Hello Friends, 

This is your weekly edition of The Friday Five Hundred. It was the holiday of Eid ul Adha on Tuesday. I was gifted a cold from my kids. The kids are on the mend and I’m slowly recovering. Without further ado, here’s this week’s edition. 

I serve as a Coach in Seth Godin’s The Creative’s Workshop. It’s a workshop that was a springboard for my career as a Writer and I feel fortunate to further my learning in my role as Coach. In one of my recent exchanges with a participant, I was introduced to the creative life being an ocean in which the creative aspires to get in the water every single day regardless of the weather or how one feels. It’s not about charting improvement or ticking off a list of to-dos. It’s simply about getting in the water and being in the water day after day. This participant reflected that it’s easier to get in the water when one lives near the ocean. I asked, “What is your ocean?” 

This question I posed to the participant and the inspiring answer I received in return made me reflect on my ocean and if I live near it? I thought about all the Authors that live in NY and the Universities nearby. Truth be told, I’m in a season in my life where my children are my prime responsibility. It’s not the best use of my time to enroll in an MFA or go to expensive Writer’s retreats. I haven’t even searched this bit and I’m unaware of the opportunities around me. 

The reality of not knowing my ocean hit me hard. I moped around the whole day thinking if I might be the fish who asks, “What the hell is water?”, in response to an older fish greeting me with, “Morning boys. How’s the water?” (From David Wallace's Commencement speech, "This is Water")

When the day came to an end, I put the kids to bed. They each had fifteen minutes of independent reading time in their beds as a part of their nighttime routine. Haya, my three-year-old, asked herself out loud what book she would like to read? She decided to make a choice by the judge of “eenie meanie miney mo”. Once she landed on a book, she yelled in excitement and began to read or rather pretend to read as she only recognizes the alphabet and doesn’t know how to read yet. 

As I gazed at my children, I knew right then that my ocean is my children. They give me an education on how to approach life with excitement and curiosity. They show me what it’s like to be courageous and attempt something new even if they don’t know how to do it. If I can be fearless and open to life as my children, then I’m sure to be growing consistently. “This is water. This is water.” This is my ocean. 

Thank you for your time, dear reader. I would love to know what’s your ocean and how’s the water? Until next time, be well and keep swimming. 

Lots of Love, 

Sana Fayyaz 

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