Colors & Shade: My Sea-Side Reflections

Ms Ibrahim
Nov 6 · 4 min read
Photo by Ms Ibrahim

Months ago, on a bright Saturday morning; not too warm, not too cold, not foggy at all. A bit atypical for a San Francisco weather. My friend, Mona was convinced that there was a place I still needed to visit, something she referred to as a ‘surprise’. I went with the flow with little expectations, as I was learning to limit my expectations of and from people. It was a plane field hike, with a few stairs here and there, not difficult for someone who wasn’t familiar with hiking.

As we hiked, we talked about life in general and our conversation was interrupted when she said: “This is where we change paths”, we diverted from the regular hiking path and jumped over a fence that had been created as a barrier. Alas, it was a cliff with a beautiful and better view of the golden gate bridge. While Mona believed that it was a secret spot, she was shocked to find out that four other individuals were resting there, something she wasn’t accustomed to, hence she exclaimed with disappointment ‘Well, I guess people already found the secret spot”. I wasn’t disappointed at all! The view was amazing, beautiful and calming that I quickly blurted out with excitement: ‘I like this place! I’d like to be proposed to right here!’ Mona was delighted! She decided it was time for some Instagram photos, I declined and insisted that I wanted to sit to take in the full breadth of the view. I sat on a tree trunk to fully grasp the breadth of the ocean and the fresh air, knowing that I may or may never find this place again. This trunk was bent, very old with long, deep, expansive roots. I thought to myself, this must-have stormed so many weather conditions. Resilience!

As I sat there reflecting on the current state of my life. My mind and thoughts went from gratitude to the many trials and challenges I faced the past year, and everything else in between.

Photo by Ms Ibrahim

I watched ships sail all across the sea, some large, some small, some mid-size. They were all so slow. It reminded me of my life. I wanted everything to happen all so fast, all at once- to be honest, its the nature of human beings (hasty!). We want everything to happen all at once, get that amazing jobs, get that amazing homes, marry that rich, intelligent and successful partner, get the most intelligent children, build that new startup etc..you name it! But, just like those ships, slow in their movement, all of the time, our lives might also seem quite slow. We know we will get to that destination (or sometimes not, if the ship changes its course of travel due to factors beyond its control), we know for sure that we will get to a dock whether or not its the dock we want for ourselves (because sometimes what we want for ourselves might not be good for us and vice versa). If we sink along the way, then it signifies death. But it’s so slow. And the sizes of the ships reminded me of the sizes of different humans, we come in different shapes and sizes, all unique in our way. The loads/containers on the ships reminded me of our burdens in life. Some of us have been designed to carry huge burdens and others mid-size burdens while other large burdens (each of us unaware of how much burden the next person is carrying). No ship carries more than they can handle, hence no human is burdened with any challenge or trial bigger than what they can handle.

I remembered the verse of the Quran that states —

Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity-(Chapter 2 vs 286)

I was suddenly reminded that whatever my struggles, however small or large, it was because I had been designed with the capacity within me to carry it. I was not an overloaded ship! I am carrying the right amount of load and I am certain that I will get to my designated dock! I hope I never forget this key lesson as I journey through the rest of my colorful life.

As I watched the sea closely, I noticed that some parts of the sea had bright blue shade (as it is meant to be). The other parts had a teal shade which felt like it was still in the process of turning bright blue. The former I saw as color, the latter I saw as shade. I thought about my own life, I have had my fair share of ups and downs just like any other human. And for the first time, It felt ok to be a masterpiece (bright blue) and a work in progress (teal). If the tides could be calm knowing it had these two colors then I saw no reason why I shouldn’t be calm at my imperfections. Yet another beautiful lesson I hope I never forget in life.

Hey, see! look at those dolphins”, Mona’s discovery took me away from my deep thoughts. My attention drifted to the dolphins!

Ms Ibrahim

Written by

Avid learner! 🧠 An ISTJ Woman 🧕🏾 Muslimah with a growth mindset ☘️ Navigating life one day at a time ⏱️. I write from my heart!

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