Faith and values: As we tackle our milestones, we must forgive, forget and move forward in 2025
Life got in the way of my writing for all of 2024. I had many things in my mind to write about, but I decided to end 2024 with gratitude and start 2025 with compassion.
As soon as we come into this world, we are expected to meet milestones (because milestones matter!) – from meeting the milestone of eating, talking, walking, making grades, getting an awesome job, having a house, getting married, having a family and the list goes on. Milestones matter for our very own development and growth, but the understanding and the definition of our personal growth can be different in our dictionaries.
One milestone is reaching a certain age in our lives. Times like these give us the opportunity to reflect on what we have lost and what we have gained. I also reached such a milestone in 2024 that made me stop, pause and look at my life from the beginning, from the time I remember my own actions and their outcomes.
On the surface, my life might look like a normal life but those who know me and have been with me on my journey know very well how long it took me to get to this normalcy.
I lived an unconventional life. Things happened before they should have. I lost the most precious people in my life too soon, had to grow up too quicklyad children too young and had to become responsible for two little lives. In the midst of all this, I was good, decent, mischievous, unorthodox and rebellious. Through all these things, those who would come across me perhaps saw a lot of bad and maybe some good .
My milestone in 2024 made me ponder many questions: What is the purpose of my existence? What’s my contribution to society? What are my accomplishments? Am I just a random number in the world’s population? What can I do? How can I make a difference? Have I done what I wanted to do? Am I able to love and accept God’s creation as he loves and forgives us all and continues to bless us despite all our faults?
While I am still seeking answers to these questions, I feel an emptiness, a fear, a desire to do so much … I want to do all the things in life I have missed out on. I want to be a child again and spend more time with my parents. I want to be in school again to learn more.
My “I want to” list goes on, but I want to move beyond “I.” I want to do something for others so I can find serenity and fulfillment within myself. I want to achieve this by doing good, by being good, by accepting and loving all God’s creation.
In the end we will all reach the final milestone of our lives: death. “Memento mori”: Remembering death does not mean to fear it but to be prepared for it. It is a reminder to live fully no matter what challenges we face and make a difference.
My belief tells me what I will do in this world will go with me to the other. As humans we are a mold of good and bad, some better and some worse than others. But through empathy, forgiveness, forgetfulness, kindness, acceptance, resilience and compassion we can nurture peace and love each other as we are only humans.
As the sun sets in 2024 and rises in 2025, let’s make 2025 the year to forget, forgive and move forward.
Find answers to whatever questions you have for yourself. Look for serenity within you. Leave individualism and focus on collectivism. Focus only on the good in people. Be compassionate and grateful for what we have had and what is yet to come. It is another chance to do what we have not done, till we reach our final milestone.
Maimoona Harrington was born and raised in Pakistan and moved to the United States with her family in 2008. She writes the Ask A Muslim column for SpokaneFaVS.com.