Mind Platter

by Najwa Zebian

  Take That Step

  If you can't stand up for what you believe in, prepare to be silenced. If you don't have the courage to pursue your dreams, prepare for someone else reaching them. If you don't have the strength to hold on to what really matters in your life, then prepare for it to let go of you. If you can't take the initiative to take the step forward that will give you a better future, then prepare for that future to step further away from you. Quit blaming your surroundings for the consequences that you cause for yourself. Lead your life and follow your dreams, not people.

  Beyond What Your Eyes See

  Do you ever wonder what's hidden in people's hearts? About what makes them who they are? About their values and beliefs? About the battles they fought? The battles they won and lost? The ones they are still fighting? Do you ever wonder what's behind every brave smile? Or do you just look at the outer appearance of a person and assume that you know what you need to know? The reality is that we often forget that each person has a history that made them who they are. We forget that the snapshot we're getting of a person's life is one that could not possibly be enough to represent that history or give them credit for it. Why do we do that? Is it because it's just easier to judge a book by its cover? Is it more convenient? And, does that mean that we should look at ourselves that way too? Just worry about polishing up our outsides and not worry about bettering our inner selves? This is a serious problem that we face. We think that way because it's easier to care for how people perceive us than to care about who we really are on the inside and how we perceive ourselves. We condense our whole being and our whole worth into how we look on the outside. Don't ever think that a second you take to reflect and think about your own life is selfish. Make who you are into who you want to be. Don't let who you are make you who you don't want to be.

  Dream

  No dream is ever too big, and no step towards a dream is ever too small. Believe that you will get there, and you will. Your doubts will only hold you back and make each step harder, each decision harder, and each change harder. Celebrate the little successes so that you may appreciate the bigger ones. Learn from the little failures so that you may learn how to deal with the bigger ones. Be at peace with yourself, for you cannot achieve peace with the world if you can't be at peace with yourself. Give more than you take and don't give anything because you expect to get something in return. Be genuine. Truly wish goodness from your heart. The world will have no other option but to smile back at you and grant you the happiness that you define for yourself. What does happiness mean to you?

  Write Your Happiness

  What makes your life unique? Life is full of ups and downs. It is full of good moments and bad moments, amazing times and times when you are desperate for anything good to happen. If life came with a manual, it would be full of blank pages that you would fill out yourself. There would be pages that you wish you could rip out but can't, pages that you wish you could stay on and not turn, pages that you would love to erase and rewrite. Those wishes and those feelings are what make your life unique, irreplaceable. There is no one path to happiness, no one path to uniqueness. There is no one path to success. So, instead of wasting your time looking for prescribed steps to take to make your life perfect, pave your own steps. Create your own landmarks. Walk your own path. You will not feel the greatness of your success unless you make it unique to yourself, unless you direct your strengths in the right direction and use your weaknesses to your advantage. Avoid the defined black and white rules set by others. Be genuine with whatever you do. Make your own colors and shine.

  Figuring You Out

  If time did not exist, would patience exist? If hearts did not exist, would love exist? If minds did not exist, would logic exist? If hardships did not exist, would perseverance exist? Would the night exist if we had no day to look forward to? And would opportunity exist if we had no motivation to reach for it? Would dreams exist if there were no dreamers? Would a bright today exist without a hopeful yesterday? Everything you have in your life is present because of the existence of something else. If you ever have a problem with one aspect, look for what it is associated with. Maybe then your eyes will see the root of the problem. For example, if you have a problem with patience, maybe you need to manage your time or use it more wisely to take your mind off of what makes you impatient. Don't isolate your problems. Don't take them out of the context that they were created in. No problem is created without the solution preexisting, and figuring out that solution is up to no one but you.

  Moments to Live for

  Think back to the moments when you felt that you'd made a difference in someone's life. Think back to the moments when you saw someone else's eyes light up because they saw the best in themselves through your eyes. Think back to the moments when your efforts to make someone realize what they are capable of doing finally started having an impact on them. Think back to the times when you felt that you were standing at the edge of a cliff, uncertain whether jumping would take you down to the lowest valley of disappointment or fly you up to the highest sky of happiness. Think back to the moments when happiness came so fast at you that you lost track of time, of space, of logic. Think back to the moments when you did something good for the sake of goodness without anyone knowing but yourself. Think back to the moments when you chose silence over words because words could not do justice to your thoughts, whether it was a happy or sad silence. Think back to the moments when your smile could not possibly contain your happiness, when your heart ceased to beat so fast. Think back to those moments, and tell me, isn't your life truly worth living? Weren't those moments truly critical for making you who you are? Be thankful for those moments so that you don't become immune to them when they happen again and again, because they most definitely will. Whether you notice them or not is based on how much you've cherished them before.

