WALK CAREFULLY

There is a path covered with thorny bushes. A man carelessly walks into it. The thorns prick his body, his clothes get torn, and he is delayed in reaching his destination. His peace of mind is disturbed.

Now, what will this man do? Will he hold a conference against thorns? Will he issue fiery statements about them? Will he demand that the United Nations remove all thorns from every tree in the world so no traveler ever faces this problem again?

No serious or sensible person would ever do that. Instead, he will admit his own mistake. He will say to himself: “When God gave you two eyes, why didn’t you use them to avoid the thorns? You could have held your clothes close and walked carefully past the thorny path. That way your body would have been safe, and you would have reached your destination without delay.

God placed this example in the world of trees so that people might learn from it while journeying through human life. But it seems no one has read this sign of God. No one has heard this message or taken its lesson. Today, you will find countless people who walk carelessly among the thorns of human society. And when those thorns hurt them, they immediately start blaming the thorns instead of pausing to think. They make the useless attempt of placing the blame for their own mistakes on others.

Everyone should understand that just as thorny bushes cannot be removed from the world of trees, thorny people will also never be removed from human society—until the Day of Judgment. The key to living safely and successfully in this world is to walk carefully and avoid such people. Every other approach only increases destruction, nothing else.