The
Open
Road

Well, here we are again,

back at a Thruway for the Open Road,

but this time we have landed at Level 2.

You see we may have learned a little bit about being good and being bad,

but there's always more, and then even more, to find out about the Open Road.

And that's because the Open Road has many ways to follow.

Some of them are great big roads,

bustling with people and busy with traffic,

the main roads that people share,

going to the places that most people want to go.

But main roads have lots of smaller roads that lead into them,

and those may have smaller roads leading into them,

and so on

until you find that you can wander off so far from the main road that the tiny streets are little more than lanes and alleyways.

So the further you get from the main road, the easier it is to get lost.

And the reason that the Open Road has so many ways to follow is because it is about all our lives,

and that includes every one of us,

and we are all so different.

We are all different colours and shapes and sizes,

we like different things, different tastes, different colours and sounds,

we even speak different languages,

yet we all live together in this world.

And when people are so different, they may argue and even fight,

but being different is the way they learn things,

because if everyone always thought exactly the same as each other,

no-one would ever think anything different,

and no-one would ever learn anything new.

So we travel the Straight Path in different ways,

but we look at all the different things that happen to us every day,

and the choices that we make, and the things we can do

and how we would like people to think of us.

And we find that there is a Way of Life

that is good for all those different kinds of people,

a Way of Life that makes it easier for us to live together,

a Way of Life we call our Deen.

And the Deen goes through everything we say and do,

so there is always more to learn.

Can we learn to be happy?

What do we need to share with those around us?

What is being alive all about?

What is the link between doing bad and feeling bad?

What are the most important things to do for ourselves and others?

What about animals?

What is the point of learning stuff?

Are some things we do worse than others?

How can we ive in the Deen?

How does it affect us with our Family?

How should we treat our neighbours, muslim and non-muslim?

Where do the rules we need to follow come from?