Story of a woman

This is a story of a woman who belongs to Pakistan.

Once upon time not long ago there lived a woman whose life was peaceful and everything was perfectly under her control until……

Until someone comes in her life, hands over to her something which is very precious for them, and asks her to become a part of the most important time in their life.

It is the wedding invitation.

Oh no! there are other invites also: one for mayoon, one for mehndi, baraat and valima. Since the families are close so you are also heartily invited to attend dholkis as well.

The life which was once calm and composed suddenly begins to shake…and then just when she is about to make some sense of it all…. There is another invite and another and another….

Then she begins the greatest search for clothes, a wild hunting for the best and the most exquisite, and if something appropriate is not available in her closet she would make panicked calls to friends and family asking for help, some guidance as to what should be done.

Thereafter begins a trail of expenses on clothes, shoes, hair and makeup. In these moments of crisis the male family members are the most scared, astonished and bankrupted species.

But this is how it is…... A true story of all women.

We cannot help it even the most careless of us are unable to escape the pressure. A pressure not given to us by someone else but mainly by ourselves.

Even someone like me who is mostly lost in her own world can suffer from extreme anxiety when it comes to attending weddings because as soon as I receive the news that I have to attend matrimonial function(s), the first thing that comes to my mind is, “what am I going to where?”

Yesterday when I was thinking about my craziness with weddings and also the chaos and anxiety many women experience during wedding season, I came to a conclusion that we suffer from wedding anxieties because we take them too personally.

You see when we are invited to attend someone’s wedding functions it is because a family wants us to be a part of their celebration, to share their joy, and to give our blessings to the bride and groom. It is not about us, it’s about the ‘couple’.

There is no doubt that we should dress up; however, not because we are competing with everyone out there rather we dress up to show our respect for the scared and blessed occasion.

Once we really fully get this in our core, it can transform our wedding preparations from being opportunities of self-aggrandizement to wonderful spiritual moments.  

Happy Weddings to All!

Lots of love,

Sonya Syed. (Day 510)