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The word change refers to a process of becoming different, while status quo, means leave things the way they are. It is a human nature to seek both change and to hesitate it at the same time. While both can be good and bad, it really depends on when and how one wants to make the change and when and how one wants to stay in status quo. While this is true in its essence, I would like to step in further on where the real confusion and contradiction of the two is coming from. Whenever changes happen, many people underestimate “adaptation”, which is the foundation of change. When one moves from known stage to unknown stage, adaptation has to happen in order to stabilize his or her change. Change has many different forms, and we are in the state of change every day. For example, when children are born, they are interring the first phase of a line-up series of changes that are coming to their lives.  Therefore, the first cry they make is their sense of adapting and resisting at the same time to the change they found themselves in. After couple of years of being staying home child; they will go to school, thus, the first day for their life in school is a life making changes for them. This process happens and continues in every angle of our lives. The unbalance and lack of progress in our lives are not only about change or resisting about change, but rather it is a lack of foundation and prioritizing our agendas’. A Muslim psychologist once said “Balanced life is a lifestyle where all priorities are placed appropriately in sync with our values and beliefs”. Despite the progresses that our community made such as education, businesses and institutions;  the problems are enormous whether be high number of bachelors; high divorce rate, drop out of both academics and Islam, lack of ethical responsibility, contribution and cooperation to the public interest and personal development.  These are just what excerpted from unprecedented issues within the community.

The trouble is that, even a high percentage of those we see as successful, became successful by chance. Of course, there are personal efforts, and many of these people are trying their best.  In our community, it is obvious to see someone who wants to open a business, but do not know what are the goals of that business. Amr Khalid said efforts without goals are just dream; same as, goals without efforts are nothing. On the other hands, goals with efforts equal success. Few months ago, a friend of mine told me that, a man came to him; wanting him to design a brochure for his organization. My friend asked the man, give me your organization’s information so that I will do the brochure for you. The man asked him, I do not know what information to give you. This is just an example of many cases similar to this one. Many institutions including religious once do not know what are their goals and objectives, so they just plagiarize other’s information, which both Islam and man-made rules prohibited it. I am not surprised why they are cheating other information even though it is amazing and even disturbing when it comes to a religious institution to make such a cheating. I wonder though why one establishes an organization, in which he or she does not even know its objectives. Why not to contribute to the existing once if he or she feels they can contribute something good to the society.  I believe many people including those who do not know the reason of their organization; intentionally are trying to do something good. However, they did not get a proper training from the beginning. Therefore, sometimes wrong things are right for them. It is noticeable there are some kinds of movement within the community to bring some changes. However, I believe, the hierarchies of well known model from individual to society is either not understood or not implemented rightly because of the lack of proper guidance during the childhood to adult life.

The model is as follows: individual-> family-> community-> society. We know the whole society is made up from individuals who make a family, then two families make a community and then two communities make a society. First, individual has to be raised well spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically to become strong and fit. I put spiritually first, because I believe a human being consist this two important elements (soul and body). Each of these elements has special needs. For example, in order for body to grow, it needs food, medicine, exercises etc. and this is what many parents put emphasis on. It is essential and necessary to stress on this part. However, the soul also needs same care if not more, the care of the soul is not by means of food, nor medication or exercises, but through of proper education. .  Education, I mean, education with ethic and civic responsibilities, where everybody plays his or her role to enjoin the good and forbid the bad. ; For example, individuals should take this as their duty. David Orr said in his article of What Is Education For?

“My point is simply that education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom. More of the same kind of education will only compound our problems. This is not an argument for ignorance, but rather a statement that the worth of education must now be measured against the standards of decency and human survival – the issues now looming so large before us in the decade of the 1990s and beyond. It is not education that will save us, but education of a certain kind.”

In order to have a good family, individuals have to be prepared. We know that good husband and wife lay the foundations of a good family. If the two or one of them is not prepared mentally, physically, religiously and academically, they will not be able to establish a strong family and most likely this family will collapse completely.  By the same token, if one of them has a stong foundation of what makes a good family, while the other is not, the family, will most likely face a divorce and children will be the most effected in this process, more than the parents. The two individuals are disproportionate to each other.

Therefore, when there are no strong and well balanced individuals, the family will not be possible, so when there are no good and strong families, there will never be strong and good community, and when there are no good and strong communities, there will never be a strong and good society. We have deep social problems, which started years of wars lack of proper education, governance, ethic and civic responsibilities. In order to respond this deep social problems effectively, we have to start from the basics. We have to start education from the individual level in order for us to have good society. The reason is that many people want to make our society better, while they are not even able to make family for themselves. They cannot make family, nor community, let alone a society, because they are not constructively prepared as individuals who are capable to make that change.   We need to adopt this model to produce a solid young individual, who is physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially fit. Two solid individuals can produce a family who displays compassion, love, respect, tolerance, and understanding. Two solid families will create strong community which leads to create a society where universal humanity, perseverance, cooperation, and unity are the norms.

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