day. That was a metaphor given to me by my son Ronan at a young age. He said it's difficult to be a human being and you have to weed every single day. I thought that was perfect."


It really made me think. Reading the Qur'an, I learned that it is our lower part that tempts us to sin, to wrong ourselves. I suppose although I did dwell on that particular thought, I did not give the same consideration to the reality of how we are to deal with it. Perhaps I thought that with prayer and guidance from God, these evils will be lifted from our hearts and that it becomes easier. But this life is a test. That I know. Therefore, how is it that I thought that during this test, some will have no struggle at all? Is that even possible - to not struggle or have to endure as this is a test?

And by endure or struggle, that is not always through external means (ie. disease, poverty, disaster, etc) but can also be internal struggles (ie. to remain or become modest, kind, giving, thoughtful, grateful, etc). Being rich and healthy and without external conflict does not mean that one is not being tested. Even if I became a billionaire right this second, never ever even catch the sniffles, and never experience external conflicts I would still have the same internal conflicts that I am going through now. Some of these conflicts are battling with my wasteful nature, impatience, lack of humility, materialism, among many other things. These are what I consider to be the traits that the lower part of my self calls me to follow. I used to feel frustrated, defeated even, when I'd wake up the next day and still feel the urge to do absolutely nothing or would throw out the leftovers from my dinner that no one else would eat. I thought, why do I have to struggle every day with this? Am I going to remain this way forever and if so, what is the point of even trying to change? Yet, what Mia Farrow said, especially the quote from her son, has changed my perspective and is consistent with what I've learned from God's words. That is that this life is a test, that we must struggle and endure (learned from God's words) and that we must weed everyday (Mia Farrow's son's words). I have to accept that I will most likely face temptations to sin each day and that I have to tirelessly weed out these evil thoughts, habits, and desires. I must accept this fact if I want to improve myself and truly dedicate myself to the submission to God. May God have mercy on me and may He guide me onto the Straight Path, if He so wills.