22nd of July was not a typical day of my life. It was another chapter that had to be closed in the story of my life.

It was an Emotional day. Flying at 30000 feet thinking of approximately 23 house moves i did, in 3 different countries during the past 40 years of my existence. Flashbacks of Connections, i had to give up for the sake of the story, were invading my mind.

I am finally heading home. Yes, HOME, to that part of the world i got addicted to, since i was a child, to Lebanon: A place i learnt to Love as a young girl after my parents decided to move from Australia, when i was 3 years old. 

I finally landed, 2 hours late. Delays do not affect me anymore, but definitely affected the Taxi driver who was dropping me home.

Let me take you with me on my taxi ride from Beirut (the capital), to Jounieh (a Suburb 30 Km away) at 1 am on a cool summer night.

The poor man was so nervous. He was worried about the 2 hours carpark bill, out of so many bills he was stuck with Daily. At that very first contact, i was able to hear much more than what he had to say; his eyes, his gestures, his voice, his tonality..... everything was simply not in peace.....

As any other Taxi driver back home, the conversation started with complaints; complaints about life, expenses, people and politics, In summary complaints about Lebanon.. But This time, it was a special story... 

As we were moving, the taxi driver understood that i was coming back for good. It was a shock: "people are leaving.... what are you coming to do?.... i want to leave, but my wife is not agreeing."

I answered clearly: " I AM COMING TO CHANGE THE WORLD FROM LEBANON". He had another shock. He couldn't hide his interest to know more.

I smiled:

"We all deal with the same things.... but the scenarios are different.... Most of us focus so much on what is not working, get stuck with negativity and attract more of it. Most of us believe we don't have enough, and need much more to be happy."  he was nodding, turning back, looking at me speaking, turning back again, smiling and shaking his head.

"Few years back, i started a quest to find the basics of a happy life.... after so many trials and errors, i realized that money, no matter how much you have, will not make you happy....

 i moved to the desert 5 years back, thinking that this was a chance for me to grow... But living away from home, made me feel the gap money couldn't fill.... 

Trust me, every country will have something to give you..... but at the same time, every country will take something from you... it all depends on your priorities..." 

He looked at me and said: "money is everything... i have kids and i need to make sure they have a bright future."

"My friend, Life is too short to spend it worrying about the future. We all want our kids to live a decent life in the future but we end up losing our life for that purpose.

Always ask yourself: "What if i had 2 hours of life left in me? Would i lose them worrying about the future? from my side, i am making the best out of every second. Because i know, that if i had to leave, it will be the start of a new journey.... No one will ask me how much money i made... or who do i follow in politics.....  No one will care if i had bills to pay...."

The taxi driver looked happily confused. He was trying to relate to every word.... he was starting to see the patterns he was stuck in. He just realized he was truly living his past.

I continued: "Challenges are part of this journey, they are there for us to grow. They are neither punishments nor failures. We either learn from them or succeed in them. We never fail. We should Always consider tough times as a blessing and not a curse. Faith is what i rely on, to have the patience to wait and understand; the stronger you are, the tougher the experience is. The most important part is to be ready….

"BE READY".... i sighed.

"Be ready, no matter what. Believe blindly and make sure every day counts. Stop worrying about tomorrow. There is plenty of opportunities for everyone. Just believe and abundance will come your way. The power is within you, and a happy life always starts from within"...

While he was still smiling, he looked back and asked me: "are you sure it'll work?" i insisted that it will never work as long as he has doubts. He had the biggest smile, turned back with a dramatical change in mood.

"I know that you were kicked of your own home at the age of 12... and i am sure it was tough.... but it is time for you to stop and reflect today. Aren't you proud of where you are now. Can't you see what you have achieved? Aren't you proud of your little family and the life you gave them? your challenges made of you the man you are today.... the problem is when we start comparing our life to others around us. this is when we get stuck.... especially when we start asking why? 

Each one of us has enough.... we have as much as what we need..... we should be grateful every single second.... Life is not only about money..... life is about love, about family, about health, about spirituality and about work.... so if you are going through a tough time with money, how can you not be grateful for the other areas, you are blessed with??

He finally started to relate and stopped me to share a story about a relative who had a lot of money, and ended up with a broken family.... i was happy to see him interacting and understanding what i meant....

This is when i explained how Selflove is the protection against comparison. Selflove is about being proud of who we are today and what we went through yesterday. selflove is about compassion. It is about forgiving ourselves before others. it is about stopping to criticize and judge ourselves before others. Selflove is to live in peace with ourselves first and then with the people around us. It is how we protect ourselves from getting offended by life."

One last turn before we reach home, when the taxi stopped and thanked me for that feeling he had.... he suddenly understood why his wife was right, by not agreeing to immigrate.... he knew that if he was not happy where he is today, he will never be happy anywhere around the world... he realized that the problem is not LEBANON.... It is about an internal peace he had to seek. He was finally ready to give it a try and believe blindly.

From my side, i was accomplished at 1 30 am waiting for the elevator to reach. The change i want to conduct, is a daily task. It will never be a one day achievement. it is a process of creating that ripple effect. I know i will reach my final destination, by changing one heart at a time.

Dima Istambouli