This isn't really a blog "post" as such- it's just a thought. I was watching a video yesterday about some people who suffered abuse (of all kinds) as a child and before I went to bed, I thanked Allah that I had never been abused and that I did not have a traumatic childhood. I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, there were a few smacks here and there, but Alhamdulillah, nothing really bad.
Then it got me thinking: why do we have to hear about someone being abused, or see someone blind or in a wheelchair to be thankful? We are such tiny specs on this Earth, and we have no wisdom compared to Almighty God, and as much as we try, we cannot make a list of everything we ought to be thankful for. We are blessed in so many ways we don't even realise, and we cannot even fathom all of them. But why does it take for us to notice someone who doesn't have something for us to be thankful that we do have that something.
Some people think that Allah has made people disabled etc so that able-bodied people will look at them and thank Allah that they are not like that. This may or may not be true, but I seem to think that it is true. Since Allah has created us, and knows us, inside out, he knows that we will not appreciate what we have until we see those who are without.
But then, SubhanAllah, have you notice that most (not all ) people with any health conditions (may or may not be disabilities) are just so much stronger within themselves and seem to be happier. It's like how I was waching a Channel 4 documentary named "Beauty and the Beast"- and there was a guy on there with a facial disfigurement. And he saw past the superficial ideology of society that your face and looks are the most important, and instead saw the importance of inner beauty.
And in the same way, I think my condition, hypothyroidism, has also made me see past the society's "size zero we-all-wanna-be-thin" conditioning, and accept that we all come in different shapes and sizes. I used to feel so unconfident within my skin, thinking people treated me differently because I was fat. Now, I couldn't care less, because I'm happy with the way I am, and I know that I am beautiful on the inside. I also know it takes people a while to realise this, and to see past the stereotypes.
So I want you to use me as an example to be thankful. I want you to be thankful and feel blessed that you have a normal, functioning thyroid. That you can lose weight quicker than me, that you can eat what you want and not have to worry about gaining weight. Not because it's so difficult for me, or that I want your sympathy, because although at first it was difficult, it has become so much easier. Just because I believe God made me this way so that you would be thankful for your thyroid.
