My middle child had a thing with words. By two, she could hold a sensible childish conversation with anyone. Although, she was shy and reserved; she was visual in her description of the world within her head. My daughter created an arena within which she frequented from time to time. 

From the moment she started talking, she built a fantasy world embedded in the fragments of her imagination. With her creativity, she described this world in colours, dances and colloquials. Consumed within the scope of her imaginary world; she compared everything in her real world with the world she only could see. 

The World Within Her Head

One day I walked into the room she shared with her sister and on the floor were toys, coloured pencils and paper. They spread around the width of the floor of the room edging towards the hollow of the beds. In the middle of this mess was my daughter, consumed in role play. It was difficult to walk the room without sitting on the debris of her play items, so I asked her to help tidy up the room.

As we tidied up the room, I spotted her pink cup peeping out from underneath the folds of the bed cover. The bed cover folded roughly over the cup and then trailed down the side of the bed onto the floor around it. I gently asked her to pick the cup up before it disappeared under the darkness of the bed. She looked at me and said,” In my world, this isn’t called “cup”, it has a different name. They float in the air and you only need to whisper and they come to you”. 

I knew where this conversation would lead to, we’ve been here before. The world worked differently in her head. She ruled her world as she said to me many times. A world different from the real world we all live in.

In her world, things are known differently, the rules are different from our house rules and things are generally more interesting. The sun never sets in her world. There were many fountains of goodness at every corner of the street. Occasionally, the moon replaced the sun, shining bright with sparkling stars. My little girl’s world was out of this world, but within this unrealistic concept of hers, there were lessons to learn. 

Our Real World.

We all carry our worlds within us. Science has proven that we are all individual planets with internal sensations and cognitive processes. The earth belongs to us all, but within it, we own our individual spaces. Each has a little door and you have total control of it. You open this door to whomever you want, pick whatever ideas you fancy and tread the path you intend.

However, you could sometimes pick up thorns instead of roses within this freedom of choice. Your choices can become a heavy sack of bricks you struggle to drag through life. 

Your world is an organic field, you cultivate it however you desire. Many have given this unique ownership to others to run. The special power invested in us in running and ruling these special spaces has been sold out at a price way lower than what it goes for.

What Runs Your World

I don’t know about you, but I have had some stumbles running my world. One of the stumbles was fear. I had fear of the unknown, fear of what people would say, fear of being judged. Another big runner in my world is catastrophizing. I am sure this was borne out of fear, losses and rejection of the past. This is a major issue I battle with day in and day out. Unlike my little girl, the world in my head isn’t fun and colourful.

I sometimes overthink and imagine that situations are worse than they are. I let my thoughts drag me into a free-fall of a bottomless pit. The horror would sometimes come alive in my mind’s view. I think the worst of all situations.

At times, I shake myself out of these dark and heavy shackles, a real struggle to say the least. For this reason, news is a big NO for me. I get petrified of horror movies or stories of events that unsettle my heart. 

Subsequently, these runners have ways of creeping under my skin and clogging the natural ways my nerves connect. I control what I consume through the media. I am fervently working on running the shows of my life, not on formulated theories. My world is for me to run and I am grateful for this.

And Your World?

Your runners might be physical objects or people you allow to run the shows of your life. Furthermore, they might be habits or attitudes. Some lies here or there. Pride or people pleasing? You might even be the one running other’s lives, dictating, misleading and taking advantage of the privilege you have.

In case you still don’t understand where I am pointing to, the question remains: who runs your world? Or whose world are you running? Viewing your life under a microscopic lens will help you find the answer. Constantly reviewing and realigning your living is a good starting point. How does your action affect people around you? Do you often judge people at face value and spread false stories about them? What do you focus on?

To conclude, running a meaningful life, you must be passionate about whatever moves your boat. Living with purpose through discovering or rediscovering yourself. Ask yourself (and sometimes those close to you) some hard questions about how things are run in your world. Find some courage to express yourself. Be grateful for known and unknown favours. Run your world positively and the world will adjust around you. Remember, no one gets out of this world alive!!!

Mankind, Indeed the promise of God is truth. So let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about God by the Deceivers

Quran 35 :5