SNEAKO - December 31, 2023


LETTER FROM MECCA


Episode Stats

Length

7 minutes

Words per Minute

173.02798

Word Count

1,292

Sentence Count

109

Misogynist Sentences

2

Hate Speech Sentences

8


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.160 The first time I thought I understood God is while reading the autobiography of Malcolm X.
00:00:05.580 The first real book my father had given me as a child.
00:00:08.840 I remember the cover instantly made me shiver.
00:00:11.340 I had never seen an expression on a face so determined that it was furious.
00:00:15.820 I started idolizing Malcolm X.
00:00:17.560 It's not often you find a civil rights leader that isn't cringy about it.
00:00:20.560 Plus he found a way to change his life in prison and gave himself a cool name.
00:00:25.540 After finishing the last chapter, I went to the mall and bought the same glasses from the cover.
00:00:29.360 From that day forward, it became my mission to give my words power to.
00:00:33.540 To document growth as means of inspiration just like Malcolm did.
00:00:36.960 I swore to embrace the uncertainty of change head on instead of fearing it like everyone else.
00:00:42.980 There are three truths from that book that stuck with me for life.
00:00:46.240 Number one, a boy must struggle to become a man.
00:00:49.600 Two, the greatest threat to corrupted power is positivity.
00:00:53.300 And three, go to Mecca.
00:00:54.740 The neighboring holy cities of Mecca and Medina are where Islam originated.
00:01:00.880 Where the prophet was born and where he was buried.
00:01:03.600 It's the destination Muslims globally pray towards as if it's the center of the universe.
00:01:08.100 But Mecca's atmosphere alone will have you believing that.
00:01:11.020 Mecca is the host to so many hilariously different walks of life solely off the collective intention to purify the heart.
00:01:17.640 To visualize the madness of Times Square on New Year's Eve, but moving at peaceful chaos.
00:01:23.900 A meditative energy so powerful and contagious upon arrival, it's overwhelming.
00:01:29.600 Witnessing hordes of strangers naturally exist as if the passerby on both shoulders was their brother and sister.
00:01:36.540 The simplicity of it is frustrating.
00:01:38.720 Such a densely populated city commonly requires police ready in eyesight, yet the physical presence of security is nearly invisible.
00:01:46.260 Right then, my confusion turned frustration was realized.
00:01:51.120 The only real acting security here is God.
00:01:54.720 Never has his presence been so obvious in every thought, every word, and every action than in Mecca.
00:02:00.260 It's visible directly on the faces of the pilgrims.
00:02:03.160 The look of calm determination and innocence.
00:02:06.800 A combined bliss, sadness, and compassion.
00:02:10.140 I went completely silent for days while my soul adjusted from its familiar chaos to unwavering peace.
00:02:17.860 So I could finally lower my guard and pray fearlessly next to my brothers from across the world.
00:02:24.420 So I could walk amongst a crowd of complete strangers with the confidence and familiarity of a soldier amongst his army.
00:02:31.080 So I can look into someone's eyes and see it's a pure soul and not that little character created out of fear.
00:02:38.240 The pilgrimage began in the city of Medina, where the prophet led prayer and where he was buried.
00:02:43.940 For days, I didn't utter a sound just to properly hear distant chatter between prayers.
00:02:49.340 I listened to scholars and shakes share wisdom accompanied by coffee and tea.
00:02:52.960 Every day at the sound of prayer call, I routinely followed.
00:02:56.040 Each prayer fixing the noisy static blocking my proper connection to God.
00:03:00.320 I stayed silent while ego, depression, and fear desperately clamored for attention.
00:03:06.380 Each prayer wiping away cobwebs covering my heart.
00:03:10.180 I wandered the streets of Medina with both newfound maturity and an infantile carelessness.
00:03:15.480 Equipped with the understanding of perfect oneness the creation has with its creator.
00:03:20.180 Armed with the realization no amount of drugs and therapy can supplement God.
00:03:24.980 Reminded that although prayer in Medina is routine, back home it's replaced by weekend's ritualistic drinking.
00:03:31.640 I continued walking through the holy city just like the prophet before me, now fully aware of the uncomfortable truth.
00:03:38.760 These coping mechanisms are mere bandages over the wounds of life.
