The Day I found out ‘Why’

 

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Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why.” Sad as it is to acknowledge, the latter doesn’t happen for most of us till we are well into our lives. I, for example, was so focused on excelling in my studies during my childhood that story-telling was relegated to small, hastily stolen pockets of time. It never occurred to me as I sped along the racetrack with all my peers, blinders on, that perhaps I was meant to be plowing through an entirely different field.

So, as time passed, I found myself twiddling my thumbs, feeling lost and vulnerable as life swept me away on its tides. You see, I lacked the burning certainty that comes with self-knowledge; with knowing what you’re meant to do in life. Then one day I found an old canvas, so old that its belly was sagging, and a box of half-dried oil and acrylic paints. It was like looking into a different time, a different dimension of my personality. I sat down right there and then and began to paint. Red and gold autumn leaves, pavements grey with rain, I was telling a story through my art. And I felt like I was rediscovering a part of myself I had lost.

There was no turning back after that. This entire journey, from the day I found out why all the way to today, has been one remarkable journey of self-discovery. I have discovered my love for art, I have discovered my love for writing and I have discovered that they make an unbeatable duo when it comes to story-telling.

And you know what? Knowing yourself, knowing what you want to do and being able to pursue it becomes a secret well of happiness inside of you. In times of despair or times when things don’t seem to make sense, it is a refuge. It becomes a little flame igniting your path through life. Knowing why has made me, not just a better writer or painter, but a better person and a better mother too. I love exploring art with my children, allowing them to test the limits of their creativity and imagination. I love community art and how it can make a difference in the lives of people. But most of all, what I strive for, is to discover and tell the stories that need to be told through my work.

So this blog will be like a journal. I am not at the beginning of my journey, but I am nowhere near the end. This blog will chronicle everything. The successes and the failures. The good days and the bad days. Motherhood and my never ending quest for self-actualization.

I hope that you read it, enjoy it, find solace and support in it. Because, really, we are all trekking through the same maze. We only need to ignite the torch that will light our way.

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19 thoughts on “The Day I found out ‘Why’”

  2. Z

    Its very important to have a creative outlet – a place where you can create and express and feel and just be. So happy that you found it (Sometimes its a certain event in our lives that triggers this in us. The need to find our place and purpose (or so it was for me))

    lovely blog btw. I look forward reading more about your journey 🙂

  4. Fatima

    I’m so looking forward to seeing more! Your artwork is truly more than art, it’s art with a purpose! So inspiring 🙂

    Quite a well-written first post btw.

    When’s the next post? I need MOAR.

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