Finding joy in the simple things…

A couple of months ago I was getting to know a man for the purpose of marriage and he mocked me for not knowing how to make msemen, the traditional Moroccan pancake.

My ego took a hit, and even if it had been 9 years since I had tried making it, the next day I was busy in the kitchen, watching “easy msemen” tutorials and FaceTiming my mum to ask her to save me from a sticky dough situation.

And you know what? I made some pretty decent msemen!

Here are a couple of things I learnt along the way:

•  It’s not because you hated doing something 10 years ago that you’ll never develop an interest for that thing later. I used to absolutely despise the sensation of dough on my hand and thought that was a forever thing but turns out, I don’t mind it that much anymore. I actually enjoyed the therapeutic effect of baking. It took my mind off work and I’ve even went on to make moroccan bread the same week.

•  What appeared difficult for your younger self might be easy for your present self: the msemen recipe looked so complicated to my 21 year old self and it felt like such a daunting task to undertake but this year I was actually surprised at how easy it all was.

•  My mother was more impressed by me making msemen than by me making 5 figures.

And that’s probably my favourite lesson form this experience.

When I told her I needed her help, my mum was over the moon (obviously she wasn’t aware that the ulterior motive was to impress this guy).

And when I sent her the picture of the final result, she sent me a voice note expressing how happy she was.

I hadn’t seen her this proud about something I had done in a while (probably since I gave birth to Zahra).

In my head, my mum’s ultimate pride would be connected to my professional success and how much money I make.

But now, I clearly can say that the day I made my first five figure month, she wasn’t as ecstatic as the day I made msemen!

All that to say, sometimes we create challenges for ourselves to please our parents but their joy actually lies in simpler things:

•  Their children taking an interest in their cultural heritage

•  Spending quality time with you

•  You taking an interest in their hobbies

•  Telling them how much you love them

From that day, I always call my mum before I start baking and ask her for some advice. She texts me asking for updates. We bond over baking msemen and I’m loving it.

Soumaya

Ps: safe to say I’m not marrying that man. Grateful he led me to this new hobby and those beautiful lessons though.

Pps: I’ve got 3 spots opening for my 1:1 coaching program in which I teach insecure muslim women how to heal their past and truly love themselves. You can apply here if you’re ready to step into a more authentic version of yourself.