Why the animal kingdom can handle crisis more than us

Are you feeling a bit downbeat and downtrodden? Fragile, even?

It’s very normal, and very common — especially given the unprecedented times we are in. The uncertainty is enough to put anyone on edge.

In a time where it is difficult to know where to turn to, as Muslims, we are fortunate to have a source of absolute truth.

This is of course, is the Quran, which has been promised to us to be protected until the end of time and can give us the answer to all things.

However, there is a second source of truth we can turn to for guidance. The second, is actually mentioned within the Book. Allah says over and over again to look at the signs of nature and to ponder, reflect, think.

The animal kingdom and nature’s ecosystems have not been corrupted (despite the best efforts of capitalism). They are acting according to their divine nature.

I recently completed a very interesting course on Biomimicry. One thing we studied is to look at how animals respond to crisis and extreme difficulty. One thing was clear to see — when tough times emerge, they are RESILIENT.

Why? Well, they HAVE to be.

Animals in the wild actually have only one purpose in life: their own survival and that of their young. So their purpose drives their resilience.

For them, resilience is not optional — it is the very fulfilment of their purpose.

They may go about it in different ways of course — for example, fire ants work together and collaborate whilst elephants look to their elders to guide the way. Antelopes form alliances whilst Antarctic crustaceans slow down their metabolism and wait it out.

Humans, too, have one main purpose in life. And if we acted upon it — it would make us extremely resilient and focused and formidable, too. We’d be able to handle most if not all what life has to throw at us, because we are intensely focused on nothing but fulfilling our purpose — whilst using our skills and intellect to figure out innocative solutions to handle all challenges that get in the way.

Sadly though, we’re very misaligned with our purpose and who we were meant to be. We are going about life merely existing, and this is why we feel disenfranchised now that tough times are here.

I have spoken to a lot of people recently and discovered there are many people who are facing huge struggles in this area — in particular with discovering their direction, understanding their purpose and recalibrating their world view to make sense. They are desperate to find the thing that would give their lives true satisfaction and meaning.

This is why we’ve decided to put something together to directly resolve this very important problem. If this is something you’re personally struggling with — or you know someone that is — then feel free to book in some time with me here for a quick chat and I’d be happy to discuss.