How to Become Your Own Power Source by Learning Resilience
The following is adapted from Art of Resilience by Hussein Al-Baiaty.
My family and I were huddled in the corner of my parents’ room, waiting for the inevitable — missiles aimed at our city of As-Samawah, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq.
That night, the sky was raining missiles, bombing bridges, armories, and communication towers. Those that missed their targets headed straight for schools, businesses, and civilian homes.
I felt the squeeze of my father’s arms wrapping my whole family. The bombs were getting closer and louder. Each blast was scarier than the last. My father started praying in a low whisper. “Thank you, Allah, for what you have given me.”
His eyes filled up with tears, and I could hear surrender in his voice. He began to repeat the “Al-Fatiha” prayer, the opening verse from the first chapter of the Quran, and my mother and my six siblings joined in. “If we die in this moment, may Allah forgive us and grant us paradise.”
I pause my speech and take a moment to scan the auditorium full of hundreds of people. I had been asked to speak at an awards ceremony for outstanding educators, administrators, community leaders, and support staff of local K-12 schools.
The audience is silent, hanging on to my every word, while watching pictures from my past fill the giant screens behind me. I share my story of how my father’s art saved our lives at the refugee camp. How art has continually shaped my life through difficult times. I have relied on improving my artistic abilities to get me through college and build my business. Using art in different forms has helped me cope, become flexible, optimistic, and most of all, build the layers of resilience for my journey.
I tell the audience how my family was spared that horrible night, but our lives changed forever. We fled to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia and finally made it to America. I share more stories of resilience, the important lessons I’ve learned along the way, and how making art became a source of healing. I give a shoutout to the teachers that had the most impact on me, helping me build my perspective and hone my passion.
As I walk off the stage to loud applause, I notice my anxiety and fears have transformed into a feeling of utter calm. I feel vulnerable, but full of courage, like I was supposed to be on that stage, at this very night and moment to tell this specific story. I feel a sense of purpose realized. I am no longer voiceless, rather a composed artistic expression of a message sent to the future from that refugee camp I once roamed.
My calm comes from the strength I have long built over the years. Facing challenges has given me an edge over my nerves. Growth happens when we get uncomfortable. Once we move forward, we will stumble. This is part of the process. We’re all on a journey towards greater self-discovery. Challenges are unavoidable, but it’s how we build layers of resilience to face those challenges that defines our lives.
The layers of resilience I write about are not ones I have invented for the purposes of this book. I have continually spent time reading about the self, personal growth, and how to learn to heal, trying to understand why my behaviors and actions are triggered by past trauma I never knew I had. Trauma that is deeply buried in stories, shame, blame, neglect of physical and mental health, and seeking approval. My survivor’s guilt was deep, and I needed a way to learn to cope. Learning to name and understand my deep emotional states helped me further understand who and what I am.
Uncovering the stories that transformed my pain into power became a way to study myself. I wanted to create a state of mind that I can always rely on throughout life. I used to be very embarrassed that I came from a refugee camp, poverty, and welfare. This was the shame that I needed to turn inside out. Embracing these stories, owning them, comfortably speaking about them was the essence of my state of mind. The Refugee State of Mind.
From stomping mud in a pit to make bricks to use as shelter to getting into the architecture program at Portland State University, I met challenges at every stage of growth — like when I sold Portland T-shirts and got fined by the NBA. From watching my father paint in the refugee camp to becoming an artist and painting my heart out at poetry nights to pay my way through college. From fist fights after 9/11 to realizing that the ink of a scholar is worth more than blood spilled over anger. From being and feeling voiceless to turning up the microphones while I shared my story to thousands of students, teachers, and leaders.
Through these layers, I found myself. I came across opportunities to travel, speak, paint murals, form unbreakable bonds, and earn money doing what I loved. I found my wife, or maybe she found me — either way it wouldn’t have happened had I not started a Hookah business venture that failed. I walked away with something more amazing — a supportive, loving companion on my journey. So much of what I wanted to work out didn’t, and I came to realize that’s OK, too. What’s meant for me will or has come.
It was my job to be aware and live in a state of gratitude while I sought better versions of myself, allowing my deep inner guiding compass to build my mission and support me through my journey. I can’t control life and how it unfolds, but learning to rely on my resilience is the key to getting through just about anything.
These stories are from experiences that I call layers, which built a beautiful pattern of tenacity. I hope you can reflect on your own mishaps and see what you have learned from them. When you face an uncomfortable or difficult situation, you can use a layer, or multiple layers, to help you through it. Something about your true calling may reveal itself to you. You may find a mission or a new life awaiting you.
When hearing my story, I hope you will come to recognize and define your own resilience — the mental fortitude that leads to inner peace. Through reflecting on your experiences, you will realize you have survived and have made it through tough times, too. Reflecting is asking your past self questions to understand your state of mind. Revisiting stories of joy and challenges and coming to a resolution is essential to personal growth. What stories do you tell yourself? How can you tell yourself a new positive perspective on that story?
Your triumph over the smallest battle is crucial. There’s no such thing as failing. You can learn from past experiences, change, and shapeshift your attitude to a positive one. Here is where you can earn that new state of mind. Name it, own it, and allow it to drive your actions and positive thoughts of the future you want to create.
From this practice of reflection, you will learn to develop, trust, and embrace what you have long struggled with and turn into your own power source: your state of mind.
To learn more about personal growth by changing your state of mind, Art of Resilience is available on Amazon.
Hussein Al-Baiaty is a business owner and graduate of Portland State University’s School of Architecture. In 2016, he launched Refutees, creating graphic tees that expand awareness while donating much-needed items to local and international refugees. Hussein volunteers his time at many events and causes throughout the year, including serving on the Oregon Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs. In 2018, he received the Immigrant of the Year award.
In 2021, Hussein launched The Resilience Club to provide artists and creatives the coaching and accountability they need to excel. He also hosts The Art of Resilience Podcast, uncovering layers of resilience through stories of refugees, immigrants, artists, and community leaders.
