Finding escape

Choose something that liberates you and do it on a daily basis. Practice it in all states. Choose something that you can easily escape to and which costs you nothing. Like drawing, dancing, writing, singing, running, jogging, walking, memorizing Quran or poetry, anything. When you're angry or sad, do it. When you're dissapointed, do it. When you're afraid, do it. It might seem easier at first to drown in your sorrows, curse, scream or cry. And it does need effort to redirect your energy and replace your anger. But the outcome is worth it. Go out to a club, a coffee house, a public garden, a spacious mosque, any outdoor place and take a smooth pen (Reynolds would do), or a pencil (don't forget a sharpener) and paper. Sit down and write or draw away your fears. Lock yourself in your room and dance for hours. Your moves need not be sophisticated. Your words do not have to be all eloquent. Don't choose them. Just unleash the energy and let it flow. At first, you might feel speechless -the same with anything else, you might feel helpless- but if you push yourself on, you will find a million of things to say. It does not have to be about what's bothering you. Write about the wind blowing on your face, write about people you see around you, write about the sky, life, your dream car, heaven, this country, about your friends, how you feel, what you had always wanted to do, whatever. You don't have to write longhand if you're not comfortable with it, take your laptop and type away. Push on, at first you'll feel your fingers hurting and you'd want to stop but if you go on, you will forget yourself in the process and you will become one with what you write, draw, with your body, your voice, your mind. It will not be physical anymore, it will transcend your being. Then, you'll be flying free. Don't go back and read your sentences. What you draw does not have to make sense. It should only make sense to you. In this moment, it's all about you. Forget about grammar and rules, forget about dance steps, just let the light -and the darkness- flow out of you. Everything is right if you believe at this moment that it is. Don't be afraid to be you; write something shocking if you feel like it. Write something you never thought you will have the courage to put in words or on paper. Break through. There are no boundaries here, in this moment. There are no wrongs. There are no limits. There is no box. There is no earth beneath, or sky above. There even is no pen or paper or laptop. There is just you and what you need to say or do. You. For once, it's all about you and you alone. Write what you want to read. Forget about judgement or what people might say. Draw what you want to see. Forget about what's art and what's not. Dance like you never did before. Forget about what you look like as long as it feels beautiful to you. You. You. You. For once, it's all about you. Enjoy it. Have the courage to let down your guards and lose yourself. Only then you will find it again; refreshed, whole, and even wiser than when you had let it go.