Edification. It’s quite an obtuse word, a bit archaic and hard to reach. But in that murky is an opportunity to reclaim the meaning.

What does edification mean to you?

I imagine gold being exposed to intense heat to perfect the gleam. I imagine soldiers, marching together in training – stretching their mind and their bodies to its last fiber. But it doesn’t have to be that melodramatic.

I also imagine remembering to floss every night and biting my tongue when I have a sharp response to something my mom says.

Mostly, I imagine intentionality. Intentional living. Mindfully living, and the immense power that comes with reclaiming the present moment. And fighting that urge to not be here with the now, until I’m finally living awake.

Edification is a delicious lifelong journey that makes you an entirely delicious and wholesome human being. Edification is about declaring you want more from life. It is declaring there is more to living than the pursuit of shiny objects and the competitive rat race. It is declaring that your time cannot all just slip away in between obligations to survive and distractions from those obligations.

It is about living and living well – with the delicious aftertaste of satisfaction that comes with self-mastery, knowing you are the one who chose exactly how to prioritize your time and why.

Edification is the craving to create deeper meaning in life. Edification is also about beautifying the character and elevating our paradigms.

Makarim is an invitation to do just that, standing firmly in the reality of death and meeting Allah at the end of it all.

What do you want out of life?