The pursuit of finding soul: my journey.


Life is weird. Sometimes it takes to travel the world and experience the most beautiful places that exist on the face of the earth to have an encounter with the soul but on the other hand, there are times when you don't even have to move an inch to find your soul. I speak with experience.
While I was bedridden, my world was limited, confined to my room. My world was no longer comprised of beautiful buildings, hustle-bustle of the city, social gatherings, it was just that one room. The time that seemed to be the most difficult time of my life now seems like the most significant period of my life. If I hadn't gotten that solitude, it is highly probable that I would have died before feeling His presence. I became an insomniac, it may be the effect of medicines or just the fact that my world was facing a whirlwind and it was difficult to swallow all the new realities. I don't recollect what I used to think about but I remember feeling a gentle warmth with me all the time. The most desperate time turned out to be the most eye-opening time for me, I experienced God with me. In the coldest nights and the scorching days. I am not the right person to comment about spirituality but what I felt during that time made me confront my soul. I started seeing things differently, it's like I started appreciating the smallest things more than anything. I would sit by my window and look outside. The view was a beautiful minaret of the local mosque and the neighborhood houses but most of all, the open sky. I would observe the birds and a certain stillness in nature. It soothed me. And the books, one book that I regard the most is “The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho”. I remember reading this book in the Ramzan nights. How submerged I was in each experience that the writer shared. It was somehow an out of body experience when I used to travel with the writer to another world and places I hadn't been to. Every picture was clear in my mind and still is. Each page taught me something new and better. I was evolving without even realizing it.
The body and soul are two different plains. The body is only present for a certain period but the soul is the real you. The body is destined to rot but the soul is not. Life is a term given to us to decide what we want to do for the eternal self. Everyone has their way to find the soul and polish it. Some meditate. Some love. Some lose control. There are many ways but the journey is always within rather than outer. You look into yourself and realize the manifestation of God.
God gave us a bit of himself in the form of soul, in this lifetime, we have to find that little portion of God in us to free ourselves from the external forces that disrupt the symmetry between our body and soul. Everyone will have their journey and for those who seek, God will open many doors to achieve. Are you looking to find that little bit of God inside or the materialistic beauty of the world has enticed you completely? Decide.

Comments

  1. R.A.November 28, 2019 at 2:05 AM

    Zahra, my friend, this is such a beautiful piece! One of your best write-ups ever, if not the best. I feel for you for whatever you´ve had to go through in life, especially the phase immediately after your injury where you were bedridden, but sometimes I feel that you were chosen by God to teach us all the art to live, to cherish life irrespective of whatever limitations that we face in life. We truly do not find God in others, neither in noise and and uproar, but deep within ourselves. We find God the moment we begin to see things differently from others.

    Thank you for such a brilliant article!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4th April, 2011

Image
Some days are incredibly special in your life. They change the way you look at everything and for me, it was 4th April 2011. It was the day when I got into a major spinal surgery aiming to decompress my spine from a giant cell tumor on the C7-T1 level. I remember vividly lying down in my hospital bed the night before my surgery. Touch screen phones with not very common and we had one of those phones where you navigate the screen through the keypad. I searched about my surgery, the procedure, the side effects, and basically, what can go wrong. It was numbing and after a point, I was terrified. That night, I couldn't sleep. The uncertainty had captured my existence. Nothing seemed to help, therefore, I started praying. The only thought in my mind was, what if I die tomorrow? I started seeking forgiveness and looking back at my journey. Who I was and what had happened? It was overwhelming and sleep was nowhere to be found.  One of the most interesting things that happened the night be...
Read more

Moving on!

The transition from an impeccably healthy individual to being in a wheelchair is very hard. It wasn't easy for me either but it gets harder when you don't get any backing from your friends, family and the society. I was lucky because I got support from my incredible family as they pulled me out from a phase of disparity into being grateful for what I have despite the agony I had to undergo. Everything changed but the only thing that didn't change was my hope and believe that everything will be alright. Life can be pretty hard at times but the only way we can get over this severity is by believing in ourselves and The Almighty. When you cannot control a situation it is best to submit it to the most superlative authority: God! Any set of circumstances that tests your patience is sort of a trial from the Almighty to see how we deal with the muddle and still be grateful to Him for all his blessings. I know all of this seems to be very dramatic but it is true. Our plans are al...
Read more

Christmas season and Saint Peter's High School.

Image
The Christmas season always makes me very nostalgic for various reasons. I have studied in coeducation and missionary school, Saint Peter's High School, Lahore. That building, the hallways, the cafeteria and the basketball ground, each and every place is clearly pictured in my head. As I write about it, I can clearly remember each and every place of that building. I feel extremely lucky to be a part of such an amazing institution, the time that I have spent there has played a very huge role in my life. The school is always very special for everyone, every child spends the best of his or her time in school. I have heard people dreaming about their school premises even after leaving it, even I have been to my school on several occasions in my dreams. November - December used to be the most fun-filled and busy time of the year. The annual Christmas play assortments used to commence in November, I was picked as an angel three times consecutively. Honestly, it felt conspicuously h...
Read more