In the mirror we see
To the child in me
I want to start off by saying: this blogpost will not resonate with everyone, nor does it have to. Not everything in this time and age has to be relatable. Yet, I do want to mention that I dedicate this post to my younger self. From toddler, to child. From youngster to young adult. And finally from adult to my actual self.
ﷲ ﷻ told us to be kind, generous, forgiving people. He told us to be good to our relatives, to our neighbours, people in need. When you read the Quran it all makes sense. Through the Quran and the Sunnah, ﷲ ta’ala has shown us that Islam is a way of life and he has provided us with a beautiful guidance to make our life on this dunia easier. He also tells us to forgive when someone has troubled us. He literally says that: if there is a conflict or a misunderstanding between two people, they have to clear the air about it and it’s best to forgive. Yet on the same matter ﷲ ﷻ tells us not to forget whatever occurred. And there is a lesson in that, which unfortunately I myself don’t always take. I easily forgive and I easily forget.
Earlier this week I was sitting at my makeup table, prepping to go out as I was having a phone call. After that phone call, I felt quite disturbed and I looked at myself in the mirror. Subhanallah, at that moment I didn’t see myself, I saw a younger version of me. I saw this little kid who was hurt. As the emotions overtook me, I was tearing up and I literally said to her, that toddler in the mirror: ‘It’s ok. Just know one day you’ll be more than ok’.
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ. I wanted to go inside that mirror and hug that little girl. I wanted to tell her that she is kind, sweet, honest, pure. I wanted to tell her that she is hella smart, joyful and strong. But mostly I wanted to tell her that I love her, unconditionally, and I wanted to thank her for perseverance. Because it’s thanks to that little girl’s strength and the way she carved out her path of life that I was able to create my safe space. It is thanks to her that I can now look in the mirror and tell her ‘we’re good now’. We’re happy, blessed. We have regained our bubbliness and joie de vivre
A choice of life
It might sound a bit strange to say, but a part of me feels kind of sad. Sad because I’m unable to go back in time and comfort her, tell her these things. Yet, I do realise that she still lives within me. So, I’m both grateful and thankful for that little girl; for her naiveté, her innocence and love. Somehow it also gives me comfort that both she and I have our safe and happy place.
I recently saw a post, well actually two. The first post said that we treat our cats the way we wish we had been treated as kids. The second one mentioned that you know you have truly healed from something you went through, when you can tell your story without tearing up.
Both of these posts went straight to my core, for a good reason. It showed me that I’m alive, amongst other things. When you surround yourself with genuinely good, kind and honest people you create an environment of safety. Suddenly it doesn’t feel all too bad to open up, to share ideas, thoughts and visions. As long as you choose these people wisely and make clear that they are cherished, appreciated and loved. Cause in the times we live in, values such as genuine goodness, kindness and honesty are hard to come by and therefore even more valued.
If you are brushing your teeth later today, standing in front of the mirror, try to look a little deeper and search for the younger you, that kid inside of you. I bet he or she would love to hear from you.
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