The Yellow Raincoat

Like a baby in my dreams, this book was.  When I was 9 I planned to be a writer.  I only remember that because I answered a quiz at the end of a story and when faced with the question what do you want to be? I kept thinking a lot and the only answer was " A writer".

Immersed in work, and life as we usually know it, the dream was gone, the pen was useless and practicallity was all over the place :)

Untill I studied coaching and dreams sort of re-incarnated...thoughts filled my head and emotions sprung from my heart and I started writing and talking ...

Then Reem came and told me while we were working "Why dont you write a book, honestly?" and I could not shove it off so easily

Then, I sat at a cafe writing some notes to myself and looked up and here it was; a message in big bold font "Why don' you write a book?" that was the name of the book on the shelf above me!!

Then I got some coaching on the book, but my fears were stronger.  What if they dont like it?  What if it is not important? What if what I want to share has been shared before? What if nobody cares?  And then I thought "If I write I book, it must be something awesome" and that was another restriction I put on myself.  I thought it had to be an invention...and that paralysed me.

Then I met an online marketing guy "Mito" who was very helpful and we passionately started talking about our passions :) and I said " Who will read a book in English in Egypt and who might be interested in those ideas about love, life and happiness and stuff like that?" and he showed me a book of a friend of his, with the same description!

Eman, my friend, then decided to publish her first book of poetry! and encouraged me to move on...She wanted to show me how doable that was!!! and later she revised my blogs and gave me her comments and checked the spelling when I could not check anymore...

And somehow in the middle of this was the blog, dont even know how I created it and I started writing and writing and could not stop.

The publisher Amani whom I contacted, called me back and another part of the journey started.

Talks with Moushira, my friend inspired me, fed my soul so that I had to rush back and write.

Friends from NLP distributed the blog to others.  Other Friends shard on fb and commented.  Some critiqued the blogs with me leading to enriching discussions... others loved me through them...

You, gentle readers have viewed the page, gave me comments that inspired me and encouraged more than you could imagine.  Knowing that someone out there finds a feeling or a word or an experience that is akin to him and can relate to my expression of it were wings for me!

And there are so many to thank...and so much to be grateful for!

And one final thing, please do check my page on facebook about the book. It is called the Yellow Raincoat (Not Justin Biber's song and I did not take it from him :) and tell me what you think...

May GRATITUDE AND LOVE cuddle you tonight.
 

Gifts from a year

Another year is coming to end soon... and reflectively I look back .  What a year!!! very tough.  I broke down...literally.  and then I got up again.  Many things happened, some things needed to happen a long time ago, but I guess still everything happens on its own time.  Sad things, happy things, shaky me :)

1- The good news is bad things pass and if you make it a priority that they pass in a good way.  If you clear yourself of all or most bad intentions and focus on your priorities, your priorites will hopefuly go undamaged.

Everything passes.   and you can make them pass in better or worse scenarios.  It takes effort sometimes, patience, prayers but hopefuly they do pass well.  Nothing so far is the end of the world!

2- Asking for help, another lesson that I learnt at the leadership program I recently have been enrolled in.  Seeking help is not only normal or good or advisable.  It is a must.  I can not do it on my own!  It took me years and years to realize that I, too, like all other human beings might not be able to do something on my own or go through a phase on my own.  Sometimes you need help! So, go and ask for it.

3- A repeated lesson that is sometimes dimmed is that life is good. I totally agree that sometimes it sucks, I mean you really feel like it is your enemy ....yet, it is not.  Bad things happen, dreams get shattered, but new dreams are re-born too.  So, overlooking the whole picture, life is actually a good journey to enjoy.

4- If you do not work on your priorities, your life will not be satisfactory.  If you have issues with your husband or your kids or at work, somethings need to be done.  And if you can not do it alone, refer to lesson 2 and just ask for help. Help can be professional, formal or informal...whatever!

5- It is terribly awesome to have a dream come true!! so, it is really worth even if it sometimes does not look like it :)

6- Life is not about objectives and planning.  It stressed me out like hell.  And though I do plan now, I very much know that my life is not a calendar and I am not the master of the universe!  I plan, I do (and sometimes I dont) and it is fine.  As long as I am moving, then it is fine.  Waking up sometimes late is not so good, and I want to change that, but it is ok.  Be lenient with the universe; you are not its master...be lenient with yourself; she is doing her best!

7- Take a break before you break down... preferrably than after.

8- Talking is a real good way of communication.  Seems like a very known thing, I know.  But I am not sure we always use it with our stakeholders (excuse me for this dry word), I mean with those who matter to us and about things that matter to us.  It might not work with everyone. It might not work in every situation but it is quite a useful tool...do not burn bridges easily.

9- Fill your days with new things that you enjoy.  It is like getting an oxygen injection!! makes you feel much younger. My mistake at one point though was to keep filling the days with nice things and when still my days did not get any better, I kept filling them more and more...not aware that the pot itself is breaking and that I should have emptied before filling it anew! Fix the pot, then fill it with something tasty...and in a relaxing mood and some breeze in your life...savour them!  not while you are running in the streets to catch a bus.  Pretty stupid to fill your pot with hot soup while you are running :) I can tell you it pours out and it burns ...

10-  Difficult to change behavior.  What works for me is asking myself "what is at stake here?" and then if it is really worth it, I can do it.

And finally ,  I want to tell you I published my book:) and I am soooo happy to touch it and feel it in my hands...to read my words and see the alphabets and the pictures.... it is truly something to have  a dream come true, like rainbows.