On Pride, Commitment, and Excellence
A few days ago, I listened to a story that touched my heart. It was not a tale unknown to me but, this time, it was recounted by Ibn Al Arabi in the Turkish TV series Ertugrul, and the calmness of the voice along with the softness of the ambience further reinforced the message of the narrative.
The story goes as follows:
Once upon a time, there was a carpenter in Baghdad. All-day long, he was working on a pulpit, carving the oak wood with care, decorating it with mother of pearl until it became so beautiful that dozens of people lined up to buy it. The carpenter refused every request to their surprise, invariably answering that the specific handiwork belonged to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. “But,” the people reacted, “Jerusalem is in the hands of the Crusaders. How are you ever going to install this pulpit in our holiest of mosques?” And the carpenter would respond: “I am just a humble craftsman; I know nothing more than my art. My job is to make this pulpit as beautiful as I can so that it is worthy of being placed in Al-Aqsa Mosque. It will be somebody else’s job to free Jerusalem and, thus, allow this creation to find its rightful place.” The story spread throughout the Muslim world until it reached a young boy who did not focus, like the rest, on the pulpit’s beauty but, instead, on the responsibility of someone to liberate the holy city. Forty years later, this young man, known as Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub, entered Jerusalem as a liberator, re-establishing the Muslim order in the city and placing the legendary pulpit in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
We have often been taught to identify with the warrior, the winner, the main change-maker. But, ultimately, the human story that unravels in the aeons is larger than each one of us individually, and no matter how paramount (or not) our position may feel, it is nothing more than a role. Despite our ego, we were never meant to define the importance of this role or be responsible for addressing every challenge on our own. We are only called to make whatever it is that we are creating as beautiful as we possibly can, allowing these creations, as humble as they may be, to turn into an inspiration for those who follow. All roles come with a considerable amount of responsibility, and it is up to us to hold with pride, honour, and courage the position we were assigned by fate. There is contentment in this understanding, fulfilment, and peace. Isn’t this, after all, what we are striving for?
Photo credits: © Konstantina Sakellariou
