how our moral compass shapes our interactions
Mehreen Nazerali Versi (Arusha, Tanzania) is a published author, an avid reader, and poet. She wrote her book; Spectrum of Happiness when she was 18 and published it a few years later. She writes articles covering a number of subject areas, edits content both of academic and non-academic nature. Her aim is to build a community of critical readers who are able to read, question, and reason with content beyond what it says as plain text.
W
ho am I?
That is a question so many of us ask ourselves on a daily basis, while many do not. Is
it really necessary to know? Am I the right person to answer it for myself? Or should I look for my answers from the society and community around me? This article has started off with too many questions I know, but important ones! We need to identify how to actually answer this question. What parameters are needed to judge one? These are only but a few of many parameters that you can consider based on your
circumstances.
For the purposes of this article, I will only focus on a few of these aspects so that we can delve deeper and understand who we are? Or rather who am I?
As we grow up in this world, we are taught to differentiate between right and wrong, morals and ethics, acceptable behaviour and how to conduct ourselves. For the majority, their families, religion, and community act as a compass for how they will act around others. It embeds the way of life in our subconscious and so we say or do things naturally without giving it a second thought.
In Islam, we are guided to respect each other and be courteous, polite, and helpful. These are the underlying aspects of our interactions, however, sometimes we are required to be loud to be considered authoritative or show anger, sometimes to enforce a point. This should be done within a controlled limit. In some instances, authority dictates our actions and words in the sense that we will change ourselves, depending on whom we are talking to. This is the correct way when we consider age and relations but not financial status.
On the contrary, this is what leads to major misunderstandings because we assume how an interaction should be according to our circumstances rather than trying to see what is underlying within the opposite person’s conversations.
Maybe they are loud by nature which does not classify them as being rude, or they may be soft-spoken but that does not classify them as being timid and scared. Tone does matter but only when you know the person really well. Till you don’t, it is wise to focus on the content matter, what are they trying to communicate? Are they arguing or just trying to have a genuine conversation with you?
An interaction is two-way and also comes down to your listening skills. Are you just hearing or listening? Are you just there so you can answer back or make the conversation about yourself? This also develops by habit, which starts from home. If you have always felt listened to, you will also learn to do the same.
The way you conduct yourself in front of the world is merely a mirror of what values and morals you hold and believe in. It gives a glance of your family and friends. So dear reader, please keep in mind that every interaction that you have gives away a lot about who you are as a person and your family as well to a certain extent.
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