The Wall of Letters
To the naked eye, this wall may be nothing more than an incomplete collection of colourful sticky notes and scattered words.
But not to me. To me, it represents the enormous change, hardship and triumphs of the year as of yet. To me, this wall symbolises the struggles, challenges and long periods of dark days. It is a testimony to my flaws, my shortcomings and my forever expanding need to grow. Staring up at this wall — I am left humbled at how little I know and at how little I have done.
But at the same time, I am empowered as I read each post it note and scan through the days that have shaped the person I am now. It is a testimony to the growth, joys and accomplishments of the long months of this year. It’s a beautiful reminder of all the new amazing experiences, friendships and precious moments of this year. In a funny way, it actually inspires me to not give up and it reminds me that things will always get better if you place your trust in Allah. I’ve noticed that social media likes to be unrealistic and create false images, showcasing only the good in people’s lives. So this is my way of acknowledging and celebrating the bad. I won’t lie, this past month has been really hard for a seemingly unlimited number of reasons that arrived all at once. I’ve hit the ground and I haven’t been able to get back up just yet.
And this state of disorientation is okay.
This wall reminds me that Allah is authoring my story and I shouldn’t be sad or worry too much. It leaves me with a sense of security, that everything will be alright. It reminds me to keep my mind open and my efforts consistent in order to let myself move forward, no matter how small the steps are. This wall is a physical embodiment of what our lives are made of — a collection of days that are not perfectly good nor perfectly bad. Because the correct translation of the famous verse is “With hardship there is ease”. This dunya will always be both and only Jannah will be perfectly good and Jahanam perfectly bad.
