An Interview with the Happiest Person I know ✨

Hahahahha. The first words that pop out of my mouth when she picks up. I ask her, my dear friend Laila, how she goes about her day and her philosophies in life, eager to unravel and learn how she comes to live so beautifully in peace and content.

Have a read and indulge in the mind of a fellow human, whom I believe has acquired truthful knowledge in the pursuit of the essence of life. 

Morning routine? 

Not at all. I wake up and get ready, I try some skincare and new soin methods. I make the effort to try and keep that up. Then I do my bed and make my breakfast. I prioritize prayer tho, I feel good when I have checked that. 

How is your sleeping pattern ?

I sleep and wake up depending on what time I go to bed. 

What is your philosophy in life?

Flexibility. I won’t upset myself over little things so I can have my peace of mind. Also give yourself the freedom “seeby nafsek el horreya” to experience changes in your day. 

I also don’t like to wrong people and think bad of them, so I give room to consider the reasons behind their actions in order to not go through any misunderstandings that may upset me later. 

A mentality of “Ok, khalas.“

Basically, anything that will upset my happiness I won’t give my attention to. 

I stick to what makes my happy like glue and move away from anything that upsets me. 

 

What do you want from life? 

My goal in life is to be a good human and maintain my worship to the Creator. 

Ultimately, all I want from life is to be happy and content. 

Tell me more about how you came to be the person you are today. 

I am generally a person who likes to smile all the time and be carefree. I may even be more carefree now than when I was younger. 

A few years back, I had a phase where you can say I was depressed. It was in ninth grade. I loathed my body-image and suffered eating disorders. I was doing things with feelings of hatred towards myself. It was all affecting my mental health and my relations with other people. 

How did you overcome this phase ? 

In the summer of that year I had the opportunity to reflect on what had been. I asked myself: What happened? Why was I like that? What is this mentality worth? 

What do I want from this world? - To be happy. The answers came. I realized: If I am not happy then I don’t want to live. Therefore I want to live happily. 

What was your head-start into a better state?

Reflection and gratitude. Reflection and gratitude every day for everything I have and everything I am. That is a big part of my source of happiness. I enjoy the little things and they make me happy, so I focus on them. If I lost sight of the little things that matter I wouldn’t be as happy. 

Contentment is the secret to a happy life. Reda. If you are content then God will bless you. 

And when do you reflect to boost your happiness and gratitude? 

In the bus on my way to school. I think about my life rather than that of other people. 

And sometimes when I think about everything, I’m a philosopher and at others I’m a silly girl. 

Interrupted by episodes of giving mutual gratitude and appreciation declarations for one another.

Do you ever look back at this period of your life?

I don’t like to look back at that phase, because I feel I may have avoided it in first place. But I am aware that it was necessary to develop and grow into the person I am today. 

Development is a necessity on both personal and broader levels. If humanity hadn’t developed then we wouldn’t have altered our lives. Development is important to create change. 

We see a pattern of such negatively-rated experiences that help us in the long run publicly, in movies for example. How does that affect how you deal with such situations? 

Every person has a different life but we all go through similar tragedies that can be big or small. However, they help us grow. I want to have conviction Kana3a and assurance instilled in me during those times. 

And how do you deal with the strong emotions that come with such events? 

I give myself space to get angry at myself but in the back of my mind I know to calm myself down and try make the best out of the situation. 

Do you have a coping mechanism? 

I do not think about it and shut it all out until and I think of other things. I know it’s wrong but it helps me. 

Why no it is not. This method is truly helpful and it means you are shutting out all judgement and bad thoughts before you tackle the issue sensibly. 

Getting back to that time in ninth grade, how did you start the school year after that?

The night before the first day of school was spent in tears and fear. I loathed the experience of the year before that and longed for the vacation which I remembered as a dream where I had let go of all my worries. 

But nevertheless you had learned something? 

Of course. I realized that I was doing things not to please myself but to please other people and that made me uneasy. Now I’ve grown to focus on my needs more. I learned that food is food, not something to be afraid of. I also wanted to release myself from all stress, so I didn’t study.

Where you happy not studying?

After some time I realized that receiving those good grades did make me happy so I worked on becoming studious again. I also knew I wanted to make the most out of school because I was reaching the end of my school studies. 

And how did the year turn out ? 

The next year I felt like was building up from scratch. My problems didn’t just go away, I dealt with them habba habba one by one. I was still on fragile foundations and my day could be ruined by a single turn of events. Crying because it ruined my day I would get angry at myself. Inner struggle. 

But having people who understand me makes all the difference. 

I ate that day plus desert. And I was astonished at the turn of events (once more) and how I  felt better. With time this fragility and the swings wore off. Inner talks and self reflection helped. I reached fundamental realizations through asking myself questions and using common sense. I gathered evidence against the voices of anorexia and depression. 

I remember the end of that year being a good time. I did more of the things that make me happy and feel good to me. 

Can you give examples of what makes you feel good ? 

Sports. Before I never enjoyed playing sports but I developed a sense of understanding for it’s benefits for me. Sports also give me a sense of achievement and it’s doable. An hour everyday was something I could do. And I could do it with love.  

What do you think about your body-image now? 

I realized it’s not my body that is frustrating me; it’s my perceptions planted by standards of society that cause me insecurity. 

What do you appreciate most about your reflection? 

Living in the present. Taking in my surroundings, looking around myself- I am alive, I am happy. Feeling in sync with the world is a wonderful feeling. 

What are lessons you have learnt that you live by? 

El yebsetek a3melii. Do what brings you joy. 

Ana no2ta f el universe. I’m a dot in a vast universe. That gives me peace of mind and renders me carefree. 

Matkhaleesh el kebar yakhdak. Don’t get caught up in arrogance and lively matters too much. 

Get rid of self doubt.

Elhamdullelah for everything. Think: This is enough. My life is basically perfect my worries are small and I have a good carefree life. What are my worries compared to that of the unfortunate?