Kinetic and Potential Energy

Sheikh Mukhtar Maghraoui gives an analogy with kinetic and potential energy. I hope I can express it properly here.

We are constantly faced with choices. We can choose to do what we want, what our lower self (i.e. id or nafs) wants to do. These things are easy, and we generally feel good while doing them. Or, we can choose to do what's right, which often means fighting our lower selves. And this is the more difficult option.

It's like we are standing on the slope of a mountain. The easy way is to go down, and gain kinetic energy. This is what we do when we follow our lower selves. It's easy. It's fast. But, in the end, we end up much lower than we were when we started. And the more we choose this route, the lower we go and the more difficult it becomes to get up to the level we were at before.

The other choice is to go up. And give up kinetic energy in return for potential energy. It's difficult. It's a struggle. But, in the end, we end up higher than where we started. And we become stronger. We've gained potential energy.