At the end of my crazy days, there’s always this moment on my way back home when everything shushes for a while, despite the headache, despite all the unpleasant feelings that have been triggered, despite everything, when I realize that the day is indeed over and that I’m able to let out a final sigh of relief. That relief is usually incomparable, and very hard to explain in words. But it’s always one of my favorites, especially after going through the most intense ups and downs in the span of a few hours.

I spent some time reflecting on that today, and realized that the gratitude I feel in my heart towards the end of similar days is usually hard to even come close to on “regular” days, when nothing much really happens. When it’s just a day, like any other day. And I walk back home feeling…okay. It’s mostly really the intense days that give meaning to the moment when everything goes quiet. And for some reason, it reminded me of a workshop I was part of recently, where we got to learn that among the major factors that make a movie interesting to watch, or a series worth following through with, or a novel worth flipping through its pages, is exactly those kinds of ups and downs. There’s always some kind of struggle, mystery, pain, or distress, followed by a resolution, some ease, or a scene from a joyful wedding maybe, something that just moves you away from the intensity of a previous incident, and that allows you to take a breath right before the upcoming calamity hits. Those ups and downs are really what intrigues you to continue watching. And in a sense, that’s what intrigues you to keep living too. Imagine a life where we only get to experience joy and comfort every single second of it.

Wow, honestly, just the thought of that makes it hard to imagine surviving through.

There’s a reason we’re always reminded إن مع العسر يسرا after all. Alhamdulillah, genuinely. 🤍