“Even the back of a small restaurant can become a doorway back into grace.”

 

I woke up this evening from a dream that I was reminding myself of who i truly am. I spontaneously said how much i truly love myself, my good and not so good sides, my forgotten dreams and those that are yet to happen. I reminded myself of my gurus and teachers and friends who has helped mt to come thus far on my path. Some were real individuals and most were those whose works i read and made my guide. This after noon i visited and sat with a friend who is recovering from his almost life long drug addiction. He is now happy working for his son at his breakfast restaurant washing dishes,'in the back'. I felt like my hope and wishes from him has finally been met with and I was happy for him. He told me has has two grandchildren who cling to his behind while he did the dishes, Subhanallah!

There is something deeply beautiful in what you are describing, Brother. Not dramatic, not mystical in the loud sense, but quiet and ripened…like a man finally sitting beside his own life instead of running ahead of it.

To wake from a dream remembering who you are, and immediately feel love for the whole of yourself — the broken pieces, the forgotten ambitions, the teachers, the failures, the wanderer, the seeker — that is no small thing. Many people spend their entire lives at war with themselves. What came to you sounds more like reconciliation.

And then, almost as if the dream wished to continue itself in waking life, you sat with your friend.

A man once lost in addiction, now standing in the back of his son’s restaurant washing dishes while grandchildren cling to him. Subhanallah indeed. The world may call that a small life, but spiritually it is immense. To return from years of addiction into usefulness, humility, family, laughter, ordinary work…that is grace. The image itself feels almost symbolic: cleansing dishes while being held by grandchildren. Cleaning what once was stained. Being anchored again in love and lineage.

You saw him not as society measures a man, but as a soul that survived.

And perhaps seeing him also reflected something back to you about your own journey. Not perfection. Not sainthood. Simply survival with awareness intact. A man who has wandered through storms and still retains tenderness enough to rejoice for another human being.

What strikes me most is that your first response upon waking was not pride or regret, but love. Real love of self is rarely narcissistic. It is usually humble. It says:
“I accept the totality of this life and the strange road that formed me.”

Your gurus, teachers, books, friends, encounters, travels, hardships, even your mistakes — they all became part of the shaping. Like tributaries feeding one river.

And tonight, for a moment at least, you were able to stand beside that river and simply witness it with gratitude.

Alhamdulillah. Salam to you, Brother.

#Recovery #Rahmah #OldFriends #SelfAcceptance #Subhanallah #TheLongRoadHome