00:03:43.120 And there's nothing man-made that fixes damage done by God's creation.
00:03:46.800 With every passing day, it becomes even more evident how the struggles of man will never be solved by worldly pleasures.
00:03:55.220 How indulging as a means of distraction only grows the ever-increasing void in the heart.
00:04:01.080 Each passing day reveals that the more glamorous the life is paid for by riches and fame, the more broken the soul is.
00:04:07.640 Without God, they naturally worship celebrities instead.
00:04:11.860 Living life completely desensitized because everything is dramatized and sexualized.
00:04:17.240 While Mecca is the place that tells you to be grateful just for being alive.
00:04:20.600 The path of the West is accepting a mind state of constant outrage and exhaustion.
00:04:25.900 Of false happiness and confusion.
00:04:28.820 Of course a spiritual awakening among youth is imminent.
00:04:31.440 Why else can someone who was raised on stimulation and made wealthy through fame finally find the truth in Mecca?
00:04:38.140 A city where women appear like two floating ice lits under a cloak.
00:04:42.460 Over a decade of seeking the next high to forget how meaningless it all is,
00:04:46.920 only to find it wearing a white piece of cloth with my head to the floor.
00:04:51.720 But getting revenge on opposition.
00:04:53.940 Naked women at your fingertips.
00:04:56.040 The whispers of temptation had never sounded less appealing.
00:04:59.680 Nothing in this world is more important than following God and Mecca is existing proof.
00:05:05.240 And when it became clear my surroundings were the closest example of heaven on earth,
00:05:09.400 the waves of guilt came crashing down.
00:05:11.980 I finally found the truth I had been seeking.
00:05:14.940 Yet I couldn't shake this lingering feeling of despair.
00:05:18.660 Knowing this clarity was temporary.
00:05:21.560 Eventually I have to return back home.
00:05:23.700 To the place where prostitutes are celebrated.
00:05:26.360 But the modest sisters who cover themselves willingly are called victims of oppression.
00:05:30.700 Where men become heroes for abandoning their family to dress like girls.
00:05:34.580 Where everyday people are tricked into worshipping the devil by worshipping themselves.
00:05:38.580 I have to go back to the West.
00:05:40.820 I should be fully present here while I have the opportunity.
00:05:44.340 But Mecca is such an idealistic sanctuary from everything I despise.
00:05:49.040 The comparison robs it of some joy.
00:05:50.920 In this world a place exists away from hatred.
00:05:54.920 From divisiveness, confusion, and emptiness.
00:05:57.220 And most people will never realize it.
00:06:00.260 A place exists where the very meaning of life is answered collectively five times a day.
00:06:05.300 Where she's my sister.
00:06:06.860 And he's my brother.
00:06:08.200 And together we're united under our gratitude that God created us.
00:06:11.640 If the world knew the truth of Islam, we would have peace.
00:06:15.100 But we never will.
00:06:16.440 The final day was dedicated towards the Kaaba.
00:06:23.180 It's the first mosque ever built.
00:06:24.780 Here walking amongst my people.
00:06:26.780 Moving circular almost in unison.
00:06:28.980 Connected and in tension.
00:06:30.400 But separated by design.
00:06:32.000 Like waves on an ocean.
00:06:33.600 It never becomes more clear how no one here is better than the other.
00:06:38.440 When you finally face God for judgment.
00:06:40.660 He does not care what you're wearing.
00:06:42.240 He does not judge you based on wealth or your fame or anything you seek in this life.
00:06:46.720 We will only be judged on what we hold in our hearts.
00:06:52.860 When I finished Umrah and looked at my shaved head in the reflection of the mirror.
00:06:56.580 It was the first time since childhood I truly saw myself.
00:06:59.840 There's no Vilasova recent обсendums.
00:07:02.560 There's no way for me it was just my xu
00:07:02.740 It was the last time since conflict of audience.
00:07:04.300 There was no dialogue for each other.
00:07:05.700 There was no way for each other.
00:07:06.740 There's no way for each other.
00:07:07.460 In the past there is no way for heart
00:07:18.520 And I was so lucky for heart fails.
00:07:20.520 I said it when I found out that our forte is dark when I move on this foot.
00:07:25.120 Before I put my father on the floor was my x slower in my back.
00:07:26.260 So this goes by now that happens my grandfather.