The Artful Grave Gazer

Pessimism is distinguished from optimism in a number of technical ways. One glaring academic differentiator being ‘attitude.’ Optimists are said to approach life with a positive outlook. Whereas pessimists tend to maintain low expectations. Of the two, to me, the better-prepared of these two would be the pessimist. This is for one simple reason, pessimists are always preparing for negative outcomes. This makes them cautious and deliberate in their decisions. As such pessimists are not so easily duped. Although admittedly, they may tend to have less fun in life. God, Glorified and Exalted is He (SWT), is the Creator of all. As such, He Created optimism and pessimism. That is not a thing to be judged by men. However, in man’s obsession with ‘purity,’ it is a thing that will always be widely debated. Material things run their exhaustive courses rather rapidly. In my 30 plus years in Muslim Ministry, I have used the analogy of the hamster wheel hundreds of times in office hours during counseling. By modest estimates, over the span of 30 years in ministry, I have conducted more than a minimum of 3,120 hours of individual and family counseling as a Mosque-Imam. In addition, and by similar standards, I have conducted more than a minimum of 6,240 classroom hours as an instructor of Arabic Language and Islamic Sciences at mosques in America. These are the lower-end estimates. I have developed theology and language curricula. I have led Ramadans, officiated Eids and Islamic weddings. I have conducted prison ministry. I have participated in inter-faith events and represented Islam in the US government and the media. This book is my professional life-summary. It is the answer to the question: Imam Ibrahim: What was it all about, and what’s next.