Maryam 5 months ago: By
May, I would have been in…. I would have done…I would…
COVID-19: Hold my drink!
The events that
occurred…and are still occurring in 2020 falls short of expectation. I mean,
who would have imagined that I would experience all these? This year has been
one of the most challenging ever. What keeps me going is the ability to focus
on positive experiences.
An excerpt from the
breathtaking novel I recently completed, Love from A to Z, is a novel that I
keep reflecting upon.
S.K Ali writes:
Everyone told Dad that he
was “lucky” that I was so “good.” How he’d done a “good” job, given the
circumstances. Of Mom passing away. And being in another country. And
converting to a new religion as a family.
What they’d meant was
that I was easy to handle, didn’t talk back or push limits. But maybe it wasn’t
that I was just good or that Dad had done a good job. Maybe it had been this
journal. This way of noticing that even during the suckiest moments in life
there was something marvelous to be seen, heard, touched. Or just a tiny awe
felt in the heart. Maybe it was going out of my way to try to notice something,
this noticing, that had saved me all along.
Sickness
I got diagnosed with
Malaria about a week ago and the symptoms were far from what I’ve experienced
since I came into this world. What with the medications and putrid smell of
iodoform and the sight of nurses dressed in white, appearing occasionally with
plates of syringes?
While I was still ill, I
could hardly perform any task. I rested till I got tired of resting. I watched
movies until I got bored. Life seemed to take a different path as I started
reflecting over scenarios that had happened in the past…both the pleasant,
unpleasant, and cringe-worthy scenarios.
I started to appreciate
the little blessings that we take for granted. Like sleeping and having an appetite
for meal. Like being able to swallow food and go about with the daily tasks. It
got to a stage that I couldn’t close my eyes to sleep. Whenever I attempt to
close my eyes, several figures and shapes would appear in front of me, making
me feel jittery and unable to sleep.
After recovering from the
illness, I started to appreciate the blessings that I often take for granted.
Reading Nice Books
Yay! I recently concluded
S.K Ali’s Love from A to Z and wrote a review afterwards. I’ll post on my blog
soon. The novel was lovelier than I expected. I cried, smiled…and experienced a
series of emotions while reading. Hands down, it’s the best novel I’ve read
this year. Surprisingly, this turns out to be the first Muslim fiction novel
that I’ll read.
Other books that have
been inspiring include Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree.
Writing Novels
For over two years now,
I’ve been planning to write a couple of novels. Yes, planning because that’s
the ‘safe’ word to use instead of ‘procrastinating.’ Well, this lockdown has
granted me the opportunity to start these novels, write a couple of short
stories, and send some for publication.
Posting on the blog
I spent over a month
writing blog posts and designing pictures for the blog. Now, all I have to do
is sit back and schedule these posts.
Taking things one step at
a time
I wouldn’t be honest if I
say that this period has been a memorable one. There were times I almost gave
up or spent minutes thinking about my life and the decisions I’ve made. What
consoles me is the fact that life doesn’t always have to go perfectly and we
don’t always have to make the right decisions. We will fail sometimes and learn
from our mistakes. We will cry and learn to smile again. What matters is taking
life one step at a time.
“It’s through mistakes
that you can actually grow.’ – Paula Scher
0 comments:
Post a Comment