Reigniting the passion

Wow. It’s been more than a month since I wrote anything. Any article, or blogpost, or reflection.

I often wonder why I’ve began to write less and less. Only to realise that life recently has been one roller coaster. Travelling from one country to another. Unexpected experiences. New chapters. New responsibilities. Change of environment. Change of culture. Change of routine.

I’ve been so caught up in the rat-race of life, I’ve been drowning in so many thoughts, worries and fears that I forgot about my dreams.

It’s like the flame of passion that burnt in my heart fizzled out because I slowly, unknowingly was losing hope in this world. In people. In things going well. That I slowly began to lose hope in my dreams.

It’s only today, in Salaah, as I stood in silence and stilness. Pushing my thoughts away. Focusing in the here and now, that I realised just how distant I had become from myself. My goals. My aspirations.

I had a reflection.

Silence is not just about no speech. It’s about stillness. Focus. Appreciation on the here and now. It’s about erasing the negative and useless thoughts that plague your mind. It’s about awareness. It’s about listening. Carefully. And this is what Salaah helps us achieve amidst our busy days in our chaotic life. It teaches us how to be silent. With mind, body, heart and tongue.

And the reality is, sometimes life will knock you down. It sure did for me. But when it did, I remained there. Paralysed. Unable to moved. My own emotions crippled me. And when I had enough of feeling, I decided not to feel at all. No excitement, no passion, no aspirations.

And it’s now, as I set aside some time to myself. Some time to be still and silent, that I realise I should no longer bury my dreams. It’s time dig out the old passions, the goals that I had written on paper, the vision that kept me awake at night, and the sense of purpose that breathed life into my the ink of my pen.

It’s time to pick myself up, dust off the brush and learn from my experiences. Life will knock us all back but have a choice, either to stop moving or continue moving. And it’s movement that will take us places.

And so as I sit here typing away, I smile. I finally sense a ray of excitment in me. The flame of passion is reignited. It’s time to put pen to paper and to slowly build my stamina to chase those dreams.