Change

Do you remember Joshua Adams? Joshua tried to change. He embraced Islam, gave up his vices and tried to live a new life. What Joshua learned is that people don't so easily forget. The way he had treated his mother, brothers, ex-wife, children, couldn't be wiped out so simply.

That's life. But still, we seem to be surprised that change requires work. What have you changed in the last year? Your job? Your marital status? Your home? Your habits? Or have you only changed your socks?

The hardest part about change is the resistance. No one resists changing socks, so that's easy. But very few changes go that smoothly.

Have you tried to change yourself? The way you think about things. If so, I know you've caught yourself a hundred times, lapsing into your old ways. You resist change. It takes an active struggle to overcome that resistance.

When change involves other people, it is so much harder. School starts and the kids have to change their bedtimes. The house needs a new look and you want to change the furniture. Someone in your family has a really annoying habit that you simply cannot stand one more day. You get the picture.

So what if we want to change a society? We want to end racism, sexism, economic exploitation. We want fairness, equal opportunity, peace.

Some think it can be accomplished by force. That works, for a while. But not for long. Change cannot be forced. It must blossom.

In the first months after I became a Muslim, I thought about everything I needed to learn and felt overwhelmed by it all. Someone told me, It took twenty-three years for the Qur'an to be revealed, so don't expect to learn everything overnight. It's been twenty-five years now, and I am still learning.

I think, somehow, that Joshua might be able to change the way his family thinks of him. But it won't be fast, and it won't be easy. He must continually deal with the echoes of his past.

I think you will probably be able to change whatever really bothers you in your personal life. Just don't expect any shortcuts.

And I think, if we try hard enough, we may be able to change society. More peace, less hatred. But it won't happen soon, and it won't happen at all unless we all work together and refuse to surrender.

So let's get started!