An end of year reflection

2023

As 2023 comes to a close, I take stock of where my heart and my mind are in this moment. My openness towards what Oasis wants to be, my desire to keep my work diverse and spanning my different areas of interest, identifying these areas of interest: adventure, pilgrimage, public speaking, dialogue in community, creativity. I observe that for me creativity is more a way of life than a tangible painting. Also, that it’s linked to my spirituality.

I share my vision for the elixir bar I imagined for Jeddah, the kinds of drinks we’d serve, the inviting and dream inspiring vibe we'd create, how it would have a separate space for healing work.

I express how I feel in Saudi, how it feels like a cage in some ways when I think of living just there (same as living just anywhere… I need to be in motion). I also feel like my dreams are limited there. I feel I’m needing to fit into a box when my ultimate desire is to shatter the walls of the box and invite everyone into the openness.

I relate to Sean Conway in his conversation with Rich Roll when he describes himself as having different personas: the monkey and the hound. He needs to satisfy both to feel fulfilled. I too have different aspects of myself I need to tend to to feel satiated.

I share my excitement around starting a podcast and in the same turn, my apprehensions and not wanting to fall into the trap of needing to constantly push content versus putting out work when there’s something valuable to share and when I meet the right people to feature. I talk about my desire to create a website that’s just for me ~ like I’m doing right now.

I end with the conclusion that I don’t have all the pieces and all the answer but I’m trusting. الحمد الله. Eternally grateful.