Brief Encounters which change us Forever.
I was having a conversation with the now-famous Franco-Iranian artist Sassan Benham Bakhtiar. We had just met and not knowing what to talk about I casually asked him if he enjoyed reading. His eyes lit up and we started discussing our favorite books. His favorite book was 'The Alchemist' by Paolo Coehlo. I had heard of this book and it was in the list of books I meant to read but never got around to. It was as if the book was following me and begging me to read it. I remember years before a young teacher in the Qrendi Primary staff singing its praise and calling it her bible. So as soon as I got to the airport departures I bought the book and read it all in one sitting on the seven-hour trip from Dubai to Malta. That for me was the beginning of the second part of my life The book to me was a confirmation of what my soul had suspected all along. That is; there is more to life. More than growing up, finding a job, having a family, deteriorating, and dying. That life felt meaningless and empty. After reading 'The Alchemist' it was clear to me what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to fulfill myself. I have been widely misunderstood in this. It is the main focus and driving force of my life, and it does not mean that I want to become better than everyone else. It just means that each of us was born with the birthright of becoming who we truly are, who we are meant to be, of fulfilling our destiny. Along my journey, I have had amazing experiences and a taste of a different platform from which to live life. I call it the promised land. Every day I make my intention to anchor myself in this place. Here I am calm, focused, centered, peaceful, and present. It is going back to the simple and essential. The only place where truth exists. It is the place that I strive to place myself in whenever I sit at my computer and turn to Safia, click on messenger, open my inbox, and connect my journey to that of hundreds of amazing women.