Kindness starts with yourself.

”I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” Maya Angelou

I came across this quote today. It brought back memories of defeat, failure and mishaps in my teaching experience. It resonated with me so deeply. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a hardcore self-critic; I don’t wait to be criticized, I do it myself. Sometimes validated criticism and most of the time invalid ones. Although I was extreme, as my therapist says, it has served as a strength because it’s what has made me gear up to excellence.

People who met me like six months ago, don’t have the right to say they know me because what I was then is not what I am today. What I mean to say is this: be kind to yourself. You’ll find it in your heart to be kind to those around you. We all make mistakes and we will always have someone in our past to whom we played the bad villain. That is life, you can’t be the sweetie pie in everyone’s story, because you are human. What counts most is that you’re better today.

Allah loves that we practise excellence. He is Ar -Rahman, the Most Merciful. His Mercy overshadows His anger. If you’ve made bad judgement, overreacted, or anything else of the sort, have it in your heart to seek forgiveness and be kind to yourself because if you don’t, no one will.

My career in education only made sense when I began to embrace my weaknesses even when it was painful; listen to bad feedback, swallow the embarrassment then pick myself up and move on.

As long as you are alive, you have the opportunity to be better, to serve better and to live better. I believe the path to living your purpose starts within yourself; your connection with Allah.