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But are you really? Serius kamu nggak apa-apa? 

I know that right now things seem chaotic. Your school isn't your favorite, your job is painful, your anxiety is eating you up, and even your bank account looks scary out of money. There's much on your plate right now.

Atau justru yang sedang kamu alami saat ini jauh lebih sulit hingga akhirnya kita sulit untuk mengungkapkannya. But I believe, kamu sudah bekerja sangat keras, sudah berjuang dengan sekuat tenaga. Kamu sudah menyelesaikan banyak hal keren kok. Dan setiap orang punya masalahnya sendiri-sendiri, have their own issues to work through, dan seringkali banyak hal nggak sesuai dengan apa yang kita mau yang mana bikin kita not okay.

Meskipun sometimes an unexpected challenge or an obstacle bisa saja datang menghampiri kamu, dan kamu pun merasa kesulitan untuk menyelesaikannya, khawatir, takut, nggak tahu harus ngapain lagi. Dan seringkali, you just have nothing. Nggak ada motivasi, nggak ada semangat, and no creativity. Tiba-tiba, you're being plagued with self-doubt. Oh myy, that's a jackpot:')

Kamu pikir kamu harus kuat setiap saat.

Kamu pikir kamu nggak boleh nangis, to admit that you're not okay.

Inilah hal yang nggak kita sadari, kita selalu dituntut untuk selalu baik-baik saja. Tapi ini bukan perihal siapa yang meminta, tapi kita sendiri yang sering menghakimi dan akhirnya kitalah yang menuntut, memaksa diri untuk kuat dan tegar. Harus siap mental, harus siap raga, harus siap materil, harus tahan banting, harus bisa menghadapi segala situasi dan kondisi, harus bisa a b c d e f g, dst. Gitu aja terus nggak ada beresnya.

Why?

Kenapa kita harus merasa kuat setiap saat? Pura-pura tegar? Why do we feel guilty when taking a time-out? I was overwhelmed with such guilt. Bagaimana bisa aku cuma duduk sambil nangis and feel sorry for myself, when I have plenty to be grateful for?

Remember, we have Allah. And seeking for His help is the best way ever we must do since the beginning. It's okay to be vulnerable especially when we are praying, when we are seeking His refuges.

It's okay to say that you're not okay. By that means your feelings and emotions are valid, no matter what they are.

Sometimes kita perlu expressing our emotions since it's never a bad thing, and if you're not okay, it's okay to say so.

I mean like, come on, we're only human. We couldn't do every single thing strongly without feeling exhausted and some hard times wishing death comes to us.

Even, we can look into the Qur'an and take a lesson through The story of Maryam (as) that she was alone gave birth, under a palm tree and close to a small stream. [QS. Maryam : 23-26]

فَأَجَآءَهَا ٱلْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ ٱلنَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًۭا مَّنسِيًّۭا

"Kemudian rasa sakit akan melahirkan memaksanya (bersandar) pada pangkal pohon kurma, dia (Maryam) berkata, 'Wahai, betapa (baiknya) aku mati sebelum ini, dan aku menjadi seorang yang tidak diperhatikan dan dilupakan'."

[QS. Maryam: 23]

Lesson from the story of Maryam's (as) childbirth is that our tests could be our blessings, and we should trust in the ultimate goodness of whatever Allah sends us.

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