{"id":4761,"date":"2012-11-20T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2012-11-20T11:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/growmama.com\/?p=4761"},"modified":"2012-11-20T06:00:30","modified_gmt":"2012-11-20T11:00:30","slug":"a-natural-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/growmama\/motherhood\/a-natural-woman\/","title":{"rendered":"A Natural Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"I just finished reading an interview with Diane von Furstenberg.\u00a0 For those of you not familiar with the name, she is most notably recognized for creating the wrap dress which curvy girls all over the world thank her for.\u00a0 During the interview, she was asked about her motivation to begin designing clothes and her answer really sparked something inside of me.\u00a0 She said,<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I didn\u2019t always know what I wanted to do but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

For someone who is at a stage where life\u2019s most pressing question \u201cwhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d should be answered by now, I have to say, reading that quote provided a wonderful reminder.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what I want to do with my life.\u00a0 I\u2019m not clear on my talents or passions and as I age, I feel like more doors are closing than opening.\u00a0 I was encouraged by what Diane said because although I may be too fat to be a ballerina, too thin to be a sumo wrestler, too young to be doing something for a living I don\u2019t love, but too old to be choosey, I should never allow those oppressive labels to interfere with my journey of self discovery.<\/p>\n

I have always admired those who knew what they wanted out of life and went after it.\u00a0 But there have been times when I have felt that because I have not taken a linear path in life, I am perhaps lost or lazy or idle.\u00a0 There is no shortage of examples of individuals who have drastically changed the course of their lives and found success in new fields.\u00a0 There\u2019s a funny scene in Back to the Future where Michael J. Fox\u2019s character, Marty McFly, is sent back to the past.\u00a0 When he arrives, his friend who doesn\u2019t know him at this point in time, starts asking questions forcing Marty to prove he is indeed from the future:<\/p>\n

Marty: I\u2019m telling the truth Doc, you gotta believe me!<\/p>\n

Doc: Then tell me future boy, who is president of the United States in 1985?<\/p>\n

Marty: Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n

Doc: Ronald Reagan, the actor?!<\/p>\n

Some people\u2019s lives look like a clear evening sky with all the stars aligned: they do something they love for a living that they\u2019re talented at and motivated towards. But for me, finding my life\u2019s purpose has been more like excavating through a dark mine.\u00a0 It has taken time, but through the digging I have learned a lot of lessons \u2013 some ugly like ore and some brilliant like a diamond \u2013 but all precious in their own way.<\/p>\n

As I continue on my exploration, what\u2019s going to be my touchstone to help me measure my success?\u00a0 How many friends I have? How much Qur\u2019an my children have memorized? How much education I\u2019ve amassed or how lucrative my job is? As important as all these things are in shaping us, true success lays only in the permanent and constant hand of Allah.\u00a0 And when I reach out to Him, I then realize I\u2019m not lost, I\u2019m introspective.\u00a0 I\u2019m not lazy, I\u2019m actively searching.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not idle; I\u2019m working towards finding and creating meaning in my life.\u00a0 And guess what?\u00a0 That is exactly the kind of woman I have always wanted to be.<\/p>\n

Lena Hassan<\/p>\n

Lena Hassan lives in Ottawa, Ontario and is a loving mother to two girls. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just finished reading an interview with Diane von Furstenberg.\u00a0 For those of you not familiar with the name, she is most notably recognized for creating the wrap dress which curvy girls all over the world thank her for.\u00a0 During the interview, she was asked about her motivation to begin designing clothes and her answer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1573,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[249,432,433,695,807,1131],"class_list":["post-4761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-motherhood","tag-connecting-with-allah","tag-finding-passion","tag-finding-purpose","tag-lena-hassan","tag-motivation","tag-self-development-2"],"yoast_head":"\nA Natural Woman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I just finished reading an interview with Diane von Furstenberg.\u00a0 For those of you not familiar with 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