​“unexamined life is not worth living, but if all you do is examining, you’re not living” 
Adam Lipzig

Sometimes, we get addicted to therapy; we fall in love with the process and lose sight of the destination… of why we initiated this process in the first place.
Journaling is a great tool for stress reduction, venting and self-examination. Yet, if all what we do is journaling, we are falling into the victimhood trap, we allow self-pity to engulf our lives and blind us from the real meaning of being alive.
However un-appealing or challenging our life is, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, we just need to keep walking.

With depression being one of the most diagnosed illnesses in our century, we need to stop and reconsider our approach. Journals, self-help books, and meditation CDs stack the shelves, yet they did so little towards reducing the rate of depression. People became addicted to therapy, to affirmations, meditations and hypnosis… Unfortunately, theses valuable tools became Band-Aids that cover the wounds yet rarely affect healing. They became symptomatic relief like the hundreds of prescription medications packing the shelves of pharmacies and drug stores. These tools sold the myth that life will somehow fall into place if we envision the happy ending and that the magic will appear if we just wave our wand… ‘Fly, and the net will catch you,’ they claim. As Elizabeth Gilbert says, this bumper sticker should be changed to ‘Fly, and the net might catch you!’ There are no guaranteed results. This is life with all its good, bad and ugly… with all its joys, sorrows, and challenges. We can’t pick and choose from the menu. We just have to do our part, keep moving, keep working, and most importantly, keep praying!
Surrendering the results is not always easy. I, for one, have really hard time embracing ambiguity. I need to know… Yet, ambiguity is part of the package.

For years, life seemed to remind me of this verse over and over again: “So that you do not fall into despair over what has escaped you, nor over exult over what you have been given” (57:23)
And, now that I finally got its meaning, I keep it in my heart all the time. It doesn’t ask you to supress your joy or avoid pleasures, nor does it expect from you to never experience sadness, frustration, anger or pain. It just lays a universal truth that we are not our possessions, belongings or entourage; we are not our achievements, successes, ranks or prestige… It is good to experience these; it is great to enjoy them. Yet, never let yourself be attached to them.
Life requires us to work and strive. It requires courage to keep going. It requires momentum. Meanwhile, it also requires patience, flexibility and bravery.
 
So, dear friend, don’t get trapped in therapy, whatever therapy represents for you… don’t let it blind you from real life. Go out there, do your part, strive, work and walk your path. And, whatever you do don’t sweat the little joys sent your way every moment along your journey.

I have been asked this question over and over again... Why did I choose natural health path over a well established conventional pharmacy career? How did I know that this is my passion?

Years back, the main reason I chose to join pharmacy was my passion for herbal remedies and natural cures. I grew up in a house that honours nature. We rarely felt the need to consult a physician. Linden leaves and anise seeds teas were always available for common cold bouts, frankincense for productive cough, cumin and chamomile for spasm and colics, cinnamon milk for menstrual cramps, parsley for renal colic… simple remedies available in our kitchen were always there for the rescue and they never failed us.

My grandmother pantry and refrigerator were full of natural jams, home-made pickles, freshly prepared yogurt, green leaves, rose water, and orange blossoms hydrosols. I loved the fragrance of her spice rack and enjoyed the trips with my aunts to the old souks to stock on our precious herbs and spices.
When I joined pharmacy, I waited impatiently to learn more about these natural cures, to know scientific basics behind their miraculous efficiency and deepen my skills in healing. Unfortunately, after years of overwhelming herbal and chemical studies, I felt totally lost. What I didn't recognize at the time is that the way we studied and approached these remedies stripped them away from the true essence that I was drawn to in the first place; it took away their ‘soul’. 

So, I followed this little voice inside me that asked me to learn more about herbs and spices; to prepare my formulas in the kitchen instead of the labs; to listen to body whispers and heed its emotional and spiritual hints... And, when I embraced back my passion for nature and soulful living, I still drew from the best from both worlds: Science with spirituality and research data with awe and wonder. And, here I am living my passion... Yet, believe it or not, I never knew it was actually my passion until I found myself immersed in it. I just followed a sign after another, took a baby step after another, learned a tiny lesson after another... Day by day, year by year, the road became clearer... I set up everyday habits to learn more about the holistic living and traditional healing remedies that have always fascinated me. I constantly made choices, decisions and set disciplines and goals that took me closer to what I dreamed about...

For me, following your passion doesn't mean waiting for some miracle epiphany or some wild dream to come true. Following your passion doesn't require you to give up your responsibilities nor ignore your duties... As Terri Trespicio says in her TED talk: "Passion is not a job, a sport or a hobby... It is the full force of your attention, an energy that you give to whatever is in front of you, and if you are so busy looking for this passion, you could miss opportunities that change your life" 

You become who you want to become by setting everyday living habits that move you towards your dream. You become who you want to become by constantly making choices, decisions and setting disciplines into your life. Following your dream takes courage and dedication, yet in the same time, it needs flexibility, patience and tolerance. I love the saying by Mary Ann Radmacher: "Courage doesn't always roar... Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying I'll try again tomorrow" 

So dear friend, set on your journey... It is only in motion that you will gain clarity... No matter how small your step is, keep taking it... one step after another, one choice after another... You will soon reach your clarity and soon find and live your passion!