大象传媒

From Sarah Joseph, Editor of a Muslim lifestyle magazine:

听

I downloaded this app on my phone a month or so ago.听 Basically, it counts my steps like a pedometer. 听Unlike the pedometer that I use to wear about a decade ago, the app gathers data, takes me on imaginary journeys to beautiful places, releases on-screen fireworks when I hit my daily goals, and gives me Badges!

Now, who can resist an achievement badge?!!

So it was with some glee that, about a week after I put the app on my phone, an alert buzzed, and there 鈥� in full colour glory - was a notification that I had walked a marathon.
A marathon!

Now some people around here 鈥�(ahem Chris)- 听run marathons all the time鈥�
But 鈥� for me 鈥� a mere mortal - I can鈥檛 tell you how delighted I was.

I felt a spring in my step!

When I think of Marathons 鈥� generally they get filed into a part of my brain for: 鈥淰ery difficult!鈥�
Indeed, we use the word marathon to describe something tough鈥� 鈥淕oodness it was an uphill task, a real marathon鈥�
And yet, here I was 鈥� walking a marathon without even realising it.
There鈥檚 a Chinese proverb: 鈥淎 journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.鈥�

A thousand miles seems impossible. However, a single step is normally walked without us even thinking about it.

And this is how I feel about all sorts of things in life.

For example, my last 5,000 essay for my Masters was written in bursts of 50 words. I was working, I wasn鈥檛 well, I had family commitments. The essay seemed impossible. I got there in tiny steps.

The big deed. The momentous event. They can seem like the ones that matter. They are so often the ones we dream about.

However, the older I get, the more connected I become to the small deeds that bring about big change.

The Prophet said, 鈥淭he deed most beloved my God are the small ones done regularly鈥�. And I genuinely can see why 鈥� because small deeds add up鈥� if we keep at it.

I reckon if we remain undaunted by how big a challenge is, and instead do the small deeds 鈥� well! We can achieve marathons! Indeed 鈥� some people with their New York marathon medals 鈥� already have.