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Auto-generated transcript:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، محمد رسول الله ﷺ، وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليماً كثيراً.
I am in Kwandwe, one of the most beautiful game reserves in South Africa, near Port Elizabeth. What we are looking at here are prickly pear plants. At the end of the leaf, the flower turns into a fruit. The fruit is edible and is a favorite of baboons and giraffes; even elephants eat the fruit (though not the leaf).
As I walk near the lodge, there is a pond with lots of rushes. There are some weaver birds here. It is amazing how these tiny birds build their nests using only their beaks as tools. They strip fibers from the rushes and weave intricate nests.
Nearby is the old Sidbury church area. This used to be a small village before this became a game reserve. Now no one lives here, but there is an old graveyard that goes back to the 1800s. Someone still maintains the place, even if lightly.
I want to speak about certain facts of life—what I call my truths—because in today’s world we easily lose track of reality. We live in a world of AI, speed, distraction, and deception. Allah سبحانه وتعالى told us this worldly life is a deception, and today that deception has only increased.
One major deception comes from convenience. Think of microwave ovens, smartphones, cars, and plane tools that reduce effort and save time. We can now travel in hours what once took months. Air conditioning, too, became common in our lifetime; what was once luxury is now expected.
All these conveniences create a false impression: that life is easy.
I want to remind myself and you: remove this from your mind. Life is not easy. Life is tough, and it is supposed to be tough.
If someone says, “Life is difficult,” the answer is: Yes, of course. That is its nature.
So let us be mentally prepared for this truth: life is hard, and that is not a bad thing. Why? Because every one of us must suffer one of two pains:
1) The pain of discipline
2) The pain of regret
The pain of discipline is temporary, and very quickly it turns into pleasure. A simple example is exercise. In the beginning it is painful because the body is not used to it. But with consistency, it becomes a positive habit, even an addiction, and eventually a source of joy.
The pain of regret, however, lasts much longer. It lives in the words “if only.”
“If only I had done this.”
“If only I had started earlier.”
“If only I had been consistent.”
But “if only” gets you nowhere. It only means you did not do what you should have done.
So whenever you feel like complaining—”this is hard,” “that is painful”—remind yourself:
– Life is supposed to involve struggle.
– Struggle, when purposeful, brings benefit.
– And beneficial struggle becomes a cause of deep satisfaction.
I close with this reminder to myself and to you:
All of us will suffer pain—either the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.
Choose the pain of discipline.