A Lesson from Lawrence of Arabia
2002 Boaz Rauchwerger
In light of the continuing conflict in the Middle East, and the fact that I was born in Israel, I'd like to share my view of most of the Arab world. Take away the extremists and the terrorists, who are in the minority, and you'll find some of the most hospitable, loyal, supportive, peaceful, genuine people anywhere.
How do I know? I have some very close friends who are Arabs. I trust them explicitly. They feel that they and we (the Jews) are cousins from biblical times. And that we were meant to work together and to thrive together.
In our stressful world, there are some valuable lessons we can learn from the Arabs. T.E. Lawrence, the British soldier and author of World War I fame, inspired the movie "Lawrence of Arabia." He became famous for his exploits as British Military liaison to the Arab Revolt. He, and others from the British Empire, learned much from the Arabs in the desert. Many of these Arabs were wandering shepherds that were more prone to peace than to war.
Lawrence and other foreigners, who lived with the Arabs in the desert, learned to speak the language of the Nomads, wore their clothes, ate their food and adopted their lifestyle. The foreigners tended sheep with the Arabs and slept on the ground in their tents. They became familiar with their religion and their belief in Mohammed.
As the story is told in Dale Carnegie's book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, the Arabs taught these foreigners how to conquer worry. They believed that every word that Mohammed wrote in the Koran is the divine revelation of Allah. That's why they take life so calmly and don't usually get upset when things go wrong. That doesn't mean that, in the face of disaster, they don't respond.
A foreigner lived through a horrible desert windstorm. The heat from the wind was unbearable. Although he was nearly driven mad, the Arabs did not complain. The simply said, "Machtoob," IT IS WRITTEN.
Immediately after the storm, they took action. They slaughtered all the lambs, because they knew they would die anyway. They hoped to save the mother sheep. After the lambs were slaughtered, the flocks were driven southward to water. This was all done calmly, without worry or complaining or mourning over their losses. The tribal chief said, "It is not too bad. We might have lost everything. But, praise God, we have 40% of our sheep left to make a new start."
On another occasion, when this foreigner was riding in a car across the desert with some Arabs, a tire blew out. The driver forgot to fix the spare. So there they were with only three tires. The foreigner got upset and started fuming. He asked the Arabs what they were going to do. They reminded him that getting excited wouldn't help. The blown out tire, they said, was the will of Allah and nothing could be done about it. So, they started on, crawling along on the rim of a wheel.
Soon the car ran out of gas. The chief merely remarked, "Machtoob." And, there again, instead of shouting at the driver for not filling the tank with enough gas, everyone remained calm and they all walked to their destination, singing as they went.
All of us must be able to see how our fates are often determined for us. Much of our lives is shaped and molded by events far beyond our control.
The opposite of worry is the happy acceptance of the inevitable. That will help tremendously in settling our nerves. When challenges occur, let us accept the inevitable and make the best of the situation.
Lawrence's Affirmation
If Lawrence of Arabia were around, I believe he might pass along the following daily affirmation:
Life presents many opportunities for me to grow. I face challenges calmly and look for ways to improve on the moment. I am a Champion.
Article reproduced with permission from Boaz Rauchwerger. You may reprint any of these articles in any publication or Web site so long as you credit Boaz Rauchwerger as the author and include this Web site address, www.Boazpower.com.