  What Would You Do?

  Often the moments that take our breath away are those unplanned, those that we have long hoped for but, deep down, feel hopeless about. Those moments seem as far away as the stars, and as admirable and desirable as light is to a butterfly. What is the one thing that's been constantly on your mind lately? Think about it and think of how much energy you're putting into thinking about it, into the what if this and but what if that, into what you would do if it happened, or what you would do if it didn't happen, into what your next step would be, into thinking of ways to stop thinking about it if you didn't get it. Think. Now imagine that what you have been thinking about was given to you at the time when you least expected it, when you really were putting every effort into looking away from it. At a time when all you wanted to do was ignore its existence in your head because you'd thought about it for way too long and figured that it just was not giving you any sign of being the right thing for you. Imagine that it was given to you in a place where you least expected to get what you wanted, because it was a strange place, a beautiful place that made you wonder about how great life could be if you could rid yourself of that nagging thought. Would it make you hopeful again? Would it make that thought come back even stronger? Would it make you happy? Or would it make you want to walk away even faster because you finally got what you wanted after realizing that you could live happily without it?

  In Case You've Ever Wondered

  Sometimes I wonder if my dreams are too big for the world, or if the world is too small for my dreams. Somehow, life always pushes me in the direction of following my dreams. Being hopeful has never left me hopeless. Being thankful has never left me unthankful. Being happy has honestly never left me sad. Being compassionate has never left me heartless, and being grateful has never left me ungrateful. Being honest with myself has never left me feeling guilty or insincere. Living up to my own expectations can be difficult because my expectations for myself are too high. But are they better than others' expectations for me? Definitely. Are they more relevant to my life and my dreams than others' expectations for me? Absolutely! So, today I encourage you to be hopeful, thankful,
happy, compassionate, grateful, and honest with yourself. Start off with positive outlooks because they will never end up negatively, regardless of what those around you may tell you. Ignore negative advice. Follow your dreams. Live up to your expectations. And remember, it's okay to be hard on yourself sometimes because no one knows what you are capable of doing more than yourself. Don't fall short of the greatness you know is in you. Believe in yourself. Trust your judgments and set out for your dreams. They may be closer than you think.

  Take It or Leave It

  Be the one to always give and not expect anything in return. Give, not to avoid being hurt, but to feel content with what you can do yourself, to be independent, to be happy without needing anyone to give you happiness. Be like a breeze of change that inspires others to see their abilities without needing you to stay. Make people think. Make them wonder, and let them know that what you give is only based on what they are willing to take. Don't attribute your success based on whether you make a difference with everyone you meet but on the kind of difference you are willing to make. Accept that you have no ownership over people even if you do give them more than you receive. The effort that you put into inspiring others to value their own selves, and to see the best in themselves, gives them two choices: either to take it or leave it. Whatever they choose is not a sign of your success or failure unless you believe that to be the case.

  Educate Me

  Educate me, not by making me memorize facts, but by teaching me how to read between the lines, how to critically think, how to deeply understand. Educate me by respecting me. Educate me by treating me as a human. Educate me by showing me that you make mistakes just like I do. Educate me by showing me that I am not perfect, and neither are you. As long as I can teach myself to get back up, it's okay if I fall down. Educate me by telling me where to look, but not what to see. Educate me by respecting yourself so that I may respect you, so that I may respect myself. Educate me by seeing the best in me because, while you might not know it, you may be my only hope. Educate me by believing in me. Make me believe that no question is ever stupid and no dream is ever too big. Educate me by making me love to learn. Educate me by taking away the fear of tests, marks, and standardization. Where I start and where I end are not as important as the journey I had to take from one to the other. Educate me by making me more dependent on myself and less dependent on you. Educate me by making me want to learn on my own. Educate me by making education about me, about making me a lifelong learner, by making me able to teach myself. Educate me by making me think of the world, not just words and pictures in a textbook. Educate me by empowering me, by making me truly believe that I can make a difference in the world, because while I am unique, I am not living alone. Educate me by telling me the sky is my limit. Put me at the intersection and equip me with the skills, not only the knowledge, to choose which path to take.

  Human Me

  When I claim to be perfect, you can claim that I'm a hypocrite. When I claim to make no mistakes, you can claim that I'm egocentric. When I claim that I'm always good at what I do, you can claim that I'm arrogant. I am not perfect. I am not flawless. I am not the best at everything I do. I have imperfections. I have flaws. I make mistakes. But I'll tell you one thing that I am. I am respectful. I listen to you when you speak. I help you whenever I can. I appreciate you, and I see the best in you. I see the good in you before I see the bad. I always have a chance to give you. I respect you as a human and hope that you will do the same for your own sake.

