I remember when my kids were little, and we would do the science project where you wrap the lentil in a damp paper towel and watch it sprout over time.
It was really exciting to see the progress each day, even for me as an adult. We were always taught that plants need three essential things to grow – soil, water, and sunlight.
And I guess that’s true for the most part – those are ideal conditions for most plants to grow. But most of us know (if you’ve killed plants like me), that some plants like less water, some prefer shade, and still others do better with wood chips than soil.
Even more amazing are these lentils sprouting in just a damp paper towel in darkness!
There are so many lessons we can learn from these little lentils. Sometimes, even when conditions aren’t ideal, we can still sprout! And someone else’s ideal growth environment might be different from ours.
In surgery, I always remind myself of a mantra that I learned from one of my residency mentors: perfect is the enemy of good. When I’m almost done with a cataract surgery, and things went well and look pretty good, sometimes there may one small imperfection that I want to go back in and fix. Often that one small additional (unnecessary) step can cause a complication that makes things worse. That’s how perfect can be the enemy of good.
Similarly, when we keep waiting for things in life to be “perfect” in order to do that next thing, we are unnecessarily holding ourselves back. The conditions today are good enough – so sprout!
Sometimes I feel like, I can’t cook dinner until I clean the whole kitchen first. Or I am not going to start exercising until I know I can commit to 3 times per week. Or I want to wear hijab, but I don’t feel like I’m a good enough Muslim yet. In all these examples, then enemy of good is perfect.
None of us are perfect, nor will we ever be. Just because one aspect of our practice isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean we can’t work on another aspect. They can run in parallel. And maybe improving in one area will help us in the others as well.
The hadith qudsi tells us that if we go to Allah ﷻ walking, He comes to us running. So don’t underestimate those baby steps in the right direction. Take one step and it can have a lot of impact.
1 – it increases us in baraka and Allah’s support per the hadith qudsi.
2 – studies show when you accomplish one thing, it makes you more productive. That’s why I picked up the tip of making my bed each morning.
3 – we start to see the results of our efforts and get motivated to continue.
4 – we begin to gain more trust in ourselves and realize that we can accomplish more than we expected.
Take a look at your life today and assess whether maybe the conditions are actually good enough to do that one thing you’ve been putting off. And then just start by (even if slowly) putting one foot in front of the other.
If lentils can grow without soil, you can get started where you are too…
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah says: ‘I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.’ ” Sahih al-Bukhari 7405
حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً ”.
Abu Dharr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Allah Almighty says: Whoever comes with a good deed will have the reward of ten like it and even more. Whoever comes with an evil deed will be recompensed for one evil deed like it or he will be forgiven. Whoever draws close to Me by the length of a hand, I will draw close to him by the length of an arm. Whoever draws close to Me the by length of an arm, I will draw close to him by the length of a fathom. Whoever comes to Me walking, I will come to him running. Whoever meets Me with enough sins to fill the earth, not associating any partners with Me, I will meet him with as much forgiveness.”
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2687
عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَنْ جَاءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَأَزِيدُ وَمَنْ جَاءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَجَزَاؤُهُ سَيِّئَةٌ مِثْلُهَا أَوْ أَغْفِرُ وَمَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنِّي شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ ذِرَاعًا وَمَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنِّي ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ بَاعًا وَمَنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً وَمَنْ لَقِيَنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطِيئَةً لَا يُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَقِيتُهُ بِمِثْلِهَا مَغْفِرَةً
