Tie your camel
Hold effort and trust together: do your part, then loosen your grip on how it turns out.
This lesson comes from the Islamic tradition. You don't need to share the faith to find it useful; take what helps and leave the rest.
The story
A Bedouin man arrived to see the Prophet Muhammad and left his camel standing loose outside. When he was asked about it, he had a question of his own.
Should he tie his camel up and then trust in God? Or leave her untied and simply trust in God to keep her there?
“Tie her, and trust in God.”
The idea
The answer refuses a false choice. Trust (tawakkul) doesn't replace effort, and effort doesn't have to mean controlling everything. You tie the rope, and then you let go of the outcome.
Worry tends to blur the two. Sometimes it pushes us to over-control: checking, re-planning and rehearsing long after the rope is tied. Sometimes it tips into giving up: "nothing I do matters, so why try?"
Tying your camel is the middle path: do the reasonable thing that is yours to do, then let the rest be held by something larger than your worry, whether you understand that as God, life, or simply what you cannot control.
Echoes in other traditions
- Stoicism
Epictetus taught that some things are up to us and some are not, and peace comes from putting our energy into the first.
- The Serenity Prayer
The courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Psychology
Therapists distinguish problem-solving (which ends in an action) from worry (which goes round in circles). The rope is the action; the rest is worry.
Try it with something on your mind
Think of one thing you're worried about at the moment.
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Check your understanding
A friend has an exam tomorrow and says, "It's in God's hands, so there's no point studying." What would 'tie your camel' suggest?
Finish the lesson
Answer the question above to complete the lesson.