  Read My Silence

  If you think my silence has no meaning, think twice. Think, and you will realize the strength I hold back my words with. The most universal language is that of silence. We all use it, but it is the most misunderstood. It is the most powerful. It is the only language that we all express yet each have our own unique way of expressing. Go for those who understand your own silence no matter what you coat it with. Go for those who are aware of the existence of a meaning behind your silence, one that is deeper than what any words can rightfully express. After all, if they don't understand your silence, they will never understand your words.

  I Deserve It

  I'd rather be disappointed by the truth than satisfied with a lie. Respect me, not because I respect you, but because I deserve your respect. How pleased would you be if you found out I respected you only because I wanted you to respect me back or because I wanted something in return? I respect you because you deserve it. Don't listen to me just because I listen to you. I listen to you because you deserve to be heard. Don't be nice to me just because I'm nice to you. I'm nice to you because you deserve to be treated right. Don't show me that you care just because you know I care. I care for you because your heart needs care. If your thoughts and feelings are not genuine, point them in a direction other than mine. If I only give you what you deserve, at least keep me away from what I don't deserve.

  Never Doubt

  You may doubt that the moonlight will always enlighten your way in the darkest of nights. You may doubt that the sun will always strike its rays through the gloomiest of clouds to brighten your days. You may doubt that a rainbow will come after every storm, or that a shining star of hope will always be there for you to wish upon. But never doubt that there are people out there who will be your light in the darkest of nights, who will brighten your every day, and who will open your eyes to the bright side of every situation. Never doubt that there are people out there whose wishes are not for things of their own, but whose wishes are to make your wishes come true. Give your soul a chance at being happy by truly believing that those people exist. If you exist, then they do.

  Perspective

  The direction that you're looking in may be great, not because of itself, but because of what it's making you look away from.

  Time and You

  Don't worry about what people think of you or about the way they try to make you feel. If people want to see you as a good person, they will. If they want to see you as a bad person, absolutely nothing you do will stop them. Ironically, the more you try to show them your good intentions, the more reason you give them to knock you down, because they know they've got a part of you that will care about what they do. Keep your head up high and be confident in what you do. Be confident in your intentions and keep your eyes ahead instead of wasting your time on those who want to drag you back by not caring or by caring the wrong way. Because you can't change people's views, you have to believe that true change for yourself comes from within you, not from anyone else. You must believe, and you must have faith that time itself is much more able to prove your point than you are.

  Open Your Eyes

  If they don't care when you care, they won't care when you don't. So stop trying to show that you care or that you don't. Either way, you're at a loss because the efforts you're putting into showing that you care are going towards the wrong people. Direct them towards those who care when you care and care when you don't care. While you're trying to prove a point, you may be blind to those who care for you. Not every person who has eyes can see everything. We do select what we want to see and make ourselves blind to what we don't. Ask yourself if what you're looking at is worth it. Open your eyes to new things that may have been there for a while, waiting for you to look back.

  I Wonder

  Before you wonder why, ask yourself how you got to that question. Ask yourself about what you did to reach that why. Often, the answer to it lies in what you did to get to it. Don't open a door and wonder why it opened. Don't open a door unless you are able to close it. Don't walk down a path and wonder why you got to a certain destination. Don't walk down a path without knowing your way back. That doesn't mean you can't take risks. That doesn't mean you shouldn't reflect. But don't take a risk and wonder why you failed, separating what you did from the outcome. You have to take responsibility for the decisions you make, for the things you do, and for the words you say. Then you will realize the presence of the answer to your why within the question itself. My destination w
as a product of the decisions I took to get to it, from the times I said no when I should have said yes and from the times I said yes when I should have said no.

  Your Life and Theirs

  When you're going through a rough time, keep this in mind. Every single person on earth has problems of his own, young or old, wealthy or poor, healthy or sick. You may look around and see happy faces. You may look around and see that everyone else's life is perfect because they have what you wish you had or what they want to have. Do you realize that that's how people look at you too? Do you realize that, to some people, you may seem like the happiest person on earth with the most perfect life? You may be feeling like you're living in a blur. You may not care about how you interact with those around you because you're so engulfed in your own troubles. You may think they don't even care about how you treat them because they're already happy. What difference is your smile or nice gesture going to make, right? Wrong. You may not be strong enough to draw a smile on your face when you're troubled, but others are. Their troubles may be bigger than yours, worse than yours, and more hurtful than yours. Just because they don't talk about their troubles doesn't mean they don't exist. So, before you look at others and assume things about their lives or judge them for doing the things that they do, think of how they could be looking at your life and thinking the same. Once you accept this fact, life becomes on your side. Happiness will seep through the broken pieces of your soul, and contentment will sew them back together.