Even with genuine friends encouraging me to return, I felt too weak at the time to face it all again. It especially stung when unkind words came from people I thought were close. I shared with the intention to inspire, never to make anyone feel “less than.” Yet that was how some chose to receive it. For me, writing and creating digital content were a form of therapy. They were a way to process my thoughts, to make sense of my experiences, and to nurture my own mental happiness. When I wrote, I felt lighter. When I shared, I felt connected. That was my reward.

This journey actually began in 1998, when my father gave me my very first computer. I started an old blog that year, a simple space to write and reflect during a difficult time in my life. Later, I deleted that original blog and started a new one in 2000, which grew over the years before being neglected for a long time. Through it all, one thing remained constant: my dad’s belief that I needed an outlet. He saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself at the time. He believed that writing could be a safe space for me, a place to pour out my heart and find clarity. He was right. That simple act of giving me a computer opened a door that has stayed with me ever since. Thank you, Dad.

It was not just blogging. It was creating. I started with my poems, then moved into designing graphics, dabbling in web design, and eventually creating short stories in video form on Instagram and Facebook. Each new medium was another way to express what words alone could not capture. Each creation was a small act of joy, a reminder that I could make something beautiful out of my thoughts and feelings. With time and distance, something has shifted in me. I have come to realise that their reaction is their story, not mine. Their jealousy, their insecurity, their need to compare…these belong to them. My life, my journey, and my reasons for sharing belong to me.

Now, after the passing of my dad, something inside me has been activated again. The need to write. The need to create. The need to share. Grief has a way of stripping away what is unnecessary and revealing what truly matters. And what matters to me is this: to honour my father’s memory, to keep his love alive in the words I write and the things I make, and to find my own sense of peace in the act of creating.

None of us are dealt a “bad card” in life. What I have may not be what you have, and what you have may not be what I have. Each of us carries a unique set of gifts, challenges, and blessings. It is sad when people focus only on what they do not have, and allow envy to grow in that space. But there is another way. It is so much lighter, and so much more beautiful, to choose genuine happiness for others. Not just the kind we show outwardly, or say in words, but the kind we truly feel in our hearts. When you are genuinely happy for someone else’s good fortune, you open your own heart to receive blessings too. They may not come in the same form, but they will come.

I believe that God has blessed everyone, just in different ways. Some blessings are visible: health, wealth, family, success, stability. Others are quiet and unseen: resilience, kindness, a gentle spirit, the ability to love deeply after loss. What matters is not comparing our cards, but playing the hand we’ve been given with grace and gratitude.

Happiness is a journey and a choice, not a destination. It is found in small moments: a walk in nature, a heartfelt conversation, a memory that makes us smile, a story shared with the hope of inspiring someone else. It is found when we release comparison, when we celebrate others without keeping score, and when we remember that our worth is not defined by what others say or think.

As I return to this space, I do so with a lighter heart. I share not to impress, not to prove, not to build anything, but to connect and to heal. To say: You are not alone. Your journey matters. Your blessings matter. And to remind myself, and perhaps you too, that joy is always available, if we choose it.

Always remember: happiness is a journey and a choice. Choose it today. And then choose it again tomorrow. Thank you, Dad, for the computer, for the belief, and for the gift of words, and for inspiring a lifetime of creating. This return is for you.

– Nur Diyanah Magness –

The post A Return to Sharing, Inspired by My Father.  appeared first on Sweet Sharings.

A story with a simple message that is relevant for all ages. Once you’ve read this short story, you will have to decide if you are a carrot, egg or coffee bean.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity … boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

Now, after reading this story, I am sure you will never look at a carrot, egg or coffee bean the same way again. So which one are you? What would your response be when adversity knocks at your door? If you liked this story then you may also like : A vauable Lesson about Priorities and Lessons

I hope you liked this story. Please leave a star rating or comment and let me know your thoughts on it. 

--- Nur Diyanah Magness

The post Life’s Lesson from a Carrot, An Egg and a Coffee Bean appeared first on Sweet Sharings.