Words Sakina D.
Header Credits Sakina D. (@sakina.dohadwala)
One of the things I’ve always admired about humans is our incredible ability to adapt to whatever hand we’re dealt. It’s like learning to swim in the deep end. You get thrown in the pool and at first you’re terrified and so afraid but then you realize you have a float (the float in our case being Maula’s (TUS) dua and guidance) and then you calm down and all of a sudden it doesn’t feel so scary anymore.
The last few weeks have been a roller coaster to say the very least.
From experiencing probably the worst ever anxiety I have had in a while and my mental health being at an all time low, to having the best time learning how to cook (something I always thought was well beyond my capabilities), having deeper, more meaningful conversations, taking up new and exciting projects; I feel like I’ve been swinging between radically different emotions.
But despite this, I knew there was one thing I was missing. Through it all I realised that I’d been ignoring the most important task: sitting with myself.
I had to take the time to sit with myself, my thoughts, and heal the parts of me that I’d been avoiding for far too long. I had to get to know myself more, to accept and work on my shortcomings and most importantly to love, forgive and spend time with myself like I would with my best friend.
I’ve realized life is a lot like cooking (weird analogy I know but hear me out). You have to accept and understand that there will always be mistakes; sometimes you add garam masala instead of cinnamon (true story), sometimes you miss an ingredient, sometimes you add too much water or too little sugar but it ALWAYS, ALWAYS somehow ends up being okay. Sometimes you wonder why on earth you decided to take this up in the first place but then you see the final output and you realize the lessons and the effort was well worth it. Because it made you stronger, more thoughtful, it made you grow as a person and brought you closer to the goals you set for yourself, whether personal or professional.
The key is; patience, understanding, kindness and forgiveness towards yourself. You have to be your biggest cheerleader. You have to be rooting for you without expecting anyone else to. And you have to, and I mean HAVE to, really, really love yourself. And then you’ll see how you can climb the mountains you always thought were too high with ease.
2 Comments
This piece is so true and beautifully penned!❤
I relate to this. Ever since the lockdown began I felt like I had to make this time I have been given worthwhile. I started new projects and tried new hobbies, at some point my own choices would get so overwhelming that I’d get super anxious about everything. Everytime this happened I had to remind myself to slow down and had to tell myself that I don’t have to be perfect at everything.