An old Sufi saying is, “Trust in Allah but tether your camel first”, which means it may be impossible to control everything in life but it pays to take care of your basic needs. Doing what is within your means to do, in terms of securing your existence, is still the best policy when it comes to peace of mind and longevity. You don’t know what your fate really is but you work with what knowledge and expectation you have in life. If possible you do not want to wake up in the desert and find that your camel has wandered off because you didn’t properly secure him or her (actually, according to the great TE Lawrence the female camel is by far the superior riding beast).
Deserts, like our lives, can span great distances and we are best served by securing our essential requirements when journeying through time and space. We all know that a worry free trip is a much more enjoyable one. There is nothing worse than being on holiday, or away from home for work, and being anxious about something. Worry can eat away at you over time and the old wives’ tale tells us that it causes grey hairs. Traumatic experiences have been known to send the hair of even youngish people grey, seemingly overnight.
What does the camel represent in our modern lives? I would say our ability to look after ourselves, and our families, for those with dependents. For some that may mean property accrued or savings, like superannuation, the investments we have worked hard for in our lives. Have we planned well for the future? If we utilise the best of our knowledge and abilities to strategically provide for our retirement, and families, we can create that peace of mind. Self-managing your superannuation funds can assist with achieving this outcome.
Peace of mind, due to financial security, can assist with longevity because we are happy and happier people want to stick around for longer. We cannot control everything in our lives, unforeseen tragedies can strike, but we can be as prepared as we possibly can. We can find that balance in our lives by putting away some funds for tomorrow, not everything, we still want to be able to enjoy things today. A big part of living a long life is planning for one, making sure that you will have enough funds to pay for a wonderful retirement. Is that camel securely tied up?